random thoughts – Day 1,640 – (Friday) – full day

The vacation day had a sort of a plan for a change. The dance troupe is performing at Hubbardston Field Day on Saturday, and we had a dress rehearsal scheduled for 6:30 in Townsend tonight, which is close enough to Fitchburg and Leominster to deal with some errands.

Before leaving Lowell, the plan was to stop at St. Vincent de Paul Thrift Shop then Market Basket, return home to drop off the groceries at the house, then hit the road. Planned destinations were Ocean State Job Lot, the gas station on Route 12, the car wash, Big Lots, then rehearsal.

The bag of clothes for the donation and my weekend purse were grabbed. Of course, no donation trip to St. V’s has ever happened without a stop inside the shop. Treasures were found in the half-off tags and I stood in the checkout line with a pair of Ralph Lauren striped pajamas, a pair of Jones New York blue linen pants that will be perfect for an upcoming trip to Mexico, and a gray shirt with a hood because gray seems to have replaced black as my go-to color. As I approached the checkout, I discovered my wallet was absent from my purse and asked the cashier if she could hold my items while I went home for it.

Sitting in traffic and at lengthy red lights on the way back to the house provided plenty of time to debate returning to St V’s. At the house, the wallet was retrieved from Thursday's dance bag and a lemon Italian ice and a granola bar were consumed for sustenance, then it was back into the traffic. Market Basket was bumped for the afternoon, knowing it would be possible to go after rehearsal. Or Saturday. Or Sunday. The items were bought at St. V’s and then it was off to the direction of The ‘Burg.

Ocean State Job Lot was uncrowded and I browsed the entire store like a lady of leisure on a Friday afternoon. The grocery department, which always fascinates, yielded Tikka Masala sauce, Milano cookies and smoked paprika. 

In the car wash.

The gas station was oddly empty and it was a quick in and out with a full tank of $2.97/gallon gas, then next door for the car wash with the free vacuums. While vacuuming, I was mindful of the peridot and gold earring dropped in the car a month or two or three ago. And there it was, nestled in the nubs of the driver’s side floor mat, where I have looked for that earring at least a dozen times since dropping it. Eureka! Now I can stop sitting in the driveway looking through the car, and relax in the parking garage where I would look for a glint in the cracks and crevices of the concrete which yielded a dime and a work logo lapel pin but no earring.

The traffic was heavy all through Leominster and Fitchburg, but Big Lots was quiet and pleasant. The main objective was makeup remover wipes, but the summer shoes were half off, so sparkly thong sandals were chosen after going through the entire display. While casually wandering the store without a care, I checked my watch and was shocked that it was already 6:00 and rehearsal was at 6:30.

It was a hot-footed trot to the register where the sandals rang up wrong but I didn’t notice until I was nearly at the door and reviewing the receipt. The clerk verified the price with another worker and refunded the amount of the overcharge to my debit card. Then it was onto John Fitch Highway where the traffic crawled when it wasn’t fully stopped but the minutes kept moving along.

I arrived at rehearsal barely on time which hurt because I usually arrive at the studio ten or fifteen minutes early for class or rehearsals because I hate being late. It was a rush to get into costume and everyone else was dressed and chatting.

 We danced great and finished quickly. Afterwards, I stopped at Family Dollar in Townsend where the store is always tidy and the shelf tags are correct, unlike the Dracut store which always looks like a cyclone just visited and the prices posted on the shelves are almost never correct. The mission was caramel macchiato coffee creamers which were not found at the other stores. The added bonus was coffee on sale.  

Ritzy dinner.

At home, it was time for the latest episodes of Emily in Paris. There hadn’t been any supper, so it was a snack of Ritz crackers and sliced American cheese. Not exactly gourmet, and the only thing ritzy was the brand of cracker, but it was after 8:00 and there was zero interest in cooking or eating anything heavy at that hour. It was quite a full day, even if my belly ended on a light note.