Day 1

Day 1 of vacation unfolded slowly. Woke up at 4:30, 5:30, 6:15 and finally up for good at 7. Tomorrow, I'm just going to get up when I wake up to avoid the groggy feeling that going back to sleep that many times creates. Today, I:

Took the van for a much needed car wash. The sky is hazy brown from the smoke of the various wildfires burning around the state. Napa, the coast. I washed the car anyway 'cuz it was absolutely filthy. Just ran it through the Chevron drive through - does a decent job for a decent price.

Took the car to Costco to fill up. Lines not too bad on a Monday morning. Thought about going in just to cruise - didn't take much time to look yesterday. But knew if I did that, I'd spend money so I headed out to:

Drove through Starbucks for iced tea.

Went to Linens and Things Store Closing sale - bought 6 throw rugs for $3.50 each (we use them in the kitchen and at some point, they aren't washable anymore - so we give those older ones to Goodwill or the animal shelter - and replace as needed ), two shower mats, and a 'Handy Cart' thing - a milk crate like box on a handled cart. All on clearance. Saw a zillion other things I would have loved to buy - but tried hard to temper my want with reminding myself I don't need them.

Went to Home Depot to look for 'screens' to use around the pool equipment. The existing fence with 'lattice' on it is falling apart - and we saw these cool screens in a Target ad a few weeks ago, and of course have not been able to find them. So I keep looking. Luckily for J., I didn't grab a cart on my way in - so I didn't buy a bunch of plants he would have needed to plant.

Cleaned out my purse. Can't believe all the crap that was in that thing. It's so light now!

Played with Chloe who never gets tired of 'fetching' her toys. Over and over and over.

Took a nap! A glorious nap!

Tried to keep up with the comings and goings of the kids. Not easy. B. had a band practice, H. hung out at a friends. They get up late, eat, hang out briefly, shower, get dressed and then head out. At some point mid-morning, H. said 'hey, Mom, why are you home?' And I said 'because I'm on vacation for two weeks'. He said 'really? Cool'.

Got my first attempt at the salt rising bread starter going. Not too sure. The amazing thing is: when I first tried to make this bread in the Spring of 2002, there were very few items on the Internet about it. I remember one method only - that involved potatoes in the starter. Fast forward six years and there are zillions of articles on the Internet, and zillions of starter options. So at least I feel like if this one doesn't work, I have some other methods to try. They all say that the starter is VERY challenging to make - but if I'm successful, I can save 1/8th of it and dry it and use it in my next batch which will help 'jump start' the next batch. It's a good thing I have two weeks off 'cuz I could be at this awhile.

Did a load of laundry. Well, I really just put a load of whites in the washer and got it running. They aren't dried or folded or put away yet, but that's why I have two kids. And a husband. :-)

More of the same tomorrow, most likely.