A sloffee day!

By Elizabeth Prata

Let me set the scene. It's raining hard, and it has been for a day. The metal awnings plink and ping as the rain goes from sprinkle to gushing stream. The dark is dark, almost palpable, as the outside gloom isn't relieved by any hint of any sun on any horizon.

Inside, the coffee pot perks and ticks. Medium roast coffee streams through the little hole into the waiting pot. My mug is warming with hot water soaking inside, waiting for the real liquid, the brown nectar. It will be a slow coffee day. Not gulping, not hurrying, but relaxing at the table, holding the mug between warming hands, sipping over hours instead of swigging over minutes, staying at home instead of rushing to work.

The humidity is hanging on, this rain seems to be the last hurrah of the long summer season. As the rain dwindles to a sprinkle over the day as it is predicted, the cool air will finally rush in. That will be a relief. When it finally reveals itself the sky will be clear, no haze hanging between the endless blue and my appreciative eyes. At night I'll see the Big Dipper glittering over the garage when I open my door. The Little Dipper hangs over the house. If I reach up I can touch them.

Let the Fall Break from school begin. Four days at home, enjoying these and other small and great pleasures. Slow coffee. Glittering stars. Snoring kitty. Pile of magazines. Tower of books. Crafting. Sermons, music, cooking. Naps.

Many of my friends are going camping, others are on a romantic getaway in the mountains. Others plan to catch up on errands, jaunting around with their kids, laughing and singing in the car. Me, I am in hermit mode, living quiet and plain, but full and happy.

During my grocery shopping yesterday I decided to try an experiment. I saw Nova Lox salmon trimmings on sale again. Kroger doesn't always have the trimmings, but when they do I love a good lox and bagel. Being gluten free, bagels have been off the table, literally. Being dairy intolerant, so has cream cheese. This was a loss. This week I'd decided to try some different gluten free products, expanding my G-F shelf from solely Kroger bread, to trying some other breads. I bought Canyon Ranch bread since it was on sale. Also Ener-G gluten free bread. I will compare.

Is there a dairy free cream cheese? Yes, Kroger now has two. As far as I know they didn't used to have any, so it's nice to have a choice. They are each $5, but I decided to try one. Lox on toast with 'cream cheese' coming up.

In that vein I also decided to try a lactose-free yogurt. Again, they are $5, most G-F and lactose free items are very expensive, and these were no different. But the individual servings cost less and will give me an idea of which brands I might like. I bought Califia Farms lactose free strawberry yogurt. It tastes fine, but is the consistency of milk, not the thick yogurt we all know and love. But sometimes I like to finish a meal with a fruit salad with a bit of yogurt. This will be OK, I guess, will I try a different one that is maybe thicker. Experiences in culinary adventures, for sure.

I watched a movie on Netflix last night. I am going to have to switch to pure fantasy movies, I think. All character-driven movies, at root, are a search for meaning. Since Hollywood produces God-free movies, the characters' search is ultimately fails. The movie was I'll See You In My Dreams. It is a quiet, serene, character study of an older woman (Blythe Danner, filling the role beautifully) whose aged dog has to be put down. This causes her loneliness to increase. Her husband had died in a plane crash 20 years ago and she retired from teaching just after the tragedy. Ever since, she has been potting around her garden, playing bridge with her three friends (who all live in an upscale retirement home) and going for walks alone.

What is life for? She placed the ashes of her dog on the mantel next to her husband's urn, and pondered her days. She makes unlikely friends with the pool man, and a man at the retirement home (Sam Elliott, who I LOVE) asks her out, and she begins reconnecting with her daughter. She starts a new routine and things look up- for a while. She seems on the upswing until a third item is seen next to the ashes of her other two, and now what? She and her friends plan a cruise to Iceland, and play another hand of bridge. Is this living? What's it all for?

It was a beautifully done movie and clean, but ultimately unsatisfying because it depicts in real time, that there is no meaning outside of God. Not even for entertainment. The unsaved search and search but there is nothing new under the sun. Ultimately, movies where the acting mimics real life are sad because it starkly brings home the search for meaning where there is none, unless the movie is a Christian film.

I'll have to find a genre that is so outside of real life that the movie doesn't fill me with sadness for the futility of life by the end. Cartoons? I wish there were more movies like Up and Inside Out and Toy Story and Monsters Inc. Or maybe I'll try to get into a superheroes movie. Old movies! That's the ticket! Classics. Only problem is, when I turn to Netflix in the genre classics, all the classics in the first tier are movies I originally saw when they came out, lol. Groundhog Day, Schindler's List, Indiana Jones, Rocky, ...all still fresh in my mind despite they being 25-40 years old. I guess I need to go back farther for the real "classic" movie.

I used to love movies. I bought Roger Ebert's movie review books every year, scoured the newspaper for new releases in the independent and foreign categories, was thrilled with VCRs came out and spent a lot of time at Blockbuster. Yes, I am that old.

I'm listening to Chopin channel on Pandora, contemplating making poached eggs on G-F waffles, and sipping my coffee. Four days at home, how lovely.

I hope you all have a great day, whether it is working day or rest day or busy day, or whatever kind of day. Because you know? It's all good under the Son.