When dawn lights up the bedroom it isn't all that hard to get out of bed; the day beckons. When, as this morning, it's yet another dusky morning that greets groggy eyes, you just turn back over and resume sleep. Just too comfortable to get up, missing that incentive. What's another hour or two in bed, after all? And Jackie and Jillie seem to be similarly inclined. So we snoozed away. At the risk of shortening the day. 

It was raining mightily, and that rain continued without let-up well into the afternoon. It's comfortable seated in the breakfast room, viewing the copious sheets of rain  hitting the canopy of the deck's covering, enjoying breakfast, reading the newspapers, no hurry about anything. Oh yes, the laundry was being done, but the machines do all that. And somehow you squeeze the folding and carrying of fresh laundry upstairs into what's left of the morning hours, alongside making up the bed with fresh linen, and freshening up the bathrooms.

I could hardly believe it last night when the fluffy-white mound of Kokuho Rose rice sitting in a bowl alongside the dish with Irving's stir-fry portion of last night's dinner disappeared. He does love rice, but not all rice; it must be that special rice; memories of Japan. I like stir-fry but would trade the bean sprouts for broccoli pieces any old day. And he did pleasing justice to the entire meal, including the chicken pieces I had marinated before stir-frying them separately though they were served over the vegetables. He always saves two pieces of whatever he's eating for Jackie and Jillie.

After breakfast we went our separate ways once we took Jackie and Jillie out to the sodden backyard again; Irving downstairs to his workshop to continue doing his stained glass drawings, and me plodding on with the laundry. But when the rain paused and then stopped, so did we. And with rain gear on, out we went into a cool 11C day, heavily overcast and promising to rain again. 

Unsurprisingly the rain-varnished foliage looked sharper and brighter in the overcast skies' dim light. Leafs fairly glitter; those on the forest floor cup the rain as though in a homage to nature. The landscape has been well scoured, nature's idea of tidying up. The creek is full again, spuming and spurting down and over the forest floor.

We saw two other people out; a young man with his giant of a standard poodle, a huge version of Jackie, but far better behaved. And a woman we know who lives a bit of a distance from us in the wider community whose house backs onto the ravine giving her and her two dogs -- she was looking after one of her daughters' dogs today -- easy access to the forest trails that begin right behind her house; one of many access points throughout the forest.

She's a cheerful woman by nature, but what she expressed to us -- Irving really -- because my hearing is so badly impaired, was a hugely stressful situation. Her husband who we haven't seen in quite a while is now retired and suffering clinical depression. She continues to work, mostly from home, and often looks after her grandchildren as well as doing everything in the house because her husband has lost interest in everything. 

I stand nearby like an idiot, grinning, shaking my head in agreement if I think I hear some familiar words, but end up misconstruing everything. Having to stand at a distance doesn't much help the situation. Irving was sympathetic to her plight; he always is that way with people. And he likes this woman, her cheerful, optimistic attitude and obvious zest for life. So he listens, nods and comments; rationally, helpfully, not like I do, just trying to leave the impression that I hear everything, when I don't.

When we returned home, I continued emptying the clothes dryer (an average of four loads on Thursdays, one load of towels and other linen on Sundays) and preparing for dinner. On this occasion I took out of the refrigerator a cookie batter I had mixed up before we left; double chocolate-chip cookies, and set about baking them. And preparing a side of salmon for dinner tonight, with oven-baked potato chips and a vegetable salad.