Maroon, and good luck

Everyone left work early on Thursday, and I had Friday off by way of thanks for recent overtime. It's amazing how the weekend feels four times as long with an extra day. I got to cross a bunch of things off my to-do list—very satisfying. Also strangely thematic. Let me explain.

First, I went to Bed Bath & Beyond with a scrap of paper I've been carrying around for months: measuring cups and spoons, duvet cover, olive oil bottle, towels, alarm clock, backscrubber, etc. BB&B is a giant store, laid out poorly enough that I had to ask where almost everything was. (Except for the backscrubber—they have a whole section. Yes, they do.) And I stayed there so long that I almost broke down and bought an egg spatula. Where do they come up with this stuff? Is there a special island?

But my favorite part was asking the friendly bespectacled lady if they had "those things you use to tie back curtains." I'd decided it was time to upgrade from the stretchy ribbons I cut off my so-hideous-it's-kitschy French bathing suit. "Oh, tiebacks," she said. "Over here." Tiebacks? Are an actual thing? They had a whole section of them. Yes, they did. I got some dark red ropey ones to go with the dark red duvet cover (40% off! Sale ends soon!). My bedroom has been navy for so long that I'd almost forgotten other colors.

Then I dropped off some clothes at Goodwill, took Mingus for an oil change and a bath, stopped at AAA for free maps of Oregon and Washington (to plan a mini Thanksgiving road trip with my brother), and went to Walgreens for a photo album. The fancy scrapbooks I'm using for my travel photos are too much work for everyday pictures. Walgreens had a nice green version of the brand I usually get, with a maroon accent, and the register rang it up at $5 off. Yay!

Next I went to the wonderland that is Trader Joe's. I don't usually buy produce there, just everything else, but they happened to have baskets of beautiful, tasty pomegranate seeds and raspberries on sale. Into the car they went.

Then, spent by productivity, I came home . . . took a nap . . . and dreamt of endless rows of useful maroon things on sale. And how I still had a whole weekend left to enjoy them.