Storms, Stress and Hanging Out

I just walked outside, and the sky has that luminous sort-of-yellow look it gets after a storm has passed. There was no storm--just a few big drops of rain and distant thunder that caused me to turn off the computer for a while. But now, while it should be twilight, the light is very different. When the first hint of a storm came, Jordan, Jacob and I were in the family room and suddenly my dog, Scooby, began jumping at the door, frantic to get in. It was my first hint. I told Jordan it was going to storm, and she said to let him in, but I hesitate to do that with Jacob. Scoob is the world's sweetest dog and would never hurt anyone (except maybe if he caught a squirrel or that darn black cat next door), but he's over-enthusiastic. At almost eight, he thinks he's still a pup (he's an Australian shepherd and they're noted for being "lively" to say the least) and bulls his way through life until he settles down at my feet in the evenings. So Jordan went home to escape the rain, and I brought Scooby in, much to his relief. He's terrified of storms.
Jordan and Jacob had come over because they'd been home all day and were bored and wanted to "hang out," something Jordan has pointed out I do not do gracefully. I often bow out of invitations to her in-laws because you go for a two o'clock dinner and it's served at five and meantime you hang out--too many things in this world that I want to do. I don't sit and make small talk for three hours--at least not easily. But I hang out with Jacob--he's standing by himself, and he crows all the time. When that baby found his voice, he really found it bigtime. I fixed an impromptu supper of a dab each of leftover pasta from a restaurant dinner last night and a large salad with blue cheese dressing. My favorite new recipe: rub a garlic clove over the wooden salad bowl, then rub in salt and dry mustard. Put in a generous amount of blue cheese and a Tbsp. of vinegar. Mash and blend. Then add two Tbsp. olive oil and whip it up. Put in the greens and toss--you don't need croutons, tomatoes, onions, anything else. If you want a bigger salad, just increase the amounts but keep it two oil to one vinegar.
A lesson in stress reduction: today I found myself getting really anxious at work, to the point that I got all hot and could feel that my motor was running too fast. It was because lots of things landed on my desk, and I had one big project I wanted to get to and never did. Jordan lectured me tonight on not needing to get everything done at once. She says I gave her that particular flaw too, and we both need to get over it. I did bring the big project home tonight and got almost all of it done--some has mysteriously disappeared, so I couldn't go any farther. But none of it was as big a deal as I made it, and I'll go to work more relaxed tomorrow.
Meantime I had a wonderful lunch with my boss, June, and my good friend Jeannie, to thank Jeannie for hosting a TCU Press party at her fabulous old house. We went to an upscale innovative Mexican restaurant--no enchiladas. I had carpaccio and a blue cheese salad (twice in one day!). Then Jeannie took me to pick up my car at the dealership where it had some repair work. She knew I was feeling stressed and, bless her, went in with me, stayed until I got my car and then drove around to her car to get my stuff out of it.
Just as we were doing that, my cell phone rang. It was Lisa from the King Ranch--where we're going next week and most excited about staying at the main ranch house. She said a man whose name I didn't recognize at all had called and said he was an old friend of mine and I'd invited him to dinner at the ranch. I assured her I would never invite anyone to someone else's dinner party without asking and besides I had no idea who he was. Puzzling and kind of scary.
All in all it's been quite a day. But storms, stress, and all, I feel a curious kind of calm tonight. So now I'm going to finish that mystery I'm reading, which will probably destroy my calm but what fun!