Summer Days Extraordinare
I sure could have used a post-Sunday Sunday today. The lazy-day-at-home kind that serves as a cushion between active weekend fun and dutiful return to the workweek. Because this weekend was one of those filled with good company and simple pleasures that one could wax poetic and get preemptively nostalgic about.
Saturday was one of those purely simple yet particularly satisfying days. Started off by sleeping in and luxuriating in bed until good and ready to start the day. Then we moseyed out to farmer’s market to peruse produce which, to me, is one of the best ways to start a quality day. Especially at this time of year when stone fruits and tomatoes are in full glory. Oh the luscious, juicy peaches and plums! And the tomatoes! I was especially excited about the tomatoes. Enormous, perfectly soft heirlooms with deep variegated colors, shapely ruby-toned romas, and wee little golden pear-shaped ones all called to me. I might have bought a few too many, but I was compelled to take full advantage of the limited window of true-tomato availability. And at a mere dollar per pound how could I go wrong? We also came away with an assortment of peaches, nectarines, corn, eggplant, and a watermelon.
Then there was time for an invigorating bout on the stairmaster, and some idle tinkering about in the kitchen roasting up experimental slices of eggplant to roll up with goat cheese and pesto.
Later that afternoon Anne came down to hang out with us. She had been off in Costa Rica on another one of her atmospheric data-gathering flight missions and it is fabulous to get to see her again. We spent a nice mellow time catching up over a table of sliced heirloom tomatoes with mozzarella, basil, and drizzles of balsamic reduction, crusty bread spread with tangy goat cheese and homemade sage-walnut pesto, some succulent figs and plums that Anne had brought us from Berkeley Bowl, and cocktails of fresh watermelon juice, triple sec, and Guaro. She had thoughtfully brought a bottle of Guaro back from Costa Rica for us, with perfect timing to replace our previous bottle which had been clinging to its last few shots.
After sitting and nibbling and drinking for a while we went out for an evening walk around the lake to catch the last of the day's lovely weather. It ended with poor J, who was on-call again, getting paged and having to mitigate some misbehaved systems. But at least it wasn’t until the day was already winding down.
All in all it was the kind of day that I could enjoy day after day and be quite content: comfortable home, snuggly man, companionable friends, bountiful produce, recreational cooking, exercise, time outside under the sky... sigh... What a waste of time this quiet office is.
Sunday was the active half of the weekend fun. Got up earlier, got in some exercise, and headed on up to Fairfax for Mike’s softball game day. First we met up for pre-game burgers at M&G, and then we meandered over to the field, gradually amassed the rest of the group, and eventually divided up into teams and got the game going.
It was a fun game with a fair number of both fumbles and homerun slugs, and a couple good scrapes and bruises on each side. Fortunately for me it was the friendly, good-natured type of game so my softball skill shortcomings didn't stand out enough to hinder my enjoyment. It was a gorgeously clear blue day and I was glad I had remembered to apply sunscreen. The heat did start to get a little overbearing as the game progressed, but that just served to make the prospect of getting iced cream afterwards seem like a judicious moral imperative.
Being the cold-blooded, heat-intolerant individual that I am, however, I should have been more conscientious about keeping myself hydrated between innings. The hours of squinting and sweating in the sun aggravated the right-eye-socket headache that I’d picked up that morning. I made some comment about having a fork in the eye and was immediately tended to by salix42's head-clearing pinching of a pressure point at the base of my thumb.
I might have said something about feeling light headed, or I might just have thought it. Whichever it was, I must have meant it because apparently I blacked out and slumped over into J's arms. J gets bonus hero points for successfully catching me and getting me seated on the dugout bench smoothly enough that, in coming to, I thought I had sat down of my own volition and had just been happily nodding off while waiting for everyone to gather up their things. I was momentarily perplexed as to why everyone suddenly seemed to be talking at me with bunched up brows and why they were going on about water and ice, but then my head cleared, Gatorade was obediently imbibed, and I felt just fine. (Note: mothers needn’t worry - it was just a momentary overgrown head rush).
Actually, I felt surprisingly refreshed and rejuvenated. Headache-free and right as rain. Like a good night's sleep in one new-and-improved extra-strength dose! Seriously folks, I highly recommend spontaneous fainting as a quality cure-all. All natural! No smelling salts needed! And that's not all! Your order comes with this complementary bag of ice absolutely free!! Order now while supplies last! (must be 18 years or older to order; offer not valid in Nebraska, Utah, or BFE; religious experiences sold separately). ...Err...Ahem. Anyway.
Armed with my shiny new consciousness and a bolstered conviction that tasty treats had been most righteously earned, we descended en sweaty masse first on Ghiradelli Pizzeria and then on The Scoop. Yum Yum Yum. The cardamom iced cream was the choice du jour and it was definitely my favorite of the several that I traded tastes for. Next on my list to try are the Hula Dance, the Honey-Lavender, and the Strawberry.
