Counting "Sheep"-Buy-Products...

OH! HEY!! IT **RAINED**!! -- sorta... A package of PAPER-TOWELS probably would have held what WATER there was! -- Well, at least The CLOUDS made *some* EFFORT!

ANYHOO... The "Good News", all that SKY-SQUIRTING happened AFTER I got HOME from My SHOP-FARI to "BIG-BOX-STORE-COUNTRY" over in ORLEANS. And, thankfully, TRAFFIC wasn't that Bad, either. -- IT's been a while since I've been out THAT WAY...

Did WALMART First... NO new YARN! -- Actually, I've been "noticing" that PARTICULAR-PROBLEM with ALL of Their Stores for almost a Year now... - GUYS? WHAT'S THE DEAL??

I left EMPTY-Handed. Well, except for the Exercise from "Touring" the Place!

The OTHER MICHAEL'S, next...


I had been HOPING that THIS ONE might have had the Odd *Different* Colour in Their
"CLASSIC WOOL" Selection..?
-- NO Luck!


LOOKS like I'm going to have to have a little
"Customer-CHAT" with MANAGER-DAVE over at My Regular-Store-Branch regarding
"Ordering"..?



Meanwhile, I still had a "COUPON" left. So, GOT another BROWN for The STASH...






Next Door is VALUE VILLAGE. Spotted an Interesting SEASCAPE PAINTING, with NO PRICE! - But, I didn't want to waste Time hunting down the PRICING-PERSON. Besides, I really wasn't all that keen on the Frame.

The GLASS and CERAMICS also weren't so Exciting. Although, I did strike-up an Informative Conversation with another CUSTOMER - CORNFLOWER-GLASS-COLLECTING-LADY. And then, I was *interrupted* by some STUPID-"SPAM"-CALL on My CELL that I could hardly Hear! -- You know, there's a Reason "WHY" I usually leave IT *OFF*!

Anyway, the *ONLY* ITEM-of-INTEREST worth My Acquisitioning, were These BRASS NUMBERS at $2.25 for The PAIR...

- For the "COLLECTION", of course...



[BTW, I *really* could have USED "23" on the LOTTERY This Week!!]



Continuing to the NEXT STORE on "The Strip", was the HOMESENSE-WINNERS. -- I just breezed through There... IT isn't nearly as Nice as the One across from COSTCO.

On across the "Road" to the SUPERSTORE. Also, NOTHING!! TIME to head HOMEWARD
into the Not-For-a-Few-Hours-Yet-SUNSET before RUSH-HOUR! With, an *enroute* Stop at THE MALL...

IT was still "SUNNY" when I got There... 40-Minutes Later, I Walk out to DARK-Trying-to-Look-NASTY-and-Challenging-Me-To-GET-HOME-**BEFORE**-They-WASH-My-Car-CLOUDS overhead!!

-- oh, PUL-LEEZE! As IF!!

*************************************************************

Ya know... If I were a BETTIN' GIRL, I'd say...

THAT THERE'S A BETTER CHANCE OF ME "WINNING" ON THE LOTTERIES, THAN THERE IS OF US GETTING ANY **RAIN**!! -- just saying...

Same ole WEATHER again... *HOT*! Sunny, with some Partial-Clouding... SCORCHING. A bit of a Breeze.

oh. Look! - I-"WON"-$7.-on-the-LOTTERY-This-Afternoon! -- huh. I wonder what the ODDS were of THAT?!

Meanwhile, there are "Predictions" - [INSERT Insane-Laughter] - of 30%-Chances of THUNDER-SHOWERS for Tomorrow. -- Of COURSE, there are!! -- IT'll be *TUESDAY*, My "SHOP-FARI"-DAY!! And, I had "Plans" on going to the OTHER MICHAEL'S...

hmm... I just might have to "WING-IT" with the PERUSAL-PURCHASING-PHLIGHT-PLANS. -- nuts!

*************************************************************

ahh..Just Another ShowerLESS-*SCORCHING*-Sunny-"Salad"-Sunday!

