I’m a bit tired today. I flew to Columbia and back yesterday, and I’ve been writing a lot. It’s a gray, rainy day; perfect for staying in. It’s also a tad blustery, but nice and cool, so I have the Greys out on the front porch. They seem to be enjoying the air and and watching the cars go by.

I offered my hand to see if they wanted to come in but “no dice.” They wanted to stay out there and watch the world.

I enjoy days like these. I can hole up in the house and not feel guilty about spending time with my birds and get some writing done. My excuse is, “For cripes sake, I just went to South America and back yesterday.” I usually brew some “Red Zinger” tea and  stop to occasionally sweep up after the birds, dust something and vacuum just a bit:

Maybe I can tidy up the living room while I’m at it, and get the laundry ready for tomorrow. I’d do it today, but my neighbor lost her laundry card, borrowed mine and hasn’t returned it yet. And as long as I’m dusting, I should probably get after the bathroom floor and give that a good going over.

I have no idea what I’m making for dinner, but it will probably involve making some sort of soup. I like soup on rainy, lazy days like this. I was reading a book yesterday and there was a passage about “Dan Dan Noodles,”  a Chinese noodle dish served in a bowl with green onions, sesame seed oil and hot chili oil with whatever else you want to throw in there. Maybe I can whip up something like that.

When I was in college, I would run errands in the afternoon. After the lunch rush, I would stop into a small restaurant with my pad of paper and pen, and order a cup of cappuccino. This “fancy coffee thing”was fairly new to me at the time, and to me there was nothing better than to sit in this deserted restaurant and write while I sipped my coffee.

Long before laptops and Starbucks, it seemed that I had found not only my favorite past time, but my lot in life as a writer. It wasn’t so much that I wanted to write, it was because I had to write. It certainly wasn’t anything of any consequence. I don’t even  remember what I was writing about and I don’t think it really matters. All that matters was that I was having fun.

In the fast-paced world we live in today, a rainy day when everything seems to slow down is a pleasant interlude from the breakneck speed we all seem to have adjusted to. And I intend to take advantage of it. Pepper seems to be diving into her water bowl in honor of the rain, so perhaps they should have a shower.

I even baked some “Birdie Bread.”

Yup, There’s nothing like a lazy, rainy day.