"The time has come,"
the Walrus said,
"to speak of many things..."

In this case it was one thing: getting Tucker's claws clipped; they are like little razor blades. And it was about time for a bath for him, but he's so hyper I wasn't sure the tub would contain him. So we made arrangements with our vet for a grooming appointment, and got him there just before nine. There were several other dogs there, most for the same thing, including the most mind-boggling huge black dog, the size of a German Shepherd, who even had Tucker a bit confounded: it was a five-month-old Great Dane. He's still a puppy! Now he's all loose-jointed and big-footed, but this dog will be the size of a Mack truck someday.

Tucker thus deposited, we hied off to Panera for breakfast. James had steak and egg on an everything bagel, and I had oatmeal plus a plain bagel with the roasted vegetable cream cheese. Someone had left behind a paper, which James read while I continued reading the first Enola Holmes novel. (I finished reading it at Barnes & Noble: not a bad young adult series, although I can't say being abandoned by your mother is a good start for a literary character.

Years ago on this side of town we would have had plenty of places to hit: the big Michaels and the Borders at Gwinnett, or Kudzu (or going even further back, Woolworths) and perhaps even the big Borders near Lenox Square Mall. (Back in the late 1980s, when there was interesting stuff at Lenox, we might have even gone there, or to Oxford Books.) But pickings are slim these days and we didn't want to brave the mess at Gwinnett Mall just to visit Fry's and be tempted with stuff we don't need—and even the Aviarium is looking a bit tattered these days.

However, there was a new grocery store open, right behind the vet's office, in fact: something called "Sprouts," basically  Whole Paycheck ...whoops, Whole Foods on a Kroger budget, so we checked it out. Not a bad place. We got some strawberries, tart cakes, one cup of maple-flavored yogurt, a small amount of chocolate-covered cashews, some pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds), green onion and garlic teriyaki sauce, some Asian soup bowls, and Annie Chun clear rice noodles. (The chocolate and the yogurt were a bad idea; we had all the stuff in an insulated bag, but it was hot today and the chocolate melded together and the yogurt is probably spoiled.) As we checked out, James signed up for coupons, so we got coupons for five free deli sandwiches (a $20 value). We figured we'd pick them up when we came back for Tucker.

Next we stopped at Barnes & Noble at "the Forum on Peachtree," or whatever silly name they've given to this modern imitation of Garden City Shopping Center in Rhode Island (where you could "park at the door of your favorite store"), where I was finally successful in my search for the autumn "Country Sampler." I also bought—and don't faint—a book about mathematics, Here's Looking at Euclid: From Counting Ants to Games of Chance–An Awe-Inspiring Journey Through the World of Numbers. For something about mathematics, it looked interesting enough to give my brain a different twist, and if I like it there's even a sequel! James and I shared a slice of the Hershey's chocolate cheesecake with an ice water chaser. Also bought a little card game called Iota, which has Uno elements.

We'd noticed that there was a Trader Joe's at the other end of the Forum, so we hit that next. A bit largere than the other two. Bought more chicken and apple sausage, a Trader Joe Cheerios clone, some oyster crackers, a mixed package of Italian lunchmeat (I haven't had proscuitto in a dog's age), a Ritter bar, some dark chocolate covered caramels for two desserts, a small bag of onion-flavored "chips," and some of their fruit bars. They let us have two frozen water bottles, so we were able to rescue our Sprouts stuff.

Tucker was finally ready (it was after three!), so we went to Sprouts for our sandwiches and ended up buying a few more things: some chicken salad and some tamales. I particularly love their bulk food area and can't wait to come back when it's cooler to try their 6-grain hot cereal. There is a Sprouts about to open just north of the Forum, so we might even be able to make it a regular monthly run, and when it's cold combine it with a trip to the Buford Highway Farmer's Market.

So we drove our clean and manicured puppy home, finished the rest of our sandwiches, listened to James' new Gaelic Storm album (which is really just a best of with four new songs), and relaxed until about seven, when we ordered some Chinese food. Watched Mythbusters and Tiny House Nation before I got pissed off with the babbling of the television and put music on instead: my Aureole Celtic album. Flutes and violins. Just the ticket.

Labels: books, dogs, food, pets, shopping, television

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. . . . . noted and logged by Linda at 10:36:00 PM

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