It might as well be Spring


It was 60 degrees in Davis today. At this time last year it was cold and very wet. We have had virtually no rain all winter. It's getting serious and the weather man says no rain in sight.

Last night the Patient and I celebrated all kinds of things, not only our marital endurance but also his successful treatment and return to health. After a tiny sip of the bubbly he couldn't drink any more so I was forced to finish the bottle. It was luscious, I don't mind telling you. But I woke up with a titanic headache this morning, parched beyond recent experience! It was worth every moan I uttered.

Wednesday

When I went back into my office to finish last night's post, the Patient was deep into reading his favorite right-wing posts, so I did not disturb him. So now, to continue . . .

Today was my day for retail therapy. After a lovely early morning walk through the cold and misty streets of Davis with my friend Georgette, I zipped up to Sacramento to do a bit of selfish indulgence and loved every minute of it.

For dinner tonight I cooked some lovely fish -- True Cod -- which the Patient managed to get down, along with some warmed-over potato (his choice) and a tiny bit of green salad. Probably 200 calories. But he washed it all down with his new best friend, Belgian beer. He wants some pudding of some kind, not the instant type but something cooked. So perhaps tomorrow I'll do a very eggy bread pudding that he can nibble at. This month Martha has some wonderful pudding recipes, both the bake-in-the-over-in-a-water-bath type and the steamed type. (I tried to find the exact section from this month's magazine but cannot find a link. You'll have to go to the library and check them out in the February issue.) Tomorrow afternoon will be the Pudding Hour. The Patient hasn't decided exactly what kind he wants but it will be something very soft with no crunchy fruit or nuts. Perhaps we will settle on a basic bread pudding with some currants or raisins, like Spotted Dick.

Tomorrow we see the head and neck surgeon. If all is as we think it will be, the next chore is to start packing for the grand getaway on February 27. Since we will be gone only two months we may be able to avoid the usual frenzy of shopping for things we simply must have during our sojourn in the outpost. This time we will just pack up our shorts, enough tea lights to keep us in a romatic mood for sixty days, throw it all in the back of the van and head out. That is a much more sane way to do it. And thanks to NAFTA there is now almost nothing we can't get at one place or another. I'm not sure that is a good idea; I sort of liked the idea that we had to do without certain basics for awhile. That is, of course, if you consider imported Spanish olive oil a basic.