Wouldn’t it be nice?

Dear friends,

Wouldn’t it be nice to spend a quiet Sunday at home?

The kind of Sunday that starts with a run (because you’re determined to stay on track)?

The kind that is spent mostly in the kitchen, cooking up a roast beef with mushroom gravy and a potato cake with tart apple and Jarlsberg cheese, both of which make you thank your lucky stars for leftovers?

The kind where you write sappy sentiments on Valentines cards and wrap gifts and then tell your teenagers to open them today, because who needs to wait until Tuesday?

The kind where your favorite guy says Wow when he sees the dinner table and Oh My God when he eats your lemon-coconut cake, then eats another piece immediately?

The kind where you and your peeps — after stuffing yourselves silly — gather ’round the television to watch the Grammys so that your children rave about some group you’ve never heard of and you rave about the Beach Boys and remind the youngsters that Brian Wilson is a musical genius you listened to on vinyl?

Maybe if we think and wish and hope and pray . . . it might come true.

With gratitude {for Sundays at home that remind me life is even better than a love song},

Joan, who went to bed Sunday night with a mile-wide smile on her face but was too exhausted to blog about her Valentine’s supper until another day

Getting busy getting blissy.

Dear friends,

For me, Saturday equals bliss. And this Saturday was as blissy as they get. And it was full. It was blissy-full, to coin a term that will never catch on but I’m going to put it out there anyway.

I started my day with . . . wait for it . . . a RUN! I’ve been such a couch potato for the last 60 days, which probably explains why a blue moon has been orbiting my world. So, inspired by Phoo-D’s comment on yesterday’s post, I conveniently selected the coldest day of winter so far (11 degrees with a 15-20 mph wind) to get off my butt and hit the road for 4 1/2 miles. My dogs Ed (Golden Retriever) and Frito (Chihuahua) went with me. Frito, with his short legs and meager coat, said to-heck-with-it about a mile in and went home. But Ed, who’s kind of a show-off, stuck with me the whole way. I’m pretty sure when we got home he teased Frito unmercifully.

Next I had a phone conference about work matters. We’ll just pretend that didn’t happen, okay, because discussing budget problems on a Saturday morning is not really blissy, now is it? And, honestly, it should be outlawed in the name of all that’s good and right for the world.

Then I drove to town to pick up a few things, including a pit-stop for craft items. I’m in the midst of unpacking my paper crafting supplies and setting up a work space. I’ve got a little idea percolating in my brain that’s part art (read: joy) and part friendship (read: gratitude) and I needed a few more things to get it kicked off. I also grocery shopped for a special Valentine’s dinner tomorrow night.

I came home and spent an hour or so puttering in my dish pantry, trying out various table settings for tomorrow night’s dinner. I think I settled on this one.

I wrote a long letter to an old friend back home. I’m going to enclose it in a Valentine and hope it gives her a much-needed boost. She’s been having a hard time the last few weeks and I wish I could give her a hug.

I read a decorating magazine that came in the mail, but I fell asleep before I finished it. I napped for two hours because, well, probably because I ran for the first time in a month. I slept so hard I woke up not knowing what day it was. Fortunately, I quickly remembered it was Saturday and immediately got my bliss back on.

I made lemon curd for two cakes I’m planning to bake on Sunday — one for my family and one for my colleagues who deserve a celebration for reaching a goal. Go team!

I watched a television special about Soul Train with Mr. Mom and Parker. I told Parker I used to dress and dance exactly like the Soul Train dancers but he didn’t believe me. Then I told him I’m still in love with Tina Turner and he left the room.

I perused a few more of my rescued computer files and found two things that made my heart sing: a recipe for something so inredibly good I’m making it tomorrow (and can’t wait to tell you about it next week), and this photo of my daughter and her (at the time) brand new puppy, Sweatpea.

Sweatpea was Kate’s 13th birthday present. Kate turns 19 next month.  Notice I’m keeping my blissy face on. Your advice after this post really helped.

Your advice always helps. Which is why I got busy getting blissy. Hey! There’s a new phrase that could change your world: get busy getting blissy. You’re welcome.

With gratitude {for friends who actually show up to read about my Saturday silliness},

Joan, who, in all seriousness, wanted to be an etymologist until she realized it was against union rules to make up new words

A most wonderful day.

Dear Friends,

I took the day off on Friday and it was a most wonderful day.

Sometimes all you need for wonderful is different.  If you work, a day at home can be lovely. If you stay at home, getting out can be exhilarating. A change of pace nudges us out of our ruts, stimulates our senses, and reminds us what we really enjoy when given the opportunity.

In my case, there was nothing earth-shattering about my most wonderful day. I spent the morning catching up on ironing, followed by a thorough cleaning and reorganization of my closet. (The former has been my nemesis ever since I lost my ironing lady; the latter was eight months overdue. Basically, when we moved into our new house, I crammed everything in my closet willy-nilly and figured I’d deal with it later. Later finally arrived yesterday.)

Look at the results:

I’m just enough Type A that nothing makes me more peaceful and content than organized closets, cupboards and drawers. Check out another view:

Photos via iPhone and Picnik

Before yesterday, my scarves were jammed in a too-small drawer, making them terminally wrinkled and impossible to find. Thanks to Mr. Mom, I now have a handy and accessible place to hang them. (Nothing more than a curtain rod, but it works!)

I have a plan to redecorate my closet, but I haven’t implemented it yet. I picked out wallpaper, a new rug, a new light fixture and art because I believe even closet decor should delight us, but I’ve gotten sidetracked on other projects. Someday, though.

After finishing my not-quite-spring cleaning, Mr. Mom and I went to town. (I love saying “go to town,” because it implies we live in the country, which we’ve always dreamed of doing. Actually, we live on a golf course, but with a 14-acre backyard that includes woods and a stream, it feels like the country.) We dropped off a load of gently used clothes for a local church, ate lunch at our favorite cheap Mexican restaurant, and went grocery shopping.

We were home by 2:00 pm, which gave me plenty of time to read a new magazine and nap. And who wouldn’t feel okay about napping after cleaning and grocery shopping? Especially since I still had dinner on the table by 6:30 pm — rosemary roast chicken, orzo with Italian tomatoes and Parmesan, and green beans.

Afterwards Mr. Mom and I settled in for an evening of Australian Open tennis. (With John Isner eliminated today, there’s no American male in the 4th round of singles for the first time in four decades. What, pray tell, is to become of American tennis? I’d speculate, but this is a happy post and I don’t wish to digress into unhappy territory.)

I’m sure there’s somebody out there thinking my version of wonderful is lame-o. But here’s the deal: I didn’t worry over budgets; I didn’t have to solve anybody’s customer service problem; there were no personnel issues to deal with; and no “we-need-it-yesterday” requests to scramble to meet. It was just me, Mr. Mom, a sleepy cat, a whistling bird, and three rambunctious dogs. The sky was grey and the wind was bitterly cold on this mid-winter day, but all was warm and bright (and tidy) in my corner of the universe. And tomorrow, I shall bake!

With gratitude {for a tiny change of pace otherwise known as a day off},

Joan, who as she types has a pup dozing on her left, a cat snoozing on her right, a glass of wine beside her, the love of her life making chili pepper popcorn, and who wonders if bliss gets any blissier