Much-Needed Rain

This morning, I took my younger daughter to her weekly ballet lesson, planning to go for a walk in the nearby park while I waited. I made one (of my usual two) circuits before the drizzle turned into light rain. My legs were still so sore that I couldn't get above a moderate walk without the quakes from each step shaking my quads painfully. So, I let Mother Nature and my body have their way, and sat out the second circuit. I found a bench under a balcony, and watched the rain fall.

There's a large airport near this park, and the planes fly low over the southern stretches on approach. Today, the clouds were hugging the tops of downtown's skyscrapers, and the planes left vapor trails as their lowered flaps squeezed the rain out of the air. The planes were so close than I could actually see these trails start to fall. Somewhere, right below the flight path, folks were probably getting little showers each time a plane came in to land.

Our back yard is beautiful under a sheen of water. The tips of each tall stalk of grass seed (I need to mow the lawn, badly) sparkle. The broccoli plant, somehow resisting the water, is covered in big droplets. The birds were AWOL, and I missed them, but the rain is very welcome here. We're suffering a multi-year drought. Even more rain would be a great thing.

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It was a nice weekend day around our house. We racked up a few long-standing household projects, ran some errands, and made a very nice dinner. Not bad.

I spent some quality time with our little boy today, teaching him to install cut-off valves on all of our showers. OK, not so much "teaching him" as "asking him to hand me stuff," but it was great fun.

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This evening, I engaged in a little "food therapy" again. I made a wonderful pureed asparagus soup, from a recipe by our very favorite TV chef, Jamie Oliver. Some onion, celery and leak gets sauteed, then in goes stock and the chopped stalks of a huge pile of asparagus. It boils for some time, until the asparagus is cooked nicely, then the lot gets pureed. Back into the pot, and in go the tips of all those asparagus spears. Once heated, it goes into bowls, along with a slice of toasted bread and a poached egg. Oh man. This recipe is a KEEPER. Thanks, Jamie.

But, I need a better phrase than "food therapy." I need something that blends one part organic fresh vegetables, one part making quality food for my family, and one part mind-calming knifework. "Vegi-tation" (Veggie + Meditation) would be good...if it weren't already a word. Come on, Drakonis...you're the verbal gymnast and punster extraordinaire...lend me a hand here. :-)

Food log:

Breakfast: a piece of French toast with strawberry jam instead of syrup. Strawberries.

Lunch: Half a Oro Blanco grapefruit (yum!). A carrot, cut into sticks, with some roasted red pepper hummus. A slice of whole grain toast with butter.

Dinner: asparagus soup, with toasted bread and a poached egg laid into the bowl right before serving. YUM.

Snacks: split a small bag of trail mix with my daughter. One Tagalong Girl Scout cookie.