Lucky marbles

I was a ground-watcher as a child. Always on the look-out for treasure. Not big treasure like chests full of gold or anything like that. Simple treasures. Marbles, coins, jewelry - things of that nature. It would happen upon occasion that I would find a marble just peeking out of the dirt. Now and then at my own house, (which was quite old, having been built around the turn of the last century) but more often at my grandparent's house where my father grew up. Heck, with 5 kids, there were bound to be some lost marbles in that yard. Occasionally, I'd happen upon a small old bottle and be really impressed with myself.

At the corner of the next block here in San Diego, there is a plot where a house had burned down and a new one has been built. The yard is nothing but dirt and as the house is on a hill, mud covers the sidewalk when it rains. It's quite annoying, actually...but because of the lack of grass, I find myself searching for some glimpse of hidden treasure in the dirt each and every time I walk past. I always think about how neat it would be if I had a metal detector...maybe I could find some coins or small jewelry in the yard. But I digress...I was walking the dog with my children a few weeks ago and I actually saw a marble sitting there in the dirt by the sidewalk. I couldn't believe it. I pointed it out to William and allowed him the honor of digging it out of the dirt. He was excited and carried the marble everywhere for 2 or 3 days. (He didn't lose it, but I took it away for safe keeping after the novelty wore off.) I don't know why I'm writing about this, it just struck me this morning while I was walking that maybe I'm not alone in my marble hunting and there might be others out there who take it as a sign of good luck when they find something small like this on the ground.

We've been a bit busy here the past few days. Debbie and Katie arrived on Monday. On Tuesday, I took Katie with me to run my errands. Yesterday was playgroup day and a field-trip to the Firehouse Museum (not the best for toddlers or young children as almost every item had a "Do Not Touch" sign on it) but turned out to be great in the end because my friend Jen and her son Aiden are now living in San Diego and they went along with us...then we had a wonderful time at McDonald's just visiting and watching the kids play.

Today, I'm exhausted. My insomnia is killing me. I truly believe this. If I could sleep more than 2 or 3 hours at a time, I think I'd be an entirely different, and happier, person. We are hanging out at home today - being lazy - watching the gray clouds move in because rain is on the way. In a little while I might vacuum, do a load of laundry, change sheets, that sort of thing. But then again, maybe not...I might just not do anything if I can get away with it.