Random 5 for April 9 – Dreams, Walmart, 1970s, weddings, snow

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They may not look like much now but come summer, they will be over 6′ with tons of tomatoes!

The dream of summer – My tomato seedlings are doing well under a grow light. Hopefully a month or so they will be in the garden and in July they will yield ripe tomatoes. Fresh garden tomatoes with a little salt, balsamic vinegar and basil are what I dream about all year round.

Don’t make me go there again! – In my quest for cat food that would be acceptable to my ghetto cat, I made a trip to Walmart. Some of you may love the place. It has a lot of stuff at a good price. That’s all well and good but it’s a huge store….like really HUGE! I walked in and asked the greeter where the cat food was. He directed me to the diagonally opposite end of the store. It was a 37 mile walk. Really. Just when I get there (and don’t see any cat food), I accosted another worker. He directed me back to where I came from. (Yep, another 37 miles. I wonder if they would replace the shoes I wore out?). Just prior to getting to the cat food section, I asked another employee just to be sure  That’s when I saw the sign on the wall that said PET FOOD. It was large enough but you couldn’t see if from the center of the store. Actually, you couldn’t see it until you were on top of it. I love stores with directories! The worst part was that Gracie did not like anything I bought there. Maybe that’s the good news.

One last comment on shopping – As I was looking for a new spring outfit, I found a manufacturer called “Free the People.” I was intrigued. Free them from what? I googled. It’s eclectic or as I would say – a throwback to the 70s. Unfortunately, the clothes were designed for young (as in very young) women. Short, short, and just a tad skimpy. I would have worn it in the 70s but not at age 70.

Celebrate good times, come on! – Yesterday there was a wedding in my family. There are so few. Most relatives of marrying age have done so. The rest probably won’t. There’s a lull until the next generation comes up way down the road. This was a rare opportunity to get all gussied up. I plucked my chin hairs and painted my toes. A good time was had by all. Woo hoo!

Gracie, Morgan and Mollie all waiting for their turn at the open window!

Gone – Remember last week’s picture of the flower tent with a huge snow pile in front of it? Gone! Warmer weather together with heavy rains got rid of that baby in a few days. No flowers stocked there yet so no picture update but my cats appreciated the one nice day we had.

So how was your week?

 

 

71 thoughts on “Random 5 for April 9 – Dreams, Walmart, 1970s, weddings, snow”

  1. The week has gone well, so far.We spent the first part of it in the Berkshires – no news, no tv. Tuesday, I spent the afternoon chasing baby animals around Shaker village. I laughed so hard at the mama sheep’s baahing and the baby cows mooing I fell over. Just think of Walmart as your new gym without all of the grunting men. And happy to hear that “Woohoo”! Very encouraging.

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    • Your week sounds wonderful. We used to go to the beach for a week. There was TV but we never had time for it. It was wonderful being out of touch. The only time it wasn’t was the week after 9/11 when we checked the TV for news from times to time. Walmart! Beah! It’s really a great store but too overwhelming for me.

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  2. Painted toes! Nothing like an happy event.
    Walmart isn’t what it once was. I refuse to go there ( too big, too much crime around them here, and you really have to watch their prices, and some of the managers really treat their employees terrible – as in check out on your time sheet, then stay late and clean up this mess over here…0
    Have you tried calling Chewy to ask advice on cat food? They have been pretty helpful with us – and the stuff shows up at your door.

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    • I’ve been buying onesies to try things. The only thing she will eat consistently is Fancy Feast chicken feast with gravy grilled (and it damn well better not be chopped or no dice!) with at least 4 small squares of real chicken on top. No real chicken, no eat. When she came here all she ate was kibble. What happened! If I settle on something I’ll switch over to cases from Chewy.

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  3. Well, you may dream of those delightfully tasty tomatoes but I’m sure those dreams are peppered with lots of Starbucks. I keep telling my wife Walmart is a great place to walk off those calories, but she still wants to pay the fitness club prices. At least you won’t find my polyester suits from the 70’s (stretchable of course) in “Free The People.” And congratulation on the family wedding, Kate. :O)

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  4. The Walmart here is so huge that I can’t take Mom unless I take a wheel chair. She tires out before we even get to what she wants to look at. She prefers to meander about the dollar store, and I can’t blame her. If I can find what I want at the dollar store, I’m not taking the hike through Walmart.
    Our cat Grenny will turn eighteen soon. She has heart trouble, and has just recently stopped eating, leaving her to look like a rescue cat before the rescue, but I have found that I can get anything down her gullet if it is mixed with a tablespoon of tuna.

