day for the king

There is an expression my father-in-law used often, on a bleak wet day. Unable to work outside, he would declare it a "day for the king" and cards, food and many cups of tea so strong that you could stand the teaspoon in them became the routine.

Today I am having a day for the king. It is bleak, and was raining, after a few glorious days of spring sunshine. My visitors have gone, my car is not back yet, and I am not a bundle of energy. Another day on the couch is in order.

When my "children" leave it is always hard, but this time the intrepid travellers are in a funky aged van and I haven't yet heard that they are safely home. That they are not due home for another couple of days has got nothing to do with it. Mothers are allowed to miss their wandering off-spring!

Usually on a down day I treat myself to a new book, purchased at some airport and stashed for the occasion. Today is not really a down day, and the truth is that my recent purchases are not exactly uplifting. I have spent the day researching on the web instead.

I stumbled upon the blog of a Canadian who lives in Genoa, sharing her life with her Italian mother-in-law while her husband is at sea. The title of the blog caught my imagination, and the rest of the afternoon has disappeared as I read backwards through her blog posts. "Help! I live with my Italian mother-in-law!" is a delightful mix of comment on society, amusing tales and so many anecdotes that are straight out of my life. In my wildest dreams I can't imagine I would ever have an Italian mother-in-law, but I can picture well the snippets she relates.

Piling up on my browser are many of the blog links that she refers to, waiting until after dinner. It's like a good book, I can't put the blog down.

Today I am grateful for time out.