Vacation Countdown: 2 Days!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
And the preparations have begun.
Last evening, while Stephen made our dinner of vegetarian spaghetti, I sat at the kitchen table and started "The Lists."
List One: The Dinner Menu for Each Night We are At the Cottage.
While we are away basking in the peace and serenity of the ocean, I have committed to preparing one meal per day.
Supper.
Breakfast, lunch, snacks, in-between grazing, whatever, are the responsibility of the person wanting to eat.
As is the clean up of any mess they make while in the midst of their preparations.
I am not going on vacation to have to answer the question: What's for supper?
As the cottage has a BBQ and we don't, the menu revolves around what can put on that BBQ.
With an accompanying side salad, and if I am feeling really adventurous, perhaps some new potatoes.
Anything else, they can get it themselves.
List Two (only to be determined after List One is created): The Groceries We Will Need to Buy from The Superstore, Victory and The Big Potato.
Really not much different from our standard grocery list.
However, everything we need must be purchased beforehand, as there really isn't any major grocery store anywhere in the vicinity of where we are staying.
And even if there was, I wouldn't be going.
I detest grocery shopping under normal circumstances.
While on vacation?
I'll dig clams and eat brush first, thank you very much.
The Superstore will be the longest stop.
Victory for the chicken and steak, some fruit that is just as good and half the price than the Superstore.
And Sunday, while en route to the cottage, we will stop at the Big Potato to get all the veggies we will need for the week.
If we run out, there's always brush and seaweed.
Or dog food.
List Three: Grocery Items Already in the House.
I am not spending money on things we already have.
So purging the cupboards upstairs, downstairs and the freezer for those items we already possess is a critical vacation strategy.
The trick is to not take anything more than what we need.
That was the first year we went on one of these adventures and ended up taking far more than was required.
Which meant we had to repack all the stuff-determined-to-be-non-essential-only-after-we-got-there and haul it all back home.
An error I will not be making again.
Even if we are taking two cars with us.
List Four: All Other Items that Must Come With Us.
And this is the tricky list.
Because we have to fight the urges to bring things we want, but don't need.
And the things we must absolutely must have.
Like Scrabble.
Clothes.
All our meds.
Not that there are a lot, but there are some.
Toothpaste.
Also on this list are all the things we need to bring for the dogs.
Frankie's crate.
Tikka's meds.
Their bowls, food, snacks, blankets, toys.
They require almost as much stuff as the kids do.
Luckily, the kids are able to pack for themselves, so at least the responsibility for bringing what they need doesn't fall to me.
I'll be lucky if I can remember to bring enough underwear, my Crocs and a sweater.
Let alone anything else.
And Stephen?
He can pack his own stuff.
My father?
Forgot enough underwear the first time he came with us.
Requiring a trip to the only convenience store for a bottle of laundry soap.
And he washed them himself, thank you very much.
Because there are just some things I won't do for my parents.
Washing their undies is one of them.
After the lists were done, but not complete. . . .
. . . .because I continued to add to all of them as we cleaned up after dinner and I imagine I'll keep adding to them until we pull out of the driveway. . . .
. . . Em and I went to the theater to see Glee 3D.
I didn't want to go.
In spite of working on my new course, preparing for our vacation, caring for homeless cats and engaging in the everyday tasks that make up my day, I've been in a bit of a funk the past few days.
A lot of stuff hitting us this week at once.
A barrage of crap and issues, some of which have to be dealt with and the rest stuff that has nothing to do with me and that I want no part of.
So going to a movie wasn't at the top of my list of things I wanted to do.
Again, as usual, Em was right in forcing me to go.
The bright lights, singing and dancing of the Glee cast lifted my spirits as I sang along in spite of the numerous nudges from Em that were a feeble attempt to remind me that I wasn't at the concert, I was sitting in the theater with other people who, perhaps, didn't really enjoy listening to me sing along to the Warblers' rendition of Raise Your Glass, or with Rachael as she belted out Striesand's Rain on My Parade.
Not that I really cared.
Because I was starting to feel better and if seat singing and dancing was the cure to my issue blues than too bad so sad for the other dozen patrons scattered throughout the theater.
If I want to raise my arms, clap my hands, tap my feet, I will do so.
And Em can give me her patented stink-eye-from-behind-her-3D-glasses-all she wants.
Title Lyric: Raise Your Glass by The Warblers
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