THAT WAS SOOOO BORING... I didn't even do Laundry! -- Only had enough "Motivation" to START on THIS...

*******************************************************************

**THANK YOU!!** LITTLE-"Subconscious-Personal-Assistant"-VOICE!!

I HAD *TOTALLY* FORGOTTEN THAT I HAD "BANKING" TO DO!! -- Whew!!

Of course, it also meant that I had to forego My intents of heading EASTWARD to Check-Out the OTHER MICHAEL'S for a Change... However, FIRST, that afore-mentioned "Financial-Matter". And then, Something MOTHER was in *need* of at SEARS.

Eventually, We made Our Way over to MICHAEL'S... I used up *most* of THIS WEEK'S
"40%-OFF-COUPONS" on THESE...

Although, I *did* HOLD-BACK at least ONE more, in the Event that We do manage to get to the OTHER STORE later in the Week. - I'm *HOPING* that THEY'll have a few DIFFERENT COLOURS! That I *KNOW* Exist!

Anyhoo, as there *wasn't* Anything ELSE that We wanted at The TRAINYARDS, I thought that a Visit to PIER-ONE might be in Order! -- IT was along Our ROUTE, and We *had* the TIME... Besides, IT's been a WHILE since MOTHER's been There.

Sooo MANY "PRETTY" THINGS...

SOOO little "SPACE" to Put the MANY "PRETTY" THINGS...

Instead, I picked-up THESE 2-PACKAGES of GLASS PEBBLES. -- *ON SALE* for just $1.48!!

I would have Preferred DIFFERENT COLOURS, but THESE were the ONLY Ones **LEFT** after One LADY had already Walked-Off with AS-MUCH-AS-SHE-COULD-CARRY! - nuts! I wanted to see the Colours.


No matter... I got a Great "Dose" of DECOR-THERAPY to hold Me over! -- AND, Met a very -
[I HOPE!] - POSSIBLE-FUTURE-"CLIENT"!?!

hmm...I might very well have to **DIG-OUT** "THE ROOM", sooner than I had Planned... So that, I can **GET TO** whatever Necessary YARN!

-- Does ANYONE Make a YARN-DETECTOR..?


**************************************************************

ahh..FINALLY!! -- **SILENCE**!!

AFTER **HOURS** OF INCESSANTLY ANNOYINGLY *LOUD* "CHIRPING", it would appear that "JIM-BUG" has AT-LAST-SHUT-THE-####-UP!!

Which, means He's either --

• a) gone to SLEEP - [do Bugs actually do that?]
• b) got "LUCKY"! - [..wink, wink, nudge, nudge... - oh, wait! that means that there'll eventually be *more* of THEM! ..crap!]
• c) has been KILLED and/or EATEN - [*PUL-LEEZE*!! - I'd do it Myself, but I don't Know WHERE He IS?!!]
• d) ALL OF THE ABOVE!!

BTW, if You haven't Figured IT out yet - "JIM-BUG" is a CRICKET! An INSANELY-IRRITATING ONE! - That, is either just Outside My Bedroom Window..? OR, just INSIDE-IT-*BEHIND*-STUFF-THAT-CAN'T-BE-MOVED!

I. ***HATE***! BUGS!!


MEANWHILE - and not to be "out-done" - there are a Bunch of WASPS building a
"PLAY-HOUSE" under Our PORCH-ROOF-AWNING!! -- Seriously? THEY *couldn't* Find a BETTER LOCATION??!!

*************************************************************

A "MYSTERY" in the "Making"... maybe..?

OR, PERHAPS, I'VE JUST BEEN SPENDING WAY TOO MUCH TIME WATCHING MY
"MAGNUM, P.I." DVDs AS I WAS MAKING...

"The MAJOR"

You see, a "Weird-Thing-Happened-When..."

I dropped-off MOTHER and MRS.CLEAN at a Local BARBER-SHOP... "THE-BARBER" wasn't There!

