Making My Way Back To The Hodgepodge…

After a two month hiatus, I’ve finally made my way back to blogging!  Sometimes, a person needs to just take a step back, so that’s what I did.  Before I knew it, one week had turned into two, then a month, and so forth. I’m back blogging, for now, and there’s no place I’d rather start than with The Hodgepodge.  As always, thanks to our hostess, Joyce, for keeping this fun meme going!

1. What title would you give this current chapter of your life?

One Day At A Time

Just like the title of that old song I love.  The lyrics of this song seem to fit my life, these days.

2. December 6 is National Microwave Oven Day. Who knew? Besides popcorn and coffee reheats, what’s the most common thing you microwave? Could you get along without a microwave?

The things I use my microwave most often for are baking potatoes or defrosting ground beef.  Yes, I could get along without it, and I did for many years, but a microwave sure makes life [in the kitchen] easier.

3. If you could insert yourself into any Christmas carol and experience the lyrics in real life, which Christmas carol lyric would you choose and why?

I’m going to choose Sleigh Ride.

I’ve never been on an actual sleigh ride, but it looks like so much fun in those Hallmark movies!  I imagine myself snuggled under a blanket, holding Ed’s hand, while a horse (or two) pulls us through the snow in a sleigh…  There’s a scene like that near the end of one of my favorite Hallmark movies entitled The Christmas Card.  Has anybody else seen it?

4. Describe the most beautiful drive you’ve ever taken.

The most beautiful drive I’ve ever taken was through the Great Smokey Mountains.  It was beautiful, but also a little bit scary, with its steep mountains and sharp curves!

5. What’s something on your Christmas list this year? (an actual list or figuratively speaking, either one)

I’ve been so blessed, I can’t  think of a thing that I truly want or need, this Christmas.  Our family drew names, this year, and I had a hard time even thinking of some “hints” to put on my list.  So…

The main thing on my Christmas list, this year, is going to be staying focused on the real reason for the season–celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.  It’s easy to get caught up in all the ‘hoopla’ of Christmas, and forget what’s really important.  I don’t want to be guilty of that!

Random:

Ed and I haven’t been idle during my blogging hiatus.

As of November 5, we changed churches (again).  Sadly, it became painfully apparent that things weren’t going to work out in the church we’d been attending for the past nine months.  We had to leave some great new friends behind, but ended up going back to worship with some great old friends at a previous church we’d attended.  I hope and pray this will be our last move!

Ed celebrated his 68th birthday on November 13, with family and a birthday cake.  I didn’t bake his German Chocolate cake until the day before Thanksgiving, though.  It took us that long to finish off his birthday cake!

Ed with two of our grandchildren

In November, I bought a Christmas comforter set, and wanted some window treatments to match.  So, what did I do?  I bought a couple of matching shower curtains and turned them into valances!  I even made a matching throw pillow for the bed, and a pair of curtains for the bathroom, too!

Christmas comforter and matching valances

Thanksgiving came and went.  Our family spent Thanksgiving at our daughter’s house, this year, which was nice for a change, plus it gave me a break.  The only glitch was our grandson, Evan, got sick, so he and his family weren’t able to be with us for Thanksgiving.  After lunch, the girls did some browsing on the internet while the guys watched football.

On the day after Thanksgiving Ed and I pulled out the boxes of Christmas decorations!  We’ve been decorating, outside and inside, ever since.  As of Monday evening we are ‘officially’ finished and all boxes are put away…and it only took eleven days!!!  Whew, this task gets more difficult every year!

a not-so-great picture of our living room tree

Would you believe, after almost six years of raising chickens, we’ve suddenly been plagued by several visits from two different chicken hawks?!  I’d often wondered if a chicken hawk could actually kill a grown chicken, and I recently learned they can–they start with the head.  We’re now down to seven very nervous hens, who are wondering who’s next.

“Trouble”, the cat, is still living at Ed’s parents’ house.  I swear this cat has nine lives…  Ed feeds her twice daily and still closes her up in the freezer room at the end of each day.  Since the time change, we have to time our outings so we can be home by 4, to put the cat to bed each evening!  I tell you, it’s like having children again.

It will be late this evening or tomorrow, before I get around to visiting everyone’s blogs.  Ed and I will be accompanying our daughter into the city, today.  She has a doctor’s appointment and we’re planning to do a little Christmas shopping, as well.  See y’all when we get back!

