Staycation update

Well, the first day of our staycation was not a vacation at all. It was hard work. We uncluttered the house, cleaned up the yard, cleaned up the deck, refilled the birdfeeders, did laundry, paid bills, and generally put our affairs in order. It’s all the things and more that we’ve been meaning to do for a while, but didn’t find the time or energy to do. By the end of the day, my back was hurting, but things were in much better shape.

We hosted a sleepover guest for my daughter. That did force us to order pizza for dinner. At least after all that work, we didn’t have to cook and clean up the kitchen after dinner.

Our daughter Zoe is turning ten years old on August 3. Where has that time gone? As dutiful parents, we have been trying to organize a birthday party for her. She wanted a sleep over with all her friends, and a traditional birthday party with streamers and balloons, and naturally a big cake.

Alas, most of her friends are actually away on real vacations. My guess is that the bad economy hasn’t hit the well-heeled crowd of Chapel Hill, NC. So, we’re taking her available friends throughout the week for smaller get-togethers. Last night, we had a sleepover, today a visit to Kanki, a local Japanese restaurant, tomorrow a trip to the museum, a trip to the water park, plan to see a movie later in the week, and maybe another sleep over. Phew! A weeklong birthday is more work and more fun for all.

Happy (week-long) Birthday, Zoe!

Owen's Diner

 

There's a little cute diner in Chapel Hill called Owen's 501 Diner. It's located on the 501 highway. We point it out to our Owen as we drive by. And, a few weeks ago we all went there for lunch. Now our Owen calls it "my diner." Every time we pass by it he says, "Mom, I want to go to my diner."

Some people think diners are greasy spoons. As America evolves into a place with a Subway franchise (28678 Restaurants In 86 Countries) in every strip mall, unique places like diners are few and far between. Give me a diner any day over the usual sprawl. To me, a diner is a welcome sight. You don't know what you miss until they're gone.

Recently, I was surprised to see the Englewood Diner in a movie scene. The diner used to be located in my neighborhood in Dorchester, Mass. When I worked at a local community newspaper, I used to sell ads to the owner of the diner. It was adorable. I used to visit it a couple times a year. The movie was featured in The Road to Perdition with Tom Hanks, Jude Law, and Paul Newman. While listening to the director's commentary, I was interested to learn that the Englewood Diner had been purchased on EBay for $20,000.

So, when I get a bit homesick, I can pop in the Perdition DVD and remember my favorite diner. It is nice to see the Englewood Diner forever captured on film, but I'd rather be able to have their home-made corn beef hash and poached eggs.