Shopping Spree

Yesterday was another cold one in lower Alabama, but like the previous cold days, we had beautiful sunny skies.  What an optical illusion.  Looking through the window it appears to be a glorious, warm day, but the moment you open the door and that cold wind hits you in the face, the illusion is shattered.  This was another day for indoor activities.  I had a list of things I needed and, of course, we needed a propane refill, so we donned heavy coats and headed to Foley.

I’m not much of a shopper, so I rarely go to the mall.  I was in search of new house slippers.  The Tanger Outlet mall seemed like the place to begin.  I found my slippers at Naturalizer for half price.  That was such a deal we decided to look around at a few other things.  We fingered kitchen gadgets, baseball caps, and hiking gear.  I found a couple shirts at Eddie Bauer, but other than that we came away empty handed.  Still, 2 shirts and a pair of slippers for less than $40--not bad.

Baby afghan for my next grand nephew, due in May

I was also in search of bed sheets, which didn’t appear to be offered at this group of stores, so our next stop was Wal-Mart.  Besides a list of grocery items, I wanted yarn for my next knitting project, a yard flag stand to replace the one which was rusted, shelf liner, and the sheets.  I was really disappointed here.  This store had a very small selection of yarn (none that I wanted) and didn’t have the size needles I needed.  They had sheets, of course, but apparently everybody had sheets on their lists because the shelves were more empty than full.  They didn’t have what I wanted.  They also didn’t have the flag stand.  We got the shelf liner and groceries and went on our way.

A couple words about the shelf liner.  I, like most other RVers, have my shelves lined with that waffle type, no skid liner that they sell at Camping World, Wal-Mart, grocery stores and just about anywhere they sell shelf liner.  I’ve never been real happy with it as shelf liner.  It is great to place between dishes and other breakables, but on travel days I have to rearrange my shelves because it slides toward the rear if we go very far.  A few months ago I found a different type liner.  This one comes in the same size roll, but is a solid piece of very thin foam with a nonskid surface.  In the 2-day drive from Nashville to Summerdale, my dishes did not move at all.  Finally, I think I’ve found something that really works.

Next stop, Ace Hardware for propane.  While they were filling our tank, I found the flag stand.  The shrimp monger came up next and we got a couple pieces of fresh grouper and a couple pounds of fresh shrimp for the freezer.  Good eats in our future.

By that time, the fun factor had worn pretty thin.  We spent the rest of the afternoon at home.  Gene surfed the internet while I finished the last few rows on the baby afghan I’m making for our next great-nephew.

Today, the temperatures are a little warmer, but rain (even sleet and snow) are in our forecast.  Gonna be another indoor day.  We have invited a few friends over for a glass of wine before we all gather for another of Larry’s home-cooked meals at the clubhouse.

The weather forecasters seem to think this cold snap will break by early next week.  I’m keeping my fingers crossed.  Until then, try to stay warm.