 

 

Happy Happy Hodgepodge…

I don’t know how everyone else feels, but I’m tickled pink to have The Wednesday Hodgepodge back on-line!  Happy, happy, happy ! Our gracious hostess, Joyce, has been busy moving into her new house, but is taking a break to host The Hodgepodge, again.  Thanks, Joyce!

Here are the questions for this week:

1. Let’s all think happy thoughts…share one of yours here.

My happy thoughts always center around family.  One of my favorite happy memories [this time of the year] is all of us sitting around the Thanksgiving Day table,  listening to each other share what we are most thankful for.  This is a fairly new tradition for us, and it’s a good one.

2. There’s a Chinese proverb that says, “If you want happiness for an hour take a nap, if you want happiness for a day-go fishing….” What say you? If you want happiness for a day… go to St. Simon’s Island! (It always works for me.)

 3. Where do you go to decompress from the world around you?

Sometimes I’ll just go to my bedroom for a while, but if I get the chance, I’ll head for St. Simon’s Island.

4. What song never fails to make you happy?

There are too many to count, but this is one of the many:

5. Wednesday is National Fast Food Day. Should that be a thing? Apparently it is, so tell us what’s the last ‘fast food’ you consumed? If you were putting together your own version of a ‘happy meal’ what would you include?

The last ‘fast food’ I consumed was a Whopper, fries, and a coke from Burger King.  We rarely eat there, so I thoroughly enjoy it whenever we do.  My version of a ‘happy meal’ would probably be some Kentucky Fried Chicken, with mashed potatoes, cole slaw, and a biscuit.  I love it, but, again, we don’t eat it very often anymore.

6. In a few sentences tell us why you blog.

I began my blog as a way to record some of the past stories of my life.  In the process I began  meeting many interesting bloggers through ‘blog hops’.  In fact, I met our hostess, Joyce, through a blog hop, about eight years ago.  I really enjoy the interaction with other bloggers, and  I’ve learned so much, and ‘met’ some very nice people through blogging. I’ll be celebrating my 9th ‘blogiversary’ in April.

7. List seven things you’re feeling especially grateful for today.

(1) I’m grateful to be a Christian, and thankful my relationship with God is growing stronger. (2) I’m grateful God sent me a kind and loving husband, and has given us 44 happy years together.  (3) I’m grateful for three healthy children who’ve grown into productive adults that I’m very proud of.  (4) I’m grateful for four healthy, happy grandchildren, who have two loving parents in their homes. (6) I’m grateful for our home, that’s paid for. (7) I’m grateful for improved health, this year.  I’m currently off two [of four] prescription meds, and doing okay.

Random:

Below is a short video clip of Ed’s recent birthday celebration.  Three-year-old grandson, Evan, is leading the singing of “Happy Birthday”.  Notice how Evan tries to blow out the candles with his nose.  So funny!

Miscellaneous Monday…

Hopefully, this week will be a little less eventful than last week.  I began last week by having to be at the doctor’s office at the crack of dawn, to have blood drawn.  That’s never a great way to begin a new week, and the rest of the week seemed to go downhill from there…

On Monday night, our youngest grandson, Evan, came down with the stomach virus.  Ed and I were supposed to go over, on Tuesday evening, and take Evan and his daddy some supper, because Jennifer was working late.  Needless to say, we changed our plans.

Next, we found out that our daughter-in-law, (and neighbor) Christina, had come down with the virus, as well.  A couple of days later, Evan’s daddy and Christina’s husband came down with the virus, too.  With all of the virus germs spreading around, we decided to postpone Ed’s birthday party for a while.

On Thursday, I had an appointment with a dermatologist, whom I’d been referred to by my primary care physician, concerning a scaly patch on the bridge of my nose.  My doctor told me the dermatologist would probably freeze my nose or give me some kind of cream for it.  My appointment was at 9:30 in the morning, and we live over forty-five minutes away.  What was I thinking to have accepted such an early appointment?  For sure, it wasn’t about having to get up at the crack of dawn again!

