Rainy days are to be savored, to a point

It is a deliciously rainy day, the kind that is perfect for a good book, a cup of tea, and a cat in my lap. Broth is bubbling on the stove in preparation for the chicken etouffee I plan to make tomorrow. The concoction looks downright nasty but it is a key ingredient in the etouffee. When all is done it will resemble chicken in gravy served over rice, only with more flavor.

It is one of those recipes that has way too many steps and uses way too many pans. If we didn’t like it so much it would never be worth all the extra work. It is a nice change from the usual dinners we have. We will get several meals out of it before we get to the bottom of the pan and back to the same ol’ same ol’ stuff I usually serve.

One of the other good things about a rainy day is that my usual to-do list gets thrown away. My current project is to get the side porch cleaned and all the loose paint dealt with in preparation for painting. Actually, I like to paint. However, it is one of the many tasks I have yet to master. I usually get more paint on myself than on whatever I’m trying to cover.

Rainy days mean I don’t have to go outside for any reason. No weeding, trimming, picking up branches the trees have thrown on the ground, or any other outdoor activity. I enjoy gardening but a day off without guilt is pure luxury.

I had a job once that required me to go outside and collect samples three times a day. I loved getting out of the lab and into the fresh air on a regular basis except for rainy days. I firmly believe that rainy days are meant to be enjoyed indoors.

My daughter’s kids disagree. They live outside as much as possible. On rainy days they cut holes in plastic garbage bags and use them for raincoats. When the plastic tears or they just get tired of wearing the sacks, they discard the bags and ignore the rain. A little bit of water falling out of the sky  doesn’t seem to bother them at all. When they eventually come in they get wrapped in towels, given a hug, and sent to their rooms to dry off and get dressed. Any cousins or neighbor children present at the time are given the same treatment. They usually can find something that fits them and sometimes get sent home wearing clothes their parents have never seen before.

When l look out the window and see a gentle all-day rain it seems like I can see the grass growing and getting greener. The shrubs unfurl their parched leaves and turn them towards the heavens. The weeds go crazy and pop up everywhere. The vegetable plants get a much needed shower and threaten to topple over, dragging their tomato cages with them. I think the tomato plants are in cahoots with the squirrels. By toppling over they make it easier for the squirrels to take a single bite of all the tomatoes they can find, ripe or not.

The drop in temperature that goes along with the rain tells me I need to find a place for all the houseplants. They enjoyed hanging out under the cherry tree and the maple during the summer. It won’t be long before the winter migration begins. My mom used to tell me to begin taking my plants in when it was still hot outside and I would always protest by telling her it was 90 degrees. It is one of the many things that I miss.

A rainy day is perfect for many things. A good book, a cup of tea that cools too quickly and a cat that would rather nap on the newspaper than on my lap are some of the things that make a dreary day better. Rainy days are to be cherished, as long as they don’t last for 40 days and 40 nights.