-- Even His Father - Who We met as He was Leaving the Shop - was LOOKING for Him!?!



IT. IS. A. *MYSTERY*...

And, TOTALLY threw MOTHER'S "PLANS-FOR-THE-DAY" all OFF!


-- Well, at least, IT gave MRS.CLEAN "SOMETHING-*DIFFERENT*-TO-DO"!

PATONS
"Classic Wool"
- 100% New WOOL
- [made in TURKEY]
- Colour: 00205-Deep Olive
- Colour: 00240-Leaf Green
- Colour: 77014-Forest

OH! And, BTW...


**HAU'OLI LA HANAU, MAJOR-M!!**









************************************************************

Just a Colour-Count-"Compromise"

-- WHEN NO ONE WAS "LOOKING"...

ah. -- hold on a sec... just spotted a SPYING-SPIDER!! - excuse Me whilst I get *squishy* on His SNEAKY-SORRY-ARACHNID-A**! - Besides, We could USE more RAIN...

ANYHOO...

I was still "Creatively" needing to get *past* that FOUR-COLOUR-COMBO "Fiasco" of the Other Week, so... I thought I'd just "TRY" *THREE*! Instead... -- So far. So GOOD!

****************************************************************

BTW, Have I Ever "Mentioned" - How. Much. I. HATE! *SPARKLES*??!!

REALLY. THEY'RE *EVIL*!! AND "GET", **EVERYWHERE**!!

Mind You, I have absolutely Nothing against "SPARKLY" and/or "SPARKLING" - OR, even
"FAIRY-T DUST"...  JUST those Nasty-Teeny-Staticky-PARTICLES. THEY're like MICROBIAL-CONFETTI!!

IT's "TUESDAY". So, MICHAEL'S "SENIORS' DAY". -- And, "of course", I'd Forgotten that I *already* Used ALL of THIS Week's 40%-OFF-Coupons... However, still... 10%-OFF... I knew that I'd Find SOMETHING to Buy!

**SEE**!!

If You look at the PINK one really *close*,
You can SEE the Spread of INFESTATION!!

BUT, I picked THEM up AFTER
I got the Half-Price CLINGY-EVIL-*SPARKLE*-INFESTED-FOAM-CUP-HOLDERS from the Outside-Bins...

I *KNEW* I should have PASSED on THEM!!

IT was just One of THOSE kind of DAYS...

Just lots of *stupid* little things going awry...

IT's the SPARKLES! -- THEY *did* IT!





**************************************************************

**HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, MAID-MARE & BABY-BRO!!**

WOOHOO!!

oh. BTW, speaking of "ANNIVERSARIES"... I just "noticed" that LAST MONDAY
- [SEE 16JUL2012 POST] - had been My **SECOND BLOOG-IVERSARY**!!
-- CAN'T BELIEVE I *MISSED* IT!!??

aarrrggghhhh!!!!

And, there I was "KILLING" Myself, trying to FIND *SOMETHING* to WRITE ABOUT!?!

DOUBLE-aarrrggghhhh!!!!


MEANWHILE...

 *****************************************************
 ** SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING **
 *****************************************************

Well. We're FINALLY getting some RAIN!! In the NOT-QUITE-WHAT-WE-"ORDERED" Version of
"TIME-RELEASE-WATERING-BALLS" - a.k.a. "HAIL"!! ...In the *GOLF-BALL* SIZE!

No Lie. I don't EVER Remember seeing THEM *THAT* BIG!! -- Soooo Glad that We have a GARAGE! - A couple of Times, I thought for sure that one of those BABY-"BOUNCING-BETTY"S would *CRACK* a Window on the Rebound!

Sorry about the "Fuzziness". LOW-Lighting. Shooting through Raining-On-Glass. -- You can see how CRAPPY the Lawn looks! The "Green"-Stuff on the Top-Half of the Photo are the Drought-Resistant-WEEDS!! Those WHITE "Pebbles" are the HAILSTONES!

More of the Same... But You can Compare the SIZE of the HAIL with the LILY-Blooms.

