Shopping Gods

Sitting at Ron's creating this entry, which means no photos of all the progress yet...sorry.

Spent yesterday doing many small, small things on the bus while waiting for Ron to show up so we could go shopping and pick up the camping gear from his garage. We arrived at Harbor Freight JUST in time to have the open sign turned over and door locked literally in our faces. Since Harbor Freight was my main goal for Objects d' Bus, I was not a happy girl.

Still, Big Lots and Fry's were right next door, so we motored on. The ONLY thing I managed to find from the list at Big Lots were the many spring-loaded curtain rods I plan to use as restraints for the bookcases, the microwave, cat box, etc. At $1.99 each, I was pleased to find them. Oh, and I picked up a jar of Mexican Nescafe instant coffee as a back up for days when we don't feel like making real coffee. This stuff is GOOD! I got hooked during a month in San Patricio; a little fishing village just north of Mazatlan.

Next we swooshed into Fry's and its seriously cooled air. Deliciously chilly on a hot Texas afternoon to be in a place where the electronics must be kept cool. Yummy! We found a terrific little cigarette lighter 400w inverter to use with the electronics (camera, laptop, cellphone), the bulbs needed for the tailights, zip cord for the stereo, a cd and a movie, and some great Jack Daniels beef jerky (hadn't eaten since breakfast cereal and was famished by then)! *sigh* We also splurged on something that will feel WONDERFUL while on the road; a "Quad-Roller Massaging Cushion." Shiatsu and straight massage functions rolling around on our backs, and ALL with an accompanying fabulous "neon" blue light display! Ron and I both got stupid looks on our faces when using the thing at the store, and again at home. This baby will live with Ron except for road trips, but it will be a very nice addition to Towanda. At a mere 30watt draw, it will get used with our handy new inverter, too! Woo hoo!

Some days the Shopping Gods are with you, some days they're not. Yesterday they were conspicuously absent, in spite of any evidence to the contrary. So we motored back to Ron's house, where I loaded the van with the camping gear and anything he might need on our trek west, then we sat down together at his computer to play with Google Earth for bit. We checked our planned route for mountain passes, etc., looked at a "Urinals of the World" site and wondered "Why?" (Ron was dismayed to see the urinals at the Taj Mahal were no longer a continuous marble wall with a stream of water falling...they've been replaced with no-water urinals, apparently all the rage amongst environmentalists), and by then it had finally occured to me that I might as well spend the night and try Harbor Freight again in the morning. 'Sides, The Original Pancake House is two blocks away, and I LOVE their breakfasts!

I spoke with Peter and he has gotten the dread toilet enclosure mostly finished. The dread part is complete, anyway. One more tiny bit of cabinetry to go and then so will I!

Signing off from across town...