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a few last minute Christmas things. I was gone for 4 hours and hit six stores: Target, Michael's, Marc's, Aldi, PetSmart and Fresh Thyme. I didn't want to go to Target but I was out of the vitamins I like. While I was there, I picked up a few ingredients I need for this weekend's cooking spree. I intend to make peanut butter candy, oatmeal scotchies and maybe cream wafers ( ) for a church cookie buffet after the service on Sunday. I'm thinking of making homemade mac and cheese for lunch Sunday (I used to make mac and cheese all the time before Dad had his CHF diagnosis and needed to limit his salt; there's just no good way to make low sodium mac and cheese). For Christmas breakfast, I want to make the "d@mn holiday potatoes" (as our family calls them; some people call them "party potatoes" or "cheesy potato casserole" and the folks in Utah call them "funeral potatoes" because they show up at funeral luncheons so often). And I'm going to a Christmas gathering on Christmas and bringing caprese skewers and old school veggie pizza (the kind you saw everywhere in the 70s, the one made with crescent roll dough, cream cheese, ranch dressing mix and veggies).

Anyways, Target was the worst of my six stops. It was PACKED. They ran out of baskets, so two people just used the basket holder--which has a basket permanently attached to the bottom so you know what it's supposed to be--and dragged it around like it had wheels on the bottom (it doesn't). The lines were LONG, and the cashier in the line I was in was painfully slow (but bless him for working a thankless job on a busy day). There was a nice moment: because there were no baskets, I was holding about a dozen items in my arms as I made my way up to the register. An older couple ahead of me had each grabbed a cart and then had only one item in one cart. The gentleman, seeing me struggling not to drop anything, graciously offered me his cart, telling me he only grabbed it because he "had a long day and needed something to lean on". I feel that.

At Michael's, I got a picture frame to finish off a gift for my bff, plus I picked up some "treat sticks" that I hope work for the skewers holding together the caprese skewers. At Marc's, it was more groceries. Ditto Aldi. I realized I didn't pick up anything for my bff's pets, so I hit PetSmart and grabbed some treats, plus a cat toy for her kitty (he's not really a player but they had one of those cat "sticks" that had a Bumble from Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer dangling from it and it was too amusing to resist) and a collar for her dog. Rosie probably doesn't need a collar...but I couldn't resist when I saw the "velvet" ROSE colored collar with a bow and a little rhinestone on it, AND it was on a good sale. At PetSmart, they also had the CUTEST chinchilla, who had his little face pressed up against the glass at the front of his cage...I didn't bring HIM home but he was pretty hard to resist <g>. I picked up the last few items on my grocery list at Aldi...and I got a cookie, which wound up being my dinner, along with some eggnog <g>.

Off now to wrap some pet toys (don't worry...Leo also got a cat stick plus some Delectable bisque specifically for senior cats 15+ years old) and make peanut butter candy.