The dermatologist took one look at the scaly patch on the bridge of my nose, and told me it was pre-cancerous, and would need to be frozen. She also noticed a tiny growth in the crevice of my nose, about the size of a pimple, and asked me how long it had been there.  I told her I didn’t know.  She told me she would need to do a biopsy of that, as well as a small spot just below the base of my neck that I’d shown her. This visit was turning into a bit more of an ordeal than I had planned.

Can I tell you how bad it feels to get a shot in the crevice of your nose?!  Can I also tell you how badly it feels to have someone freeze your nose with spray?  The shot at the base of my neck hurt, too, but was a piece of cake compared to the face!  When I left the office, my nose felt like it was on fire, literally!  (Ed explained that freezing is a burning process, it just uses cold instead of heat.)  The day after the process, my face looked like I’d been punched in the nose!  Four days later, it still looks that way.  My eyes are swollen, and my  nose keeps oozing this gross, clear stuff out from under the huge scab that’s forming…  Now I know why the doctor asked if I had any important plans immediately coming up before she froze my nose!  Now, I have to wait for the results of those biopsies.  I’d appreciate prayers that my biopsy reports come back good.

Ed’s 66th birthday quietly came and went…on Friday the 13th!  The only bad luck we had was having to postpone his party with family because of the stomach virus.  I cancelled the order for a large birthday cake, and opted to make him a small German Chocolate cake, instead.  I bought some six-inch cake pans to make a cake that was just big enough to make about eight slices, because German Chocolate cake isn’t listed on a “heart healthy” diet, but– a man should celebrate his birthday with his favorite cake!

If all goes well, our family will be celebrating Ed’s birthday, together, a week later than we originally planned.  It’ll be a good excuse to eat cake again 🙂

Ed’s been a little more tired than usual, lately. I’m hoping it’s just his body getting used to all of his new medications.  Those blood pressure pills really seem to zap his energy because he feels fine until he takes those.  Some mornings he takes a mid-morning nap, and that’s fine with me. Lord knows, I’ve had plenty of those kind of days, too.  I hope his tiredness will eventually pass, and his energy will return.

Our weather was cold on Friday and Saturday nights, and I liked it!  In fact, we actually had our first frost on Saturday night.  The cold weather is supposed to be short-lived, however, with temperatures back up near 80 by mid-week.  It was nice while it lasted.  Unfortunately, the mosquitoes will be back out in force, again.

These days I’m keeping a food journal of what Ed and I eat for each meal.  This helps me keep track of what we’re eating, and helps me decide what to cook (or what not to cook).  Ed’s only allowed 3 eggs per week on his diet.  I guess it’s a good thing the daylight hours are short, and our hens have begun molting, so egg production is down!  Our 9 hens have laid almost 1700 eggs since January of this year!  “Our girls” have earned a well-deserved rest!  (FYI: We didn’t eat all of those eggs, we shared with friends and family.)

It’s shaping up to be a busy week around the house.  I’m going to get a head start on my Thanksgiving cooking, and put it in the freezer.  So many delicious dishes, and none of them are really “heart healthy”–but Ed has the hospital dietitian’s permission to enjoy Thanksgiving–in moderation 🙂  Which reminds me, since I’ve joined Ed on his diet (which is really supposed to be my diet, too) I’ve begun to lose the weight I gained while I was laid up with a bad back all summer. Hooray for that!  Ed’s weight, however, has stayed the same.  Hooray for that, too, since he’s already thin.

Have a great Monday!

 

Remembering Ed’s Recent Hospital Stay…

This week, we passed the two-week anniversary of Ed’s heart attack, and things seem to be going well.  Ed’s been dealing with a ridiculously large bruise, beginning in the groin area (where the heart catheter was inserted) and extending all the way down his thigh to just above the knee.  The soreness of the bruised area and being tired are the only two complains I’ve heard from Ed.  His outlook and disposition have been very positive, I’m happy to say.  I’m also happy to say, the large bruised area is finally fading.

I wrote the story of the night of Ed’s heart attack, but never really got into the two days we spent at the hospital.  Today, I’ll be hitting the highlights of those two days, following Ed’s ordeal, before I forget any more of the details!  By the way, this was Ed’s first experience as the patient, he’s always been the care giver.

