Sunday, July 08, 2012

Shopping on my birthday

Outback's website said the Independence location opens at noon on weekends; turns out that was a lie, they open at 11.  Cliff and I had other stops to make, so we left at 9:15 and got to Sears at straight up ten o'clock; Cliff had a broken Craftsman tool to get replaced.  We spent some time "window-shopping", Cliff in the tool section and me in the housewares.  I am not a shopper and I don't buy every new convenience that comes along, so I found it mind-boggling what they have done with deep-fryers, coffee pots, and other electrical kitchen stuff.  
I needed a couple of things from Sam's Club, so that was our next stop.  I am on the lookout for a large storage cabinet to put in the back porch, and also for a cheap patio set for the back deck, just a small, two-person set with an umbrella for shade.  We found exactly the table I wanted for $39, a small, black, wrought-iron one; I knew I could buy the umbrella and two chairs later at Walmart.  Cliff started to load it onto the shopping cart and I said, "Let's come back and get that after we're done shopping; why push it around all over the store?"  
Of course we forgot all about it until we were miles away from Sam's Club, so I am still without a patio table.  Me and my bright ideas.
Cliff has been in search of the proper hat for a long time; he wanted what he calls a "fishing hat" that he says will protect his ears from getting burned but won't blow off his head.  He has looked high and low to no avail; he figured maybe he'd find what he wanted at Bass Pro.  
Now, you can see Bass Pro Shop from I-70, so close you can almost spit on it.  However, no matter which exit you take off I-70, nothing leads directly to Bass Pro.  At one point I knew without a doubt we were headed in the opposite direction of where we needed to go, but Cliff would not believe me.  Turns out I was right, and I won't be letting him forget it soon.  Oh, and wouldn't you know, the GPS was back at home in the trunk of the motorcycle.  
This isn't the first time we've gotten lost getting to Bass Pro Shop, and when we do finally stumble onto it, it's purely by accident.  By the time we got there, I was out of the mood.  
After we were home, our friend Tony came by with some catfish; he shops often at Bass Pro, so Cliff asked him, "How do YOU get to Bass Pro?"  
"You just go straight up 40 highway," he answered.  
Can you believe it's that simple?  Of course we won't remember it next time; we only shop there about once a year. 
So Cliff and I hunted up hats, which were pretty much scattered all over the store.  At first he couldn't find exactly what he wanted, and the ones that were almost what he was looking for were $25.  He wasn't about to pay that much for a hat, he said.  Finally we found a display with two different hats he liked:  One was $20 and the other was $22.  I told him if he wouldn't buy them, I would.  He caved and bought both.  


  This is exactly what he wanted, and it's the one he'll wear around home.  I like it best.  


This, he tells me, is his vacation hat.  


I wanted a small, compact set of pans to use when we're camping out with the motorcycle, so we went looking for those.  Wow, talk about high prices.  The two-person set was thirty-five bucks, and I told Cliff I would take a picture of the box, come home and find it on Amazon, and pay half that price. 
"No, you get it.  I got the hats, didn't I?"  
I got it, but sure enough, I found it on Amazon for ten dollars less including postage.  Oh well.  Those handles fold back against the pans for storage.  Pretty nifty.  Stacked inside one another, they take up very little room.  I could have done without the cups, but maybe they'll come in handy for something.  
We had our steaks at Outback, made a quick stop at Walmart, and came home, exhausted.  The outside temperature was 104.
I can't complain about how I spent my birthday, except for the fact that we both forgot to buy my table at Sam's Club.
  

7 comments:

  1. well, I guess you will have to go back to Sam's club for the patio set. I get good deals on Amazon and on e-bay!

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  2. Except for the steaks, you could have stayed home and ordered all of that stuff from sportsmansguide.com. Even the patio table.

    Actually, I've seen steaks there too, on occasion.

    But then you wouldn't have had the adventure of going out and finding what you wanted.

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  3. Sounds like a lovely day. I love shopping days! Funny about how you can see Bass Pro all over the place but can't get to the place. lol

    Sounds like a perfect birthday day. And tell Cliff the hats fit him well. I like them both, but I LOVE that safari looking hat.

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  4. Sounds like a good Birthday to me. I like the lighter color in the hats best but I know it would get dirtier quicker working like he does. Those pans look like they would be great camping. In fact I wouldn't mind mind having them at home. My stainless waterless cookware is pretty heavy.

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  5. Happy BELATED Birthday, Donna. Sounds like a pefect day. I am so sorry you forgot that patio set. The price alone is worth another trip back to get it. Love the pots and pans. Didn't know you could get ones with handles like that. ENJOY. I must tell you Cliff's vacation hat is AWESOME. Take care.

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  6. I hope that table is still there the next time you go back to Sams . I've done that sort of thing many times and when I've gone back it's never there so I've learned that when I see something I want get it then...All in all it sounds like you had a great birthday!

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  7. It sounds like a wonderful and mostly productive day. I HATE it when I forget something. But it's too hot to sit on the patio right now anyway. You can get it later and use it for your hopefully cooler fall.

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