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Saturday, April 29, 2000
One year ago: Mr. Brown
Two years ago: Missed a Meeting
There are always so many errands and things to work on at Jack's, far more than we can ever get done in one weekend. So how to prioritize?
Jack wanted to get some sandals. I'd been lobbying for him to get some that would last for more than one season. Extra quality and comfort is worth more money, I think! Though my current daily shoes did come from K-mart, I mean Big K, and cost twenty dollars, that's not my normal pattern. So he did some looking in the phone book and found a store that carried birkenstocks. The address was mysterious -- on West Cornwall, which didn't appear on the gridded map in the phone book. It had to be somewhere downtown, though, so we drove down there and cast about, hoping to pick up the scent.
This street did indeed exist (but it's only a block or two before it turns into East Cornwall), and we saw the shoe store quickly. Jack's parking karma meant that we found a space nearby. He does seem lucky that way!
Jack looked around and saw the style of sandal he wanted. An older saleswoman (she seemed very sensible, which seemed appropriate in this store that specializes in sensible, quality shoes) measured his feet, and fitted him. He tried a pair of birkenstocks, and also a pair that was even better because it had velcro straps. These were from Israel, where they live in their sandals, so I think they'll last for him. I was tickled that he wore them out of the store, as I used to do when I got new shoes as a kid.
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Jack had suggested that we check out the "fair" being put on by the Bellingham chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism. We'd thought of getting something to eat there, but it really wasn't set up for that. In a field in a city park, there were a number of tents, a few crafts sellers, and people doing various sorts of fencing and fighting in the center of the ring. We did run into Jacqueline, who was trying to recruit for VikingCon.
We drove on north to Bellis Fair Mall, where we ate lunch and Jack succeeded in buying a copy of the movie Pi. I'm fond of this film because Jack and I saw it on one of our first dates! It's a very cool, weird film. Jack wanted a copy to screen for his Wednesday night anime group.
We succeeded in not going to Costco this week. Instead we rewarded ourselves by stopping at a used book store. This is an independent place, in a house on its own, and crammed full of books. They have a reasonable romance section, and a good selection of sf paperbacks, including a lot of old stuff from the sixties that hasn't been reprinted recently. I cruised the back room where the romance books were, and surprised myself by picking up a book and going on a fly-killing rampage. I don't know why so many were idly buzzing against the windows, but I didn't like them being there.
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Back at the house, we split the tasks. Jack wanted to sort out and inventory all the random pieces of computer hardware that were all over his bedroom. He wants to figure out what he can build from the stuff, so he can use it in a home network. This was really a one-person task, and the situation has deteriorated enough in that room that there really isn't room for more than one person to work!
I worked on assembling a small DIY bookcase that will be for storing videos. It wasn't too difficult and I did most of it myself, though Jack did want to "help" me a few times. I was amused that the box was marked "Special Edition" because the top and bottom were actually real, solid oak! So the videos that have been sitting in a storage bin could be shelved, and the storage bin put away or used for something else.
Jack is certainly full of ideas and projects this weekend, mostly for my benefit and entertainment, of course, and of which I approve! He found a package of dal in the discontinued bin at the grocery store recently, and that inspired him to try and cook his first chicken vindaloo. (I'm not clear on if he just likes Indian food -- I do also -- or if there was some Red Dwarf influence at work. Here's a Red-dwarf recipe.)
I urged him to research the recipe on the web, which he did, then we went to the store to buy what wasn't on hand. It all turned out very well! Basmati rice cooked in the rice cooker (duh!), chicken, bell peppers, and a potato or two simmered in a spicy, vinegar-y sauce, and the dal. A good dinner that wasn't that difficult, and now Jack knows how to fix chicken vindaloo to his liking.
After dinner we spent a wonderful, relaxing evening at home. Jack's feet were a little sore from the new sandals (comfortable, but with a ridge in the sole that he's not used to yet), so I rubbed his feet with some "energizing" massage oil that I bought a few weeks back. I felt all mary-magdelenish! He returned the favor, rubbing my back instead of my feet. Ah, bliss!
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