To say that yesterday was a busy day would be an understatement. But truth is, most of our days are busy. There always seems so much to be done, and to do, routine and also entertaining. The quotidian tasks of maintaining and keeping a house in order, of course, from changing lightbulbs to taking out the trash, cleaning bathrooms and preparing meals. Not to mention attention given to the needs and wants of two little dogs.

And then there are the out-of-house issues that must be dealt with, from shopping to doctors' appointments, banking, and any number of other things popping up continually. Yesterday, in between doing the laundry, I went through my clothes cupboard to bag items of apparel that I haven't worn in a long time and likely never will again. I put together old, post-prescription and non-prescription eyeglasses, wrapping them carefully in a towel. I set aside pieces of costume jewellery that are extraneous to my wardrobe, and packaged everything to be taken to the Salvation Army second-hand shop.

My husband had weeks ago gone through the books in our library to select those that we consider non-essential; mostly novels and crime thrillers, favoured by him. He ended up with ten boxes of books and we took them along to the Sally Ann as well, relieved to be rid of them taking up space on our bookshelves. Non-fiction, history and art books have a hallowed place on those shelves.

He'd gone out in the very early afternoon to run a number of errands. Primarily to return videos to the public library, to stop in at the bank, and to go to the Dollar Store for bungie cords. He needed to secure the large plastic bags placed over the urns in the garden in preparation for the real onset of winter. He was away quite a long time.

While he was out I prepared a Cole Slaw salad  for dinner that night, because I was also intending to do a small beef roast, for a change. Along with trying out a new idea I'd read for roasted potatoes; cut in large chunks, parboiled, dusted with flour, salt and pepper, placed on a pre-heated oiled pan in the oven and crisped all over. My husband enjoys baked apples so I stuffed an apple with raisins, cinnamon and brown sugar and baked it. And then decided to bake a batch of crisp gingerbread cookies, meaning to for awhile, but until yesterday, hadn't gotten around to it.

He still wasn't home, and the puppies were getting restless, since it was about the time we'd normally get ourselves out for a romp through the ravine trails with them. Then he called from the library, said he was just checking out some videos (we watch a video together on Saturday nights) and would be soon home, so that was relieving.

When he did get home, he sniffed the aromatic essence of baked cookies, and said how good the house smelled. Then he told me he had three books for me, bought from the Friends of the Library group that sell books the library is de-acquisitioning, as well as donated books. He knows my taste in books, and they're titles that are of huge interest to me, both historical and first-hand accounts of world events and certain geographic expeditions.

And then, sheepishly, he showed me other things he'd bought; two wool sweaters for him and two for me. I'm conflicted about woollen sweaters. They're warm and comfortable, yes, but they require special care, having to be hand-washed and laid flat to dry. There's nothing like cotton or synthetic materials that can be tossed into the washing machine and dryer. But these were beautiful sweaters, and he'd chosen them from Value Village. He likes that place and I detest it; I'd rather shop at the Sally Ann. He thinks he knows my taste in clothing, too, and often brings home really nice things for me, but just as often I can't stand the things he's selected and back they go. Sixty-four years of marriage and knowing one another beyond intimately doesn't guarantee perfect accord, but it should result in patience and appreciation, and for us, it does.

So we did get Jackie and  Jillie out to the ravine. It was a cold, very windy, heavily overcast day. Despite which, they and we enjoyed our tryst navigating the icy trails through the forest.