Stay-at-home days

These spring rainy days have been stay-at-home days for me. Saturday night, I went to bed with a dog pressed firmly against my back—it was thundering terribly. Jacob said the next morning he couldn’t sleep and was awake until three, but when I mentioned thunder, he said, “What storm?” Gotcha!

Last night wasn’t as fierce, but I was glad to stay home and have happy hour company—my friends Subie and Phil brought her sister, Diana, who I knew years ago but haven’t seen in forever. A good time—and, yes, some talk about politics, but also other rollicking good stories. Like Diana’s flight scheduled into Love Field the night that the garages there flooded. It was a hair-raising story of finally landing in Austin about one in the morning and taking what sounds like an Uber to Dallas. I thought it either brave—or foolish—of her to undertake that drive with five people she didn’t know. She arrived safely in Dallas at six a.m.

Tonight storms were again threatened, so both Betty and I opted out of dinner, which left poor Jean with no company. She wasn’t interested in coming for a glass of wine until I mentioned that I had some really good potato chips (Trader Joe’s) and dip. We had a good visit, and now after ten, the rain still hasn’t come, though Sophie is showing signs of staying close to me. I suspect a storm is not far away.

Tomorrow I have a lunch scheduled with a friend who is weather sensitive, but he says he wants to keep our date. Storms aren’t expected until late in the day. Spring in Texas is always uncertain and often unpredictably stormy. I love it.

Yesterday I sent off the proposal I’ve been working for some time, so I’m sort of between projects which always makes me edgy. Not that I don’t have things to do. I determined today I would write a newsletter and start a Pinterest board for Gourmet on a Hot Plate. I managed to keep busy without ever doing either one, so they are on my list for tomorrow…and tomorrow. The blog tour for Gourmet on a Hot Plate has turned out to be quite successful, and I’m delighted—besides having fun with it. A woman posted tonight that she had tried the recipe for carnitas and loved it. Music to my ears.

If I run out of busy chores there’s always that culinary cozy I started—I’m not sure where it’s going, and neither was the beta reader who so generously read the first 20K words. Meantime I am reading a lot and highly recommend NoBODY, a novella by Susan Wittig Albert. She focuses on Ruby Wilcox, a secondary character in the China Bayles series, and explores the idea of the paranormal. Done with great skill, it’s absorbing reading. If you’re a fan of China, as I am, you’ll be entranced with the novellas—there are at least two to follow.

I hear the first faint rumblings of thunder. Time to curl up in bed and keep Sophie safe. Be careful out there y’all.