I previously mentioned my daughter and I “camping out” in one of the CCU waiting rooms, on the night Ed was admitted to the hospital.  Due to sick parents, over the years, this wasn’t my first time spending the night in a hospital waiting room, but it was a first for Brandy, and she handled it like a trooper.  We took the cushions off of the ‘L-shaped’ sofa, and split them between us, so we’d each have a place to stretch out.  We used the spare clothes in my tote bag for our covers. (Why are hospital waiting rooms so cold?)  We didn’t do a lot of sleeping, but we managed to survive the night, even managing a giggle or two, at times.  It was strange and unsettling, knowing Ed was just around the corner, but not knowing what was going on with him.  Then, there was my problem of having to go to the bathroom every few minutes!  I guess a case of ‘nerves’ had my bladder working overtime.  The bathroom was located around the corner, in between the doors to CCU and another waiting room. Somebody was sleeping in the waiting room located right next to the bathroom.  I kept wondering if I was keeping the sleeping person awake by flushing the [very loud] toilet every few minutes.

The next morning, when visiting hours finally came for CCU, Brandy and I entered and found Ed sitting up in a chair!  What a difference a few hours had made!  Ed had been eating breakfast, but was now speaking with a cardiac specialist about his heart attack when we entered the room.  She explained to him where his blockage had been located in his heart, and told him he’d just experienced what is commonly known as “the widow maker”.  My heart quickened, and it was at that exact moment, I realized what a gift Ed had been given the night before–a second chance at life. In fact, Ed was actually doing so well, they moved him out of CCU, a couple of hours later.

We left room 123, and moved into room 303.  When it comes to directions, and finding my way around strange places, I’m challenged.  I panicked at the thought of having to learn my way around another hospital floor! I’d just learned my way to CCU, now I had to start all over again. I needn’t have worried.

On the day following Ed’s heart attack, all of our children came to the hospital to spend time with us.  Thanks to their help, by the time the last of them went home, I had a pretty good idea of how to find my way around the hospital, as well as the hospital parking lot. I’m so grateful to each one of them for taking the time to help me find my way around.  I made a lot of trips to the cafeteria and to my car in the parking lot during the two days we were there!

After the last of Ed’s company left, on Monday, Ed invited me to share his hospital bed for a while.  It felt so good to have the opportunity to be next to him again, even with the wires and ivs still in place!  It also felt good to be able to stretch out!  It had only been 6 weeks since I’d had back surgery, and those hospital chairs are killers under the best of circumstances.

Being the ‘support person’ was a new role for me.  Over the years, I’ve been the one who’s had all of the health issues, while Ed’s always been the healthy one. It wasn’t an easy thing for me to suddenly see Ed in a vulnerable situation.  Apparently, it wasn’t easy for him, either, because he spent very little time in the bed after that first day. Before long, he was walking the halls, too!

I can’t say enough good things about Ed’s care-givers during his stay in the hospital, from the first night to the last morning. Many went above and beyond their call of duty, with some nurses even stopping by to say hello, when they didn’t have Ed for a patient that day.

It didn’t seem like it at the time, but in looking back, the two days in the hospital passed quickly. We made the best of the situation.  I brought my cafeteria meals back to Ed’s hospital room, and we ate our meals together, like always. Ed had the neatest little bed tray that expanded to make a “table for two”.  One nurse commented how “romantic” we looked, sharing our meals together.  She said all we needed was a rose on the table, and we all laughed.

Another nurse always liked to tease us about doing the “hanky panky” behind our closed  hospital door.  She let out a laugh when she came in, on our last morning in the hospital, and discovered both of us in Ed’s hospital bed!  I told her she’d finally caught us, and we all laughed.

I can’t end this story without mentioning Ed’s nurse on the day he was finally released.  She was about Ed’s age, and she dressed like nurses used to dress, back in our younger days–very professional and ‘old school’.  She even wore a nursing cap, something you don’t see much anymore.  She introduced herself as “Hot Lips”, explaining she’d earned that nickname, many years ago, from some army lieutenants who swore she looked just like actress, Loretta Swit, who played “Hot Lips” Houlihan in the old 1970’s movie MASH.  They were right, she [still] looked exactly like Loretta Swit!

“Hot Lips” was very good to Ed, before he left.  When he didn’t get any milk to go along with his cereal, she went and found him some.  She offered to reheat my breakfast which grew cold while we were waiting for her to find some milk for Ed’s cereal.  When Ed finally got released, “Hot Lips” personally rolled Ed down to the car, so he wouldn’t have to wait an extra hour for patient transport. It’s rare to find service like that, these days, and even rarer to have a nurse known as “Hot Lips”.  Lucky Ed!

