Word of the Day

Bevameter(a unit of measure)-- The distance a coaster, attached to the bottom of a wet glass, will travel before it falls back to earth.

There's nothing like a driving rain to add the right bit of spice to a day of shopping. Not. Double that not if you're shopping solo. HTP decided to stay home. It was raining when I left for the city. It was still raining when I got to the city. I dug out the umbrella that we keep in the back seat of the car and trudged into the first of the two grocery stores that I planned to visit. It was at this point that I remembered that I was supposed to drop some mail into the blue box outside the grocery store. I decided to wait until I'd done my shopping. Maybe...just maybe...the rain would have let up some by then. It was at this point that I discovered that I'd forgotten my shopping list. Shopping lists are a wonderful thing but totally useless if you forget them when you go to the store. I called HTP, using my cell phone and scribbled down my list items on the back of an old grocery receipt that I found in my purse. Of course, this store didn't have everything that I needed. I really wanted some Light Miracle Whip. It was on sale...or it would have been if they had any left on the shelf. I settled for the original full calorie stuff. The facts that I had wet shoes, my purse was wet, my hair was wet...despite the umbrella...and I'd forgotten my list, all these were making me a bit cranky. Things didn't improve when, after I checked out, I found that the rain hadn't let up any. It was still raining. Leaving my groceries in their cart in the front entry of the grocery store, I ran outside to put my two letters in the blue mail box by the front of the store. One of them got stuck to a wet spot on the inside of the lid. I had to unstick it. Meanwhile, my shoes, my hair, my temper, none of this got either drier or better depending. I ran back inside, opened my little red umbrella and headed to my car to stow away the groceries. The wet groceries. Wet slippery plastic bags. At this point, I didn't even care. I stowed as fast as I could as I juggled my little red umbrella which may have kept me a bit drier...maybe. Yes, Sis, I did continue on to take my cart across the parking lot to return it to one of those marvelous shopping cart corrals. Momma pin a rose on me.

On to the next store. My wind-shield wipers were having a hard time keeping up with the task of clearing the rain from my wind-shield. On top of this, the wind-shield decided to fog up. Defrost. Only, even though defrosters work great, the blast of cold air on my wet sweatshirt, my wet shoes, and my wet hair, didn't improve my mood. On to the next store. No...the rain didn't let up any and this time I couldn't find a parking space even remotely close to the front of the store. I reached for my tiny little red umbrella which showered water on me as I opened it. *sigh* Now my jeans were wet too. I trudged into the store, dodging other shoppers and cars who were picking shoppers up at the door of the store. I shopped as slowly as I could but it was still raining as I exited the store, opened my microscopic, totally useless red umbrella and trundled my groceries across the parking lot to my car. More stowing of sopping wet bags of groceries, and "Momma pin a rose on me" another shopping cart returned to another shopping cart corral with angelic thoughts about my darling sister who was probably sitting warm and dry in her home...(only I know she's got this big black lab and that dog has to go outside in this wet sometime today....even better, I think she's got guests with dogs.) My thoughts were not angelic. My mood was crappy.

Wet and with the cold defroster blowing and making my fingers a bit numb, I drove on home remembering that HTP wanted me to check the mail in town and on my way home, pick up the garbage cans and the recycling bin. No way. There was no way that I was going to be able to fit two garbage cans and a recycling bin along with the groceries. I drove on to the house and figured that I'd get the groceries put unloaded an put away before I hit the road again to get those garbage cans and pick up the mail in town. Cranky doesn't describe my mood quite accurately at this point. I unloaded bag after wet bag of groceries from the car and sorting things out put them away. I threw away the wet bags. Sorry Mom, I just didn't feel like recycling at this point. Besides, I would have had to dry them all off before adding stowing them away with the tons of plastic grocery sacks that I already keep stored in my cupboard. No point in courting a case of moldy cupboards. And then, after all this, HTP asks me what I'm going to make for lunch. MAKE YOUR OWN LUNCH! I've got to go pick up the mail and get the garbage cans! I was beyond cranky and into manic by this time.

I drove to town to pick up two bits of mail. I returned to check the mailbox at the road. More mail. Damp mail. I exited the car and stowed two wet garbage cans and a wet recycling bin into the back of the car....after I emptied the rain water that had collected in them. And I drove back to the house and into the garage. Home. I unloaded the two wet garbage cans and the wet recycling bin and put them where we keep them when it's not garbage day.

I entered the house to the smell of reheated spaghetti. It smelled really good. And best yet? There was enough left-over so I could reheat some for my own lunch. Not too bad an end to a bad afternoon. I have to say that my mood improved after sitting down in my wet shoes as I forked down left-over spaghetti. And the thought that I hadn't bothered to wash my hair this morning before I'd gone shopping improved my mood even more. Sometimes you just have to grab for these positive thoughts on days like this. I think I'm going to make myself a cup of hot chocolate (with three marshmallows), take of my wet shoes and sit a while before I go downstairs to make up the beds in the guest rooms.

It's still raining. Oh...and I've made two loaves of fresh bread which I got started before I left to go shopping this morning. However...there's nothing like the smell of fresh baked bread.

Murphyism of the Day

Hammond's Law of the Kitchen - Number Three

Any cooking utensil placed in the dishwasher will be needed immediately thereafter for something else; any measuring utensil used for liquid ingredients will be needed immediately thereafter for dry ingredients.

Noteworthy Quote of the Day

There's something wrong with a mother who washes out a measuring cup with soap and water after she's only measured water in it. -- Erma Bombeck