I'm typing this from our deck, where I've been sitting in my bright orange adirondack chair, sipping coffee and knitting. It's a gorgeous Monday, which feels like Sunday, as these holidays often do. In the shade it's just cool enough to warrant a light sweatshirt. This feels like heaven. It has been, in fact, a fabulous weekend all around. Although we had a little difficulty readjusting to reality after returning from the rainforest early last week, it seems we brought home with us a lesson or two about really unplugging.
On Saturday, I turned ten. That is, I celebrated ten years of sobriety. In a row! And my husband, to mark the occasion, spent the day spoiling me to death, starting with breakfast in bed. He delivered to me a tray with a warm come-undone bun from Zingerman's, a ridiculous concoction of a sourdough boule studded throughout with big chunks of dark chocolate and a piping hot latte. Plus, one perfect sunflower and one perfect stargazer lily laid on the tray to perfect effect. (The remainder of each bunch was in the kitchen and would later appear in the living room arranged in vases.) In the afternoon, we had lunch at Zingerman's (seriously, they're not sponsoring this entry!) and it was a perfect day for people watching. It wasn't overcrowded, thank goodness, since it was the Wolverines' first game but still reflective of the swollen population now that school's back in session.
We capped that off with a brief meander through the Saturday farmer's market, still packed at 1 in the afternoon and strolling in and out of the Kerrytown shops. Then I was dropped off at the Relax Station for a 75-minute massage. Too decadent! (Best of all, the therapist was really good at myofascial release which, as you may know, is not entirely pleasant but very helpful to those of us in pain.)
That evening, Chris had made reservations at Eve in Kerrytown. I have to say it was sublime. Everything about the place and was perfect, from the cozy atmosphere to the service to the food itself. Really a lovely treat and well worth splurging on if you're in town.
As if that wasn't enough -- as if any of that wasn't enough -- when we got home, Chris showered me with gifts. How many women can claim a husband who buys them great shoes? All you have to do is witness my green suede Merrell moccasins and you know I'm one of them. My packages also included a gorgeous Motawi tile. I've been aching for one for ages and now have kick-started my collection.
I didn't need all the fuss and adulation. The milestone is, after all, its own reward. But, damn if I didn't enjoy every minute of it. And, yes, I do know how lucky I am.
We've since spent the rest of the weekend hanging out, doing the errands that people do. Yesterday, we hit Target and we decided to tackle our joined problem with wrinkedyness by investing in one of those clothes steamers. I cannot express how much fun I had yesterday afternoon, steaming the hell out of everything within reach, like an unfilmed infomercial. Few things bring me so much pleasure as a great gadget. What a sucker I am!
Today, Chris is off running more errands of his own. And I am, as I said, sitting quietly on our deck, trying to pretend the noise of the traffic on West Huron is the rush of wind through the leaves of palm trees in the rainforest. (It's not working very well.) But that's okay. We have a nice yellow house, a pine tree in our front yard a zillion miles tall and squirrels getting a little too saucy in the trees. That seems every bit as good.