THIS is the NEXTDOOR-NEIGHBOURS' Fence-Corner next to Our Patio-Section. About 20-Minutes and some Melting Later...



I have NO Idea "where" MOTHER took THIS PIC. But THEY're still INCH-Size!



The CRYO-CONFETTI Storm was the FIRST ONE to come through around 3:30-ish... Afterward, IT was just the odd SMALLER-CELL every Half-Hour or so. A rumble HERE. A RUMBLE there. A Sprinkle here. A DOWNPOUR there.

MOST of IT was done by 6:00... Then, one Last BIG "Loud" ONE later in the Evening. Who knows *what* DEBRIS will be out There in the Morning... Even AFTER what FATHER had Cleared-up Earlier. - A *LOT* of LEAFY-BITS were about! And, Rumour has it, that One of the Neighbours *lost* a TREE..??

Personally, I'm kinda Curious about how many of THEM have DENTED Vehicles!?

Oh, well... At least IT *WASN'T* GARBAGE-PICK-UP-DAY!! -- That's *TOMORROW*!!

**********************************************************

In Search of Rescue In The SEA of KNOWLEDGE...

DON'T FORGET TO BRING A GPS!

I probably *should* have been "doing" OTHER STUFF Today, *instead* of Spending the Hours that I DID on "RESEARCH"...

I think EBAY could do with a "DOES-ANYONE-KNOW-*WHAT*-THIS-IS??" Database. And, perhaps scrub out the SPAM in Their Search-Engine! -- The SAME goes with PINTEREST. Theirs could do with a little more Octane with the Keyword updates.

ANYHOO, at the End of Day... HERE are the RESULTS --

• "NO JOY" on My CUBAN BOWL. So far. - Although, I did come across a Ceramics "Institute" that needs further Investigation. However, at THIS Point, My BEST-BET is to *hope* that ONE of My READERS just "happens" to Recognize IT whilst Vacationing THERE..??
• The PALM TREE is definitely NOT "IRON". I'm still leaning toward Cast-BRONZE..? And, if ANYONE ELSE owns ONE, THEY must really Like IT, too! As, there *aren't* ANY on EBAY! -- The *weird* thing, though, is I can't shake off this "Feeling" that I've *SEEN* IT Before!? At, perhaps, PIER-ONE, BOWRING? Or even, The BOMBAY COMPANY..?
• Meanwhile, the "K. WALLIS" PAINTING has been an ADVENTURE! -- First off - as I had Suspected - IT's a "FAKE"! And a BAD ONE at that. -- The UPside, I've come across a couple of *USEFUL* new ART-REFERENCE Sites! Also, that the PAINTING's "Subject-Location" is *likely* NAPLES. - [And probably the Same for those Other-2-Little-Paintings]

Whatever...

BTW, there were **HOPES** of RAIN "Tonight"..?? -- yeah. right. THAT happened! *NOT*!! -- "Tomorrow"-Night is now on the Prediction-"SCHEDULE".

************************************************************

My Version of "P-B"...

TODAY HAS BEEN BROUGHT TO YOU, BY PURCHASES THAT START WITH THE LETTER "P"...

okay... *So what!* that the "WOOL" - [SEE BELOW] - doesn't *quite* meet the Day's CRITERIA - IT's **YARN**!! Same difference! -- Just work with Me here, People...

IT all began with the One & ONLY YARD SALE in BEACON HILL... Rumour had it, that there had been Tons of Stuff EARLIER..? HOWEVER, My "ZEN-SHOPPING" Motto - [If, IT's meant for Me to BUY IT, IT will STILL be There!] - prevailed as I quite literally, *SWEPT* through What-Was-Left...

WHAT I got...


"PAINTINGS"

In keeping with My "NAUTICAL-COASTAL-BEACH-ORIGINAL-ART-for-Under-$5.-so-far" COLLECTION, I picked up These TWO PAINTINGS. Both are 8x10" Canvases set into 14x16-Frames. $5.-Each.

