Monday Looms, Pandas Must Wait

Vacations are funny things. They are the very definition of "illusion."  When you are waiting for them to arrive, they shine like a beacon in the distance, so very far away.  They seem like a magical time and all you can do is think about the amazing things you will accomplish during those golden days.

When vacation arrives, it feels like you have all the time in the world.  You can take a day or two to decompress.  There are hours and hours during which you can take care of all those things you said you were going to do back when "vacation" was naught but a glimpse of Things To Come.

Suddenly, however, it is Sunday night.  You haven't done anywhere near to what you said you were going to do.  Heck, you haven't even done some of the things that you really, really need to do if you are going to be able to find your way out the door come the next morning.  I hate the last Sunday of vacation.  It's like a marathon.  And it's the kind of race you aren't going to win now matter how hard you try.

My own version of The OMIGOD What Was I Thinking Wasting All That Time On The Sofa Watching The Panda-Cam At The San Diego Zoo???? panic was just as frantic as every other Sunday I've spent before going back to work.  The list of stuff to do just kept growing!  

There were also one or two hazards along the way.  I discovered a rather gaping tear in the garbage bag when I hoisted it out of the can this morning.  Said tear was easily identified by the reeking chicken juices that were leaking from it.  I managed to get it into another bag, but not before smearing myself liberally with the death goo.  As I was on my way out the door to gas up the car, I didn't bother to change.  But I have to say that it was a very, very good thing there were no cadaver sniffing dogs working in the vicinity of The Convenience Store Where They Call You Honey And Sweetie And You Sort Of Like That.  The poor critters would have been driven mad trying to find the decomposing corpse...

By the time I got home, I had a headache.  Plus I left my soda in the car and had to go back outside with my Chicken Reek to retrieve it.  I took a break after that to look at the pandas some more.  

Pandas relax me...

In spite of my best efforts, I really didn't get it all done.  Nor do I believe that I will be able to do so before bedtime arrives.  That's OK.  Thanks to the soothing influence of the pandas, I am now better able to accept my limitations and realize that my having lolled on the couch for a week and a half is really nobody's fault but my own.  And it's not like I didn't get anything done at all.

I roasted up a chicken last night for dinners this week.  Then, today, I made a nice zucchini casserole to pop in the freezer for those days when I can't stand the sight of the chicken anymore.

It's almost like a quiche except that it's sort of not.  In fact, it's totally not.  But it kind of seems like it...

Various things that needed washing were washed, including my coat because the thought of being in the car with the Chicken Stink on me tomorrow morning is unbearable.  The travel mug and thermos were located so that they will be ready to go come 6:00 tomorrow morning.  The coffee maker is programmed to go off at the appointed hour.  I've managed to find the one outfit which will accommodate my temporary holiday girth and keep the extra bits of Sheep contained until I can find a way to shed those extra pounds.  I think I might actually be able to leave the house tomorrow on time and clad.  No promises or anything.  But I have a good feeling about it.

I even had time to pop in one last movie and knit upon my Very Pink Sockie for a bit.  The heel is turned, the gussets are gusseted and footage has commenced.  Heck, I even found a minute or two to visit with fiber of a less "finished" variety:

Plied Shetland Lamb And Silk...

A wee bit of spindled alpaca...

Yes, the end of a vacation is a sad thing.  All the more so for my having deluded myself into believing that it was endless.  However, by my calculations, it is a mere few weeks until the next three day weekend.  And then it is but a short hop to the February break.  I can probably hang in there until then.  It's not so far away.

And we all know that the week off in February is the one where I can really get lots of stuff done.  It's like magic.

This vacation was just for practice.  And pandas...

SA