Welcome to NJ
Today I headed on the NJ Transit to good ol' New Jersey. Of course interstate public transport was up to its usual hijinx. I got to the station unscathed and to the bus somewhat on time but others had some issues. The woman in front of me didn't have enough $ for her fare so I gave her my 2nd ticket (return karma for my subway fare last week!) and another woman walked on the bus last minute cussing about the A train and informing the entire bus: "You have the right to complain to the governor about the subway!" Sing it, sister.
The scenic mall view:
I visited Gram, who was just lying down but got up when we got there. She showed me her stitches even though I was all, "Oh, that's okay" and I had to see HER LADIES. She told me the nurses complimented her ladies for how old she is (77) and asked her if she nursed her kids. You can imagine how squicked I was on all accounts. However, I do know now that there is hope for my ladies in the future. Then I dusted for her and drew a "How to use the duster" cartoon for the entire household so my grandfather and uncle could figure it out in the near future. Then lots of passive/aggressive crap happened between my mother and my grandmother and I just pretended I was comic relief (see: duster comic) and then they were ready to eat dinner so we left. My uncle/godfather made them dinner, which was cool of him. I always worry that he is going to be a drunken lush and set fire to the house with a cigarette or smoking gun (he is a gun fanatic) unsupervised but apparently he's really come through. Hooray. He is probably doing more for them than I am doing so look at who is all judgey-mc-judgey for no reason. (Yet. This is the same uncle who came home drunk and almost killed me when I was 16 by throwing me into a wall so hard I blacked out and I was forced to protect myself by beating him away from me with a chair and the neighbors told my grandparents when they got home and we weren't allowed to be in the house alone together ever again.)
So. Then we went to Macy's because I needed a canning rack and a large stock pot for canning this summer. I only got the stock pot and also a pre-seasoned Martha Stewart cast iron pan because I didn't have one and I had been looking for one (and it was on sale for cheaper than I'd seen!). It was $50 total for both. The pot was enamel on steel (red) and is definitely tall and heavy enough for canning. However, canning racks are just about as common as a Willie Wonka Golden Ticket. We also tried Bed Bath & Beyond and they only sell 1 canning kit online and it has stuff I already have(bottle lifter) in it so who wants it? I am just going to have to go to the Bwy kitchen supply store to see if they have it. Arrrgh! My mom kept asking me if I wanted to look at clothes - since when did she become the tiny Satan-Clothes-Whore on my shoulder? I was just there for the necessities, which I was already blowing my entire Misc Feb budget on! She-Devil. I did see a really cute cotton cardigan (no wool, thank Frith) that I was tempted to buy but it was $90 and I was like okay not only is this sweatshop but it's totally spendy to boot. (I know, it shouldn't matter anyway but I do get a teensy excited when I see cute cotton sweaters since they are so rare.)
Then my mom and her boyfriend drove me into Manhattan for dinner and used their talking GPS thinger, which I love. (I told them he should try Pongal since he likes the mediocre Indian place in my nabe - I said "nabe"!) and then they drove me home with my stock pot and cast iron pan. I am a lucky girl. Those would have been a bitch to get home on the train so I am all, "Sorry, carbon footprint!"
Then I was going to start my bulk cooking for the week but decided to clean out my closet instead. Which is now mostly done. I wish I had done that before I went to Beacon's last week, damn it. Now I am going to have to go again since I found a bag of winter stuff I had set aside in the far reaches of my wardrobe from last winter season. Feh!
The scenic mall view:
I visited Gram, who was just lying down but got up when we got there. She showed me her stitches even though I was all, "Oh, that's okay" and I had to see HER LADIES. She told me the nurses complimented her ladies for how old she is (77) and asked her if she nursed her kids. You can imagine how squicked I was on all accounts. However, I do know now that there is hope for my ladies in the future. Then I dusted for her and drew a "How to use the duster" cartoon for the entire household so my grandfather and uncle could figure it out in the near future. Then lots of passive/aggressive crap happened between my mother and my grandmother and I just pretended I was comic relief (see: duster comic) and then they were ready to eat dinner so we left. My uncle/godfather made them dinner, which was cool of him. I always worry that he is going to be a drunken lush and set fire to the house with a cigarette or smoking gun (he is a gun fanatic) unsupervised but apparently he's really come through. Hooray. He is probably doing more for them than I am doing so look at who is all judgey-mc-judgey for no reason. (Yet. This is the same uncle who came home drunk and almost killed me when I was 16 by throwing me into a wall so hard I blacked out and I was forced to protect myself by beating him away from me with a chair and the neighbors told my grandparents when they got home and we weren't allowed to be in the house alone together ever again.)
So. Then we went to Macy's because I needed a canning rack and a large stock pot for canning this summer. I only got the stock pot and also a pre-seasoned Martha Stewart cast iron pan because I didn't have one and I had been looking for one (and it was on sale for cheaper than I'd seen!). It was $50 total for both. The pot was enamel on steel (red) and is definitely tall and heavy enough for canning. However, canning racks are just about as common as a Willie Wonka Golden Ticket. We also tried Bed Bath & Beyond and they only sell 1 canning kit online and it has stuff I already have(bottle lifter) in it so who wants it? I am just going to have to go to the Bwy kitchen supply store to see if they have it. Arrrgh! My mom kept asking me if I wanted to look at clothes - since when did she become the tiny Satan-Clothes-Whore on my shoulder? I was just there for the necessities, which I was already blowing my entire Misc Feb budget on! She-Devil. I did see a really cute cotton cardigan (no wool, thank Frith) that I was tempted to buy but it was $90 and I was like okay not only is this sweatshop but it's totally spendy to boot. (I know, it shouldn't matter anyway but I do get a teensy excited when I see cute cotton sweaters since they are so rare.)
Then my mom and her boyfriend drove me into Manhattan for dinner and used their talking GPS thinger, which I love. (I told them he should try Pongal since he likes the mediocre Indian place in my nabe - I said "nabe"!) and then they drove me home with my stock pot and cast iron pan. I am a lucky girl. Those would have been a bitch to get home on the train so I am all, "Sorry, carbon footprint!"
Then I was going to start my bulk cooking for the week but decided to clean out my closet instead. Which is now mostly done. I wish I had done that before I went to Beacon's last week, damn it. Now I am going to have to go again since I found a bag of winter stuff I had set aside in the far reaches of my wardrobe from last winter season. Feh!