the king of saturday pizzas.

On Saturdays, I wake up early without the alarm - usually before 8 AM, always before 9. My first waking thought is that it is Saturday, and I am ready to jump out of bed so I can hit the yard sales.

I throw on whatever clothes are nearest, put my hair up in something halfway between a bun and a ponytail, and I am ready to go. Usually I remember to put on deodorant. Sometimes I'll get some juice or milk on my way out the door.

Josh is less eager at first, but by the time we get to the second sale, he's always eager. We hit sales as long as they are there to hit. We follow the pre-planned course, making many detours guided by homemade neon signs with arrows.

By noon, the sales have mostly petered out, and we are feeling hungry and grimy from not showering, walking around in increasing heat, and touching musty things. We go back to my apartment, craving pizza and kool-aid. He makes the pizza while I look at our new treasures or laze on the futon. During the rest of the week, I'm in charge of meal preparation, but Josh is the king of Saturday pizzas.

He's memorized the recipe for the dough, and we always have tomato sauce and cheese in stock. The rest of the ingredients vary based on what happens to be on hand. I like pineapple and banana peppers; he likes black olives. If we have bell peppers or onions or tomatoes around, we throw them on, too. We love making pizza because it's quick, easy, always delicious, and always different.

Once the pizza is ready, we put on a movie we've seen before and tuck in to our delicious feast. We agree that this Saturday pizza is definitely the best Saturday pizza we've ever had. Sometimes I eat two slices, sometimes three, sometimes four. When we're done, we lie down on the futon to watch the movie. More often than not, we fall asleep and have a long and snuggly afternoon nap. Saturdays have not been so good since I outgrew the cartoons.

Yesterday, I did all the things that I usually do on a Saturday. I got up early, followed the course of my yard sale plan, came home to make a pizza, and then took a nap. But Josh was somewhere in Texas, still on tour with his band. I felt his absence the most when I had to look up the pizza dough recipe. And it was yet another yummy Saturday pizza, but it was not the best Saturday pizza I've ever had.