I got this awesome free Spoonflower sample for Ghoulia...

Current Notes: But Miss Rarity likes it, too !

Cleaned out the freezer yesterday for dinner ideas. Used the last of the flounder – which we’ve had for the last…what, six moves ? – in a delicious pan fry. I finally get good at it, and we’re out of fish. I also found bits and pieces of a variety of frozen foods, like three steak fries, eight fish sticks, etc., and cooked them up, too. I have no idea why FIL does that. Since he and I are the only ones who cook, and I’ll overcook for leftovers (plus it’s hard to judge the appetite of a 14-year-old sometimes), it must’ve been him. I just don’t get why. I know we bought that stuff a few weeks ago, if we’d had bits and scraps like that before, I would have trashed them before the move. Still…three steak fries ? Why save them, it’s not like they’re gonna grow into a meal later on. At least they’ve been dispatched and they’re not cluttering up the freezer anymore.

Anyway… today I drove myself to my annual (if slightly late) physical at the VA. I don’t know why I’m so afraid of driving on the interstate in my old age, I used to do it every day for years. Suffice to say, I made it there and back safely, no trouble at all. I even made a quick side-trip to the CapitolCity TRU. It wasn’t quite open yet, so I killed a few minutes at the mall next door.

Talk about depressing. I’d never been to that mall before – Hubby hates ‘em – but it was probably really nice back in 1998. In 2014, however, it was 90% empty, with half the shops still in the throes of ‘going out of business’ / ‘store hardware for sale’ demise. Oddly, the few stores remaining all had Spanish names, except for one that sold variations of Belle-level ballgowns for toddlers to teens. There were a few mall-walkers, getting a quick speed-jaunt on out of the cold, and some very loud kids and oblivious mothers using the indoor playground – you could hear the shrieks and cries from the door, although they were a level down and as far away from the doors as you could get. If you meandered closer, the glare from various cell phone screens got harsher, as did the kids’ screeches. A small carousel shone brightly, but with no attendants, it was eerily quiet and still. Various vending machines vied for attention at random moments, but that just added to the air of desolation and abandonment, as no one was interested in kiddie rides, an can of Coke, or Proactiv.

I didn’t last 25 minutes before I preferred a cold car to a vacant mall, and couldn’t talk myself back in there to so much as find a bathroom. Besides, TRU would be open in a few, so I drove back and waited there. Hubby had bought me some sunflower seeds for after my appointment – I had to fast from midnight yesterday for lab work – so I munched and let a woman and her tiny daughter demonstrate when the doors opened.

Once in, I wandered around and decided how best to use my $5. expires-tomorrow Rewards certificate and the few bucks I had in change. Left $3. lighter, but with a box of 1000 Monster High stickers and two cans of Pringles. It’s silly, but I used to look for MH stickers on eBay – not anymore ! TRU’s running a special, too – buy one set of boxed stickers, get a second at half-price. I’d have gone for some MLP stickers if they’d had ‘em, Dearest Son would have gone nuts. As it was, he truly appreciated sour cream and onion Pringles !

I had a small gift waiting for me, too – Spoonflower offered another free sample, this time of Silky Faille. I selected an adorable owl / cat/ flowers/ stars print – and even got a quick ‘thank you !’ note from the designer, who’d love to see what I make of it. It’s perfect for Ghoulia, and as soon as I decide what to sew, she’s getting something really cool.

Once back at Chez Insanity, I was a puddle of tired, and still am. Managed to pre-make dinner so it just had to be stuffed in the oven when Hubby announced he was on the way, but I’m exhausted. I have no idea why I’m so weary…