Shopping

You know when you have a small thing to buy and you go to the store and come home with stuff you didn't intend to get? That just happened to us.

The other morning we noticed that the toaster had a wee glow down inside. It could have been a burning crumb but it didn't go out. And it was burning with a weird yellow light. When we looked closer we could see that it had a funny wire that seemed to have a raw end. Not being an electrician - those of you who are may be laughing - I figured: hey! let's just buy a new one. They're pretty cheap, after all.

Off to the toaster - and other stuff - store and we hem and haw over which is the best deal. Of course, we don't want to pay more than we have to - right? Decision made, we wander through the aisles to the checkout. And on our way, we admire some of that other stuff.

It all happened pretty fast after that. Result: we now have a 32" LCD TV. The helpful young man said that his mom came in for cat food and left with a TV! But, we can't blame the young man. It was our impulse buy.

I am usually the one who goes for the new technology but for some reason had been dragging my feet on the TV issue. We've looked and I come away feeling slightly seasick with all the moving mass of huge screens on display. I have been perfectly happy with a 16" old-style tube effort. And I have resisted the comments from kids and friends about my dinosaur. But, Anne is working so hard painting the house, I think she deserves to be able to read the sub-titles when she's relaxing. So, that's why we did it. Me? I'm still getting used to the size. Adding insult to injury here, we now have to sign up for HD - the telemarketers will have won. It is already better picture, though. There I said it - OK?

And a big thank you to all you Keen shoe fans who have me convinced that my life would be happier with a pair of these great red shoes. I think I better stay away from that store for a while. I hear they come in many colors!