Sabbatical 2013, Day 10

The end of week 2 of the halfbattical. More Cap’n Crunch for breakfast. Cecilia was off to the groomers early, which gave Gemma and I time for a walk.

After picking up Cecilia from the groomers, I had to get ready for spending part of the day with one of my goddaughters. Her school was having a grandparents/grandfriends day, and since Kate’s grandparents were all out of town, my friend George asked me to spend part of the day at Kindergarten.

I went to a new barbershop I’d been meaning to visit, but time was close. Only one person was waiting in front of me, but after a few minutes I realized they were cash only, and I only had a few singles on me. I had to leave, because I wouldn’t have time to find an ATM, return to the shop and have time to get a haircut before I needed to meet my friend.

On the way out, I stopped by a bakery in the same plaza as the barbershop to pick up some Halloween-themed cookies for my goddaughter and her siblings. Also, a pumpkin doughnut with maple icing for myself. (Remember, all I had to eat that day was Cap’n Crunch, and those are empty calories.) The doughnut was fantastic; one of the lightest cake doughnuts I’ve ever eaten.

I met George at his house and we were able to spend some time catching up before heading over to his daughter’s school. The teacher had a nice agenda prepared, which began with a scavenger hunt around the classroom. After that, the kids sang two songs and the teacher read “Just Grandma and Me” by Mercer Mayer.

Four craft stations had been set up around the room. One was for making a picture frame, another for making a flower out of a coffee filter and construction paper, another for making your grandparent/friend a crown, and the last for making a bookmark with a piece of paper and some pipe cleaners. Kate and I started with the crown. Although we had over an hour to work on the projects, Kate was worried about finishing all of them in time, so we rushed through each one. First, the crown, then the flower, then the bookmark, and finally the picture frame. We finished with plenty of time to spare, so Kate made another picture frame for her sister.

George met us at the school, and we all walked home. George, Kate and I then walked to lunch, along with Kate’s three-year old sister, Abby. Abby is quite a character, and harassed her Dad at the restaurant for not having a beer with me. All in all, a great time.

Later that night, Annette and I met some friends for dinner at Mago. Although Annette and I have been there many times, it was the first time for our friends. They were blown away by it, which was great to see. We ordered some guacamole, and shared some quesadillas. We also ordered the grilled calamari salad, which is a standard for Annette and I. For dinner, I had a special dish they were offering: sauteed pork belly, topped with seared sea scallops and a special tomatillo sauce, along with a special rice preparation. I wish I would’ve had room for the flan de la semana, as it was key lime flavored, but I was too stuffed.