A Shopping Day

Today was a most excellent day. I had minor pain and enough energy to take my granddaughter-by -choice shopping and to lunch. 

I have two granddaughters. Sarah is my granddaughter by birth. Madilyn is my granddaughter by choice. She is Sarah's half sister but we don't do halfs in my family. Madi once ask if I really was her Mawmaw and I ask her if she wanted me to be. She said yes. I said, "Then I'm your Mawmaw and always will be." 

That's just how I roll. 

Shopping is not my thing. However, for these two girls, I'll do a lot of things that aren't my thing. Shopping is something they both enjoy when they have the funds ... or I do. So I called up their mom and told her I wanted to take Madi out. Madi was ready by noon. 

Our plan was to hit two thrift stores in Washington Square Mall. We both like thrift stores and Madi had $20 to spend. At the first store, she found two items she liked. I found something for their apartment. During our meandering, Madi revealed she was up all night. I had thought she looked tired. She hadn't known I was taking her out. I ask if she was all right, and she assured me she was. However, she was hungry, so we went to lunch. I had to promise we'd come back to the new Goodwill store after lunch. I wasn't sure because she was clearly exhausted.

As we rode along Green River Rd. we just chatted. Suddenly, Madi said, "Mawmaw, what is Hooters?"

I laughed. "Well, it's a restaurant."

"What kind?"

A considered pause followed. Y'all know by now that I just tell the truth. I said, "It's a restaurant where the waitresses wear shorts up to their crack and very tight t-shirts that expose their boobs to everyone."

After a brief pause, Madi said, "But why?"

"Because they're required to dress that way to work there."

"Who goes there?"

I could be mistaken here, but don't think so. I said, "Mostly men but some women go there, too. They say the food is good."

Madi made several false starts at a response. I could see her in the mirror as she put a hand to her forehead and said, "Mawmaw, that is so messed up I don't know what to say."

All I could do was laugh. 

A minute later she said, "Well, they're closing."

She made it sound as if there is a connection. Y'all Madi is eight yrs old. 

I love the brains of children under ten. I'll take them to lunch and pick their brains, ask them questions and let them give me their view of the world. They never disappoint. I promise you it's always fascinating. It's the most fun I could ever ask for. Sarah has kept me in stitches for two decades. You can read about that on this blog. And she still does it at 19. Madi appears to be a lot like her sister in her opinions. 

We did eventually get back to Goodwill, where she bought two items for her bedroom. In the car again, I watched as Madi passed out in the back seat. Well, it was a busy afternoon for her and for me, but I had to drive. 

A Beautiful Day in My Neighborhood

 What a lovely day it has been! I got to spend the whole day with my Sarah and we had a grand time. We had breakfast together, and she wanted to shower and wash her hair. Then, for a couple of hours, we just sat around and talked. She was on her new phone and I was on my laptop. It was lovely to just visit and browse. We went to lunch around one and then we went to Ollie's to shop. 

I had a reason. I wanted to look at the patio umbrellas. Last few years, I haven't been able to keep one because weather destroyed them. However, I must have been early because they didn't have them out, despite their flyer saying they were out. So, will have to wait or order one online. But their prices were so reasonable I really wanted to get it there. 

However, I found some other things I know I needed. New shower curtain, some bath towels, large to take to the gym, and some hand towels that were too adorable not to buy. I got four large hand towels for $10. And I bought a light for my garage to put over the freezer. It's so dark where it stands that you can't see what's in there at night. As soon as I can get up the ladder, I'll find out. A 4 foot led shop light for $10 should be plenty of light for the space. And I could get more to link up to this one if I wanted. My garage is rather dark. 

After shopping, we came home and chilled out. We were both tired out from all the back and forth and I took her home around six. Now, I've had a hot shower and am ready for bed. I can't remember a nicer day. 

