weekend

To pick up where I left off...

Bob called about 7:30 Saturday to ask when I was coming on base to meet him. As I'd just sent Azariah to the bath tub, we agreed on 9 at the BX. So I rounded everyone up and went to meet Bob. He had to be more or less available until noon-ish, but wasn't tied to the office or anything. He wants a tripod for photography, and decided to look good and hard at the BX's offerings. So we went in, opened boxes (they had two kinds) and examined. One was too short so we were looking at the other when an employee came by. He said it was no good - if we wanted a good tripod we should go to the pro shop in Cambridge. Bob was all ears. After all, we've searched for camera shops anywhere within a hundren miles. SO he told us the name, and gave reasonable directions (but I didn't write them down because I thought we'd look it up on google maps and print it out and all). So we put the tripod back in the box and went on through the store. Didn't find anything. Decided to get some lunch (we made it all the way to 10:30) and then do the bazaar.

Ate at the food court on Mildenhall, and Burger King was broken - no beef or grilled chicken, so we ordered a pizza and a dozen tacos. Yummy, and healthy too! (not) Anyway, somewhere in there Bob got back with his drunk guy and finished that business up, so he was free. And so we decided to go to Cambridge and see about a real tripod.

We made the first 3 turns, but missed the last one, so we drove around town a bit, back out, and stopped at a gas station where Bob and the Indian attendant both had to translate to English and somehow worked out that Bob wanted the Yellow Pages. He found the store listed, got the number and address, and came back to the car to call. The number didn't work. So we went further out of town to the new Tesco, and he went in and asked someone there. They told him where it was.

So we went back into town, found the street, found the building, found a parking spot, and Bob went to see. They were closed. No information as to opening hours or phone number or anything, just the doors all locked up tight. As it's in a metal building there are no windows, so it's hard to tell if they are still in business. Grumble.

So we headed back toward home. Went through Newmarket, but couldn't think of any reason to stop. Stopped at the park here and let the children play awhile. They did the playground, and then they climbed trees. Then we came home for dinner and etc.

Sunday Bob had to go back in to watch the drunk guy get yelled at. He was there just long enough for us to miss church. :-( We'd left his car on base Saturday, so he had to take the van in Sunday. Then he came home and relaxed a few minutes before we went back in for lunch, the Bazaar, and the commissary (I didn't get WIC when I was there Thursday because this month's coupons stated Friday). Burger King was still broken, so we ate tacos. The bazaar wasn't bad. They had the hangers heated this time, and had one hanger set up for eating in (a good idea, even if we didn't use it). I bought some local specialty cheese, and Bob got his mother a Christmas present.
I went to the commissary while Bob took all the children to the BX. Woo-hoo! So WIC is a funny deal. They've recently changed things so I can get fresh fruit and veg on a voucher (up to $6 worth), and I have vouchers with milk, cereal, bread, peanut butter, juice, cheese, and eggs (less juice and eggs than before) all together on one transaction. So first I picked out the fruit and veg. The commissary sells carrots in 3 ways - bunched, with tops, bagged, and bulk. Bulk carrots are 30cents per lb. Bagged is $1 per lb. Bunched is more than that. So I picked out the bulk - KWIM?
Then I went through the shelf stuff - cereal, juice, etc. Got to the milk isle, and they are out of whole milk (which I get for the babies). Fine, I'll get 2% (reduced fat) - nope, out of that, too. So I decide to just get the one voucher's worth of skim milk, which means I have to put back the bread, juice, cereal that came with the whole milk. Bah.

So then I go to check out, and guess what. The bulk carrots won't scan on WIC. I can go get the package instead, except then I'd be over the price. So I tell her to give me back the voucher (if I got it without the carrots I'd be throwing away $1, and it's totally impractical to try to go back and get 50cents worth of some other thing while the checker stnads there and people wait in line) and she's like "I already started." So I say "cancel it," and took the voucher back to use next time. So I got the skim milk and stuff, bought a bag of halloween candy for 25cents (I had a coupon), and was out of there.

Of course this whole time Bob is sitting with the children in the food court, playing "I spy." I went back and got them, Bob got his car, and we met in the empty parking lot behind the hospital. Bob and I switched cars, and I drove his right-hand drive, stick-shift, sports car around the parking lot a few times. Seeing how easy it was to drive, I went ahead and drove it home. I tend to let off the clutch too slowly, revving the engine, but I was getting the hang of it by the time we got home. Didn't kill it. Even backed up into the parking spot at home. So now I know I can drive it, if the need arises.

Breakfast time.