elaine's escapades 7/20

[Guest guest]

Dear friends,

The following is TRUE.. even if it seems unbelievable..

Decided last night that I'd get up early, check e-mail,

do meds, eat and go to a large department/grocery

store EARLY.. before it got to be 90 degrees with

a heat factor of 95.. (and the forecast said that it

will get one degree hotter each day for the next 5

days.. so, no relief in sight)... Made a shopping list.

Mainly milk, produce, sandwich meat, and bread..

plus since our new queen size bed is being delivered

tomorrow.. some sheets and mattress covers.. sounds

like something that could be accomplished with little

trouble.. right?? Maybe take an hour or so??? OH,

added AAA batteries since the ones in my glucose

meter " gave up the ghost " this morning..

Not QUITE..

Realized that PRAISES and PRAYERS didn't get posted

yesterday, even though I wrote it.. it must have been one

of the " composed e-mails " sitting on the bar at the bottom

of my Outlook Express when the darn thing shut down on

me yesterday afternoon.. (printer causes is every once and

a while).. so.. took time to write that.. then did the " morning

things " and looked outside.. FOG.. BIG TIME... figured,

oh well, I've driven in worse.. it is only 5 miles round trip to

the store.. it is going to get HOT when it " goes away " .. Go

for it..

Left here at 8 am.. since I usually don't go in that direction

in the morning, I didn't realize all the traffic that was on the

roads then.. Gee Whiz.. and NO BODY slowed down or

even did the speed limit.. in spite of the FOG.. Passed the

street that I was supposed to turn off at.. ok.. I knew that

the next street went past the new apartment that we are

moving to at the end of Sept.. which is on the corner of the

highway where the store was located.. no big deal.. just

a bit out of the way.. and I could " dream " .. as I passed

our apartment...

Got to the store.. Batteries.. every kind except the AAA..

Finally found someone who sent me to the EXTREME

BACK CORNER of the store where they had a display..

of course, the SALE batteries where not there.. Put

some others in the cart, just in case I couldn't find the

SALE ones. sheets.. TWIN.. FULL.. KING.. big

sale.. closeout.. worth searching for the right size..

Finally got the sales person to climb up and find me

2 QUEEN sets.. deep pocket which we will need for

the " pillowtop " mattress that we are getting.. (special

for fibro and osteo... [Ed has osteo, I have both]).

THEN.. needed a mattress cover and wanted a skirt

for the bed.. didn't get skirt.. all they had was UGLY

ones.. Mattress cover:... 2 brands on 50% off.. and

5 yr warranty and fit up to 15 " mattresses. AGAIN..

TWIN.. FULL.. KING.. Another lady climbed up and

found me 2 QUEEN.. YES!!

By this time, I was a BIT tired.. and I figured an

hour had LONG PASSED... checked a few places for

the batteries.. which I never did find, BTW. found a

9x13 pan, which wasn't on the list, but we NEEDED

since mine is (believe it or not) 33 years old.. had it

when was born.. and MOST LIKELY it is

older.. probably one of the things that I " borrowed "

from my mother's house when we got married...

The pan was ONLY $1.97 .. 66% off!!..

Then, went to get MILK and the produce stuff.. by

that time a BATHROOM BREAK was a necessity.,.

had to go to the front of the store for that.. then

back to the produce section. Found everything

except the BLUEBERRIES that was one of the

main things that Ed wanted.. asked a person in

that department.. She pointed to a display that

had little boxes in a larger box.. I just figured they

were the ones on sale.. (Could either get 1 pt. for

98 cents or a 5# box for $5.88.)

LOOKED at the DONUTS.. passed then by.. LOOKED

at the CAKES.. passed them by.. PROUD OF MESELF!!

On the way to the registers, I found some shorts,

(which I need badly.. ).. 50% off!! in PLUS size..

threw 2 pair of them in the cart.. making SURE that

there was a sale tag on them.. Was tired and didn't

want to have a hassle at the check out..

Put the stuff up on the counter.. cashier rang it up..

until we came to the BLUEBERRIES.. The box

wouldn't scan.... we guessed that what I had been

told were the " sale ones " , were the ones that were

supposed to be sold separately.. She called produce

....we waited... she called again... we waited.. I watched

the clock on the wall.. 15 min.. no one... FINALLY she

called someone at the service desk which was at the

end of the lanes, across a hall type area.. She told the

girl who answered the phone that she NEEDED HELP

N-O-W. Well, the girl.. walking like a TURTLE.. slow..

head down.. came and she didn't know what to do..

I said.. ok.. if the sale is 5# for 5.88, put the packages

on the scale and see how many containers make up

5#.. Ended up being 7.. so FINALLY.. they just charged

me the sale price for 7 containers instead of 5 containers..

By the time I finished checking out, it was 11:30.. and like

a BLAST FURNACE outside. Got the stuff in the JEEP,

drove home.. (even took the CORRECT ROADS)..

unloaded the JEEP.. CRAMMED all the stuff in the refrig..

(Patience was GONE).. ate a burrito with sour cream and

a plum.. (Good for me.. usually, by that time, I'd go for the

ICE CREAM and such..)..

While I was eating, discovered TWO different prices and

barcodes on the SHEETS.. wonder why?? & ^ & )*^ & ^* &

after all that LOOKING.. etc.. somehow a set of QUEEN

SHEETS and a set of DOUBLE SHEETS got into the cart..

Now, do I go back in the HEAT and get the second set of

QUEEN ones.. or..

Ed works in Chicago and takes the Metra to and from there.

He has to walk 6 blocks to the station on his way home...

by the time he gets there, he is SOAKING WET.. so he

sits in the a/c train for 30 min and then hits the HEAT here

in Aurora, again, and then drives home.. He has been

EXHAUSTED by the time he gets here, so that is one of

the reasons I decided to do the shopping.. PLUS, he

has to empty the waterbed and dismantle it tonight to

make room for the new bed.. the waterbed is NOT conducive

for me to get on an off of.. so I've been sleeping on a futon..

which will not be possible at the new apartment.. besides..

on weekends he sleeps in here on the futon with me.. and

I " kind of like it " ... so, we're looking forward to BOTH of

us sharing the NEW BED..

Well, now that I've gotten my frustration out.. probably given

you'll something to laugh about (I hope).. it is 1:00.. time to

either take a nap or go back to the store..

How about call store.. see if they will put sheets up at service

desk.. and then NAP and then go to store??????

YUP.. Called the store.. they have ONE set left.. the " girl who

climbed " this morning remembered me.. she is going to put them

at the service desk.. so I can just return the FULL sheet set and

get another QUEEN.. well, maybe the rest of the day will get

better...

Lot's to be thankful for, though.. First time in a long time that

I've had the energy to go to the store.. BUT, today is " prednisone

reduction day " ;-( ;-( .. oh well, can SLEEP on my new bed

tomorrow.. will wash one set of sheets while Ed is " getting rid

of the waterbed " tonight..

You all take care..

May God continue to provide each of us with a measure of

STRENGTH, WISDOM and PEACE.

elaine