Domestic day.

I felt like a housewife. Did some dishes and laundry this morning, spent my afternoon at the museum, went to market, made cookies, cleaned up, made dinner, cleaned up, served tea.

I enjoyed my day.

The museum trip was to the Rijksmuseum. I was there only an hour and a half, but I saw what I needed to see. My museum expiration time is about two hours, so I was still in a nice mood when I left and I'd seen the Night Watch. I have to say that it is difficult to get an idea of the painting at the museum - the people, the glare from the lighting, the fact that it takes up most of a wall and cannot be studied for all the accidental jostling by school groups and other patrons. I suppose I could have sat on the floor with the middle schoolers, but it was time for me to go. Night Watch is the last painting in the exhibit.

I found the dolls houses from the 17th century most interesting pieces in the exhibit. Carved tortise shell case, marble and parquet floors, gilded light fixtures, silver minatures, tapestried walls. The ultimate in extravagent hobbies.

After the museum, I sat on the square watching people. There was a little blond girl with a blue skirt, grey velvet jacket, white tights and red shoes. She was playing on a xylophone set in the ground. Her grandmother, also in red shoes, was playing with her. The grandfather was smiling, but was seemingly unwilling to jump up and down in public to make twinkling noises.

The cookies I made are shortbread spiced with cinammon and nutmeg and replete with chopped dried apricots and macadamia nuts.

Dinner was mashed potatoes with smoked gouda (in place of bacon), chopped endive (not the bullet shaped Belgian sort), sauteed mushrooms and onions. Perfect after a misty, foggy day. Most of the day the sky rested just on top of the buildings.