Yesterday I slept late; today I woke up way too early. I guess that evens out to normal. But 4:30 a.m. on a Sunday: ugh. It just sounds bad.

Still, it's not, in truth, an unpleasant hour . . . a dim sky slowly brightening, birdsong crashing through the underbrush. And yesterday turned out to be an unexpected play day, so I can't complain about not having enough rest. At about 9 a.m. I asked T if he wanted to go to the fish market with me, and he said yes, but did I want to go for a stroll along the waterfront first?, and I said yes, so we donned our straw hats and drove to the Eastern Prom, parked the car, and walked down the hill to the trail. Already the city was buzzing: swimmers at the beach, bay full of sailboats, walkers and runners and cyclists and dog walkers thronging the walkway, which hugs the beach and the marina on one side, the narrow gauge sightseeing train on the other, and pours out onto Commercial Street, a hive of Saturday-morning tourists. We stopped for coffee and ice tea, then stepped down to Custom House Wharf to the fish market; bought scallops and mackerel for the grill (plus a pound of fiddleheads, plus cod for tonight) and ambled back to our car through the busy crowd. Drove to the Italian market; bought wine and pappardelle and good olive oil and pancetta and cannoli and slabs of Sicilian pizza for lunch. Came home and ate said pizza outside in our shady yard. Then, full of sunshine and pizza, fell asleep. Afterward, sorted through T's suggestions for cover photos for my next collection. Idled around with a few light chores--watering the garden, folding laundry. Turned on the radio for baseball, started the wood fire in the fire pit, played cribbage. Talked to our kid on the phone. Wrapped scallops in pancetta and skewered them with cherry tomatoes. Stuffed the mackerel with lemon rind and rosemary. Grilled the seafood. Steamed the fiddleheads and tossed them with olive oil, green onion, balsamic vinegar, and garden greens. Ate all of this outside with candlelight and glasses of rose. Then came inside and did the dishes and corralled the cat and watched The Thin Man and ate cannoli.

This silly overindulgence, entirely unplanned, happened merely because I'd asked T if he wanted to run an errand with me. What luck! But it was lovely to have a play day together, not least because there won't be much time for it in the foreseeable future. I'll be in class for most of today, then midweek I'll be heading to Vermont to see my family, meaning that next weekend will perforce be stuffed with catching-up chores. 

I am looking forward to this class, though. It's an entirely new one--I've never taught any version of it before, and I am eager to learn how it will unfold in this large gathering. One good thing is that I won't just be teaching; I'll be making new drafts along with everyone else, and I'm hoping for a notebook full of surprise.