A Perfect Sunday

It started with a visit to what used to be called the “Church of Tim Russert”, the three hours give or take of back-to-back new shows. Today the topic on all networks was the Massachusetts election and its impact on Obama’s presidency. This topic, complex and leading to wild speculation of all kinds, was addressed by White House surrogates, Republican senators, commentators and scholars. I hung on every word as I ate leftover mushroom quiche and downed five cups of coffee.

During the commercials and after the shows ended, I read the Washington Post, my favorite newspaper, saving the online NYT columnists for later.

Paul and I then sat in our little parlor with a blazing fire. Outside it was grey and overcast with two inches of rain projected for the next 24 hours. Daisy slept soundly in her newly washed white fur, smelling much better than she did last night. We listened to an Ipod playlist that includes a song Eliza had recorded and both of us smiled when that number came up.

Later as the fire faded, I revved up the piano and pulled out some old Bach pieces, breaking them down to separate hands and taking them sloooow.

Five o’clock brought a glass of wine and a simple chicken dinner followed by an old Cary Grant/Doris Day movie and an episode of Law and Order Criminal Intent. Then sleep around 9:00. Paul stayed up to see Masterpiece Theater.

When I was young, I would have thought a day like this insufferably boring. Today I thought it perfect. We count our many blessings.

RETRO RESOLUTIONS

It’s so tiresome to make endless resolutions – usually the same ones, year after year, only to find that few or none of them survive more than a month and we end up feeling shitty. This year we’ve decided to do something different and consider the resolutions we have already kept… even though we never made them. We feel so proud. It’s a great way to start 2010.
Here, then, are our resolutions for 2009:

1. Take more risks: On July 11th we left our home in Tucson and traveled 1900 miles to rural West Virginia to buy a home that Paul had only seen on the Internet.

2. Get a new job: I began this new federal job in public health on August 18th, funded by the stimulus, and am still not sure what I do exactly, but I feel like I'm helping the president.

3. Retire: Paul retired officially in June ’09 and is loving the role of full time artist/gentleman farmer.

4. Give the girls their space: I stopped telling Diana and Liza that they should call me more and in 2009 they called me more.

5. Save money: We have only just begun to seriously save. Our total retirement is predicated on very good health and a stable economy, but we are saving.

6. Travel to Europe: On December 29th, we placed a deposit on a 10-day trip to Italy for Late May 2010.

7. Be kinder and gentler: Paul has no issues with this. I, on the other hand, have become irascible with age and often take it out on customer (dis)service representatives. On December 31st, I spoke with a Delta agent about a lost voucher and was nice as pie and the situation was resolved very satisfactorily.

8. Spend more time reading: Paul reads about six hours/day and has for decades. I am finally reading actual books (rather than Newsweek and newspapers) due to the travel time on the train. Resolution kept (had I actually made one).

9. Take the time to do more home cooking: I am rapidly becoming the soup queen of Persimmon Pear Lane (a hard-fought campaign) and have been dusting off the old cookbooks from Rhode Island days. Paul is smiling and appreciating the nod to his French-Canadian culture.

10. Take more photographs: This resolution needs more work. The lovely photo that introduces this blog was actually taken by our friends Don and Kathy , New Year's Eve in 2007. But we still look a lot like this. Even retrospectively, we can’t be perfect. Call it the early Catholic influence.