Pants and Palaeontology

We did our washing today. We can't resist it really - although technically we had enough clothes for the week, we felt nervous at the ever increasing pile of dirty linen and the ever decreasing supply of garments. We pride ourselves on our minimalist packing but minimalist comes at a cost.

So we went to the Laundromat. A kind man with only one eye that seemed to be working told us about the machines in a gentle way which suggested he knew and loved them all; even the old top loaders which others might be tempted to disregard.

While we waited for the washing to dry we sat in Starbucks, trying unsuccessfully to get the $2 slinky we had bought for Evie to walk down the slope. A couple sitting next to us began to chat, telling us all about their grandchildren, their lives in California (she was from Mexico, he was born in San Diego to Italian parents) and trying to help us understand how the weather could seem cold ("it is 85 degrees in the day and 72 at night in Mexico at the moment - you never need a blanket - not ever. And you know, because of that, they are so relaxed - if you need to take something to relax, you only need half of it in Mexico"). They left before we found out their names, promising to pray for us. They seemed pretty relaxed to me.

The rest of the day was spent in Balboa park - beautiful and full of fantastic museums which are all free on Tuesdays. Evie was exhausted by the end of it; marvelling at the stuffed animals in the Natural History Museum and making wonderful discoveries in Newton Science Centre. My favourite moment had to be sitting in front of a painting in one of the art museums, making up a story about the boat which was facing imminent shipwreck.

We have clean clothes, stimulated minds and full stomachs. Time for bed.