Surf, sun, and sand equals ouch!

It has been so long since I've been in the sun long enough to get burned that I'd forgotten how much it stings. OUCH! Apparently I missed some places with the sun screen. *is sheepish*

I've finally given up on my glasses. I check and the last time I had new lenses was 2009. Oops. I've upgraded but now I need to wait for them to arrive. My wallet is still recovering from the shock. Last time was a two for one deal and the whole gig cost me around $400. This time just the lenses for one pair is $380 or so. Ouch!

The part is this weekend and I've managed to stretch my stay out for a few days to catch up with family as well. For a long time I thought I couldn't go but at the last minute I managed to grab some cheap flights and a bit of a balance on my credit card. For the saree too. Poor overworked credit card! I'm leaving after work so MOTH and I have spent some time thinking about timing.

The flight departs on Wednesday night. Boarding is delayed about fifteen minutes. Not too bad and we arrive very much on time. It's great to see Elder and Burrich at the airport.

The Teen is eager to catch up and badgers me to attend a concert with her. All those young people going mad in the mosh pit? I don't think so! I agree to meet with her before the gig though. She's happy to settle for that. It's also a chance to meet one of her good friends. Teen makes me welcome because she's always happy to see me but sometimes I feel a little out of place as the only old person there. Never mind.

I spend some time out at Ma and Pa's place. It's great to see them. Elder drives me out and it's a good opportunity to catch up with Froggy as she passes through on her way back south. Frogs travelling south for the summer. Quite a novel idea. We spend a lot of time laughing and talking, eating cheese, kabana, and pickled onions. The day is warm but a breeze blows through the kitchen so it's not unbearable. I'm a dreadful stirrer and Ma is easy to spook. I take full advantage of this, after all I have plenty of time to catch up on! I stand close behind her but don't make a sound so she startles when she turns around. Elder is lifting a picture down from a high spot. She can just reach. I cry out she is going to drop it and turn in time to see that Ma got the fright, not Elder. We collapse about giggling.

I have two supervisors so to speak. One is my official one from my team, the other from a different team which I also help out as part of my job. While I've been away my duties for the second team have been sent elsewhere and he is now on Paternity Leave. His wife had their second child - a little girl - just recently. Super2 is away for a couple of days so I have been asked to do that part of my job for a day while I am on leave. Luckily it is the one day I haven't anything planned.

It's nice to spend the day just relaxing around the house. A glass of Nestea peach flavour and the laptop set up on the desk in the room where I'm sleeping. Even though I'm working it is relaxing. How odd.

Mouse isn't ready to collect me until mid afternoon so I spend the morning at the shops and mucking about with Elder. Mouse comes for me and we head off. I haven't seen her house before as she's moved recently. Oh wow. The kitchen is great. Sort of galley style but much wider. The house itself is not at peak condition and there are sandflies galore. But it does have a cozy feel and the breeze circulates much better than her previous abode. The kitchen window overlooks a park and the scene is very tranquil.

We nip around the corner and pick up Minx on the way to the party. It looks great when we arrive. A welcome table. Everyone is in costume. The decorations are great. There are a couple of pavilions set up with couches. There are lanterns. A food table. A lolly bar. We bag a table. The metal chairs are unbelievably comfortable. We stay there all night but are joined by plenty of people circulating through.

There is a slushy machine! I love it! Fruit tingle or Pina Colada. Choices choices. We go Fruit Tingle first. It's delicious. Think I have about three or four. Then switch to the other. It's nice, but I'd rather the Fruit Tingle. Minx likes the Pina Colada. The food comes out. Butter chicken. Chicken korma. Lamb rogan josh. There are things that look like coconut ice but are not. We sample some of those as well. I finally realise they must be halva. And someone said that there was a salad. I couldn't see it very well so didn't sample. Someone commented it had carrot in it. WELL WHY DIDN'T SOMEONE SAY SO! I LOVE THAT STUFF! I've made it myself once or twice. I help myself to a couple of spoonfulls. It tastes much like caramel. I usually eat it with vanilla ice cream.

It gets to half ten or so and we call it a day after the cake cutting. I was stuffed full of food and starting to get sleepy. Maybe if I hadn't eaten so much I would have wanted to stay till party end. Who knows. But I had a really great time.

The following day Mouse is sick. She didn't drink anything so we suspect that something she ate must have had cheese in it. Poor chook. I send her back to bed to nap and I reach Archie and Veronica comics. Elder comes to pick me up.

It's a public holiday and we are headed north to pick up Teen and head for the beach. I want to spend time with them though I'm not keen on sand and seawater. I don't have sunscreen or a hat. Luckily Elder has sunscreen. I must find out what it is too. It certainly worked. Where I put it on that is. I missed some patches and boy are they red and sore! I haven't been burnt like this since I was a kid. Elder thinks it funny because one of the red patches has a white finger mark on it, complete with joints. She giggles at this.

Some of Teen's friends join us on the beach and it becomes quite a crowd. The day is sunny but the breeze is cool and I have found a patch of shade. I stay there. Elder has brought the dogs and they manage to kick sand and water over most of us. Hefe also managed to stink out the car on the way up. Gotta love dogs. Not.

I doze on the trip home and we managed to get there with enough time for me to wash off the day and finish up the last of my packing. Once again MOTH has arrived too early and had to circle through some very heavy pick up traffic several times before he can collect me. I'm not waiting for him all this time, I come out and wait. He doesn't circle past once while I'm there. I try to convince him that I'm happy to pay for parking if he arrives early. But he doesn't want to spend the money. Mind, he's not happy to circle continuously either. Can't win there.

So home to relax, to a very happy hubby and kitty....