“The richness of the rain made me feel safe and protected;
I have always considered the rain to be healing—a blanket—the comfort of a friend.”
Douglas Coupland

It rained yesterday, beautiful, heavy, dirt-soaking rain. And for a while the world was dark and cozy and wild and stormy and downright wonderful.

So we made it a day of simple pleasures: no internet, no phones, no computers. Just me and Bear spending time together doing little things we love.

We treated ourselves to a humdinger of a breakfast with extra hash browns, a side of pancakes, and both coffee AND hot chocolate. We were ravenous after two days spent building fences and planting nearly 70 tree cuttings.

We went treasure-hunting at our favorite thrift store and junk shop and found all sorts of great things: storage racks for his tools and my wood-burning equipment, hardwood planks for building my greenhouse, and some lovely old china dishes from England.

china bowl from England

We went to the hardware store to get our new ladder and the last bits needed to finish off the orchards, and found a treasure trove of winter veggie seedlings for a song. We picked up groceries, Blood Orange and Tahitian Lime Trees for our citrus orchard, and a stack of inspiring books from the library. The titles alone send our imaginations whirring.

self-sufficiency books

We had our weekly date at the bakery, indulging in leisurely visits, cheesy quiche, and sips of ice cold sarsaparilla to cool us off in the blistering heat after the storm.

After such a wonderful but tiring day in town, I like to keep things simple on the food front, raiding the pantry for things that taste good, fill us up, but require no preparation. This does the trick nicely.

simple lunch

What is your favorite simple meal after a day out? xo