In Search of Dessert

Today I am feeling 90% better.  Jon lags behind, but he also got sick a day after I did, so no wonder. We went to bed at 8 p.m. last night and slept a sound nine hours until Liam woke at 5 a.m. Hoorah!

I took advantage of the burst of energy to hit the thrift-store-of-wonders (scored some amazing clothing items for toddler Liam with the tags still on for 2 bucks each!), the pharmacy, the grocery store and Office Max. At ne point in the morning, right when I asked my friend to “hold a sec” while I refilled a prescription at Walmart, and I did so in approximately 80 seconds with the most cheerful of pharmacists (though not the one who remembers Liam’s name and every detail of his health history, as well as how many times we have flown already! He’s even better…) and then was back on the phone with a not-at-all-offended friend, I thought to myself “Running errands here is damn near blissful.”

A few hours later Jonathan noticed our car had a nearly flat tire. Without an appointment he jumped in the car, drove it three blocks to the nearest mechanic, and for 12 dollars in cash, and under a half an hour, he had a fixed tire. He walked in the door and said to me “Running errands here is wonderful.”

This evening we felt good enough to take a walk with Liam outside, and then to hit two more stores. That is one HUGE difference in American culture, the number of errands you can find yourself running in one day. Granted, I like to eat fresh food, so I go to the grocery store every two days. But we always seem to be “just running in” somewhere for something. Strange.

Tonight it was to Crate and Barrel to buy our new dining room chairs. There was a tremendous wait, but the staff was so dang friendly that neither of us noticed. What I did notice was how they were laughing and joking with one another through their walkie-talkies, and also how they tried in every way possible to get what we needed. I noticed a decoration and asked if the birch logs inside the bowl were for sale. “No” is not a sufficient answer in America. “No” is not how salespeople answer in America. This guy, and I believe this is partly just innate personality and partly American sales culture, literally scratched his head and then said, “No, but I think you can buy them at a timber store in Austin. Let me go try to google it for you on the computer here…”

After that we went a block farther to Target.

Cue the tolling bells and sound of merry laughing children. Joy to the world y’all. We went to Target!

There is really no way to explain Target. I took some iphone pics, but people, they do not do it justice. It’s so bright, so cheerful, so expansive in what they sell and so CHEAP.Though, I have to say that thanks to their new lines with famous designers, it is becoming rather chic and they have been gradually raising prices. And some of us notice! Still, the stuff they come up with is awesome, so perhaps it is worth it.

Note: Target is open Monday – Saturday 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sundays 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. I tired to take a picture of this but the automatic door kept sliding over when I got close enough to take it. People looked at me like I was crazy!

There’s a little bit of everything…

We get all the flavors of Lindt chocolate bars now, and only at Target. They have some serious drive into candy and chocolate sales. They even have their own line. I think Target makes its mark with its catchy packaging. Too bad I forgot to take a photo of it.

Thirsty? It’s a big store…grab a cold Coke! You still have to pay for it though! Poor little Liam looks so so tired from jet-lag. This is part of his rehabilitation process: bright lights and walks outside. It seems to have worked (fingers crossed).

That green box illicited a small dance of satisfaction from me, right in the middle of the aisle. I have three, and have been searching for the fourth for months. I sought it in three different Targets in Austin over the summer and finally gave up. It sold out fast. Looks like someone silly returned one! Moo ha ha.

Look at this wonder that I found in women’s nightwear department. I could not even keep a straight face when I told Jon that I found a new Pajama. I just doubled over (from laughing) and he freaked out like crazy because he thought I was vomiting again right there in the store!

And finally, we don’t put coins in the carts in America. In Switzerland you need to have a 2 Franc coin on you in order to access a cart. Here they are just available.

We were back in under two hours, in time to watch the BIG BIG game, but unfortunately we are both too tired. So buenos noches everybody.