4 More Days before I leave for Wisconsin and "The Lake"

I'm going "hunting" today and tomorrow. I went "hunting" yesterday too. I love "hunting". Actually, when I say I'm "hunting", I mean that I'm going shopping. I know what I'm going to buy and I carry a list to keep me focused but I need to "hunt" for the very best place to buy the things on that list. Sometimes I may actually encounter a "target of opportunity" along the way. This is a bonus. This "target of opportunity" is something that I didn't know I wanted or needed before I started the hunt. "Targets of opportunity" are items that are just too good to pass up. I mean who can pass up Northern bathroom tissue at $3.99 for 24 rolls. And if it's $2.99 for 24 rolls? It's not like it's going to go bad. Might as well stock up on it. I've gotten pretty good at avoiding the purchase of cute frogs but sometimes I really can't help myself, especially if that frog is on the Clearance rack at 75% off the original price.

My husband won't let me go "hunting" at Costco anymore unless he "rides shotgun". On a side note: "Riding Shotgun" in this case doesn't mean that he gets to sit in the front seat of the car. It means that he gets to run interference for prey, divert the attention of the hunter or even go so far as shoot the hunter if the hunter loses focus when a "target of opportunity" arises. He started riding shotgun when I brought home that 5 gallon jar of Vlasik pickle relish which I couldn't resist because it cost the same amount that we'd been paying for the 1/2 pint jars at the grocery store (my husband's love of pickle relish was threatening us with bankruptcy). I'll have you know that I recanned that pickle relish into pint jars. We just finished the last jar that I recanned. I went out and bought another 5 gallon jar and recanned that too. There is a method to my madness.

My husband doesn't always see the big picture. I think men, in general, don't always see the big picture. I learned my "hunting" skills from my mother. One of my favorite stories is when my mother bought the ice auger. She was at a garage sale....in Arizona. My father couldn't see any possible use for an ice auger (essencial tool for ice fishermen) in the hot desert of Arizona. They only wanted $5 for it. My mother bought it for $2 that she borrowed from my aunt (sometimes it's nice to go "hunting" with fellow "hunters") because my father, riding shotgun, had refused to finance such lunacy. My father watched this all in shock. Guess what? Ice augers work really great when planting things in the hard desert soil of the Arizona garden. This ice auger became my father's favorite gardening tool. I'm told that my parents' neighbors all come by wanting to borrow it.

"Hunting" takes on various forms, garage saleing and thrift saleing are perfectly acceptable forms of "hunting". When women get together we often like to discuss the "hunt". I was wearing a Ralph Lauren shirt the other day at lunch and one of my friends admired it and asked me where I got it. I smiled. $1.50 at Savers. I've been known to email friends about especially good "hunting" opportunities. So...I'm going "hunting" today. When I get to Wisconsin....I'll go fishing.