This,That, Some OtherThings...: Friday Felicities

Things to Be Happy About:

*itinerary-free vacations
Don't get me wrong. I love to travel and an activity-filled jaunt to a new locale would definitely make me happy, but having time off and nowhere to go can be just as sweet. I have taken full advantage of the latter this week. With no place to go and no one to see, I've had plenty of time for reading and crafting and playing housewife. I have also been available for puppy sitting, which brings me to my next thing to be happy about.

{craftiness underway}

*puppy love

{love}

This may be in danger of turning into a Lucy tribute blog, but I spent the better part of two afternoons with her this week, and she is definitely making me happy these days. I have had dogs before (and Lucy's not even mine), but I don't think I really understood the meaning of the expression "puppy love" until I spent an afternoon with Lucy following me around like, well...

{book, grass, sun, puppy...all key components of the aforementioned itinerary-free vacation}

{Lucy making herself at home on my feet}

{I don't think she let me out of her sight all afternoon.}

*globes
I can remember playing with globes as a little kid. My sister and I would take turns closing our eyes, spinning the globe, and lightly tracing out index fingers from north to south until the spinning stopped. Wherever your finger landed would be your future home, or the current home of your future spouse, or your next vacation destination. It was always a major bummer when your finger landed smack in the middle of the Arctic Ocean...respin allowed, obviously. Truth be told, I still play that game whenever I spot a globe.

{globe in my parents' guest room}

{My next vacation destination? Tanzania.}

*bargains
The Vons in my front yard is closing. This makes me sad because I will now have to walk 100 paces to the Albertson's instead of just 20 paces to the (now defunct) Vons when I get a hankering for a frozen treat. Sigh. In order to cushion the blow of their closing (and possibly to get rid of their inventory), Vons has been offering 50% off of everything in the store. I decided to head over and check out the sale when it started on Tuesday; I figured I'd pop in, pick up some hair products and Nyquil, and walk the 20 paces back to my doorstep. Little did I know. Once I crossed the street, I was greeted by a line of twenty women, shopping carts in hand, doing hamstring stretches as they waited in line just to get inside the store. I rolled my eyes at the absurdity of waiting in line to get in the grocery store (I'm too old to wait in line to get into a bar, but not old enough to wait in line to get into a Vons) and headed home.

The line eventually dissipated and I was curious to see what sorts of deals were to be had, so I headed over later in the afternoon. As soon as I walked in, the chaos and excitement of all the bargain-hungry shoppers got to me and a Supermarket Sweep mentality took over.

{I was always fascinated by the matching sweatshirts and dickies that the contestants always wore.}

I was throwing everything in my cart. St. Francis Zin for $6.50 instead of $25? Yes, please. Champagne vinegar $7 off? Yup. Artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes? Of course. I seriously had to stop myself from stocking up on dog food in anticipation of a future canine companion. The line to checkout was ridiculously long, so I had some much needed time to edit...the variety pack of sprinkles and assorted cake decorations went back on the shelf as did the pectin (I am owning the fact that I am unlikely to start canning my own jams any time soon).


{Despite the editing, I still managed to do some damage.}

I was so excited when the cashier announced my savings ($208!!), so I can kind of understand how those extreme couponing people get started on the crazy train. We have limited space, so I think I'm safe for now; just stop me before I become this lady: