Today was spent doing "stuff"--or not doing "stuff," as the case may be.

In the morning I read some, got the checkbook entries caught up (I sure do like being able to see stataements any time I want) and did some tidying.

After lunch I headed out on a few errands, beginning with a visit to the little vacuum store to see if they had (or could order) a fresh filter for my old Dirt Devil. They didn't, but they could. (Don't you love little out of the way places like that?)

Next, I headed for the WalMart/mall area. (I'm out of food for the wild critters.) The easiest way to get there from the vacuum place is to drive a couple of blocks, then pick up the interstate for a (normally) speedy trip.

NOT today. I merged onto an interstate that was crawling. Slowly. Way up ahead I could see those flickering blue lights of the highway patrol, so I resigned myself to a "leisurely" drive. Truth is--I had no alternative. The next exit was just before the one I was heading for. Soon the two lanes to my right were moving a bit better, but the far left--the one that exits to a connecting interstate that goes to the mall--was progressing at a sluggish snail's pace.

And on the traffic crept--soon joined by cars from yet another interstate (Slidell has 3 interstates crossing). The line was getting longer and longer. It finally began to ease up a bit several miles down the road, but it took me close to an hour to make the usually 15 minute drive.

I got to the mall and WalMart and realized that my "great idea" was probably sufficiently delusional to get me committed. Friday afternoon and by the time I got there mothers with kids just out of school were there. AND--there's some sort of holiday early next week.

Needless to say, there were no available motorized carts, so I kept my shopping to a minimum. But of course the checkout lines were long, and I'm not sure how much time I saved in the "quickie" 20-items-or-less lane. The checker was a young guy who seemed sort of new at the job.

Did I mention I ended up parking "a fur piece" from the entrance? Well, it was still a "fur piece" away when I was shoving the cart and wondering whether my hip or back would give out first.

Of course, the next "trial" was the going-home traffic. By this time it was after 4 PM. It took me about 25 minutes to go the 2.5 miles home.

But my day brightened up when my neighbor brought some "goodies" by. She also wanted to tell me that they were going to Colorado and Janice was tending her menagerie. Janice has been taking care of my menagerie for about 25 years. (My neighbor and I also use the same vet--the one who makes house calls.)

I've got food out for the possums and raccoons, my feline beasts have all been fed, I fed myself, and now it's time to read some and relax a bit.