Friday, October 9

Whew! What a day. We woke up late, and I skipped water aerobics. I didn't go this morning because there was a thunderstorm, and because I wanted to get ready to go with Hubbie to shop for a new TV.



Even though it was a miserable day for shopping, we hoped to be able to purchase a TV and get it installed today. And we did. We compared prices at our two favorite stores, and both had on-sale units. The local store, though, would not be able to install the TV until the week after next, after we are back from our trip, because they don't deliver on rainy days or Saturdays.



So we headed, in a downpour, to the town about 15 miles from us to the other store. They were willing to deliver and install today.



A problem we had was getting a stand to set the TV on, since it was to be placed in a corner of the den, rather than mounted on a wall. So, on the advice of the salesperson at the store where we didn't buy the TV, we went to a furniture outlet store to look for a stand, and found one that was exactly the right size for the space, in a dark color to match the TV. It is a glass-front cabinet style stand, with shelves for the cable box and DVD/video cassette player on one side, and shelves on the other side to store DVDs and videos. We didn't immediately buy the cabinet, since we weren't sure at that time what TV we'd buy.



Once we'd struck the deal for the TV...a 50" plasma (bigger than we anticipated getting, but several hundred dollars cheaper than a smaller one)...we were told that the techs could install it within an hour. So we rushed back to town and to the outlet furniture store to buy the cabinet. Hubbie asked if the cabinet could be marked down further. The salesperson agreed, and knocked $30 off of it.



We were back home with the cabinet only minutes before the techs arrived. They quickly installed the TV, gave me a quick course on how to operate it using a new remote, along with the two we already have, and then were on their way back to the store, taking our old TV with them. While they were installing the TV, though, we heard a vehicle siren that was so loud that it sounded like it was in the house. Startled, Hubbie and I rushed from the kitchen to the den, intending to check outside to see if a cop was in the driveway, or something. Turned out, it was one of the tech's cell phone ring tone.



Afterward, I went upstairs to my office and edited the story about the 100-year-old man, and then e-mailed it to the Caring Hands Hospice coordinator. While I was doing this, Hubbie was checking the sales receipt for the new TV. He discovered that the young woman at the store had added an amount that the manager said we would not charged. So he called the store and we were told to return and they would correct the error.



By this time, there was a hard, blowing rain. Fortunately, Hubbie took a telephone call just then that lasted several minutes...long enough for the rain to slacken. So off we went to the other town. Not far down the highway, we ran into policemen and emergency workers clearing the road of a huge oak tree that had apparently broken off in the high wind and fallen across the lanes. We were directed around the tree, which, if it had fallen on a car, might have killed someone.



While we were at the store, Hubbie decided to try his luck, for the first time, with a couple of lottery tickets. Two dollars worth of tickets netted him a three dollar prize, for a one dollar profit. After that, we headed back home. Stopped to pick up another bag of on-sale grapes at a grocery store, and then, since the van gave us a warning signal, we went to a gas station to fill up.



Back home, Mother had cut up and sauteed veggies for Ziplock bag omelets. She also cut up baked potatoes and sauteed them with onions in a dab of olive oil. I used egg substitute with the veggies and Monterey Jack cheese for Mother's and my omelets, and regular eggs for Hubbie, heated the dinner plates, made a cup of hot tea for myself, and toasted bagels as my part of getting this favorite Friday night supper meal ready.



Naturally, after supper we settled in to enjoy our new TV. But we hope the old TV is the last major item to expire for a while...first it was the camper slide out, then it was the sliding glass door in the den, today it was the TV. All that and a new digital camera in the span of a couple of months is enough already!

October: scary spider month...on the sidewalk outside the store where we got the TV cabinet, there was an enormous spider, getting out of the rain, I suppose. The two guys carrying the cabinet to our van cringed and asked Hubbie to step on it, which he did. Poor spider. He wasn't threatening anyone.

At home, Mother discovered a spider in the kitchen, which Hubbie also killed. Now, I don't mind spiders outdoors, but woe unto those that come indoors.