Tag Archives: shopping

WPC: (Extra)ordinary

16 Friday Oct 2015

Posted by in photo challenge, vacation

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Last year my mother dragged (really, almost kicking and screaming-dragged) me on a cruise.  Not a sit in the sun and see amazing new tropical countries kind of cruise, but a boat full of really old people kind of cruise.  I had the BEST time!!  We were celebrating her 80th birthday and this was on her bucket list.  I made all sorts of new friends and discovered she makes a great wing-woman.

We went up the Mississippi River from St Louis to St Paul on the American Queen, a real honest-to-goodness paddlewheel.  The food was good and the wine was mediocre (good thing I had brought a good stash of my own).  We went through something like 26 locks, saw bald eagles, a church with a huge collection of Tiffany windows, and explored Hannibal, MO, home of Mark Twain.  One of the last days of the trip, Mother wasn’t feeling so hot, so I left her with a cup of tea and I trekked out on my own.  I didn’t want to go too far, so I just went on one of the short excursions to an antique mall.

Boy-oh-boy was I in hog heaven.  Room after room after room of pyrex, milk glass, and depression glass… I could have spent every dime I had and then some.  I restrained myself and limited myself to just a few things.  I got both a milk glass and a green glass reamer and these darling milk glass tea cups.  One of these days I will go back with a uhaul and shop like mad.

I could go on and on about all we saw and did that week, but they have a brochure for that.  I will say the evening entertainment on the boat was outstanding.  I’m just delighted to have gone and seen and experienced what I did.  It was truly an extraordinary adventure.

In response to The Daily Post’s weekly photo challenge: “(Extra)ordinary.”

Growing Pains

28 Friday Sep 2012

Posted by in fashion

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There are moments in life that make us more aware than ever we are a full fledged responsible adult. I hate those moments.

I’ve droned on about my single life and I do not mind being single. Actually, it’s not being single that I mind. What I mind is being responsible for everything. It breaks, I have to fix it. It wears out, I have to replace it. That’s what gets annoying.

Recently, I had to fly to Dallas for some family time. The upside to the trip was my Mutha took me shopping for bras. That’s what mothers do, they buy your underwear. A friend and I recently were having the conversation that her grown son asked her for underwear, because that’s what mothers do. She also lamented that she missed her own mother at those moments, when she needed new underwear.

Where am I going with this underwear ramble? Recall my weedwacker excursion? This week has felt a little like that, but a tad more personal. I’m boring. I’ve worn the same (not really the same, that would be kind gross) cotton panties for years. Feeling the need to spruce my undergarments, I spent a few hours at the mall inspecting the array of choices available.

I made the required stop at Victoria’s Secret. I’ve never been thrilled with their stuff, but it’s cute and seemingly affordable for what it is. One of the things I dislike about this establishment is that everyone who works there is between 16 and 20 and has a figure like a stick. They have no idea how to respond when I say I don’t want underwear that rides up my ass because that’s what their thong is meant to do. A few minutes later (but in reality felt like an hour) I wandered out with my tiny bag, $25 lighter and 5 panties richer.

I then made my way to a delightful mecca I like to call Nordstroms. I have never regretted a purchase from there. Yes, it costs 2-3 times what I would have paid elsewhere, but it lasts forever and if I don’t like it, they’ll take it back no matter what. The woman in the lingerie department was friendly and was not put off with my specific criteria. I did find a few things that seemed to fit the bill, but my bill here was quite a bit more than at VS. Again, I knew this going in, but have the expectation that this item will be well worth it.

First morning wearing my new skivvies from VS. I’m not half a block from home and sure enough, they end up straight up my backside! If I had more time I probably would have turned around right then. But I ignored it and went on with the next 10 hours. The others will be returned. I think I’ve learned my lesson and will not be returning to VS.

Day 2 of the new pantie experiment, I wore my new Cadillac undies from Nordy’s. There’s a reason one pair costs the same as I spent on 5 at the other place. I put them on and they fit just right and stayed where I put them. I walked and walked and they didn’t move. I sat down, I stood up, still, right where I wanted them.

Now, that I’ve fallen in love with my new Cadillac panties, I just need to figure out how to refinance my home to buy a few more of these. While my favorite new garment is not in the same ball park as La Perla, it’s certainly several steps up from the cotton Jockey’s I’ve been sporting. The joys of being a girl.

the angst of commitment

10 Thursday May 2012

Posted by in garden

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I know things about myself and I can embrace them.  I’ve shared before that dating is a serious mystery to me.  The bond that people want to form is not always something I embrace.  I know this about myself and I try to work around this self-made obstacle.

But, today’s commitment crisis is not one of the human heart, but still daunting to me, none the less.  A guardian angel made a contribution to the weedwacker fund after the great windshield debacle.  I had been doing my research early on and had some idea of what I wanted and what I would be spending.  So after work on Wednesday evening, I went to pick up the mower from the machine shop (this story has come full circle) and then on to Home Depot and Sears to see what new toy I could bring home.

I made the mis-step as soon as I walked in to the machine shop.  the counter was full, so to wait my turn, I looked at their weedwackers.  $99 all the way to $400!  $400?!  This thing is a metal rod with a spinny thing on one end, were they also selling me the man to carry it around?  I did note, these metal rods looked reasonably solid and well made.  Not really wanting to spend $400, I didn’t bother to ask about them, but collected my mower and moved on down the road.

I wandered into Home Depot and saw a stunning array of flimsy weedwackers in the $30-$99 range, nothing that instilled the slightest confidence.  I was starting to get a bit of a knot in my stomach.  So off to Sears I went.  Again, I didn’t see anything that was more robust than a flyswatter.  The knot was getting tighter and I was in need of fresh air.  I left the store and decided to put off this purchase for another day.

I have decided that I am going back to my neighborhood machine shop and seek their professional counsel.  I’ll do a little more research and ask a few friends what they use.  I really thought long and hard about asking some guy friend to help me out with this, but didn’t want to be the damsel in distress.  I just want to buy a weedwacker and I want one that will last more than midway through my first use.  I’d also like to not have to sell an organ to do all this.

So dear friends, what’s your weedwacker of choice?  I’m seeking your honest opinion.  Give it to me straight.