Ah, what to do with a beautiful, overcast Saturday morning. How do I love thee? Let me count the ways . . .

Today there is no breakfast date with my husband. You see, we have lately developed a loverly little custom of getting up almost before the sun (it is May, after all) and dashing out for a quiet breakfast and coffee before much of the Saturday world is awake. There are a few places nearby that are open round the clock, so we never have to wait outside for the doors to open, the coffee is ready and fresh, and the atmosphere is very inviting.

My husband never fails to take the Saturday edition of the Financial Times, and we pretend for a little while that we are college students without a care in the world. Excluding a quantity of children sleeping back in their cozy little beds at home, of course. Don't worry, two of the them are veteran babysitters.

Not so this morning. We'll put the coffee on here, pull out the newspaper at the table and still pretend that we have not a care in the world. But on this Saturday, we'll make the most of the early quiet hours, or minutes, at home.