Monday, January 27, 2014

Quiet Couch Day


Yesterday I walked the dog when I first got up, about 6 a.m., and then I didn't go outside the entire day until right before bed.

For one thing, it was rainy, as you can see above from our kitchen window. It felt much more natural to stay on the couch with Olga and read. I caught up on my New Yorkers (which is a feat, believe me) and even read some of the pieces I might normally have skipped, like the profile of Leonard Blavatnik and the long piece about Valley Fever.

In the afternoon, Dave and I rented "Scarface" and "Swingers," both of which I'd seen before but not in years -- and how I love "Scarface," holy cow! That's the Miami I remember, brutal and dangerous but damned entertaining. Dave took Olga out for a romp in the yard with her Kong, which required us to bathe her afterwards. He also roasted a pork shoulder for dinner, keeping it in the oven for six hours at a relatively low temperature. It came out tender and perfectly paired with parsnip puree and a spinach salad.

And that was our day. Pure domesticity.

I walked the dog again in the evening just as Dave prepared to Skype with his parents, partly to give him some privacy and partly because cabin fever was nipping at my brain. The rain had stopped, and Olga was so excited to be outside that she ran furious circles in the yard, kicking up clods of turf with a crazed look in her eye.

9 comments:

37paddington said...

That is the best kind of day. I try to have one like that every week, to recharge. Like you, sometime toward the end of it, particularly around dusk, I get cabin fever and have to go outside, to feel the sky overhead, but a run to the store or over to my aunt's or even during warm month, half an hour on the bench in the courtyard is enough to simmer me down. And I swear, Dave cooks the most sumptuous sounding meals. Yum.

Ms. Moon said...

Yes. A fine day. Domesticity is a blessing, isn't it?

Barbara said...

Sometimes I love a day where my only agenda is to cook a pot of soup. Or cleaning out the produce drawer. Now that really puts things in perspective, yes?

looking2live

Sharon said...

I love the rainy window photo today!

ellen abbott said...

I don't do those kinds of days often...I have a hard time sitting still, or rather, keeping my hands still. I like to be doing stuff. but, when I do have those days, I love them. and yah, slow cooking at a low temp is great.

herding tapeworms said...

sounds like a perfect way to make use of a rainy day. I felt cozy just reading about it. I accidentally deleted your comment from my blog dashboard! and there's no way to get it back, but i wanted to say thank you for the well wishes :)

The Bug said...

I'm such a natural slug that I have days like that pretty often. Well, I guess I don't during the week because I go to work, and not on Sundays because of church. Hey! I need more quiet couch days!

Nancy said...

My god! That line is pure poetry. And that heart in the window is how I sometimes imagine my heart, a brilliant piece of crystal hanging from a thin string.

Nancy said...

^ That LAST line...