 

Heavenly Days

 

This was probably the best Saturday I've had in ... years. Sarah and I went shopping. Not on my dime, her's. She worked since school started in Ohio and when she came home, she had received none of the money she earned. Someone else had confiscated her pay card and kept her pay. She never said a word, just sucked it up. But this week at my house, she got her last paycheck. I wish I had a photo of her when she saw how much she had on her card. You don't want to know my heart when I realized how much was stolen from her. 

We actually went to the licenses branch first to get her an ID. When she had to sign all the papers, she made a comment about it and I said, "Welcome to the grownup world." She said, "I need to work on my handwriting." She'd never signed her name so much and I think was embarrassed. So I promised to get a handwriting book. Education departments should be penalized for the disaster they've created in our education system.

As they finished, they asked her if she wanted to register to vote. Again, I wish I'd taken photos. Her face. She said, "I can do that?" They told her since she would be 18 before the election, she could. I've never seen anyone as shocked and as thrilled as Sarah coming out of that office. And having the privilege of seeing it was a joy. It totally changed her mindset from that point on. 

From there we went, and she spent her money on herself. She bought boots, new tennis shoes since the others have a broken sole and coming apart in a few places. She got a new wallet because she got her new state ID and said she'd need it. I bought her a new backpack because she prefers that to a handbag. After every purchase, she was counting up her remaining balance on her phone calculator. She spent with caution and joy, tallying up what was left without complaint. Every purchase was an exciting moment for us both. And a revelation to her. I said, "Now you know why math is important." She replied, "Yes. I have made some bad life choices." 

As we were leaving, I backed into a woman in the parking lot and that's a fiasco I'd rather not relate. I claim responsibility. However, neither car had a sign of damage, not even a smudge. She started to drive off and then decided on the next row over she has a wheel problem because I "hit her wheel". Well, I didn't, but I said I just needed her insurance info. She said we needed to call the police so she could document it. I explained that a parking lot accident was a no fault but I agreed, if that was what she wanted she should call them. I had no problem with it. 

She said, "Unless you want to take care of it under the table." I promptly said, "Oh no, I don't do under the table. Call the police if you need to." That took over an hour to get an officer, but we waited. I asked her twice about her insurance info, but she wouldn't provide it. Another half hour of talking to him and he looked at both cars and then at me with a look that said, "Really?" and I said, "I know." He had to ask her twice for insurance info, too. He finally made her give it to me. And she decided she didn't want a police report. And it was her idea to call. He told me he had to tell her she would still be responsible for her deductible. Yeah.

So, after this, Sarah and I decided it was time to call it a day. We stopped on the way home at Freddy's for supper and to wind down. It was a great day despite the non-fender bender. 

I'm exhausted. Sarah is just still excited and happy. Dad told her tonight he would take her somewhere to practice driving. 

It takes so little to make a person happy. 

This Too Shall Pass

 And it did. I got nothing done today that was on my list. I didn't get to sleep until around 3 a.m., despite lying in bed with my CPap mask on. I almost go up but decided to just tough it out. I listened to a podcast until I was tired. I turned out the light at 3 a.m. Took a few minutes to get to sleep but I was up at 8 a.m.

I did a devotional and played some games. Then took the shopping trip. I got some groceries and went to Dollar General to get household supplies. So, that's taken care of for the next month. 

I also stopped at the Dollar Tree to get some marbles. I found them! Two bags for my project. I saw this on a video on line and realized I needed it. Two Dollar General baking pans. Two bags of Dollar Tree marbles. Put the marbles in the bottom pan. Put your spices in the top pan. The pan held two shelves of spices. Dollar Tree sells the baking pans cheaper, but they are much smaller. I may have to make a second one of these.

On my return, after I put away all the items and finished the project, I sat and listened to podcasts. I realized a few moments ago that Icouldn't stay up much longer so I'm headed off to the Land of Nod. Yes, that's a place and you can Google it if you want. My eyes feel crosed and I've made a hundred errors while typing this.