cut of bread and tea

I sat on the sofa with a tea steaming on the table in front of me, Earl Grey with milk and sugar. That delicious guilt, like when skipping a day of work, churned in my stomach. My sleep last night was restless, I tossed and turned like a ghostly galleon on cloudy seas. Not that there was anything stormy, just hot legs that didn't want rest. Maybe the dog was too close. Or maybe my legs were tired from having done nothing but lie in bed and read 'Angela's Ashes'; tired from running down Irish lanes with only a bit of bread in my stomach. Regardless, I woke up when night had not fully changed to morning and turned off my alarm clock.

I haven't skipped out on writing group for anything other than valid reasons, but today I did. It isn't because I feel depressed, I feel quite fine, just tired.

My idle pleasures yesterday and today? Yesterday I read all day, tucked into bed or stretched out on the sofa. I fried up an egg to have with some lefse when the book made me hungry. After chapters of nothing but a cut of bread and weak tea, I'm ready for a feast: corned beef and cabbage would be good, but like Frankie in the book, there's none in the house and I feel privileged to have even an egg.

Tulips, even when they are on their last legs, are a pleasure. The bright pink is especially treasured on these grey days. I leave the fallen blossoms where they fall as they still colour the winter gloom.

Today I finished the book. This is a big milestone for me as I rarely have the concentration to read a whole book. I didn't start something new right away - I needed time to savour and think. I took the dogs into the field today - my feet broke through the thin layer of ice with a satisfying crackle. The sun stuck its head out for a while, blinding me as I sat in my spot on the sofa writing this. I reveled in its brightness for a while then moved to a shadier spot. When your days consist of not much other than reading, the list of pleasures are simple!

Oh wait, another pleasure (and one that will be a pleasure for many, many days)! Carm ordered me two  books: 'Elements of Style', and 'How to Write a Sentence'.  I'm waiting on another book, but it is in NY, NY… I broke down and got my 2015 blog printed into a book again. I have a bookshelf of my years since retirement.  At some point I'll stop printing them but I still get a big charge out of the thick books of photos and words. Did I really write 400 pages last year?