Such a good day

Today was beautiful.

I took a day off from work. A much needed day off. I laid in bed, 6am sun pouring through my window as I calculated out how few hours I had slept. So I doubled my number and got up a few minutes before my alarm, just in time for yoga teacher training.

A day to clear my mind, to sit on porches talking about nothing and so much with my family, wrapping up dreams into packages together with great resolve for the months ahead.
Then wading out to the gardens to pull weeds, organize thought, not answer emails, and soak up the June sun.

I got a lot done. I know that sounds odd to say about a day off, but that usually means a good day for me.

So now as my house fills with aromatics in the slow simmer of vegetables, onions, bay, and garlic as the egg noodles spin around in their pot. I'm adapting a recipe someone made for me. It's more homage than anything. It was delicious the first time. Now I am trying it with slow simmered cabbage with the onions, wider noodles, and hockey sausage.
 I slice off a tiny piece of pecorino Romano and let it melt in my mouth, swirling it with Shiraz. next on my list to do is sit on my couch with my new Aussie shepherd foster dog as he cuddles closer to me the way most shelter dogs do. I feel great. I feel recharged, happy to have a day to myself that actually was to myself.
Bruce Springsteen reminds me of relishing days off as sirens go off in the distance and the neighbors dog raspily barks in response. I hear the parking lot fill up with residents hunkering down for Monday morning work. I hunker down for yoga tomorrow morning and then a full day off making strawberry jam with my sister. I am not a jam eater, but I LOVE making it. And eating the piles of strawberries as we hull and slice them.

Dinner is wrapping up. The dogs are sleeping. I wish I had some way to watch a bunch of daily show episodes in a row. That would pretty much end the ideal day off. But I'll settle for a half a glass of wine, a nice hot shower to get the grassy dirt smell off me and then curling up in bed with a magazine, belly full and mind content and happy.

What a good day.