Rainbows and puppies in Vacations 2015

Yesterday was, by design, a very lazy day. It’s hard to let go of the notion that we have to “go” and “do” rather than just “be.” My trip to Iceland at the end of this month will definitely be a “go” and “do” vacation, but when you’re at the beach it’s nice to remember how to just “be.”

The only thing on our agenda was a trip to the seafood store to buy the seafood for the cioppino we planned to make for dinner. Other than that we just hung out. Walks on the beach. Hours just sitting on the deck, staring at the waves. You can get lost in them. Reading my book. Listening to music. One of the fun things here at the beach house is that the ocean is so loud, we can blast our music inside and as soon as you step outside, you don’t hear it. I forget how free it feels to just crank that music up.

One one of our beach walks there were a few large birds fighting over some food (a fish or dead bird or something). They flew away when we got closer but not before I noticed that one of them had a red head. I commented on that – I didn’t know, but Michael did, that it was a vulture. There is just something about that word that makes the bird a little intimidating. And at one point he seemed to be flying right at me, to vent his anger over my intruding on his meal. At least, that’s what it felt like.

Reality intruded a little bit when I had to call the flooring place to inquire into the status of delivery of my hardwood flooring, which had been estimated to arrive a few days ago. The contractor is waiting to go pick it up for me so it can sit in my condo for a few days to acclimate, before installation. They said it’s “in transit” and they think it will arrive today or tomorrow. I sent an email to Doug, my project manager, who replied with the disappointing news that they might not get started on the demo at my condo this week, because another job they’re on is taking longer than they thought. I really like Doug and I think he is doing the best he can for me, so what can I say? I don’t know if I mentioned last week that I picked out my new kitchen sink and faucet. I ended up getting a big single bowl sink instead of one that’s divided into two. I’m not exactly sure why I wanted that, and I guess I’ll find out whether I really like it better than a double sink.

Reality also intruded in a happier way – updated pictures of Josie!!

She is so cute, my heart melts.

Michael and I had fun making the cioppino and it turned out very well – it was delicious and we have plenty left over for lunch today.

It has cod, shrimp, scallops and clams in it. The recipe called for crab meat but surprisingly, the crab was extremely expensive and we felt that less expensive substitutions were acceptable.

This morning we woke up – I should say “I” woke up, because Michael sleeps several hours later than I do – to rain. And then suddenly I glanced out the window and saw this. I raced out to get pictures before it disappeared. Of course, I had the telephoto lens on the camera which wouldn’t work for this so I had to rush back inside and change the lens.

Here’s a few random pictures I took yesterday. Guess it’s time for a shower. Or maybe not.

Ciao!!