Let There Be Light

My assistant and I went to Walmart the other day because I didn't have any boots in his size here.  (no, I don't know what became of the ones I had for LC when she was his age)  He loves to be outside so much that I know we'll need them.  I have snow pants, a jacket, hats, and mittens (although I need to knit some with thumbs in his size) but no boots.  Now I have boots.  But across the aisle from the boots were the clearance shoes so I thought I'd get a pair of shoes for him to play outside in to keep his shoes from home un-muddy.  Look at what I found.  Batman shoes that light up when he walks or stomps his feet.  The emblem on the instep and the outside of the heels flickers yellow.  It's very cool.  He likes them a lot.


Can someone tell me why things run out at the same time?  Last week when I wanted to lend Durwood a watch to wear in the grocery store so he'd come back in an hour I had to give him the watch I got as a retirement gift from the dive shop because both of my other watches' batteries were dead.  (BTW, lending him the watch didn't work; he came back in 2 hours and 10 minutes.)  Happily I had 2 watch batteries of the correct size in my dresser drawer but no tool to use to twist off the back of the watches.  Yesterday when I pushed the button to "sync" my Garmin Vivofit with the computer to record how many steps I'd taken (the WW site picks it up too), it told me that the batteries were low.  I called the dive shop but they didn't have the size I needed.  I didn't think they would but took the chance.  Batteries Plus had them so I went and got some, then went to the dive shop where there are the right tools for twisting the back off of watches and levering out those tiny little batteries.  It was if not the first then almost the first time I'd been back to the store since retiring at the end of June.  (June 29th at 5:00 PM to be exact, but who's keeping track?)  The back room was totally rearranged so Mrs. Boss had to find the tools I needed and kept me company while I worked.  People have asked me if I miss working and I tell them that I miss the people and the paycheck and the tools.  Oh, I have tools at home but not the specialized tools they have there.  Look at this cool, watch fix-y doodad.  Those little peg-things fit into the sockets on the handle that can be adjusted so that the pegs fit into the notches on the back of the watch.  Brilliant.



After fixing the watches in no time at all I took myself over to the parking lot at the corner of

Webster Ave. and St. John St. where the Fabian Seafood truck was selling shrimp for the last time this season.  Durwood and I discussed it and decided that I'd get 5# of fresh Gulf shrimp for the freezer.  Well, 4 1/2# because we made Penne & Shrimp for supper.  We had to make sure it was good shrimp, right?  I got the rest of it packaged up in 1/2# quantities in a quart Ziploc bag half filled with water to prevent freezer burn, stacked in two big square Tupperware canisters, and into the freezer upstairs.  Once they're frozen and I can be confident that they're not going to be leaking water all over the place, I'll take them down to the downstairs freezer and work them in.  It's getting to be defrosting time so finding a place for 9 packages of shrimp is as good an excuse as any to get the job done.  At least I can slosh and drip water all over the floor because it's in the basement and the drain's about 4 feet away so I don't have to worry about ruining a wood or tile floor or have to mop up all that water.

November 20--Hippolyte Arnoux, Portrait of the Daughter of the King of Abyssinia.  She stood there with a hibiscus flower perched on top of her hair, a coin necklace and armlets, and was draped in plaid and striped cottons.  She was so sure of herself.  Confidence just poured off of her like rays from the sun.  Rupert thought she was beautiful.  He wanted to speak to her but all he was able to do was assist the photographer.

I had every intention of them having a clandestine meeting but an hour after I'd written that last sentence I found myself asleep face down in my pillow, pencil and notebook in hand, so I put my toys away, took off my glasses, turned off the light, and went to sleep.
--Barbara