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08:49 - 10.02.07
expeditions
Yesterday was an adventure. The new-to-the-bus-stop male was waiting when I arrived for the early morning commute. He said he's been in this city for 14 years. Came here from Niagara Falls. My comment was - "oh, that's not far from Windsor" at which he startled. I'd been looking at maps of Ontario this week you see. For a prairie girl, to travel 300 miles only gets one to the next big city. A few hours drive, therefore, is close in relative terms. I forgot that in Ontario cities are basically cheek to cheek, so that my perception of distance might not seem accurate. That's all relative too. I think he was expecting the usual response of it being the honeymoon destination of choice, but I don't think in those terms any more. Just not part of my goals or values. We discussed our weekend plans briefly as the two young women and the bus arrived almost simultaneously. Hmmm.

When I arrived at my son's home he allowed that he would be returning around the lunch hour - short work day. He hates traffic in the winter - especially when there's been a cold snap with a lot of wet, icy snow. He wanted to get his shopping out of the way before rush hour and the weekend started. Worked for me since it meant I could do my grocery shopping as well. It was as if my grand-daughter understood the change in schedule too. Instead of playtime before her nap, she wanted to go straight back to bed after her bottle. She is still quite congested so I think maybe her sleep isn't as refreshing as it needs to be. Two hours later she was back up, happy and ready for adventure. By the time her Dad arrived back at the house she was cleaned, changed and fed, while still being able to get in some pretty good play time and another chapter in The Goblet of Fire - Sirius is back.

My son decided to shop at the one big box store near my community as a change of pace. I haven't been there in over a year so it was a change of pace for me too. The layout of the store had been reorganized, so it was as if I had never been there before. My grand-daughter has a lightning fast reach these days. It was a bit of a challenge to make certain she didn't add things to the purchases. Her stroller has one of those big compartments at the back so one doesn't even need a shopping cart, you see. We started with the baby department - an area of great interest to her. She recognized the goods that are hers at home. Felt she should be able to take them freely on that premise I think. There was a sale on baby clothes and she was extra excited about checking things out there. She caught a teddy bear attached to a 3 piece outfit and wanted to take it with her. No deal, but while we were looking at a couple of other outfits, she managed to grab a package of receiving blankets from one of the displays. We didn't realize she had secured a package of her own choosing until the next department over. She was hugging it closely to her chest you see. I laughed, retrieved it and went back to hang it up where it belonged. Can't fault a baby for not knowing that everything has to be paid for, but one can't let her develop the belief that one can just take what one wants either.

Arrived at the grocery department next, after completing the baby department. This was of less interest for her and she started to fuss after about half an hour of trolling the aisles for items on our grocery lists. I carried her while her Dad pushed the stroller, now full with my shopping basket and his haul of food. Reached the checkout and socialized with the cashier and the lady in front of us. The cashier had a really interesting hairdo and my grand-daughter was fully enthralled. Now that she knows how to use her hairbrush she wants to work with other people's hair too, you see. The cashier gave her a glossy brochure to play with while we got everything packed up, so she decided that shopping with grandma wasn't such a bad deal after all. Doesn't take much to please little people does it?

At home the cats had torn open their new bag of kibble before I had my groceries unpacked. Doesn't take much to please pets either - just food, water and a bit of attention. Did a load of laundry and practiced text messaging with my youngest son. My new skill acquisition for the week. I've never really seen the need for it, but I can understand why it would be a useful communications tool,if one is moving about a lot on a variable schedule. Can't always be chattering on a cell phone during the work day nor can one always be guaranteed access to a computer terminal with internet email either. I realize I'm a bit slow getting with that program, but I really haven't needed it either. Maybe learning it now portends a change in work conditions in the next assignment. Don't know. Spent the balance of the day reading news and doing research about the environment both on paper and on-line. Time to get back to that. Bye dear diary.

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