One of Those Days

[My morning cuppa, January 2009.]

Today is one of those days -- you know the ones, when it's nearly impossible to tear yourself out of bed because the rain is pattering quietly down (how we need it) and it's warm and quiet and cozy inside. It's a day when your sweet little computer bites the dust and you just know it will take some sort of extraordinary miracle (or handy coworker) to resurrect it -- and you'd just rather not have to. Much easier to pull the covers up a little higher and pretend it's a Sunday in October right before the time change, when the light is all blue-gold filtering through the blinds and the sun shines until nearly 7:30 p.m, than pack a bag and go through the drops to the bus.

But then again, maybe Fridays aren't really so bad when it comes down to it. First of all, it's Friday, the second-best day of the week (the first-best of course being Saturday, because it's a whole day off with another to follow; and have you ever heard of the Saturday night blues? Heck no.). There is a coffee purchase on the way in to the office (and conversation with the nice Italian lady who compliments your new bag and calls you cara and bella without fail, and with whom you commiserate on the early hour, mutual cranky moods, the rain, and a longing for the weekend already). There is a delicious lunch of pasta with squash, mushrooms, spinach, tomato sauce, and faux sausage. There are tangerines from the farmers' market for a mid-afternoon snack. There are a few days coming up in Sonoma County and brunch and running if it's not too wet along the back roads. There are new books to read. There is a chat with your brother, who phones just to say hi (swooon!).

There is, too, a leftover slice of chocolate cake which might be the very best bit of all.

[Lisa's birthday cake, January 2009.]

Monday night I had a wee dinner party -- just three girlfriends over to celebrate a birthday. I invited them early, at 6, thinking we'd clear away everything in a few hours and be in bed by 10. Well, we sat chatting around the table until nearly 11 and I love those kind of nights, when time passes so quickly and comfortably that you almost wish it wasn't so because you're having such a nice time. I haven't thrown a sort of spontaneous dinner gathering in a long time, and I think I must do so more often; I really only cooked for a couple of hours, managing to also squeeze in a half-hour on the roof with my book in between the vegetable scrubbing and salad making.

The menu

cheese and crackers and bread and olives

spinach-garlic souffle
green salad
roasted cauliflower

roasted potatoes
green beans sauteed with lemon zest and pine nuts

chocolate cake and ice cream

I love a party, even more so when it's mellow and simple and sweet. Of course, having a bit of cake leftover is just the proverbial (and literal?) icing.

So Friday, oh delicious Friday with your empty evening and few free days stretching ahead like a gift, I'm sorry I was not in the best of spirits this morning. To make up for it, I shall ply you with cake every week if it will make you come around a little faster. Wednesday night was lovely, with pizza and wine and a catch-up, there was a great run on Tuesday, and Thursday marked the discovery of a bookstore in Noe Valley devoted solely to books about food (!!) -- but Friday, darling, you are my very favorite no matter what. Even if you're one of those days.