17 2005 |
Friday night, we made plans to go rummaging on Saturday. We got up at 9, set a budget -- $10 per person -- and headed out into the wilds. This wasn't our regular rummaging, mind you. Without the antique mall, and with a basement full of inventory, and our small budget, we really had no commercial interest in rummaging. D was awestruck at the idea of going shopping just for ourselves - another rare occurrence. Sure, we did pick up a few resellable things, but none cost more than a dollar.
By noon, we had only spent half of our budget, and decided we were hungry. McDonald's was our respite, spending most of the rest of our budget. There were a few dollars left, allowing us to spend the rest on our way home. In the end, I had a dollar fifty in nickels and dimes when we got home -- that, and two pairs of jeans, a Dictaphone, and a couple books.
Upon arriving home, we sat on the couch for a few minutes, and then I remembered I had planned on watering the lawn (I splurged on a $1.85 spinny sprinkler at WalMart). In addition to running the hose to the front yard, I brought two chairs.
D and I sat on the front porch for darn near three hours, reading, talking, moving the sprinkler, talking to the neighbors moving out. Shortly after the neighbors left, two different realtors showed up to show the house. We talked one realtor into letting us see what's inside. If you've ever seen a Montana rustic ski lodge vomit, this is what it would look like. There was a sanded and shellaced TREE in the kitchen, appearing as though it were growing through the basement, up to the roof.
With the lawn sufficiently watered, we saddled up the dogs and went for a walk to get groceries. You may think we went directly towards the store, in our usual path, but no -- we went a very roundabout way, exploring parts of our neighborhood that we'd never had the occasion to wander through. We walked and talked about owning a house someday, what we'd do, how we'd handle work and kids and such in a single house.
After finding our way to the grocery store, we came home, made dinner (sandwiches and chips - simple and effort-free) and watched a movie on TV. D took a two-hour nap.
Yes, while D napped, I did go work. I couldn't be expected to go a WHOLE day without programming, right? It didn't take away from how nice it was to sit on the front porch with my wife, reading and talking.