Some days turn out just fine

 

Even images of rain make us feel better
during this awful hot spell.
The real thing was a blessing today.

If things went amuck yesterday, today turned out just fine. In the midst of the horrendous heat spell we’ve been living under, who can complain about temperatures in the eighties and a thunderstorm, however brief. This morning I gave in to the urge to keep going back to sleep every time Sophie wakened me. So we were up at six-fifteen for a trip outside and a bite of cheese; at seven-fifteen for a half breakfast; at eight-fifteen for the other half of breakfast. Finally when Christian came at nine-fifteen to give her a shot, I forced myself out of bed. But I don’t think my conversation with him made much sense. I should explain Sophie needs an insulin shot, morning and night, within a half hour to an hour after she eats—not before those time limits, not after. With the kids giving the shots, it’s been a real problem. They don’t really want to get up at quarter to eight on the weekend to give her a shot. So every weekend it a new adventure—this one went pretty well.

The morning was dark and pretty soon I heard thunder. Next thing I noticed was that Sophie would not leave my side. I nearly tripped over her trying to use the bathroom. The rain when it came was glorious, but too short. Still better than nothing, and I am grateful, as are we all.

Christian and I discussed dinner options, and he chose steak and asparagus, which he would grill in his new, round grilling baskets. That left me a whole day with no cooking, nothing on my schedule except church. I tuned in at eleven as I always do, but it was special because this was the third Sunday my good friend Renee Hoke was preaching about keeping sabbath. And there in the front row were my Canadian daughter, Sue, her husband Teddy, and their neighbor Sally. They are all Renee’s neighbors, and I know she was pleased to see them in the congregation. Christian and I had good intentions, but they fell apart. I “went to church” on my computer.

The rest of the day I took to heart Renee’s advice in last week’s sermon to make the sabbath a day of rest. I piddled, prowled on Facebook far too long, dipped my toe into a couple of new books, read emails, and can say the only constructive thing I did was to come up with a title for the cookbook I’m thinking of doing: Cooking in the Cottage. I like the ring of it. My food blog, Gourmet on a Hot Plate, which appears on Thursdays, has a good audience, and I want to compile select columns into a kind of informal cookbook—as much conversation as it is recipes. I’m thinking of odd possibilities—like a grilling chapter from Christian, and maybe something for non-cooks. All loose ideas floating around in my brain.

There’s not much better than a steak and asparagus dinner from the grill, and Christian as usual did a masterful job. I’m not much of a steak person—can’t remember having it as a child, so I’m only now in old age learning about cuts, etc. But I had seen top sirloin on sale and asked Christian, and he said to get it. So that’s what we had. More recently I found ribeye on sale, two for one, and ordered it, because I know I like the fatty marbling of a ribeye. But tonight’s dinner was really good, and we had a pleasant chat. I so enjoy our dinners in the cottage. And most of the time I enjoy cooking them, but it’s nice to have a night off sometimes.

So there it was—a day of rest. And I enjoyed it thoroughly. Tomorrow I must get serious if I’m going to do that cookbook. But today was a good day. I hope yours was too.