Quiet Comforts

Today was a day-off from school. MLK, Jr. Day. My hubby and I had a slow start to the day but once we got going, we got quite a bit done. Our garage has looked like a collection site for a while. From my mother to T's brother to our kids, people have given us things to share with others. We also have cleaned out a lot of very good but seldom-used items of our own and today - it was time. We filled the back of the Explorer and headed out to share the goodness. I still have one large bag of beautiful draperies in the back of the SUV that I will give to one of my colleagues tomorrow. It's destined for her in-laws who had their house burn down 18 months ago and are now in a new home. They still need a lot of stuff so we help when we can.

Then it was time to grocery shop. Since this is not one of my favorite activities, I tend to just rush through things. Now that we're on this fast, it takes a lot more thought and label-reading. We began at the Top Food store, which has beautiful produce and a ton of organic foods. Then we went to Trader Joe's, which was mobbed! We kept searching for mint at Bayview Market, and although they didn't have any, they did have a great little deli where we had vegetable soup, cole slaw, and hummus for lunch while gazing out the big picture windows at Puget Sound and the snow-covered Olympic Mountains. Such beauty! Heading closer to home, we found mint at Ralph's Thriftway and continued on to Lowe's to search out chandelier lightbulbs and door-stoppers. I know, big spenders! One more stop at Costco for water, nuts, dried fruit, and gas, and we were finally able to head home.

Both of us snoozed by the fire for a bit and then I made a new recipe, Easy Creamy Cilantro Penne. It was so good! I have been finding more ideas for our meals in the Vegan section of the web-based recipe sites. I used organic whole-grain penne for this recipe.

Our tranquil evening continued, reading by the fire. We sat in our living room, fire burning, and read for three quiet hours. I would say silent but we had music playing. It was lovely. I've started tracking the books I'm reading in 2011, something I haven't done before. Tonight I finished rereading The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson. I want to encourage a few of my students to give it a try but it had been so long since I had been through it that I thought I'd better give it a read. Love it still. So here's what I've read so far this year:

1. Essays 1: First Series - Ralph Waldo Emerson (love Emerson!)
2. Stuck in the Middle (Sister to Sister) by Virginia Smith (Christian fiction: so-so)
3. Deeper Water by Robert Whitlow (Christian mystery: okay)
4. Hide in Plain Sight by Marta Perry (Christian mystery, based in Amish country: I really liked it)
5. Little Women by Louisa May Alcott (for the 50th time, still love it!)
6. The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (brilliant!)
7. The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson (magic!)

I'm also in the middle of a YA civil war novel... cannot remember the title for the life of me, but it is going to be a good choice for the novel studies starting tomorrow. I started reading it at school last Wednesday and haven't been able to get back to it. I have several of Jane Austen's works that I want to read again as well as many other classics that I'm eager to re-visit. This is comfort food, just like penne pasta and a fire in the fireplace. A perfect day.