lazy morning

This morning K arrived just as the heat started to settle in and smother us. We had planned to bike to the farmer's market downtown, but the thought of biking up the long, slow, east-side hill in 100 degree heat seemed unbearable. So we opted for a walk to the Woodstock Library instead where we perused the stacks and loaded up our backpacks with random offerings. I stocked up on a few tomes on pregnancy (Your Vegetarian Pregnancy, for one) and another book on organic housekeeping (I think it is high time to phase out the Comet). I couldn't resist Voltaire's Candide, a book by Wallace Stegner and John Steinbeck's The Moon is Down. I left a giant collection of Thomas Merton's poetry for another visit -it was simply too big to carry.

We trudged up the street under our burden of books and popped in at an ice-cream shop where K indulged in an espresso ice-cream cone and I opted for the baby-happy non-fat frozen yogurt with blueberries. The sun beat down on us and scalded our necks and shoulders as we meandered through our neighborhood, following signs to various garage and estate sales to peruse the merchandise. I scored a green glass vase for the kitchen and a few books for $.25 each (Annie Dillard and Louis Erdrich for me and a book about the Rolling Stone for M). K and I tried on silly sunglasses at one sale, and settled on some outlandish and glamorous shades (hers in red, mine in a pearly shade of white).

Back at home we guzzled water and shared some with the garden -at least the garden seemed happy with the heat, the eggplants expanding their fuzzy empires and the tomatoes sprouting yellow flowers from every limb.

Soon, a sunshine-induced sleepiness settled in and we turned the fan on high and dozed side by side on top of the coverlet. The bedroom was dark, with dappled light dancing on the walls as the trees outside the window swayed. The sound of traffic on the street and BBQs and lawnmowers lulled us into a cozy nap.

K woke with a start at 2pm, just as I began to drift away. She had somewhere to be and gathered up her things to leave. We hugged goodbye and both remarked how comfortable and homey the morning was, just meandering about and surviving the heat together. She said "Maybe its 'cause your pregnant, but it felt like today was just like a summer day when I was a child at my mom's house." And it did kind of feel like that -familiar, easy and comfortable.