Four Miles From The Pacific Ocean....

and this is what I found in my front yard the other morning.....a Samoan crab.

It's actually bigger than it looks in the picture. So I took it to work and one of the guys I work with helped me release it on the rocks at the beach across the street. How did it end up in my front yard?

My son and I are headed to Oahu tomorrow for a week. This morning we took our cat to the vet to be boarded while we're gone. I feel so guilty. He probably thinks we've abandoned him. But everyone there was really nice and I know he'll be well taken care of. After that we did two loads of laundry at the laundromat and then ran errands to get ready for tomorrow. I've been packing as much as I can today so we don't have to rush too much tomorrow. Interestingly, I'm not that excited about going. I want to go but I'm just not as excited as I think I should be about taking a vacation for the first time in over 8 years. Maybe once I'm there I'll be more in the vacation spirit.

The reason we're going to Oahu is to stay with my dad while my mom has knee replacement surgery. She had hip replacement surgery in May. My dad was in the hospital for 3 weeks in August and they found he had bladder cancer. So in September he was in for another 3 weeks and they removed his bladder and prostate and now his urine collects in a bag on his stomach. He lost 22 pounds from his first hospital stay and hasn't regained his strength so we'll be staying with him to make sure he eats well and rests. And I want to sneak in some beach time and shopping.

See you in a week internet!