The art of getting things done

I've been incredibly bad about posting anything lately so instead of boring you with long "we did this and then we did that" paragraphs, I give you my favourite time saver - the bulleted list.

• During the long weekend, A. and I rented a car so that we could GTD (get things done). We ended up with a shiny Mazda 6 that we both fell in love with.
  
• Went to IKEA, spent way too much money but ended up with a great half-round gateleg table, two wooden chairs, two folding chairs, and a shoe rack that I have wanted since it came out.
  
• That same night we went to Steveston and had a delicious dinner at Sockeye City Grill.
  
• Woke up early Sunday morning so we could head down to Washington. Spend 1.5hrs in the line at the border.
  
• Stopped at Anacortes because we wanted to head over to the San Juan Islands but the next ferry wasn't for another two hours and it would have taken up the rest of our day so we decided to nix that idea and head down to Seattle. (Pictures here.)
  
• Drove around downtown Seattle looking for a hotel and ended up at the Hotel Monaco.
  
• Did some shopping and then went up the Space Needle.
  
• Had another amazing dinner, this time at The Brooklyn.
  
• Monday morning, went to Pike Place Market for wandering and breakfast. Also saw the first Starbucks.
  
• On the way home we stopped at Alderwood Mall and Seattle Prime Outlets and spent waaaay too much money. Got dinged at the border.
  
• Emma and Laurel hosted a kick-ass "Hobo Reunion" on the 12th at which everyone had a hobo name. Mine was Gnarles Boxcar and A. was Spits McGrifter. People also brough hobosnacks, ours being worms and dirt.
  
• This Saturday A. and I went to Sears and checked out new washer and dryer teams (I love that they call them teams.) We are probably going to wait for Scratch and Save next weekend and go back for the Kenmore front-loaders. Is it sad that I can't wait to do the first load of laundry in the new washer and dryer?
  
• We also lusted over a pair of Movado watches. I love the Rondiro watch.
  

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Books I've read recently

Despite the warnings that other book bloggers have written about, I have waited way too long to write about what I've read recently. I don't really remember characters or what my initial reactions were so here again, is another list.

15. Saturday by Ian McEwan. I'd never read any of his other books but had heard excellent things about this one so I picked it up at Chapters one day. I really enjoyed the story and love the way McEwan can bring a scene so vividly to mind.

16. The Bean Trees by Barbara Kingsolver. I've had The Poisonwood Bible on my shelf of to-be-reads for years but hadn't heard anything about any of her other books. I read this one on the recommendation of A. who said he had really enjoyed it when he was in school. This was a heartwarming tale about the power of family and friendship and I sped through it. An excellent story.

17. The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith is another book I have heard a lot of people talking about over the past few years. I discovered that they had it at work so I started reading it on my lunch breaks. The story and the main character of Precious Ramotswe captured my imagination and, like the Outlander books made me want to go to Scotland, this book made me want to visit Botswana. Maybe one day...

18. Morality for Beautiful Girls by Alexander McCall Smith is the third book in the No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency series but I read this one second because they also had it at work. Again, an excellent read with intriguing characters and subplots. I'm looking forward to reading the rest in this series.