What to do on a rainy afternoon?

Yesterday (Sunday) afternoon, my husband and I had planned to do some work in the garden. But then, punctually at three, it began to pour. This was excellent, as it had been much too dry here recently. Even better, we suddenly found ourselves with time on hour hands. We didn’t look for any other chores around the house (no looking the gift horse in the mouth), but instead spent a beautifully leisurely afternoon.

I started to read the new Julia Quinn novel, Just Like Heaven. Then my husband came into the living room after a nice nap, and together we watched The Untouchables with Costner and Connery. Later he ordered tickets online for a concert, and I bought a couple of ebooks. In between we had strawberry cake, and some sandwiches for dinner.

If this sounds perfectly commonplace, for us, it isn’t. More often than not, the nature of our jobs being what it is, at least one of us has to work at the weekend. An afternoon like the one I have described is far more relaxing than a busy one, even one filled with such satisfactory work as working in the garden. I guess this is because the “I ought to do this and that” worry was completely gone during the course of some hours.

How do you like to spend free time that you suddenly find yourselves with?

– Rike Horstmann