I named this blog a few months ago, long before it was a full-fledged blog—back when it was just a little blog-twinkle in my eye—because it occurred to me that of all the earthly things I love, two of my most favorite can be reduced to the categories of salt and paper. Salt elevates eating from a ho-hum duty to pure delight (think of a plate of fresh-picked tomatoes, sliced and scattered with salt), and paper is for scribbling and scrumpling, not to mention folding, stitching and binding into books, which in turn can be cracked opened and enjoyed with a piece of dark chocolate or a bowl of salty peanuts. See how it comes full circle?

Salt and paper inevitably point to bigger things—a bite to eat with people you love, an empty page for filling, a good read. In that light, food and books will pop up a lot here. I'll sometimes post about what and where I eat, but only if it’s worth sharing. If it’s another supper of black beans and fried eggs, I promise to spare you. This summer I also want to try to document my attempts to make a book. With fear and trembling I recently took a book binding class at the Center for Book Arts, where I studied book anatomy (case-spine, foredge, etc.) and was shepherded through the meticulous process of creating three books of my own (see yonder photo). Now, with even more trembling, I’m going to attempt to duplicate the results at home, though I don’t know how I’ll manage without the Center's heavy book presses and savvy instructor. (Oh, Laurel, where are you when I need you most?). The plan is to make just a simple book to begin. Okay, an extremely simple book. Fine, a piece of notebook paper folded in half with my name written on the front in bubble letters. Care to buy?