Finally, A Trip to Town

I'm just back from my delayed trip to town, and it was good and bad. First of all I filled up the gas tank and put air in the tires. I was below a quarter tank, and since it has a 32 gallon tank, it took a pretty penny to fill it. No, make that a pretty buncha dollars!

Next stop was WalMart for some groceries and some non grocery items. I was looking for a small bookshelf that would fit between the barrister book cases to hold the overflow books and didn't look too chintzy. I didn't find one. :( But while I was walking down the furniture aisle, I saw wooden TV trays. I've avoided buying TV trays, but occasionally, it is nice to have them. I finally broke down and bought two. :) :( And about two steps farther down the aisle, I spotted something. A Cosco table. Measuring 48 inches by 24 inches. The exact size I was planning to make. :) I thought it over (yeah, for about five seconds!!) considered the price of $33 and loaded it into my cart. :D I'll still make the table as I was planning, but it will probably be for use on the deck since I will spend time there when the weather is gentler. For $33 this one will be nicer for inside the house, and it saves me $66 of aggravation!! Tomorrow I will be able to start getting the office in order without having to lug the wood up, saw it and attach the legs!! :D

I also bought a large bag to compress bedding for storage. I've used similar ones, and I really like them. This one is more heavy duty and compresses into a rectangle. It is actually called a "tote." If it works, I'll go back and get one or two more, because they can be stacked on one another. :) That would help, because the plain bags compress to irregular shapes and slide around terribly, always winding up in an untidy pile in the closet.

My next stop was unexciting, just to pick up medications. I headed for another grocery to buy three items that I can't get at WalMart, and after that I was going home. I had some other errands, but I got a late start, so I decided to hold the others until later. I have to go back later in the week to pick up a printer ink cartridge that wasn't in last week. So I hop into the store, get the things I needed, and swiped my debit card. It was rejected!! :( OK, I made a mistake. I swiped it again. Again, it was rejected! :( Come on!!! I just used it three other times!! I had checked my balance before I left home and there is at least five times what I've purchased today!! Fortunately, they took a check, and I left.

I was planning to call the bank when I got home. When I walked in the door, the phone was ringing. I grabbed it, and it was the bank. A few days ago I paid my cell phone bill on the phone, and I incorrectly entered the expiration date twice, then got it right on the third try. It seems that such a mistake, then several large purchases made close together in time sends an electrical alarm, and they locked down the debit charge feature until I verified the purchases! Yikes!! :( and Yippee!! :) It was embarrassing and alarming when my purchase was rejected, but I'm very glad they are on top of it! Those of you who have read my blog for a while might remember than my online account was compromised a couple years ago, and money removed from my account. It was replaced by the bank, the account closed and a new one opened, but it was very scary! So, yes, I'm glad they caught it, despite the embarrassment. :)

My late start for the shopping trip came because I decided to go meet the builder of the house that is up the hill from me. As I left today, I drove around to the site and introduced myself. I've said to several people that I would probably end up liking him because it is one man building a house, not a big contractor who has little regard for the environment. I was right! It is actually an existing neighbor who is building on a spare lot with plans to sell his current home across the road. He told me about the plan, and he has built with consideration for my location. The house is situated so that they won't be looking right down at me, and he also plans to put in a couple trees between us!! We laughed about how we will both be helping the forest stay alive, just between the two houses! He is a nice guy, and I met his equally pleasant wife on an earlier adventure while looking for my missing Ali one day. Very nice people. Ahhhhhhh.

Life is beautiful!!!