I'm thinking that the ABOVE ONE will "Group" well with those 2 OTHER Little-PAINTINGS - [SEE 09JUN2012 POST] - I got Last Month.

As for the BELOW PIECE... I probably should have "passed" on IT. I'm not really a "YELLOW"-Person... And, the "Basket" IS a bit MUCH! I'm going to Blame the SEAGULLS on This One!

-- IT's going to be "Filed" under My "ART-THAT-I'M-WILLING-TO-PART-WITH-AS-IT-WILL-LOOK-BETTER-IN-SOMEONE-*ELSE'S*-HOME!" Collection.

ANY TAKERS..??

"PALM TREE"

At $2. I instantly Snatched This PALM TREE CANDLEHOLDER! -- Made in INDIA. Seven-Inches high. IT's Heavy... Could be IRON..? But, more likely COPPER or BRONZE? - "Whatever", certainly Worth *more* than I Paid!

BTW, I'm not a Big "CANDLE"-Use Person, either... Although, I *do* have a "Thing" for the odd, COOL-Looking "PALM TREE"! -- hmm... IT would be a Useful Place to put Loose-Change or Car-Keys onto.



"PLATTER"

Originally, This Heavy 15-Inch GLASS "HOLIDAY" PLATTER was going for a DOLLAR - BUT - *since* I was Buying ALL of the OTHER-STUFF, I got IT for "FREE"!!


NEXT, Time to Visit The SALLY-ANN... Briefly.

"POTTERY"





Honestly, I really don't remember *why* I ventured a Closer "Look" of THIS - As, neither am I *into* "Organic"-Style-Stuff. Per se...

Maybe, IT was the GLAZING Quality that *subliminally* Caught-My-Eye..? -- Whatever. I picked IT up...



"...CUBA..."


..and IT's "Signed"...



Both of those DETAILS
"suggests" to Me that IT's possibly "ART-Pottery" destined for the EXPORT-Market..?



- Tomorrow is going to be
"Reseach-Day"! Unless, SOMEONE recognizes IT..? IF so, let Me know!



Anyhoo, after MOTHER's
"Seniors' Discount", IT cost all of $2.69!! - I'm certain that I can get PAST *any* Qualms over My Personal
"Tastes" regarding Ceramics!

-- Actually, IT's beginning to
"Grow" on Me!











Meanwhile... I forgot to "mention", that MICHAEL'S was having one of those "LIMITED-Time-15%-Off-SALES". Hence, My SPEEDY-"STUFF"-Shopping!

We got THERE, with *just* Enough Time. Although, there really wasn't much that We "needed".
MOTHER found a Couple of Items, and I had a 40%-OFF-Coupon to Use on the WOOL - [SEE Way ABOVE]

As I made My way through CHECKOUT, MOTHER chatted-up the CAKE-DECORATING-DEMO-LADY.

Later, a bit more Looking-Around was done. Then, on the way to THE CAR, the "Witnessing" of the Two-30-SOMETHINGS-BFFs Who-Apparently-DON'T-Know-HOW-To-Drive-Their-SUV-OUT-of-a-Parking-Spot-*Without*-SCRAPING-The-CAR-NEXT-TO-THEM HAPPENED!!

Sooo GLAD I **DIDN'T** Park "THERE"!!

After THAT little bit of "Entertainment", We set out to Peruse the REST of The TRAINYARDS.
-- Mostly, Stores that started with the LETTER "B", apparently...

BED, BATH, & BEYOND
BOWRING
BOMBAY COMPANY

Then, FINALLY, over to WALMART... Where, We were Beyond-ASSISTED by "ANDREW",
a rather "Dedicated" CUTE-TALL-STRAPPING-YOUNG-LAD-SALES-CLERK! -- I'll definitely have to "Remember" HIM!!


OH!! - [..speaking of "Dedicated" CUTE-TALL-STRAPPING-YOUNGER-"LADS"..] - I almost FORGOT!! -- **HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOUNTIE-MAN!!**

****************************************************************