Spring Break

Last spring Hubby cleaned out the basement -- where I store the summer clothes. He brought in a huge dumpster and managed to clear out 34 years of accumulated crap; both us tend to be pack rats. He also tossed out MY summer clothes. Most of his he managed to keep -- not all, but most.

Last summer and early autumn were tough on me. I had only a minimum of clothing to wear unless I put on the winter stuff. I still suffer from awful hot flashes (23 years of 'em) so long sleeved, heavier clothing just wasn't an option. I've got GREAT winter clothing -- pretty, comfortable, and varied so once the weather turned crispy, I was fine. But I wore the same pair of black Capri's until they were wash-worn and ragged.

Early this morning we piled in the old jalopy -- dogs, hubby, and me -- and headed out for the closest outlet mall (three hours drive down into the Ozarks). The day was overcast but the weather tolerable; we only had sprinkles a couple of times. We missed our turn-off into the heart of the Ozarks and instead went an hour in the wrong direction, forcing us to make another hour's correction, but in the end we got to the mall with plenty of time to shop. We only needed two hours, actually. We did exactly four stores.

I bout nine items at the Koret store -- only most of them weren't from the discount racks so my bill was substanially higher than usual. I needed spring / summer gear and it was the winter stuff that was drastically reduced. I did get a pair of winter "happy pants" for $5 and a $10 tee to match one of my winter suits. Most importantly, I got three pairs of Capri pants in plain, solid colors so they will go with any of my tees (those I seem to have plenty of). I got a pair of "happy pants" jeans for $7.49. And I bought one good outfit -- matching tee with capri pants and the shocking total for the whole thing was $60. That's a ridiculous price but . . . I really liked them.

We spent quality time in the bookstore, coming out with three huge shopping bags full of half price books. I wandered through the Christmas store and got four odd Christmas candles at ridiculously cheap prices for my classroom. At the Harry and David store I bought Hubby his favorite diabetic chocolates.

Then it was time to turn around and drive home. I got enough light clothing to last until the fall when I can pick up the bargains. Also we will be reading in bed through the hot summer nights a ton of mystery and detective stories. We had a very nice day together.