By 10:00 am, Wednesday, October 28th, Ed and I were packed, in the car, and headed home from the hospital. We were both anxious to go home and enjoy Ed’s second chance at life, together…and that’s exactly what we’re doing.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The birthday boy!

Today is Ed’s birthday!  He’s celebrating his 66th year, today, praise the Lord!  We’ll be having a quiet celebration, at home, with a ‘scaled down’, mini version of his favorite, German Chocolate cake. Happy Birthday to Ed!  May he enjoy this birthday, and many more birthdays, as well.

 

 

A Chilly Wednesday Hodgepodge…

It’s turned a bit chilly here in our neck of the woods, and I can’t think of a better way to spend a cold day, than sipping something warm while participating in The Wednesday Hodgepodge.  Our hostess, Joyce, has graciously provided us with seven more thought-provoking questions, so let’s get started. Mmmm, this cocoa sure is tasty…

1. What’s something you take for granted, that when you stop and think about it you feel truly grateful for?

Up until I first became ill,  about twenty years ago, I took my health for granted.  I complained about having to pay our health insurance premiums, especially since we never used ours back then.  Little did I know how quickly things could change, and it happened literally overnight.  If you still have good health, you should praise the Lord for it!

At times I’ve taken having a regular paycheck for granted.  Ed’s always had good health, and been able to work.  He’s always had a good job to go to each day, and has been a good provider for our family.  Now that we’ve grown older, and things in our lives are changing, I truly appreciate each one of those paychecks a whole lot more, as well as the health insurance Ed’s employers has always provided!

2. The color brown-love it or no? What’s your favorite shade of brown? Most loved something in your home or closet in a shade of brown?

Brown isn’t among my favorite colors, but I do like khaki and tan, which are shades of brown, I suppose.  My favorite ‘brownish’ item, in our home, would be our living room furniture, which consists of two reclining, tan-colored, leather sofas and a glider/recliner.

3. What’s something you’re looking forward to today?

I’m answering these questions on Tuesday, so I’m looking forward to making a pot of Taco Soup for supper.  We’re supposed to reach a low of 23 degrees, this evening, so it’s a great day for soup!

4. The word ‘feminism’ is not new, but it has been generating all kinds of headlines in recent days and months. What do you think/feel when you hear the word? If you’re a woman, do you want to be described as a feminist? Why or why not?

Whenever I hear the word ‘feminism’, I think of a woman who wants to be more like a man–‘equal’, if you will.  I’m sorry if I offend any ‘feminists’ out there, but I don’t agree with it.  God made men, and He made women.  The two are not the same, nor were they intended to be.

5. What’s something you personally can’t eat without making a mess?

Popcorn!  I can’t seem to eat popcorn without dropping some, or getting crumbs all over myself.

6. When did you last surprise someone with a little gift or when were you last surprised by someone with a little gift? What was it?

I was surprised, a few days ago, by Ed, when he brought me a piece of pound cake from work.  Someone baked him a cake for ‘Bosses Day’, and he shared.

7. Share a favorite quote, saying, song lyric or scripture relating to gratitude.

Psalms 107:1 O give thanks to the LORD, for he is good: for his mercy endures for ever.

I really like this song, too.

Random:  Life and Death

I have two randoms this week, one concerning life, the other concerning death.

Random one:

Ed turned 65, last week, and we celebrated his birthday–twice!

First, Ed and I celebrated his actual birthday, on November 13, with a German Chocolate cake, Ed’s favorite.  He thoroughly enjoyed his cake!

