random thoughts – Day 2,123 (Thursday) – melting, shopping, learning

The trees had a light coating of ice this morning, which glistened as the sun rose over the rooftops. I saw the sparkling effect from the couch and moved to the window with the camera, but the angle was different and less dramatic from there. From the couch, it was too far to get a photo. 

Water drop gems on the tree.

Much of the morning involved me pinging between the couch and the angled panes of the bay window trying to get a photo of the sun through the icy trees in my yard, across the street, and behind the houses across the street. If anyone across the street was looking out their own windows, it’s entirely possible they thought I was taking pictures of their homes. 

By 10:00, the coffee pot was empty, I had hit a 2,000 day streak in Duolingo, and it had warmed up enough that the ice was melting. The tree in my front yard looked like it had jewels decorating the tips of the branches as the sun shone through. Just like earlier, it was gorgeous viewed from the couch and a bit disappointing closer to the window.

I drove Mom to an appointment in Athol in the shopping plaza with Market Basket, Dollar Tree, Marshall’s, a movie theater, and Hobby Lobby, among other retailers. We arrived early and went into the cleanest, neatest Dollar Tree I have ever visited. This location deserves a medal. There were 18-inch white trees for 75 cents and I couldn’t resist and bought four, with no real purpose in mind, just a vague feeling I might be mad next Christmas if I didn’t buy them today.

While Mom attended her appointment, I went to Hobby Lobby for a half-hour to get myself all worked up in the fabric department. There was larger selection of apparel fabric than I expected, which was good. There were catalogues listing patterns for McCalls and Simplicity and I flipped through them both, especially the costume sections. I thought patterns were pricey when they were $8.99, so it was an eye-opener to see they are now in the $20 range. One company had an entire vintage section with some reprints of original patterns from previous decades. My little vintage loving heart skipped a couple beats. No financial damage was done in the short time before returning to collect Mom.

We stopped for lunch on the way back to Gardner before going to the local appliance store. Mom’s washing machine died yesterday, and she was shopping for a replacement. She found something she liked and while she arranged the delivery I wandered the store. There were washer and dryer sets with sexy new colors and finishes like high end automobiles. There was a sea of glass top stoves and gas stoves that looked like they really meant business. Porcelain stovetops with heating coils still exist (I asked), but they apparently don’t deserve display space in the store. My favorite item was a pale pink vintage stove with a sign on it stating it isn’t for sale, just for show.

After the appliance shopping, we went to the grocery store. I haven’t been out on a four-hour shopping and lunch excursion in a while. Lunch was good and spending time with Mom was nice. The shopping was at least as much fun as getting the 2,000 Duolingo badge. Those can be added to LinkedIn profiles now, so I might just do so.