Quick shopping spree

I ventured out this morning before the heat became unbearable, and first stop was the Asian Market.  That thing has nearly tripled in size since I was last there - they took one whole side of the strip mall behind Kohl's and combined all the stores into one huge marketplace, with even a food court.  I found the butane tanks when I was ready to leave in frustration - 4 cans for 4.99; not knowing how long they will last, I bought 8.  After my trip with Jeannie in a couple of weeks I should get an idea.  It beats buying a case of 12 for $39 + $15 hazardous transport fees.

I stopped at the library and picked up a couple of travel books, including handbooks on the Four Corners, Zion and Bryce Canyon; then on to the Dollar store.  I bought 6 items for $6 - quite unlike the dollar general stores that I've seen in the east where nothing is only a dollar.  I saw a little display of resin figurines - angels, cats, etc., and found me a black lab among all the cats.  I thought he needed rescuing, and maybe he'll bring me good luck in finding my next forever friend.  He is about 4-1/2" tall and is sitting smartly in that good dog pose - a lab hoping for a handout!

I bought a deck of cards for $1 as I've been wanting to get one for my trips but don't want to spend $5+ for a deck.  These cards have a logo for Margaritaville Casino on the fronts, and the deck was sealed with a tape that said "This deck was actually in play at the Margaritaville Casino in Las Vegas".  I tried my hand at shuffling the deck and haven't lost my touch!  My laptop doesn't have any games like solitaire or Mahjong on it, nor can I find any free downloadable ones, and when camping or sitting in a motel room I often wish I had a deck with me.  So now I do.

When I returned home a box with the printer toner was sitting on the porch.  I opened the printer but unfortunately they only have pictures of how to get the old cartridge out - no words.  Now I know that often a picture is worth a thousand words, but not in all cases and not to everyone.  Nothing looks like the picture as far as I can tell.  This makes me so damn mad so I just set everything aside until I cool off.

I appreciate all the suggestions regarding my camping plans and mods to my vehicle.  I loved the idea of the solar panel on the roof until I saw the prices.  I hate to come right out and say it, but I'm not sure how much longer I'll be able to do the kind of traveling I've been doing.  I'd hate to sink money into something I possibly wouldn't even get several uses out of.  So I'm trying to go on the cheap!

The scheduler called me from UCD Med Center this morning and we set Nov 8 as the date for my procedure, which will ruin my birthday month.  I have really gotten cold feet about it and even though they assure me that this time the appointment will include the anesthesiologist to give me a total blackout, I get sick just thinking about what it entails.  I don't think it would bother me if they just operated in a regular way, rather than going down my throat!  I don't fear the gallbladder surgery if I live long enough to ever get it the way they move at a snail's pace, but the ERCP is going to send me off the deep end.  She promised to have the surgeon call and talk to me, but I'm losing faith in what any of them say.  Fortunately I can forget the whole thing for a few months.

Now to sit back and read some travel books.