A Laundry List of Errands on Saturday

Yesterday, the first Saturday without hockey in awhile, we had a laundry list of things to accomplish. So after sleeping in, getting my spin on the stationary bike, and eating breakfast we set out into the beautiful sunny spring morning.

First stop....The Farmer's Market - Matthew (younger son) fell in love with a pickle that you can only get at the Pleasanton Farmer's Market called Sister Sara's. Now we are talking of my youngest son, the son who still is a picky eater. Let me tell you...you open up a jar of Sister Sara's pickles and the aroma of garlic fills the air. And you eat one or more of these pickles, go outside, run around a little and sweat...you smell like a piece of garlic. But he loves them, so we went and picked up a jar of her pickles. We also got some wonderful citrus fruits, asian pears, bread, snap peas and fresh carrots. I saw this at a plant stand and thought it was really cute...it is a lettuce bowl:

Second stop...Fleet Feet in Pleasanton, CA- Robert (older son) started school track last week; a good sport to do in the hockey "off-season" and a great way to get involved in school. This is his 3rd year of track and as one of the 8th graders who can run a good mile, we want to make sure that he has a good pair of running shoes.This is the place we go to every April to have his feet measured and his arch support checked.

Third stop...Hockey X in Oakland, CA - both boy needed some hockey gear, especially since Matthew's season continues as his team advanced to State Finals. Matthew's feet had grown and his current hockey skates were too small...so we felt that since he still had 2 weeks of his current season, and then was continuing on to a spring team who is playing in a tournament in Chicago the 3rd week of April, he needed a new pair of skates. Well, his feet are now in Senior size which bumped him up from $100 skates to the skates with a bigger price tag. Ouch! While he was getting fitted and his skates moulded to his feet- Robert picked out his hockey stick he needed because he starts one of his hockey clinics next week (which he will be doing in addition to track).

Fourth stop...Needle in a Haystack in Alameda, CA - time for mom to have a little fun. NiaH was having their Anniversary Sale, so I was hoping that the "boys" would feel the need to go to lunch at Weinersnitzel (hot dogs) so that I could walk across the street and stash shop. I did find a few things that would be good for some upcoming exchanges I need to stitch (so I can't show any of the new stash). When I got up to the counter to get rung up, I got to pick an Easter egg out of their Anniversary basket to see what my Anniversary savings would be (they had coupons for 10%, 20%, and 30% off of purchase). I reached my hand down deep and pulled out an egg that had a 30% off coupon! Ya-hoo! I felt like I won the lottery!

When the boys came back from the hot dog restaurant - with full bellies and stories about the free food that was accidentally put on their tray that they ate - we left Alameda and started to head back home (a drive that typically takes 45 minutes). Unfortunately, about 10 miles from our house we heard a ker-thunk, ker-thunk, ker-thunk not quite the noise you want to hear when you are tired and ready to go home. DH looked at me and said, "it is the tire". The tires on the car we were driving were going bald and we knew that we needed to get new tires, but just was procrastinating.

Well...so we got off the highway and pulled into a UHaul storage parking lot. To make a long story short...we did put the spare on only to drive 5 feet when we noticed that it was flat. So we backed up the car into the parking lot again, took it off so that DH and Robert could walk it down to the nearest Shell gas station and put air in it (remember folks, always check to make sure that your spare has air!). While they were gone, Matthew and I stayed with the car and made good use of our time sitting in the parking lot...we changed out his skate laces for better waxed ones.

The Shell station wasn't too far, so they were back in about a 1/2 hour, got the spare put on and we were back on the road. Before we got home, we did stop at a tire store before they closed for the day, to talk with them about new tires and got everything figured out so when I drop off the car there this morning they can put new tires on the car quickly.

So getting the new tires put on the care is on my "to do list" this morning while DH takes Matthew to his hockey scrimmage @ 7am and then his practice @ 11am. Oh, well...we did get a lot accomplished yesterday and amazingly we came home with smiles on our faces and in good moods. It is fun to be able to have a family day like this and still come home in peace...and in "one piece" :)

Take care and have a wonderful Sunday!

Remember...Live, Love, Laugh and Stitch often! Lisa