A good day

At the risk of whining, not all my days have been good lately, what with hobbling around on a swollen foot, losing all the self-confidence I’d built up about walking, and a bit of depression. Today was a good day—not outstanding, but just good. The kind of day I like.

Woke feeling optimistic—good dreams, easy to transition to the real world. Spent the morning working on the recipe section or “Murder at Peacock Mansion.” Working with recipes is always a joy to me. For recipes from the Blue Plate Café I have to keep in mind what kind of food folks expect in a small-town East Texas café, ease of preparation—things cooked by single order really aren’t practical, and the cost of ingredients. So today I chose a lasagna-like but much simpler casserole, shepherd’s pie, vegetable soup, a hearty cheeseburger soup, a recipe for the café’s signature sticky buns (my mom’s recipe), and an enchilada casserole. Still have a dessert to add, but I’m happy with it.

Lunch with my good friend Fred who was my major professor all those years ago when I got my Ph.D. and has remained a friend for forty years. I really value long-standing friendships, and his is special. We ate at Carshon’s, and I indulged in a half a Reuben--so good. Then home to fiddle at the computer and take a long nap.

Jordan came by after Jacob had a play date with the little boys in the house directly behind mine. She has declared that this is a week without clocks, so she arrived at six, and stayed for a happy hour. We made all sorts of plans, including a Saturday night “see Jacob off to camp” dinner, possible trips to Austin, and the like. We laughed, we gossiped, we planned. I am so fortunate to have her close by—she is both a good friend and a treasured daughter. And during our happy hour my other daughter called, so we had a three-way communication—sort of.

Dinner—at 7:30—was a bit of leftover tuna, the bit of leftover salmon stuffing for my pasties (gosh it was good), hummus and a heart of palm stalk. My idea of a meal, and it balanced the not-g--d-for-you Reuben from lunch. Now I’m sleepy, lazy, and content. Don’t know that I’ll do much more than read tonight—oh, I guess I have to wash the dishes.

Some days are that way—nothing unusual but just satisfying. This was one, and I’m grateful.