In praise of a perfect day

This is a post in praise of the perfect day. Today, I awoke to a bright blue sky (well, actually, I awoke to somebody--a wrong phone number somebody--calling my cell phone at 8am on a Saturday, but I digress) and a day almost completely without plans. I've been intentionally low-key lately, trying to recover from my tuberculin cough and my first week at a new job, so it was a great thrill to have the entire day free.

In the morning, I paid a visit to the humble, lovely Alemany Farmers' Market, which happily seems to have more vendors this spring than ever before. I bought pencil-thin asparagus and a chocolate croissant, had my knives sharpened (finally!), and got a hot tip about the best farm fresh eggs, sold by the olive oil vendor. He doesn't advertise them--he just has a basket in the back and sells them to those in the know. The best part is how he packs them up for you--tenderly tucking them into a brown paper sack lined with hay. Charming! I can't wait until breakfast tomorrow.

Then I had a long, leisurely lunch with a good friend, the kind of lunch that stretches through the afternoon--the kind of lunch that you daydream about when life is hectic. A lunch with a glass of white wine, a glorious abundance of fresh salads, cured meats, and good conversation, followed by an excellent ice cream cone. If there was some way to stop time, I would have stopped it for a couple of hours today.

It's spring here, now, no doubt about it. Tomorrow we'll turn our clocks forward, revel in the warm weather and extra sunshine and look forward to the happiest days of summer.