Yes, I said most of it, as opposed to all of it. That means I will b out there again today, on Christmas Eve, fighting through the crowds of last minutes idiots, like myself, who waited until today to get it all done. I might have actually gotten it all done yesterday had I not spent about 2 or 3 hours online looking for a microwave oven to replace our old one that just went belly up two days ago. I started looking, online, for a model that would fit into the nook in our kitchen where we will be keeping it. It took over an hour to find about three models in the size and power range we wanted. I was hoping to find a 1.2 cubic foot oven with the right outside dimensions. There were not many of them made by what I consider reputable companies that have quality merchandise, not even many if you added on the ones made by companies with reputations for lack of quality; the cubbyhole into which it will go is pretty small. Well, after about 1.5 hour, I had found three of them that fit the bill. I had been hoping at least one would be a convection microwave but all of those were too big. So I settled on a conventional one. Then I did some research on Consumer reports to see if they had tested any of those models. They had tested one, a Frigidaire, and it got a good rating.
Of the other two I found, that would fit, one was a Kenmore (like the one that went belly up and was a piece of junk in my opinion) and the other a Panasonic. I figured that Panasonic would make a decent one and found that model available in a Best Buy store several miles from me for immediate pick-up. I do not think that Best Buy lives up to their name, I think they could use the name Worst Buy in a more fitting manner so I also looked for the other model, the Frigidaire, to see if anyone had it locally. I immediately found it for sale at Lowe's, much closer to home, and figured I would by it there. Then I saw that it was only available, for store pick-up, in early February! How they stay in business with that long of a wait is beyond me. I kept looking. Finally, I remembered a very local retailer, a small mom and pop appliance shop pretty close to home. They had it in stock but not in store, it was in their warehouse. They said I could pick it up on Wednesday. I knew my wife wanted it as soon as possible and just figured if she wanted it sooner she could go out and find one. I ordered that one from that shop. The surprising thing is tat they had it for the same price for which owes was selling it. Usually their prices are somewhat higher than major retailers, I suppose it was a good deal and was local too.
Oh well, as I was saying, that cut into my hopping time yesterday and now I still have to g today. I hate it when I have to go shopping today although I must admit I like to shop on Christmas Eve. It is just that I do not like being under pressure today, looking for this or that in particular at the last minute. I prefer shopping on Christmas Eve only after I have already gotten everything I need to get and thus can make it a leisurely shopping day. When I need to find a specific item or three, it can be a miserable day of it. As it turns out, I do not need to find anything in particular and it should wind up making it a nice easy going day of last minute Christmas shopping to make up for some imbalances among whom is getting what. I try to keep it even as to how much gets spent for each of my kids and need to even it out a bit. I also want to get my wife one more thing. Amazingly, since I usually wind up hectically searching for something for her on Christmas Eve, I already got her a couple of things including something I am sure she will love; thus my need to go shopping for anything for her is nil. I am just looking for an icing on the cake sort of a gift for her today, maybe a few scratch off lottery tickets, some flowers, a funny looking pair of socks, a small bottle of perfume - anything that catches my eye but I am in no way desperate in that department as I almost always am every other Christmas Eve. I also need to get my mom both a Christmas gift and a birthday gift, yes she is a Christmas baby. Being that she is going to be 88 years old tomorrow and that she has dementia, she is pretty easy to please, so shopping for her will be pretty easy too. Funny, over all the years I have gotten out to buy Christmas presents on my own, it has almost always been that I wind up frantically shopping on Christmas Eve for either my mother's or wife's Christmas present(s) (Freud would have been fascinated but I think it just typical of sons and husbands who procrastinate like me).
Oh well, I will be headed out early this afternoon to get that done. Yeah, I know it would have been easier had I started this morning but I have a doctor's appointment late this morning for a nasty sore throat. If I am feeling up to it and really adventurous, I may walk to the LIRR station and hop on a train in Manhattan in NYC to go shopping there and to stop at St. Patrick's Cathedral, the tree at Rockefeller Center and at the Empire State Building. I did not get the chance last year and I miss visiting those places at this time of year, so just may do it tonight after the future in-laws stop by for Christmas Eve cookies.
Merry Christmas.
All the best,
GB
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