Last Sunday we drove out to Viejas Outlet Center, my favorite shopping mall, to return a sweater I bought Alex for Christmas (it was too big) and to do a bit of shopping. It was another beautiful Southern California day with a dry desert wind blowing. Viejas is such a pleasant mall to walk around with attractive walkways and a 'river' running through it that even includes waterfalls.



In the center of the mall is a huge open green which hosts a series of 'Concerts in the Park' during the summer months and in the month of December it holds an ice-skating rink. At the Center Court is the interactive fountain that offers different shows throughout the year. Piped sounds of birds and wild animals will accompany you as you shop - it really is a mall with a difference that will give you a unique shopping experience.

And don't forget, if you want to try your luck with the slot machines or at a table, take a walk across the road to the Viejas Casino.

Today is my last day of vacation for the summer. At the beginning of summer I had so many vacation hours on the books that I decided to take every Friday off so I could enjoy a long weekend. Starting next week, after Labor Day, I go back to my regular schedule. School starts in a few weeks so I need to knuckle down an prepare for my new students.

The day got off to a good start - coffee on the patio, read the newspaper, did a few errands, and a bit of housework. It was a really hot/humid day so spent most of it relaxing and reading.

Around 3:30 we took off for the La Mesa Farmer's Market which is held 3:00 to 7:00pm every Friday. We are trying to buy local fruit and vegetables as much as possible and we really enjoy strolling around the market. Last week we bought some fabulous heirloom tomatoes and we wanted to get some more today. Here are some photos to show you a little of the local scene starting with Alex picking out his peaches for the week and a fiddler keeping us entertained while we shop.



The farmer's market has such a festive feel about it - many of the vendors offer samples of their foods such as tomatoes, olive oils, nuts, and cheeses. It's so much fun taking in all the sights and sounds and the colors of the fruit and vegetables are amazing.



This week we bought peaches, tomatoes, white corn, green beans, a red leaf butter lettuce, and some kind of green squash. This should last us for several days.

Yesterday we bought the sink, sink cabinet, drawer cabinet, mirror, and medicine cabinet. Today we spent nearly 4 hours picking out our floor tile and bathtub surround tile. It was so hard to pick out something from the gazillion choices that Home Expo has. My sanity was at breaking point but Alex kept his cool and was very patient with me. We had to special order the tiles and they will arrive in about 2 weeks. We also started looking at toilets and fixtures like faucets, showers, towel rails, etc.

Unfortunately, no photos today.

Alex spent the morning installing a new circuit for the bathroom. This included a few trips in the attic and down in the crawl space. Most of the dirty work was done by lunch time and the little that's left will be completed tomorrow.

We had lunch at IKEA - broccoli cheese soup and garlic bread (not the healthiest of choices but Alex earned it) - before buying our bathroom furniture. We have decided on the Stenskar Cabinets (sink unit, drawer cabinet, mirror, and medicine cabinet) and the Hollviken sink.

Finished off our shopping spree with ice-cream from Cold Stone Creamery - what a treat.