Do you ever get up when it’s still dark outside, think (dream) you look at the clock say it’s 2:30 in the morning only to be brought back to the reality that it’s really 6:30. Time to get up. That’s what happened this morning. You feel a little gypped. It’s day 2 with Ollie and Simon who come bounding in bed with me to snuggle and keep warm. It’s cold this morning but the sun is out and after making only 1 lunch for Ollie and packing Simon off to his friends’ Sookie’s house I got a million things to do I decide to sneak out to surf.

My Okazaki is on succulents

Speaking of cold. The water temperature has dropped a few degrees in the past week. It’s ice cream headache time. I surfed at El Porto- It was shoulder high, the wind had already shifted onshore so it was a bit blown out but it was nice being in the ocean on a sunny day. Yeah I even saw a porpoise.

Self portrait with ice cream headache

The day goes by quickly. I have decided to remove a section of our lawn and replace it with decomposed granite(DG). Now let me explain. Our grass barely classifies as a lawn. Their are bald patches  in the lawn where our boys have compressed the ground so tightly with, bikes, skateboards, toboggans, pogo sticks, wagons and other miscellaneous wheeled vehicles that not a root could penetrate downward and not a blade of grass could ever force its way towards the sun. To put it mildly, if it’s growing in our yard it had better be hardy.

Now batting, #4 Ollie

I’ve spent the past week digging out the afore mentioned grass to be replaced with DG and a few well placed stepping stones which I’ve collected from the beach. Oh yeah, I didn’t forget home plate boys. It’s swim practice for Ollie then off to pick up Simon and then Thai food at Poom Thai.

Ollie waiting patiently

Chicken Satay

I have only gotten food to go from Poom Thai. The food is real good. The decor is strange in a nice sort of way. You walk in and there are 3 giant fish tanks. These tanks are huge. There’s a pvc plumbing system running along the ceiling of the restaurant over each tank pumping fresh water in constantly. Giant aeration bells are seen and heard pumping air into each tank. The fish in these tanks are huge too. There’s something strangely perverse dining next to these lugubrious giants. There’s a small t.v. with the Laker game on- that’s cool.

Bop at Poom

Let’s see, what else? Oh yeah, there’s writing all over the walls from floor to ceiling. Things like, “Home is where the Poom is.” and how about this original, “Poom, your Pad See You Rocks!” Hanging on these walls are 2 lonely t-shirts on hangers. One is a Michael Jackson “King of Pop” shirt and the other is a Target t-shirt with the store hang tag and S,M,L decal still stuck on to the garment.

Steamed Dumplings

There’s also a large photo of Elvis Presley sitting with the King and Queen of Thailand. And finally as I’m paying our bill I notice 2 small turtles near the kitchen. I tell Ollie and Simon to take a look at them. Ollie says in his raspy voice, “Daddy they’re tortoises not turtles.” He’s right.

Simon watching Ollie watch the laundry

We get home a bit late from Poom, get washed and watch 101 Dalmatians. I had never seen this film before. We all loved it. It’s getting late again. Time for bed.

Simon, dreaming he was a Lego

Ollie, wishing he can read