2023-11-12: the day before my day off

remembrance day was yesterday and i get tomorrow off in lieu. my partner doesn't, so i'm sort of mentally preparing a plan of what i want to do with my quiet day: write; go for a long walk with the dogs; read a book, start to finish. tonight we made a huge pot of creamy chicken chili (spooned into bowls, topped with shredded cheese and cilantro, scooped with tortilla chips). so, no need to worry about making supper tomorrow. or the day after. after she leaves, i can curl up on the couch with a book and the dogs. reading first.

this weekend was exactly what i needed: a lot of time and space. we have a bad habit of loading up our weekends with tasks and social dates. this weekend we just took the dogs for long walks yesterday and today; gave them a bath today, too, since the temperature went up above freezing, and they were consequently covered in mud. i went out to the bookstore yesterday, got us a couple new books each. swung by the fancy burger place for supper. we curled up on the couch and watched a few more episodes of fall of the house of usher. after we bathed the dogs today and my partner called her parents, i did some laundry, some vacuuming, a little light cleaning. the evening stretches outward. i'm blessed for time.

i need to practice tomorrow too, both fiddle and guitar. i've been falling behind, knowing i have this day where i can spend an hour or two on each instrument. here's hoping i get back on track. i guess it depends how fast i can read that book, whether the poem comes. we'll see, we'll see. my day off surprisingly full.

postscript: it is diwali; there are all kinds of fireworks going off around the house. my younger dog barked for a minute, but has settled down, gone back to sleep. this is growth.

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