When yesterday turned out to be a day that did not exactly match what the weather forecast said on my cell phone, Bill was the first to ask, "Do you want to go for a drive?"
It was not yet noon. He had come home from work, and I had worked on pretty much every project possible for a really rainy, ugly day.
That included taking pictures of rainy-day stuff around the place and quitting as soon as my jacket weighted me down with wetness.
So, you know my answer. Of course!
Bill also picked our route, and I happily agreed, noting that we hadn't gone that direction for some time.
Lakeshore Drive, Morton Slough, Jewel Lake and even a couple of spur roads kept us gawking at dreary scenery for about three hours as we sat inside the dry pickup.
Occasionally, the rain would stop, even in a couple of places where we could get out and walk around.
I had never been to the Morton Slough boat launch, complete with restroom before.
Just as we pulled in, the rain ceased, allowing us to walk the sandy shoreline of the Pend Oreille River.
Bill suggested that this might be a good place to bring our kayaks in the summer. I agreed.
We also drove past a frozen Jewel Lake and, later turned into the Round Lake campground, where dozens of fairly new picnic tables sit propped against the trees.
Bill pointed out areas where blowdown from a severe windstorm last year right around the beginning of the Pandemic left the place looking like a war zone.
He also noted that hardly a picnic table was damaged in spite of logs falling every which way but loose.
Once again, just getting out of the house in search of something . . . anything pretty on a rainy, gloomy day turned out to be just the antidote for making it through one more day of what often seems like the endless winter season.
We haven't had it too bad this year, with very few days looking like yesterday or like Sunday.
Still, those days require a bit of extra effort in maintaining good moods and filling up time with something memorable.
We succeeded yesterday.
A couple of quotes I read in the New York Times newsletter this morning, offering a dose of hope along with the essential Pandemic ingredient called caution.
We have reached a potential turning point, when Covid-19 deaths could start declining and never again reach their earlier highs.
Like many with Irish blood who watch CNN, Bill and I have become almost instant fans of Donie O'Sullivan, whom you know that the moment that you see him and hear him talk, he's the real deal when it comes to an Irishman.
Donie's reporting specializes in tech and social media and how it affects our society in general.
He is currently focusing on groups inspired by the Internet, some in very dangerous and disturbing ways.
Donie takes a calm approach to this danger while letting the stories tell themselves without his injecting judgment.
This morning's post demonstrates both his skill with this tough subject and his empathy.
Looks like we might be spared of rain today and for the next few days of February.
I'll take it.
Happy Wednesday.
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