Briefly

This afternoon Mr. A was away so I got to do some things I usually only do when I have a long stretch of time to myself. One was, I sat on the front porch and watched the light move across the sky for a couple of hours. Another was, I walked the dogs down to the end of the road and back. Another: sat on a big round rock in the middle of the creek, watching the bare trees sway in the wind and listening to the water rushing around me until it got dark. Another: made a pot of mixed brown and wild rice, and ate it with leftover roasted vegetables from last night.

This last item was in some ways the most pleasurable of all. At least so far – after I finish writing this I intend to light up the fire pit on the back patio, fill the backyard bathtub, and take a brief soak before bed. But back to the brown rice. It's been forever since I've had it! Actually, I've hardly cooked anything for myself since I moved in with Mr. A last year. I don't especially like to cook, and he loves to, so typically he does the cooking and I clean up afterwards. But lately I've made some very nice, simple dinners for myself when he's been away, and they've been very enjoyable. When Mr. A cooks, he likes to have two or three different things on the plate, or he doesn't feel like it's a real meal. When I cook for myself, I like to eat only one thing per meal. Brown rice. Steamed cauliflower. Roasted butternut squash. Peanut butter toast. Yam fries. And of course the occasional grilled cheese sandwich. So plain and so good.

Also enjoyed today: a small handful of toasted pine nuts, a slice of prosciutto, a sliver of aged Parmigiano Reggiano, and a crushed melon soda.