My Version Of A Rest Day (and a very cute visitor)

So yesterday was my first full day of vacation (Saturday I was still wrapping up chores and jobs). I thought, "Cool. Let's make it a Day Of Rest."

Of course, when you are resting, you must have something yummy to snack on, yes? So I made a pan of Apricot Bars. These things are amazing. There is a reason I only make them once or twice a year. Serious oatmeal-brown-sugar-apricot goodness.

Then I read for a bit. Then I went to the library. Oh, and to the drugstore and the grocery store. But only to get ingredients for my fabulous dinner experiment (trying to teach myself how to cook passable Indian food).

I got home from my (enjoyable, it must be added) errands and decided to do my sewing project. Last winter our living room was so cold. So I thought this year that we ought to have big snuggly down comforters to curl up in, and we could use them as either guest bedding or extra covers on our bed for when it got really cold.

So I bought inexpensive down comforters from IKEA (at $30 each, you really can't beat it) and decided to use one of the top sheets from this king set I had laying around. The bottom sheet had started to pill pretty badly, so we weren't going to use the set anymore, but the top sheet was still just fine and such a pretty color.

So I folded it sideways, trimmed and sewed and did ribbon ties for the closure, and ta-da! The best thing about using the sheet was that there was no hemming involved!! (the gorgeous quilt on the back of my chair is my double-wedding-ring quilt that my talented mother made for me. It's one of my most-prized possessions. You can see that I did not quite inherit her talent for sewing)

(it was 85+ degrees yesterday, so I pretty much thought I was crazy for working on a down comforter, but today it's in the low 60s and I'm all curled up in it as I write this, so my efforts definitely paid off)

After sewing, I remembered that I needed to finish this birthday card for Terri's dad, who grew up near the Borax factory (and did some work at the borax mines). You know, 20-Mule Team and all that? We visited the area a few years ago and it was very beautiful. So I worked on this card for awhile. Have to finish it up today. (shh! don't tell. I'm hoping he doesn't read my blog)

And what next to do except start on my dinner experiment? I had gotten an Indian cookbook from the library (660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer) and decided to make a favorite dish of ours, Aloo Gobi (curried cauliflower and potatoes). It turned out VERY well, really yummy. I also made saffron/cardamom rice to go with it.

After my day of "rest" I was totally worn out (but happy).

**

And also, Saturday we had a very cute doctor come to the house for a specialized sort of therapy.

Golden Retriever Therapy. It's very effective, you know. Cures all ills, turns frowns upside down. (see? Here he is, showing us how, with a little help from Terri's sister)

Dr. Bluto, at your service.