Vacation Twilight

Winding down a nice Sunday at home as I face the reality of going back to work tomorrow.  Slept in until 9AM this morning (!!) - woke up at 7:30 but just went right back to sleep and the next thing I knew, it was mid-morning!

Thought of possibly going to Jackson but skipped it.  Have plenty to do here.  I've done really major things like consolidating the two very little left honey containers into the one semi-full one.  Same with old shampoo bottles, etc. .  Emptied two partially full water bottles that have been on the lazy- susan on the kitchen table for FOREVER - used them in the garden.  I am considering writing to Home Depot and suggesting the produce a two or two and a half gallon bucket with lid as well - we rinsed dried beans yesterday and I wished I had a smaller bucket than the five gallon size we use in the showers.  Plenty of other things we do that having a small holding bucket in the kitchen would come in handy for.  And they could do a commercial in California showing all the ways you can gather and conserve water.  It's amazing how much we've wasted without thinking - can't do that anymore.

Soaked my toes - they were slightly sore last night post shoes - couldn't wear my crazy Croc-like sandals to Mary Poppins.  OH!  Mary Poppins!  It was spectacular.  Put on by a student production group, YES Company.  Wasn't sure what to expect but was completely blown away by the show.  It was a completely professional quality production - and it was three full hours of non-stop action.  Much different from the Disney movie version and the program notes explained so much of the history that I didn't know.  Now, I'm very interested in the Saving Mr. Banks movie starring Tom Hanks - 'cuz I am curious about how the movie ended up being made.  No dancing penguins in the stage version.  It was just stellar and I'm so glad we went.

Made a pot of black beans yesterday and resisted the urge to double the recipe - so we had dinner last night, lunch today and maybe lunch for me tomorrow - with no massive amount of leftovers to deal with.

My cousin confirmed that she is approaching her last week of summer vacation and the JOLT I felt at the realization that MY summer is almost over hit me like a ton of bricks.  I've got three books I'm to have read by the start of school (now three weeks away) and still have mountains of year-end stuff to also take care of.  I know it will all get done and am psyching myself up for early mornings and late evenings with high hopes of avoiding too many weekends if at all possible.

Looking forward to B. being here in three weeks (for three weeks!) and the trip to Phoenix coming up over Labor Day weekend.  Did a little menu planning with my cousin via Facebook chat this morning.

Our yard is becoming a bird, butterfly and hummingbird haven and it's so great to watch things start blooming.  We've seen at least one house working on killing off their grass (tarp secured over the entire yard) and I'm thinking of doing the same.  The plants we've purchased are blooming so beautifully and dealing with the limited water so much better than our half-dead-barely-surviving lawn.  I'm trying to budget for a plant order every month and little by little, the beds around the grass will be filled with blooming, drought-resistant plants that attract all kinds of pretty butterflies and birds.  We've got peanuts and suet cakes in the bird feeders and we put out a new hummingbird feeder today.  I'm ordering another one of those and maybe another hanging bird watering unit.

It's been a fun break and sleeping in for ten days has been the best thing ever.  Tomorrow's alarm will be hard to take but it's OK.  Playa del Carmen in October is the next trip after Phoenix and I can't wait for that break.  Then Thanksgiving week off, Christmas vacation - the breaks roll together and soon, we'll be planning for another summer off.  Time goes so quickly -