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    • Gracie hasn’t taken to tuna, at least not yet. As for Walmart, it’s too big. I only go if I need something that only they carry. Our local Target, smaller but comprehensive usually works for us.

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  5. This post is about the 20th I’ve read today. I usually start to tire at this point, and don’t pay close attention, but this line:

    “Maybe that’s the good news.”

    Made me laugh out loud and startled the cat.

    Hope you have a great week!

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  6. Snow pile gone so quickly? That’s something! And I had a similar reaction to Walmart recently. There is a giant one near me and I never go. I decided I’d give it a try, and after what felt like hours, I landed in line and it must have taken me 45 minutes to get from the back of the line to out the door. I decided that no amount of savings was worth that to me! And I love the tomato seedlings. They are so full of hope!

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  7. I venture to Walmart now and then…it’s ok but not if you’re in a hurry. I am going to try to grow tomatoes on my balcony. It gets lots of sun and is hot. Does it get too hot for tomatoes? If it does I may just have brown plants. I only wear things that cover most of me these days. Too many uglies that need to be covered. Glad my face is still ok.

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    • Tomatoes don’t fruit above 95 degrees so it depends on how hot it is. If you keep it watered and it gets some shade it should work. It’s always worth a try. They may have tomatoes that do best in the south.

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  8. I for one would like dibs on the tomato plant labeled “S.” I’ll come by in August with the balsamic. My wife will no longer go to Walmart with me. I thought it was the politics, but no, she just thinks the place is too insanely huge. – Marty

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  9. Love the cat queue by the window. So well-mannered they all are.

    Your description of tomatoes make me want them…olive oil, basil and balsamic. What’s better?

    It’s such a lovely Sunday…warm, balmy. A no socks day, finally.

    I see frogs, birds and cats canoodling on the new patio furniture very soon 🙂

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  10. We have re-purposed Walmart shopping into exercise. It’s almost as good as our walk to the creek. As to shoes, I now have Sunday sneakers. And, yes, they have taken me comfortably through weddings. No one has asked about them yet. If they do, I’ll offer as an excuse the long scars on my knees.

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  11. We have a smaller scale Walmart where I normally take my mother. Recently, I took her to the Super Walmart and I left feeling guilty. The poor little thing was completely worn out. I’m happy to hear your weather is making a turn. We going to be in the low 80’s this week which is perfect.

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  12. Walmart… ugh.

    I’m glad that you returned your new shoes if they didn’t fit right and wore ones that did. There is nothing worse than uncomfortable shoes. I just donated a fairly expensive pair of heels (what was I thinking???) that I bought for a fancy New Years Eve outing. Very blingy… extremely uncomfortable. I think I wore them about half the night. Someone with much younger feet than mine will get a great bargain (and the American Cancer Society will get the proceeds! Win-win-win… but I think my feet are the biggest winners).

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    • It wasn’t so much that they weren’t comfortable (although I never wore them a whole night) as it was a second pair of high heeled black sandals. The others were Clarks and not out of style so it seems foolish to spend money on that. The dress on the other hand was really comfy.

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  14. I haven’t been to a family wedding (or any wedding for that matter) in years either. Wish my husband would dance but he is fussy about the music and claims to have “a bad back,” when that subject comes up (although not when golf is mentioned – go figure). Walmart is not a favorite of mine either, although I do enjoy looking at pictures of the interesting people who frequent them. You and your mister didn’t take a selfie at least? Happy Sunday to you.

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  15. Let’s see, my week. Oh yes, everything electrical turned on me. One of my two monitors fried. A power strip shot sparks and died when I turned on the Guitar amp last night. I was not aware that the components use smoke to operate. Apparently once the smoke escapes from a chip, or component it stops working.
    Our Walmart plays musical shelves. You never know where anything may have been moved to when you arrive, and not surprisingly the employees have no clue either.
    The weather here was great though so the grass got mowed.
    Cats: Reboot has sat in the window and done her strange “speaking in tongues” to the birds outside. She also still has her Iced Tea addiction.

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    • We are expecting a good weather week. My cats are already excited to spend more time in the screened porch. New cat Gracie wants the furniture cushions put out so her toes don’t get cold.

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  17. Our Walmart is the only place to go as we live out here in “no man’s land” (as my Mom used to call it). I think I got used to the 37 mile hikes to find oddly placed items. Like hand soaps are clear across the store from groceries or other kinds of soaps. It only makes sense from a marketing perspective. If you have to walk by “things” to get what you really need, you might buy (en route) what you really don’t need. I once found the new year’s pocket calendar in the sports section! Go figure.

