Thursday 15 November 2012

Musings

I spent time sewing with a friend today. She's a lycra girl. My fingers disagree with her cutting tools and all that tough poly. I had to have another sticky plaster this week. I'm so delicate. It's interesting how we all have our own ways. I find what we do fascinating but would never have considered sewing lycra suits to be so interesting. I think it's also her approach and professionalism. We all have pride in what we are passionate about. It's good to find someone to share that with.

I did clean out my closet with great enthusiasm. I have nothing to wear! Now there's a dilemma. The 11 patterns I just ordered from Vogue may help with that. There was a sale, people! It was late, my cat died this week, I needed stuff. Now I have stuff and I do feel a bit better. I think I'm going to buy myself an iron too. A big steamy iron with bells and whistles and steam! Steam is good.

Yes, I'm getting in the holiday mood. I want to decorate December 1st. I want to nest in front of the fire and bake sweet things. I want to slow down just a titch. I want to giggle with friends and family. This means trying to wrap up my gift wrangling by December 1 as well. It's always the one thing that drives the Christmas anxiety for me. As I have in the past I like to make a pile of things and let family take what they want. It works for me. I don't tie up a lot of worry about getting just the right thing for each person. I don't worry about a present for every person. I let the gifts fall where they may. But it still means getting a pile together and I want that pile readyish by December 1st.

Such determination!

Monday 12 November 2012

Lucille Finds Her Own Way Home

I did not have the best of mornings. That will teach me to rearrange the sacred day of domesticity! I decided to shop and do groceries before cleaning. It seems this is wrong. OK.

On my way to the first shop (candle wick) I wasn't sure where it was and turned down what I thought was a nearby street. I turned smartly as a police car was parked on the corner. He or she was as whacked out as I was as that street was one way, and neither of us seemed to notice my car was not headed in the right direction. Not to worry law person, I was properly scared straight on my way to the first cross street. No cars or people were scared physically in this debacle.

Got my wick. $.45 a meter at Maritime Hobby if you need some. Then off to the Superstore on Portland for groceries. Picked up sherry for the fruitcake and popped it in the car so I didn't need to deal with it. Back in the store I stopped in to the washroom first (yes, it's part of the story, you need to know). I remember putting my purse on the tidy door hook. I'm pretty sure I took it with me. Anyway, some shopping later I realize I have no purse in my cart.

No tears, no panic. In times of crisis save those thoughts for after, with the sherry. However I was adding up what was gone and figuring Christmas was off my list for the next 10 years. I'll try to make this long story short. There were many trips to the customer counter, parking lot (to see if my beautiful truck was still there), garbage cans (was it dumped?). I gathered an entourage as the crisis spread throughout the kingdom. Superstore people were great.

Fortunately I remembered early on that I had an iPhone, and had registered that puppy for Find My Iphone. Dashing off to the Aliant store in the mall I found all the employees were doing their best "I'm so busy" routines. When I couldn't get their extremely slow web browsers to work (an 8 year old was called upon for assistance and he was helpful) I knocked on the back door where 2 employees had just disappeared and I dumped my woes in their general direction. Aliant Mary got out her own iPhone and we used the Find app to locate my phone. IT WAS STILL IN THE STORE!!!

You could see it. The dot was at the back of the store. NOOOOO!!!!! It moved! We watched it move to the front of the store where it settled and stopped. With everyone searching, calling the phone (it quacks) and using the locator sound option we still had no luck. I also had to run out every 10 minutes and check on my truck. I love my truck.

Finally I hear my name paged to the Joe Fresh counter. This was at least an hour later. It seems my purse had been found in a shopping cart at the back of the store and these lovely (very wet behind the ears) ladies had brought it to their counter. They were so pleased to see me as the phone had been driving them crazy with all the ringing and quacking.

They never thought to answer it or take it to customer service, where all lost things go. I didn't burst their bubble by hammering them over the head with a ham, but I wanted to. I thanked them very much and then bought the ever faithful Aliant Mary with a Timmies card. That girl never left my side, which was good, as it was reassuring to watch that little red circle stay still.

Nothing was missing from the purse. I have no idea what happened. I had no cash - maybe someone was only after cash. Maybe someone just found it and set it out? Maybe I switched carts in mid aisle? I don't know. I just know I like to have faith in the people around me and it does seem to work out.

I went home and made fruitcake. Lots of sherry in that fruitcake! Some in me too!