A co-worker stopped by my cubicle yesterday and asked me what kind of dog I had. I told her that we had a black Lab. She said that she saw the nose prints on the back window of my car.

Sandra and grandson Joe are visiting PEI for a few days. Woody is planning to take Joe fishing today. They'll have lobster for supper. Each grandchild gets a flight to the Island as a 10th birthday gift. I drove them to the airport yesterday morning and will pick them up on Sunday.

So Marley and I will pack up this afternoon and, after a brief visit with my father, will go to the camp for a couple of days. Then, Sandra and I will take our vacation at the camp for the week. It's a good, quiet week to be there. We'll tour the lake by canoe and maybe walk around the lake on the shore. We have some work to do. There's always work. The weather forecast calls for rainy weather mid-week, giving us a chance to be quiet as well. We'll play cribbage, work on a jigsaw puzzle, and read.

This will also give me a chance to think about what's ahead for me and my work. I'm nearly two-thirds of the way through my contract. It's quite likely that the contract will be extended, but I need to be prepared in the case that it isn't. I've done very little job hunting this summer. If I'm going to be looking for work, I'll need to start as soon as we return from our break.

Vacations can often bring a renewed energy and focus, a chance to remind ourselves of our priorities. It takes the same amount of energy to work at trivialities or at important stuff, but the result is oh, so different.