Day Something -- Thursday

I'm starting to lose track of how many days I've been on vacation -- and also having the sense that I'm on the downwards slope.  After tomorrow (Friday), it'll be just like any other vacation:  then, back to work on Monday.

If I could win the lottery and quit my job, I could very happily spend the rest of my life doing this:  minding the house while the kids are at school; doing various chores and projects; running the occasional errand.


The usual morning:  help get lunches and get everyone out the door; a brief check of the internet; putting some laundry on; taking  a nap.

This time I intentionally set my alarm for just an hour (and I wouldn't need to take naps if I went to bed earlier; duh) -- so, getting up at 10:30am -- but the dogs woke me up fifteen minutes early with their barking.  I'd forgotten that the septic tank servicing guy (quarterly) would be stopping by this morning.  I went outside and had a nice chat:  he told me about his vacation.


Was planning on catching the 11:30am showing of the Laurel and Hardy movie, so took a shower and got dressed -- after phoning a musical instrument shop a few neighborhoods away and seeing if they had a cello book (volume 2!) for my son.  Went to lock the dogs in the laundry room -- but then I couldn't find one of our two dogs.  So wasted about a half hour looking for him.  And then once I figured out that he had found a hole in the fence of the doggie yard, it then took another ten minutes to round him up and bring him insides.

It was now 11:30am, but I still figured I could I could make the movie since I knew from earlier in the week that the first ten minutes were just ads (ugh), and then there'd be about four trailers before the actual feature.  But then I was a block away and realized that I hadn't confirmed that I'd turned various things off:  was pretty sure, but...

So I went back -- and figured that if I went now, I'd be late for the movie.  Okay:  change of plans.


Got the box of recycling bottles (worth 10c each!) and took it the local recycling place.  Got about $11 off it: fair enough.


Then went to the Cash Converters (pawn shop chain) in Wynnum West, which I hadn't visited for a while.  They had a bunch of disk weights ("plates") at a good price:  usually it's over a buck a kilo, but most of them were actually at a buck a kilo -- so I picked up a few (twelve; had been planning on this).  Also chatted to the sales clerk -- one of the regulars -- and realized that I hadn't made a door wedge for them like I promised.  Will have to do it today or tomorrow.


Stopped off at Aldi and picked up a few different garlic breads, plus two cakes of tofu (organic; firm; they only had one type).


Then stopped by the Woolworth's on the way home to get a jug of milk.  Turns out they had Jatz crackers on sale (which I enjoy; I have about a box every 2-3 days), so I bought a big box of 20.  Also bought two or three more garlic breads -- so, five in total -- to do a taste test with the boys tonight (The Girl and The Lady aren't into garlic bread).  Also bought a cinnamon roll at a bakery on the way out of the shopping plaza.


Home:  put the food in the 'fridge.  Had half of the cakes of tofu for lunch, with Japanese nori rice seasoning on top.  Also the cinnamon roll.  Watched an episode of Black Mirror as I ate.  Then cut up the watermelon that was in the 'fridge (but taking up room), ate about a quarter of it, put the rest in a plastic container and put it in the 'fridge. 


Hm:  this reminds me of people texting/blogging/Facebooking photos of their food.  Ah well:  this is for me to look back on.  And maybe my kids.


Went outside got the weights from the car, put them on my workbench under the carport.  Removed the price tags from the weights, and put some of the rustier weights in a plastic tub for re-rusting:  poured cheap vinegar in there, plus some expired bottles of diet cola (the artificial sweeteners turn sour over time -- but the cola still retains its acidity).  But because I wasn't sure the diet cola would be sufficiently acidity, I added some leftover citric acid (a baking supply) to bring the acidity levels up.  Added some rocks to fill in the blank spots in the liquid, thus raising the over-all levels.  Slooshed it around; will let it sit for a day or two, then scrub off the rust with a wire brush, rinse with some mildly alkaline water (i.e. will add some baking soda), then heat gently in the oven to dry them.  Will finish by rubbing (while still kind of hot) with an old candle, to protect it from future rust. 


About 3:45pm, headed out to go pick up the cello book.  This time putting the dogs in the laundry was no trouble (whew!).  Afternoon traffic was starting to build up, but not a big problem.  Picked up the book, then also checked out the Garden City branch of Cash Converters:  nothing interesting.


Home about 5:30pm.  Put on the garlic bread -- just a quarter or so of each sample.  The boys and I tasted them -- and they all taste about the same!  Although:  I only tried the mid-range through to the cheapest loaves -- so maybe the more expensive ones taste better?  Blondie boy did find one that he didn't like, though.


Don't remember what I did after that (I'm remedially writing this the following morning -- from memory, no notes), but I think I checked e-mail, and then pretty soon thereafter The Lady said it was time for dinner. 

Oh!  And jotted down some song lyric ideas that occurred to me in the car.  I have an idea for the chorus melody; the verse just has a concept, but no direct melody.


Then alternated between watching Dark Mirror and helping Blondie Boy with his homework -- plus laundry (again!).

Spent the rest of the evening logging some expenses that had been kicking around:  one of my quirks is that if something is music-related (e.g. the recording magazine I buy), excercise-related (e.g. the weights), or tool/woodworking/yardwork-related, I write it down.  I also logged most of the weights I'd bought.


Watched another episode of Black Mirror; meant to noodle around on guitar as I watched, but forgot.  Went to bed just after midnight.


Am getting a little concerned:  all these great plans, and few things actually completed.  Today didn't feel as "productive" as the other days -- partly because I spent most of it driving around (or browsing shops), and also because I added a task (cleaning the weights) that wasn't originally on the list.

But, I still had a nice day.  Will "bat cleanup" on the weekend.



And -- BTW -- this still beats wandering around Hamburg (or somewhere) for a vacation:  I have so much stuff to do around the house -- and it makes me happy to get these things done (or at least:  spend time on them, and making progress).  So why would I want to go anywhere else?

Other people's mileage would differ, of course:  this is just what makes me happy.  ;)



--GG