Sunshine aplenty on shopping day

After nighttime temps around 20 degrees and four to five inches of snow on the ground, not to mention two days of school closings, the sun is shining so brightly on the snow it feels as though it might blind us.  Sunshine is always a mood enhancer, even if it's still below freezing outside.  The roads are reasonably clear, so we went to Blue Springs shopping after stopping by the bank to get some cash.  My little bit of social security money arrived a week ago, but it usually all goes for bills.  When Cliff's money shows up, we get our spending money for the next thirty days.  

Yesterday the little girl we used to babysit came to spend the day with us, since there was no school.  It had been a long time since we'd seen her, and we enjoyed her company thoroughly.  She put together most of a small Lego set I'd gotten for her some time ago, a Christmas-themed train, while I did very little to help her; I just sat there and watched her put it all together.  For lunch, she asked me to make her a peanut-butter-and-honey sandwich made into shapes, so I used the plastic sandwich-shape cutter that makes two dolphins.  When we stopped babysitting her, I put the box of sandwich shapers in the back porch, thinking to pass them along to someone.  Now I'm glad I kept it, since she has asked for shaped sandwiches more than once when she visits.  It seems like she sort of goes back to the past when she's here, asking to do activities and eat foods she remembers from when she was here regularly:  the good old days, I suppose, to a six-year-old child.  Her dad said she was asking to come today too, but we really needed to get out, get some money, and just be out of the house awhile.  And I've gotten enough age on me now that being responsible for a child two days in a row is pretty tiring, even as much as we love her.  It does make me very happy she wants to come and see us, though!

We only went to two stores today:  Aldi and Walmart.  I usually get a lot of produce at Aldi; I love fruit, and they often have the best prices on oranges, grapefruits, grapes, and so forth.  I got a pair of pajamas for ten bucks.  Last week I bought some house slippers there.  Cliff couldn't believe they have things like that.  

I noticed this morning in their ad they had spiral-cut ham that was $1.99 a pound last week marked down to 85 cents a pound.  I've never bought Aldi ham before and was hesitant to take advantage of the low price, but as Cliff and I stood at the meat case looking things over, I asked a lady who was picking over those hams if she had tried that particular kind of ham before:  "Oh yes, they are delicious!" she answered.  

She was an older lady and looked like she ought to know good ham when she tastes it, so I bought one, a 17-pound ham for under $8.  

There's a certain atmosphere in Aldi's, a camaraderie amongst the shoppers, many of whom are senior citizens (at least on Wednesdays, the day Social Security comes in).  You don't see a lot of disgruntled folks there... unlike Walmart, where you have to watch out or you'll be run down by an angry person pushing a shopping cart.    

I have to confess that all those bargains didn't really do us much good.  Cliff made the mistake of mentioning Tuscano's, the best Italian eatery you will ever encounter.  So we spent more to eat one meal than we paid for the groceries we bought today.  We don't go there often, though, and it's always a treat.  The place has expanded like crazy since their start-up. 

We don't do gifts at Christmas any more, so we don't have Christmas shopping to do; of course we don't expect to receive gifts either, although one granddaughter still gets us our favorite flavored popcorn each year... and I'll admit we do enjoy it.  I no longer send Christmas cards, either.  To tell the truth, it always feels like a relief when the whole season is over.  

We came home after our Italian feast and made coffee; Cliff turned on the television and there was the impeachment hearing.  He was surfing the Internet, but left the TV on.  "Are you watching this?" I asked him.  He said he was, although his eyes stayed on the laptop screen.  

He asked if it was bothering me.  

"Well, I don't like to hear angry voices yelling and arguing," I said.  "It makes me feel bad."

He was enjoying it, but turned it off anyhow.  Poor guy doesn't even get to listen to TV when he wants to.  Now I feel like the wicked witch.

No I don't.  I can only take that sort of thing in small doses.  It has nothing to do with who wins and who doesn't, it's just the noise of arguing I hate.  

I guess that's it for today's news from Woodhaven Acres.  

Peace.