my first staycation

Ah, holidays.

I'm enjoying a different kind of holiday this week. a holiday where I have absolutely no plans and nothing specific to do. normally when I take time off work, I try to do something with that time. take a trip somewhere, or even just go to the farm. but not this time. I had booked this time off way back in april, and I thought something might pop up between then and now. maybe a cheap last minute flight, a spontaneous trip somewhere. but nothing. I contemplated canceling my holiday request, but decided to give this whole "staycation" thing a whirl.

So far, I have to say it's pretty great. the weather has been gorgeous: sunny and 30 something degrees. We had our families over for a bbq and everything went super well. it was hot, there was lots of delicious food, and everyone was chatting and having fun. Canada day was another scorcher, and I had a beautiful day riding my bike, hanging outside with family, checking out the various festivities, watching fireworks, and collapsing exhausted at the end of the day. today I discovered the fun of a pressure washer! I decided it would be fun to have a project this week, but nothing too overwhelming or urgent. something that if I don't finish it, it's no big deal. so I decided to paint our fence. or stain it, varnish it, treat it, whatever it is you're supposed to do to fences. how exciting! handyman Amanda, that's what they'll call me! the pressure washer is so cool. i'd never used one before and I was just mesmerized watching the layer of dirt that I didn't even know was dirt come off, leaving a brand new fence behind! well, after an hour of spraying, I was soaking wet and covered in fence scum. But I had 2 and half beautifully clean and new looking sections of fence! ....which leaves about 15 more sections to go. this is where the whole 'no big deal if I can't finish this project' mentality comes in.

I will do more on the fence throughout the week. maybe i'll get the whole thing cleaned, maybe not. for now, at least the novelty of the pressure washer makes it fun, and it doesn't feel like work.

other than that, nothing else planned. other than have coffee outside while doing the crosswords. visit my sister. lay in the sun. make sangria. drink sangria. relax. that's it. nothing else on the agenda! yay!! so what if i'm not off to some exotic destination this holiday. my backyard is exactly where i want to be :)