What a day this has been, what a rare mood I'm in... it's almost (or actually) like being in love!

Bear and I "stole" a day together today. He took the day off work to spend it with me... it's a thing we do occasionally, so that we can partake of a whole day off together (something that most couples get to enjoy every week - two whole days in a row - unheard of bliss!).

The weather is fine, sunny, and warm with cool breezes blowing every few seconds. The sky is bluer than blue, and we have been enjoying the hell out of every second. We had coffee together this morning, and listened to our favorite baroque music program via the internet. We went grocery shopping, planned our paleo meal for tonight (marinated pork chops, with garden-fresh green beans courtesy of a guy I work with who brings baskets of veggies in with him nearly every day), and picked up a movie to watch.

When we got home, we put away the groceries, lunched on some leftover chinese chicken and veggies and ribs, and took off hand in hand down to the local dock (pictured above, but not photographed by me). There were lots of folks out and about - people taking their kids to the swings at the waterfront park, throwing tennis balls into the water for their happy dogs to paddle after, dads teaching their kids to fish off the dock, and people on cell phones, talking to whoever was not lucky enough to have this gorgeous day off.

On the way to and from the docks, we wandered past the neighborhood houses, playing designer... we point out features of the old houses that we love, and dream up options for restoring or beautifying the ones that need some help. Somebody always stops and asks us for directions when we're out walking, and we say hello to folks we see washing their boats in their driveways, or walking their pups. Going out walking always makes me feel part of the community. It's impossible to go down to the docks without getting a friendly greeting or saying hello to a local. It's one of the best things about Long Island, in my book.

Now we're home, taking a little "computer siesta" - Bear wearing his headsets, me with a glass of red wine... then later we'll amble downstairs and cook dinner together, and watch tonight's movie: "Red Riding Hood" (starring Gary Oldman, one of my all-time faves).

Hope you're all having a spectacularly relaxing evening, wherever you are.