Then we celebrated again, two days later, with family, when I threw Ed a ‘Vintage Dude’ birthday party!  Fun times!  Ed may want to turn 65 again next year 🙂

~~~~~~~~

Random Two:
Heaven gained another angel, on November 17th, when the grandson of my first cousin passed away. Little Colby’s been battling leukemia since 2010. Colby only recently turned nine-years-old.

Losing a child is hard any time, but it seems especially hard this time of the year. My heart goes out to Colby’s family, during and after, this most difficult time.

Odds-N-Ends On Monday…

When I last blogged, it was Friday, and Ed was off from work, with a ‘honey-do” list facing him.  I’m happy to report that, by Saturday afternoon, the “honey-do” list was completed–including fixing the toilet!  I tell you, that Ed’s a keeper!  In addition to fixing the toilet, Ed plowed up the sweet potatoes, drained the fountain and covered it for winter, made a new arbor for our thorn-less blackberry bushes, did some repairs around the greenhouse, changed the spark plugs in his truck, and took time to celebrate his birthday with all of our family!  (Ed may have been happy to go back to work, this morning.)

I’m thankful that Ed’s still able to do most things himself, because he’s saved us a ton of money over the years.  He recently checked the price on a ‘spark plug change’, and was told the cost would be $98.00!  He did it himself, on Saturday, for nothing.  At one point, I looked out of the window, and saw Ed standing in a lawn chair, with the upper one-half of his torso buried underneath the hood of the truck!  I’m not sure how many more years Ed will be able to pull off these moves, but for now we’re still good 🙂

The results of our first attempt at growing sweet potatoes were fair.  We made LOTS of potatoes, but the majority of the potatoes were small.  I’m not sure why they didn’t grow larger, but at least there are plenty of them!  Now all we have to do is figure out where to store our ‘bounty’…

Ed’s birthday celebration was good.  All of our family was able to gather, once more, so our house suddenly became very full and very noisy!  We ordered some  bar-b-que  from a local restaurant, so nobody would have to spend much time in the kitchen.  Our son-in-law, who enjoys cooking, made some delicious Brunswick stew to go along with the bar-b-que.  (Thanks, Clint!)

Ordering Ed’s birthday cake turned out to be a bit of an ordeal for me.  I couldn’t make up my mind what I wanted!  I went to the store’s bakery, ordered a cake, then came home.  Two hours later, I called the bakery and completely changed my order!  Two days later, when I picked up the cake, the lady still remembered me 🙂

I thought about taking a family photograph of everyone, on Saturday night, but never did.  By the time we finished eating, I was pooped!  In fact, I nearly forgot to have Ed open his birthday presents!  I don’t think Ed thought about opening them either.

I’ll make it a point to take an updated family portrait on Thanksgiving, then we’ll have one that includes our newest family member, baby Evan!  In the meantime, here’s a picture of me getting some ‘Evan sugar’ on Saturday afternoon.  Evan had gained thirteen ounces, last week, so, as you can imagine, he was visibly larger!  I enjoyed rocking him and giving him his bottle 🙂

Wow!  In looking at these pictures, I’ve come to a realization! Ed and I looking an awful lot like our parents used to look!  Who are these ‘aging’ people who have taken over our bodies?   I don’t feel like I should look the way I do!  Ed says, the down side of having cataract surgery is, now he can see all of his wrinkles, clearly!  For that reason, I’m thankful my vision is declining…

On that note, I’m joining  The Monday Quiz:

 

1. According to the source I use for strange and wonderful days, today is Occult Day – are you a believer? 

I’ve never really given much thought to the occult, so I guess not.

2. Have you ever attended an auction?  Did you win what you were bidding on?

I attended a car auction, once, and it was rather interesting.  Ed and I went with our daughter and her boyfriend, and we met the boyfriend’s parents at the auction.  Ed and I were just spectators, and didn’t bid on anything.

Every year, around Mother’s Day, our school used to hold silent auctions on gift baskets, to raise money for ‘Relay For Life’.  I bid on a few baskets, over the years, but never won anything.

 

3. Have you started your Christmas shopping?  Finished it?

I have begun my Christmas shopping, and have been having some interesting experiences while shopping on-line!  Every time I’d finish my shopping, and start to check out, at least one of the items in my cart would have become out-of-stock while I was shopping!  This happened to me three times over the weekend!  I finally finished purchasing our gifts for the grandchildren, last night!   Hurrah!

 

4. How’s your weather?

Our weather is strange!   We’ve been experiencing vast fluctuations in our temperatures, lately.  We experienced freezing temperatures mid-week, and now it’s back in the eighties!  We desperately need rain, as well.

My question for you:

5.  How do you feel about stores having ‘Black Friday’ sales on Thanksgiving Thursday?

I think stores need to wait until Friday, to begin their sales, so people can spend Thanksgiving with their families.  There’s plenty of time to shop afterward.

Happy Monday, everyone!