Category: shopping

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Returns and Exchanges

The day after Christmas for retailers is almost as busy and crazy as Black Friday. Shoppers come out in droves to exchange gifts that don’t fit or they don’t like, return items they got two of, snatch up clearance items to stash in the garage until next year, and to spend the Christmas cash and gift cards they received.

I was not going to go shopping and deal with all that craziness today, but I decided to try my luck at just one store – Target. If Target had anything left and put it on clearance, it was probably going to be a good buy. So I went to Target and walked around a very busy store. But everything that I was interested in was already picked over or gone. So I left empty handed.

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Busted water pipe

Well, the pipes in the bathroom downstairs froze and one busted. Fortunately for me, it is easily fixed and I can do it myself without having to bring in a plumber this time. Last time I had to have a plumber come out to the house and fix a busted water pipe. That was a bit expensive.

I went to the hardware store and bought everything I need to fix it and it actually didn’t cost that much. So much the better for me. After just a little experimentation and luck I had it fixed in no time. Glad I made sure to watch that guy when he fixed the last one. =)

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Trader Joe’s Goodies

We have one Trader Joe’s store here but it is a 40 minute drive from my house, so I don’t go there for my regular shopping.

There is a grocery store only 1 mile from my house, and another store just 2 miles past that. But Trader Joe’s sells a lot of products that are branded just for them, so you can’t buy those anywhere else.

Today I had the chance to meet a friend across town, so I took advantage of being over thee to stop in at Trader Joe’s and stock up on all the goodies.

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Can’t Put Off the Shopping Much Longer

My friend Penny called and asked if I’d like to go shopping with her on Saturday. I guess I cannot put off shopping for Christmas much longer. I have to ship a few gifts this year, so I’ll buy those on Saturday with Penny and get those wrapped, boxed and mailed. Guess I need to make a list – and check it twice! lol

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No Bones for My Dogs

As a kid, we had a bunch on dogs to play with on my grandfather’s farm. I loved running and playing with them across the yard and the corn fields. But they were mostly hunting dogs – not house dogs. They ate all kinds of thing. My grandmother would scrape the plates after meals and just toss it all outside for the dogs to get.

But now I have dogs that I love dearly and my vet has told me to not ever give the dogs tables scrap and to make sure they never get bones. The bones, especially from chicken and turkey, can splinter and the sharp points can slice up the dogs insides and kill them.

I sure had not eve thought of that and I guess it is a miracle that my grandfather’s dogs never suffered from internal bleeding and died from eating bones. But I don’t want to take a chance with my dogs, so no bones for the dogs. Not even steak bones. The vet says to stick with dog food and as long as I have money for real dog food, my dogs will get the best I can buy.

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Dog Food

My dogs are pretty picky about their dog food. I only buy name brands and I only buy the chicken flavor. When I buy the beef flavor, they get upset stomachs.

So, I have tried to stick with chicken dog food for my beloved pets. They especially like the Purina brand dog food that is in the red bag and has big chunks of chicken in it. They gobble down the Purina dog food and I have noticed that they pick out the big chunks of chicken first and then eat the rest.

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New Lotions

One of the cool things about spending the night with family or friends is having the chance to try new things. Like a different brand of toothpaste. Or a new hand lotion. I tried a new cologne last night – it was called Butterfly Wings. I have no idea who makes it, but it smelled lovely!

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Fabric Softener

With all the modern chemicals at my disposal in the the laundry room, it is amazing we have not had a lot of scientific studies talking about the long term effects of exposure to all the things we spray, pour and toss. Surely all of these chemicals cannot be good for us?

My latest experiment involves fabric softener. I’ve been using dryer sheets for over 10 years and they have done a good job of making the clothes less wrinkled and smelling fresh when they come out of the dryer. But lately I’ve noticed that there seems to be a lot of suds residue in the washer and on the clothes. So I am trying a liquid fabric softener that pours into the washer on the last rinse cycle. I only use about one fourth of the recommended amount. So far, this does a great job, it pulls more soap out of the clothes, and they smell just as nice when they are finished drying.

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Multi Family Yard Sale

My neighbors have all lived here in the same houses for years. There is just one house on the block that is rented, and we never see those people much. So all the rest of us have been here for at least 6 years. So why is it that we never have a multi family yard sale? All the other established neighborhoods seem to be more friendly about things like that. My girlfriend, KeeKee, just had a big yard sale and everyone on her street put things out to sell. It was like a big block party but they all made a little money and got rid of stuff they don’t want anymore.

What’s wrong with my neighbors?

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Golden Oreos

As a kid we enjoyed a box of chocolate Oreos once in a great while as a treat. My mom liked cookies for things like long car rides, picnics and trips to the beach. But at home, we had dessert ever night after dinner, and it was usually either ice cream or pie.

I got out of the habit of having desserts and I rarely buy cookies. I guess that also reflects on how different my lifestyle is now as an adult. I rarely go on long car rides – stuck in bad traffic does not count! – I haven’t been on a picnic in years, and my one trip to the beach last summer was so short there was no food involved.

But today I bought a bag of the vanilla Oreos. They just seemed to be calling my name once I turned down that aisle in the grocery store. It was like a powerful “Buy me now!” magnet was pulling my arm toward the Oreos on the shelf.

I have to admit that I tore open the bag as I as unpacking the groceries. I just had to give them a taste and I’m happy to report that they are great!