out and about

So I did go shopping yesterday, actually got everywhere I wanted to go, despite telling myself, "You need to be quick about this because it gets dark earlier now."

First stop was lunch at the good barbecue place (despite my having leftover slow cooker chicken thighs, which are good with barbecue sauce on them). Always nice to go there - the people who run that place are just friendly and nice and the food is good and it makes me happy. (Not that I think anyone here will be in Sherman any time soon, but it's called Cackle and Oink. Which tells you the two main meats they have, but I guess they also have beef. I think they also might do whole turkey legs, I think that was what I saw one of the workers sitting down to when he took his lunch break)

Then JoAnn's. Waited in line a LONG time to get a couple small pieces (some additions to my floral quilt, plus a big piece of bolt-ending fabric with little birds on it that was on a good sale and may well become a simple, two-fabric quilt in the future). Couldn't be too grumpy about it because it was women getting lots of fleece cut so they could make lap robes as Christmas presents for a local nursing home. And I got the new UK Simply Knitting, which comes with a free kit for a small (Alan Dart designed*) polar bear in a Father Christmas robe.

(*He's probably THE best known UK toy designer. Most of his designs are extremely complex and I'm not sure I ever actually made one, but this one is small and simpler so I will be making it)

I also used my "40% off one full priced item" coupon to get a really nice book of "modern, one-block quilts" - which has a pattern in it that may be my next quilt - it's a very slight modification from what I was planning and I like this version better. And there are several other nice simple quilts, some just done in two fabrics, and maybe I want to do a couple quilts like that some time.

Ran to the natural foods store: hooray, they had the canned sweet potato puree back in stock so I bought four cans, plus a couple more cans of the smoked trout I like so well. Got a sympathy card for the husband of the woman who passed this week, have to get that out today.

Then to Kroger's, because I can't get every last thing I need at the natural foods store, and honestly, if it's something they both carry, Kroger's will be cheaper. They were slammed and people were doing crazy things - apparently there is now a program where they will match prices? I wound up in line behind someone arguing the cost of EVERYTHING she was buying....and then she pulled out a checkbook. (And yeah, I get some people still have to use checks, but honestly? You could have it partly made out before you hear the FINAL total). And then the person right ahead of me stopped to argue the price of something on his receipt (I thought the policy what that that had to go to the service desk for that, but whatever).

Still, I finally got out of there and realized I had time to go to Target and the bookstore (quickly. I hadn't bought anything frozen but I didn't want the milk to warm up too much).

Took a detour through the toy section at Target. Got to hear a child screaming about wanting something and how it was "only $80" (wow. just, wow. Things have changed since I was a kid.)
They are re-issuing the "original" Strawberry Shortcake doll, in her old original style dress (the new one, the one in the cartoons now, is more of a modern teen. The old one was more doll-like and the dress seemed more, I don't know, vintagey - like the old Raggedy Ann dresses). I *almost* bought one except I have one of the ORIGINAL original ones back at my parents' house, so....At that, the new doll was not all that expensive (less than $10). I might go back and get one for the toy-donation my AAUW group does, I don't know.

There's also a "spaghetti hair" stuffed-toy version of Scootaloo now. No, I didn't get one, but I will say I think she looked better in spaghetti-hair form than some of the other ponies.

But yeah, I'm paying for all that a little today - had to do my Sunday School lesson and after Ponies! are over, I will be reading the book chapters for evaluation.