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    • I rarely go there because of all that. It’s just too big and without a directory to go traipsing all over. I often find that they don’t have what I’m looking for despite the fact that they carry almost everything! We have a more manageable Target nearby.

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    • I am sad to say that the shoes went back. In a streak of sensibleness (is that a word?) I wore my old black dress sandals which looked great and are very comfortable for old feet (considering they are 2-1/2″ high!). However, I did not wear my funeral dress. I bought a new one. So when the bride saw me she asked if that was my funeral dress and I was happy to say no, it was my wedding dress! Now I have two dressy dresses. I did want a picture of my husband and me because well…I don’t spend the time with makeup and all the jewelry. Somehow that escaped us.

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      • While I am disappointed that there is no photo…I am glad that you have a new “wedding dress”!!
        BTW – I agree that comfortable feet is always the way to go — especially for a long day/evening!

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  19. I do not have such sunny window for my cat, so she has to do with the little sunny spot on the bed in the early morning. THAT demands of me, I open the shutters early enough *sigh* There goes my sleep-in.
    My nieces got married 2015, both had a child in 2016. One of which is baptised now in 2017 (I simply do not know about the other).
    My nephew still has some time – he is just 21. Too young for a man too marry, if you ask me. And I do not regret that the times are gone where you married to have regular sex. It caused some really awful marriages. That doesn’t mean I, who never got married, has been sleeping around a lot. I have had my fair share of regular sex with one longtime-partner. But I never married him. Which means I can enjoy my solitude and my cat’s presence now – and I do. Some people like myself are not made for marriage.

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    • I often wonder why I married my first husband. Had the times been a little freer I may have just gotten an apartment by myself. I have lived most of my life as a single, marrying late in life. Can’t say that I would change that. I love my own company and then there are the cats.

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  20. Wow, you have a busy life. Let’s see: TOMATOES: My son tries to grow them, but last year the crop dried up due to the drought. WALMART: They have these wonderful things called electric shopping carts. I know, you probably thought those were for handicapped or old people. FREE THE PEOPLE: I have a couple of cute ponchos from them. As you say, they cater to a younger crowd and the clothes are somewhat on the expensive side. WEDDING: I have a column about a wedding (not on my blog yet.) So, file in coming attractions. LOL CATS: They seem to be enjoying Spring. Gotta run or I’m going to be late for church. Chop, chop.

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  21. We enjoyed a family wedding in December when our niece (age 23) got married ~ the first of the next generation to do so. It’ll be a few years before the next one.

    Glad your weather is shaping up, Kate! ENJOY SPRING TO THE MAX!

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    • The wedding was fun. Our family get-togethers are always casual so it was nice to see people dressed up. There were friends (really relatives of family members) that we see occasionally and it was good to see them without it being a funeral. Oh yeah….and the dancing. Woo hoo!

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  22. CH just came in from watering the tomatoes… it is 7:54 AM. I am glad you had a great time at the wedding. We are going to have the little tomatoes but now I want tomato slices with balsamic vinegar, a little salt, and basil… I have never had tomatoes like that. Walfart is a PIA. I am doing a happy dance that the BIG pile of dirty snow is gone so that when you go to the flower tent it will be nothing but beautiful! Our week was filled with scary storms, wind, and rain. Yesterday was beautiful and made up for it all and it looks like today is going to be pretty too! Good Morning!

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    • CH has tomatoes outside? They would die here! I don’t do big slicers. You can cut a cherry tomato in half and throw together with everything else and it’s wonderful. The smaller ones are less acidic too. Finally, it’s predicted to be warm this week. March was horrible.

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      • No tomatoes yet… didn’t mean to confuse. Just the plants… no tomatoes till the first of June… Usually. True about the little tomatoes being less acidic. I made small batches of tomato sauce for two out of those little guys last year. I hope you have a nice week. We are still looking at storms for the week and next weekend. And it is blustery!

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  24. I’m not sure that I was fan of 70s fashion in the 70s, so seeing it return doesn’t fill me with joy. I know what you mean about family weddings. We’re at a point where I haven’t been to one in years. There may be a few on the horizon, but kids don’t get married young anymore, if at all. And family members who attend the weddings [always across the country, never nearby] are no longer around or interested. Family weddings seem like a thing from my past. Kind of makes me sad.

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    • It seems like unless there are going to be kids (and sometimes even not then), the couple won’t marry but will co-habitate. It’s a new world. Back when I was young, you got married to have regular sex. 🙂

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