Ready to melt!

At 1:30 it's 82F and going up to 93 today. The weekend looks to be in the upper 90's, so I will be ready to take off on Monday for cooler places.

I needed several items at Home Depot, so waited until about 7 pm last night, hoping it might be cooler (it wasn't). Got the things on my list and then looked for a checkout, but the only thing open were two self-service checkouts. I don't do self-service checkouts, anywhere, any time! I asked a tech nearby and he said only the S-S was open, but that he would scan my bag of charcoal while I scanned the smaller items. I told him "I don't do self-service checkouts!", rolled the cart back and put every item in its proper place, then walked out of the store empty handed. (Do you think anyone actually cared?) The store closes at 10 pm so it wasn't because they were drawing down for the day.

I decided to try K-Mart as I really wanted some 10" hacksaw blades. I'm trying to cut down the ugliest rose bush on the planet, and I can only do a small bit at a time. I had put the blades back on the shelf at Home Depot, and K-Mart didn't even have them. That place used to be a good store to shop but it is falling apart now. I doubt I'll ever go back, at least for any serious shopping, and maybe rarely to pick up a small item. Personally I think all the discount stores such as Target, Walmart, K-Mart, and even the so called drug stores such as Walgreens, made a big mistake trying to be a grocery store/discount combo. They made room for groceries by reducing their shelf space for the products which made them popular in the first place. (I know I've said this in past blogs, but please humor me.)

This morning I decided to bite the bullet and go to the dreaded Walmart. It wasn't as bad as it could have been, but much less satisfactory than it could have been as well. I got the blades and have already reduced the rose bush. Someone is bound to wonder why I'm using a hacksaw. It's because the only two saws I have are a hacksaw and a circular saw, which would be overkill. I doubt I will ever do enough sawing to warrant buying something else.

After already letting the horse out of the barn, I closed the door when I bought a pack of Shout Color Catchers. No more fading of colors for me, although I could just put that blue beach towel in the closet and forget about using or washing it again.

Some propane canisters for my Coleman 2-burner stove and the Coleman lantern, plus a few extra tent stakes was all I could find in the camping department; sorry to say I haven't found a chaise lounge anywhere this year that I liked. Target is about the only place left, and I find that as irritating a place to shop as is Walmart.

I have looked at my middle row of seats in the Highlander every chance I get, even read the user manual again, trying to figure out how to get the seats to lay flat. Nothing doing! The back row is tucked away under the cargo floor and I'm not messing with them and then not be able to get them back the way they are now. But the middle row is driving me crazy! Does any reader have a 2006 Toyota Highlander, and if so, can you fold the seats down so that they lie flush with the cargo floor? There has to be a way to do this.

I find myself wishing I had a Toyota Sienna, although the fuel economy would be much less than what I get. Also, what do I need with a bigger vehicle like that? I'd camp in it, that's what!