The snow and ice of the last week meant that we didn’t feel safe driving. I can drive in the winter provided that the yahoos in SUVs stay home; unfortunately, anyone who drives one of these thinks they’re invincible – and winds up in the ditch. We ventured to the grocery store Christmas Eve morning once the roads got clean to get ingredients for the White Elephant dinner. We also had a non-frozen duck on reserve for our traditional Christmas duck à l’orange.
As I’ve mentioned before, I have claustrophobia that’s been exacerbated by the pandemic. I knew this was going to be the perfect storm, and I was right. The parking lot in front of the store was jammed. We wound up parking two blocks away. Luckily, most of the snow, ice, and slush had disappeared by that morning.
I told Julian that we would not be dilly-dallying – just get what’s on the list and vamoose. Vamoosing was easier said than done. The line for the self-checkout stands extended to the main entrance. Fortunately, folks were mostly in a good mood and rolled with the crowds. It took us a half hour to reach a human-staffed register. I got on line with the cart while Julian picked up a few things we’d forgotten along the way. Once we finally checked out, Julian stayed with the cart while I brought the car over to the pick up point. My blood pressure returned to its normal range once we got to the Bothell city limits.
We managed to forget a few things on Saturday’s jaunt (plus we needed to get gas for my car and supplies for the bums), so we ventured out to Woodinville this afternoon. Fewer crowds and shorter lines. Traffic was a little heavy, but I found a sneaky route into the shopping center. We stayed away from the post-Christmas sales. I think I’ve done enough shopping for a few days.
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