There are times when I just want to spend money because I do. Fortunately, these times rarely coincide with the times when I have enough money to spend so unwisely, so I don't end up wasting a lot of it on stuff I don't need. On the other hand, for me to spend money on something useful or basic or ordinary or everyday, I need it to be an emergency. When I feel like spending money just to spend it, I don't want to spend it on socks and underwear.

And then there are the times like this week, when over the course of a few days I've had one of my favorite bath towels unravel and also discovered holes in the heels of several socks. I mean, what are the odds, right? I've known for a while that all my socks were fraying, and a few months ago I bought some replacements. Only they turned out to be ankle socks (yuk) instead of crew socks (yay). I just picked the wrong kind off the rack. I wore them, but I hated them. I just can't stand feeling a draft on my bony ankles.

So I started doing laundry more often, so that I wouldn't have to wear the ankle socks. That put more stress on my older crew socks, and voila, there you go, holes galore. It wasn't until this week, though, that so many new holes appeared that my choice was narrowed down to two options. Either I buy new socks, or I run the few remaining old ones through the wash twice a week. The third option, wearing the ankle socks, didn't occur to me as a legitimate possibility, short of the direst of circumstances.

Still, I would not have gone to Target today if I hadn't had that towel fall apart as well. So I bought a new towel set and twelve (12!) pairs of crew socks. I justified the trip to Target by the fact that I needed some things from the office supply place next door. I didn't have to use that justification, because nobody asked, but I felt better having it available in case someone did. As far as I know, the Boss doesn't know I was out of the house at all today. Let's keep it that way. I might need that excuse some time in the future.

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It's comforting to know that I don't have to either wear ankle socks or do laundry this weekend. And it's nice that I have a dozen pairs of ankle socks, hardly worn, that I can donate to needy but warm-blooded people who won't get chills from wearing them. Assuming such folk exist, that is.