2003-06-21 - 1:54 p.m.

Blessed Summer Days

Yes, summer is here. No, it�s not hot; it�s raining. I am nevertheless thrilled with the longer days. It�s like being released from a prison.

When it doesn�t get dark early, I can go places after work. Thus I did all the required errands earlier this week, leaving me a Friday with free time. For starters, I visited the barber. If his floor is any indication, all he cut off was the gray stuff, and my hair looks darker. It was too damp to do yard work, and I decided to drive in the other direction.

All of my regular haunts � Sam�s, Costco, Staples, Stop & Shop � are on or near Route 1, to the west. It�s at least a year since I drove eastward. Since I had the time, I decided I didn�t need the highway; it�s not a pretty drive on a Friday, when all the drivers seem to be trying to begin their weekend early. So I got onto Route 1 and drove east. It didn�t even matter if I took a side trip or two.

I stopped off at Home Goods, which often has good buys. Not this time. There were lots of things that might be nice for a bride, but I don�t need to restock my kitchen. The store was full of �chochkes,� not my style at all. I hoped for curtains for my bathroom; there were no curtains at all. I thought they might have some decent glassware, but the kind I wanted was no bargain.

So I left Home Goods and drove around to Liquidators, one of those places that�s like a good yard sale, where you never know what you will find. Like a pack of six old-fashioned glasses for less than six dollars. Or a package containing a tier and a swag, just right for my bathroom window � less than ten dollars. (Sure, that stuff is for kitchens, but as long as it doesn�t have food pictured on it, I can put it wherever I like.) So already I was ahead.

I made one impulse purchase, a new bathroom scale with a huge dial. It was the only thing not on sale. I came home with all this stuff for about thirty dollars. My kind of shopping.

Since I was hungry, I bypassed all the fast food places and went home. It�s a good thing I did, because I had been walking for at least two hours and suddenly realized I was exhausted.

As I said, it�s raining again today. Not a good day to go out, but an excellent day to cuddle up with Harry Potter, pre-ordered from Costco. I didn�t know it would come via FedEx. On a Saturday. No extra charge. Blessed summer!

Current Reading:
Good Diary Today:
From the Old Folks' Radio:

previous - next

thanksalot - 2012-03-15
update 12-2011 - 2011-12-04
Did You Know? - 2011-02-08
Not Really an Update - 2011-01-14
The Lonely Crowd - 2010-11-15