Weekend!
They go through a lot of Swiffer dusters at Maribou’s job. Like, a lot a lot. You’re dealing with shelving books that probably date back a looong time and you’re putting them back on the shelf next to books that might have been sitting there even longer. So, as you reshelve, you go over the tops of everything with a quick swipe of the swiffer. Huh. That book on geometry theory in Ancient Greece dates back to the Eisenhower administration. Looks like that was the last time it was checked out… huh.
Anyway, this has the result of us periodically making the Costco trip and filling half the cart with about three cases of the things. Which means that we have to have a short handful of conversations about making sure that we keep the swiffers separated from the 8 pounds of those little Babybel cheese wheels (look, yes, it seems pricey at first but if you do a per-wheel cost analysis, you’ll see that it costs about a third of what it costs at the grocery store).
And this weekend is the weekend where we don our defensive padding and go to Costco to walk past the 80″ televisions that are now cheaper than the 65″ televisions were three years ago, then past the box sets of television shows long forgotten but still cherished enough to make one say “Only 12 bucks for season one? I used to love Parker Lewis Can’t Lose!” and then past the tables and tables of half zip knit hoodies that have 60 S, 40 M, 40 L, 20 XL, and one XXL way in the back there, under the 60 S. Someone probably hid it. Snooze you lose.
Though the cheerful people spearing small circles of sausage pierced with thin pretzels do a good job of brightening any trip and help you not give a stern lecture to the guy who thinks he’s being funny by starting a conversation where he asks “who buys 40 ounces of pâté?”
Because some people need that much.
Anyway, we’re going to Costco to pick up the swiffers and some pâté this weekend. We’ve also got the gaming thing going on come Saturday night as well as the usual trips to Whole Foods, the Pets Mart, and the various supermarkets that have the various staples without which we may as well be living back in the Eisenhower era.
So… what’s on your docket?
(Image is “Play” by Clare Briggs. Used with permission of the Briggs estate.)
Tonight we drive to French Lick, IN (hometown of Larry Bird) to see Kenny Rogers. It’s his farewell tour and the wife loves some Kenny. I’ll try to enjoy it and think about my mom playing his greatest hits album constantly when I was a kid and feel very nostalgic.Report
There is a big Amish auction out there that is worth going to.
Probably not this time of year, but you can never tell.Report
Making the final 9 hour trip from old home to new home today!
Then being a zombie for a day before start/finishing holiday shopping.Report
I find the exact opposite is true. My Costco has dozens of XL, XXL, and XXXL in every article of clothing, but just a few L and you have to go rummaging for a M. Which means either the buyers in your area have more faith in the physical fitness of your community, or your community is actually morbidly obese and buys all the large jackets.Report
I am at the very edge of normal clothing sizes. If I gain any weight or (less likely) grow any taller I will be in the “big and tall” category. Whenever I am in a store that carries clothing I am willing to wear I automatically check the pants. If they just got a shipment in they will have one or two pairs that fit me. If not, someone else with my body type will have grabbed them first. The thing is, they invariably have innumerable pairs in the middle sizes. They are losing sales by not putting in a few more at the large end in place of a few less in the middle. My working hypothesis is that they have sizing charts that (a) assume sizes fall on a bell curve, and (b) uses data from fifty-plus years ago.
This is a market failure, but the market for clothing is so bizarre that it hardly stands out.Report
I can’t often buy pants at Winners – there are great swathes of rack space of pants up in the high 30s / low 40s of waistband-inches. As you get into the low 30s it starts getting sparse. Sometimes there are half a dozen 28-inch waist pairs, sometimes there are none at all.Report
I take a 31, and I have difficulty finding my size.
In farm country, if your waist isn’t bigger than your instep, good luck finding pants.
Were I to buy overalls, I would have to have them tailored.
Just can’t buy off the rack.Report
Your Costco has XXXL?
Colorado Springs Costcos only go up to XXL.
Trust me: I’ve *LOOKED*.
Apparently, Colorado is the fittest state.
For some reason.Report
@jacob They grow ’em bigger up here.Report
This is our last weekend before the whirlwind of “relaxing” Yuletide visits.
My phone just binged to tell me there is an extreme cold weather warning. So I guess we’ll be dressing warmly.
Saturday there are two parties – Kiddo’s school nondenominational Kwanzakkumas potluck in the early evening, and a house party in the later evening. There will be a hot tub at this party – but I’m not sure how hot the propane burners will be able to keep it if will be if it’s -26 out as per the forecast…Report
If possible, stick the tanks in a bucket of water.Report
We heard Surrobaby’s heartbeat for the first time today. Baby Daddy was very happy, but you can tell he’s a first time father. I think he was a little disappointed to see that the ultrasound just looked like a little blob with a blinking spot for a heartbeat. So this weekend I’ll be filling out paperwork that is due around this time in the surrogacy cycle.
Junior has a birthday party Sunday and dance camp on Saturday. Mommy needs a nap and I kind of feel like vomiting on everyone who asks me how I’m feeling.Report
“I was kind of hoping for something like that thing from the movie 2001.”Report
Going through the lists and figuring out what I missed this past week, disrupted as we were by the arrival of Granddaughter #2. Granddaughter #1 (now three years, three months) marched into the hospital room later the morning after delivery, arms out, demanding “Where’s my baby?” I anticipate… interesting times to come.Report
Mazel Tov! Better stock up on distracting stuffed animals now…Report
That’s adorsable!Report
Busting out the tuxedo this weekend for Natasha’s work holiday party. As the company just celebrated a rather significant landmark, there is particularly good reason to celebrate. (I was out there with lots of the other families; it was F.A.C. and earlier than I like to get up on a Saturday, but a good time anyway.) If last year’s party was any indication, this year’s will be at least as good. They’ve rented the Space Shuttle hangar at Exposition Park so we’ll be partying under Endeavour. And this time we were wise, and rented ourselves a hotel room to crash in overnight.Report
Angel (the most elderly remaining ex-feral cat) has to have dental surgery tomorrow. The vet picks him up around 9 and brings him back around 4.
As such I will be spending the day distracting myself with some combination of tv, books, audiobooks/podcasts, coloring and cross-stitching.
And the evening (one hopes) in bed with a stoned but in need of cuddling kitty.
Sunday is errand day.Report
Graduation is tomorrow. I’m expected to go.
I am wondering if they will mention the student from my department who passed away over Thanksgiving. I am still kind of in shock over that and it was painful to enter grades and see his name still there…Report
I am in NY for a depo and had a hell day of traveling. Suppose to leave SF at 9:15. Did not take off till 12.
I shall be avoiding SantaCon.Report
Spent four hours tonight putting together new gaming rig from parts. Seems like everything is connected, but there’s a worrying clicking sound apparently coming from one of the hard drives. Dropped the old crappy monitor that was going to be my secondary, so shopping for a new cheap one. Not ecstatic about Windows 10, but it’s not like you can avoid it on a new system anymore. Other than that, everything seems like it’s working. Probably spend all of tomorrow downloading drivers, games from Steam, and games from Blizzard.
Also, my workplace’s benefits program health screening and fitness advisor – as well as the PT I’m seeing for my hamstring – all reminded me that while I’ve bulked up about 10 pounds over where my old optimal weight was, only five of them are muscle…Report