Suffice it to say it was a grand day of exuberance with a sweet ending. This idle office just can't compare.
Saturday was one of those purely simple yet particularly satisfying days. Started off by sleeping in and luxuriating in bed until good and ready to start the day. Then we moseyed out to farmer’s market to peruse produce which, to me, is one of the best ways to start a quality day. Especially at this time of year when stone fruits and tomatoes are in full glory. Oh the luscious, juicy peaches and plums! And the tomatoes! I was especially excited about the tomatoes. Enormous, perfectly soft heirlooms with deep variegated colors, shapely ruby-toned romas, and wee little golden pear-shaped ones all called to me. I might have bought a few too many, but I was compelled to take full advantage of the limited window of true-tomato availability. And at a mere dollar per pound how could I go wrong? We also came away with an assortment of peaches, nectarines, corn, eggplant, and a watermelon.
Then there was time for an invigorating bout on the stairmaster, and some idle tinkering about in the kitchen roasting up experimental slices of eggplant to roll up with goat cheese and pesto.
Later that afternoon Anne came down to hang out with us. She had been off in Costa Rica on another one of her atmospheric data-gathering flight missions and it is fabulous to get to see her again. We spent a nice mellow time catching up over a table of sliced heirloom tomatoes with mozzarella, basil, and drizzles of balsamic reduction, crusty bread spread with tangy goat cheese and homemade sage-walnut pesto, some succulent figs and plums that Anne had brought us from Berkeley Bowl, and cocktails of fresh watermelon juice, triple sec, and Guaro. She had thoughtfully brought a bottle of Guaro back from Costa Rica for us, with perfect timing to replace our previous bottle which had been clinging to its last few shots.
After sitting and nibbling and drinking for a while we went out for an evening walk around the lake to catch the last of the day's lovely weather. It ended with poor J, who was on-call again, getting paged and having to mitigate some misbehaved systems. But at least it wasn’t until the day was already winding down.
All in all it was the kind of day that I could enjoy day after day and be quite content: comfortable home, snuggly man, companionable friends, bountiful produce, recreational cooking, exercise, time outside under the sky... sigh... What a waste of time this quiet office is.
Sunday was the active half of the weekend fun. Got up earlier, got in some exercise, and headed on up to Fairfax for Mike’s softball game day. First we met up for pre-game burgers at M&G, and then we meandered over to the field, gradually amassed the rest of the group, and eventually divided up into teams and got the game going.
It was a fun game with a fair number of both fumbles and homerun slugs, and a couple good scrapes and bruises on each side. Fortunately for me it was the friendly, good-natured type of game so my softball skill shortcomings didn't stand out enough to hinder my enjoyment. It was a gorgeously clear blue day and I was glad I had remembered to apply sunscreen. The heat did start to get a little overbearing as the game progressed, but that just served to make the prospect of getting iced cream afterwards seem like a judicious moral imperative.
Being the cold-blooded, heat-intolerant individual that I am, however, I should have been more conscientious about keeping myself hydrated between innings. The hours of squinting and sweating in the sun aggravated the right-eye-socket headache that I’d picked up that morning. I made some comment about having a fork in the eye and was immediately tended to by salix42's head-clearing pinching of a pressure point at the base of my thumb.
I might have said something about feeling light headed, or I might just have thought it. Whichever it was, I must have meant it because apparently I blacked out and slumped over into J's arms. J gets bonus hero points for successfully catching me and getting me seated on the dugout bench smoothly enough that, in coming to, I thought I had sat down of my own volition and had just been happily nodding off while waiting for everyone to gather up their things. I was momentarily perplexed as to why everyone suddenly seemed to be talking at me with bunched up brows and why they were going on about water and ice, but then my head cleared, Gatorade was obediently imbibed, and I felt just fine. (Note: mothers needn’t worry - it was just a momentary overgrown head rush).
Actually, I felt surprisingly refreshed and rejuvenated. Headache-free and right as rain. Like a good night's sleep in one new-and-improved extra-strength dose! Seriously folks, I highly recommend spontaneous fainting as a quality cure-all. All natural! No smelling salts needed! And that's not all! Your order comes with this complementary bag of ice absolutely free!! Order now while supplies last! (must be 18 years or older to order; offer not valid in Nebraska, Utah, or BFE; religious experiences sold separately). ...Err...Ahem. Anyway.
Armed with my shiny new consciousness and a bolstered conviction that tasty treats had been most righteously earned, we descended en sweaty masse first on Ghiradelli Pizzeria and then on The Scoop. Yum Yum Yum. The cardamom iced cream was the choice du jour and it was definitely my favorite of the several that I traded tastes for. Next on my list to try are the Hula Dance, the Honey-Lavender, and the Strawberry.
Suffice it to say it was a grand day of exuberance with a sweet ending. This idle office just can't compare.