I have almost NO attention span when doing laundry and get sufficiently bored pretty fast unless there is a "cast of characters" to watch, which there wasn't. I spotted a neat looking home hanging on the hill above us, so I grabbed my camera (that thing that is attached at my hip) and took a photo..
We finished laundry by 9AM, stopped at the Sattler post office and headed further down the road to New Braunfels to the WalMart and HEB. The weather yesterday was mild, 72 degrees, and cloudy. I kept grabbing for my jacket and remembered I hadn't needed it today. The WalMart was not terribly crowded, surprisingly, and we managed to proceed pretty fast with our grocery shopping..Notation:..I usually give Dennis an assignment of a small list of stuff for him to get in the "guy" area, like sewer hose, screws, toilet sanitizer..fun things like that. This accomplishes two things...first, it gives him a taste of what I face with my weekly grocery shopping at home...and secondly, it keeps him from finding me too soon in the store.
I never get much meat at the WalMart..something about it..can't put my finger on it, LITERALLY! By that I mean those air expanded packages of meat that look like they are emitting noxious fumes. They are a real turn off. We checked out and went to find my favorite store for meat..HEB.
We drove back through traffic to the other side of the interstate to the HEB...Oh My God...the parking lot was packed!! We drove around until we found a spot and jumped into it, and just in time, too, Dennis' veins were beginning to stand out on his neck...HEB keeps it's shopping carts just OUTSIDE the store, so you have to get a cart and take it inside with you...pretty smart, eh? Well, there were almost NO carts left, but I grabbed one away from a little kid (just joking)..no I'm not... and we went inside..
I felt like I was in a candid camera show to see how we could handle rude, cart bumping, aisle hogging Xmas shoppers. Dennis immediately left my side and I was wondering if I would hear a page on the loudspeaker looking for a lost wife. I got out my list and coupons (oh, yes, I do clip them) and it didn't take long to figure out that this would take a while. I kept finding myself behind the same little old lady in her hand -crocheted stocking cap and matching knee socks. And apparently she knew everyone in the store, as she stopped in the middle of every aisle to give hugs to all. Now I really NEEDED Dennis ..I needed a shopping elf to give half my list to..and just as I was about to lose my calm Xmas spirit, Dennis magically appeared, looking like he had just witnessed a mugging.
Well, I gave him a few coupons and items to look for and we finally got out of there with our lives after about an hour. It took us another half hour to get out of the parking lot..Seemed every car ahead of us was waiting for the next car to back out of a space so they could jump in..JUST GET US OUT OF HERE AND BACK TO THE HILL COUNTRY CALM! I almost forgot we needed to fuel up before we left the insanity, so we merged onto I-35 to find the cheapest diesel , which we had previously seen for $2.56 a gallon. Dennis is never one to pay more than he needs, even if it means crawling through 5 lanes of traffic to do so.
We got back to our camper by noon, unloaded all the laundry and groceries...How the heck did we get all that stuff into our truck?? We took our walk in shirtsleeves, but I knew it wouldn't last. They were predicting a big cold front late that evening. I hoped it would not move through until we had done our required campfire and Xmas music outside, and I was rewarded with a beautiful evening.
Here is my driver and shopping elf, relaxing by the campfire after an exhausting day of Xmas cheer in New Braunfels....(are those white sox he's wearing?? oh well..I have no control.)
I was taking this shot and didn't realize Den had a "ham" behind him wanting in the picture..oops, technically not a "ham"...that would be a pig...this is a buck, but not a dollar bill..oh never mind.
Today is Christmas Eve...We heard the rain and cold front come in not too quietly in the middle of the night. We did our walk this morning early..I heard them forcast cold and 35 mph winds and that is not my idea of a fun walk. We left most of our day/night shades pulled down to keep the cold air outside. ..Thank God for our little fireplace heater. I cleaned the camper and Dennis told me what I missed.....Really, he was tweeking our blogsite so it looked more professional...and here is his seat for most of the day....
OK, I really didn't intend to go on this long. Tonite we celebrate yet another Xmas Eve on the road....I miss you all and wish you could come with us on this adventure. A special thanks to our three children who allow us this luxury of following our dreams in our "extended" years..To our four beautiful grandkids, we love you and miss you, but now we can skype you and that certainly makes leaving you over Xmas more bearable.
A Merry Christmas to all of you, friends and family..Remember to make GREAT memories, because that is what we really have left after all is said and done....I may do a quick blog tomorrow....unless I drink too many Brandy Manhattans tonight and my fingers won't work tomorrow...smile...Later....
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