I Bought a Cane

While it certainly wasn't the most significant thing that happened today, it was a big deal for me to go out and buy a cane.  The wooden one I found in the house has been a big help with my sore knee but it is solid wood and would not fit in my suitcase, and it's also just a tad too tall for me.

So we went to CVS today and checked out telescoping canes and ended up with this one, which is adjustable probably down to a size that Bri could use, so that it can fit in my suitcase.  It does make somewhat of a commitment to my using it, of course.  My mother would die before she would let herself be seen using a cane, but heck, if it helps my knee feel better, I don't care what I look like.  It was a significant enough event today that I made this the photo of the day.  The first step on the path to the grave. 

We hung around the house again until nearly noon.  No plans to meet at Tom's, since the girls would not be home and Tom & Laurel would be working.  Instead we visited with baby Charlie, who is just a couple of weeks older than Lacie.  Charlie and her parents (her grandfather is Joe, Alice Nan's husband) are getting ready to move to Boston, but needed some place to stay for a few weeks, so they have moved in here.   Mommy Jocelyn thrilled me today when she told me that Instagram is now available for the android phone.  I have been using it all day, but Charlie was my first Instagram photo.

I had a package that had to go out by UPS, so we went to the UPS store and then stopped at a fun Japanese place called Sushi Teri, where we have eaten before. We both chose real crab rolls (as opposed to imitation crab things that are also on the menu).  There were delicious, but not a lot of them to serve two of us for lunch.

We also had a couple of gyozo each, but again, there was still room in our guts when we finished, so we decided to order dessert.  We both chose "tempura ice cream" with plum wine ice cream.  The waiter was back shortly to let us know that they had none of the pound cake they use to encase the ice cream before dipping it in tempura batter and frying, but would we like tempura bananas instead?  We decided what the heck and ordered two order.  Oh my!  ONE order would have easily served 3 people.

You can't really get perspective here, but that plate is about 10" across and those are two humongous scoops of ice cream.  The plum wine ice cream was a bit too sweet even for me, and the whole thing was so huge...but both Walt and I finished every little bit and, had we not been in public, probably would have licked the plate.

After that, we were ready for a siesta, so we came home and took a nap...

...then we met Tom, Jocelyn, Alice and Joe at Costco to do the big shopping for the BBQ on Wednesday. It was Charlie's first trip to Costco and she wasn't too sure about the place.

Bri, on the other hand, is an old timer and helped schlep food from Daddy's hands into the basket.

We had 3 carts full and have enough meat and fish to start our own butcher shop.

But we got it all loaded and we went off in separate directions.  The Alice/Joe crowd got food at a local Hawaiian place to bring home.  I had a very nice and informative chat with Jocelyn's husband, David, and then everybody else went off to bed.  I am obviously still at my computer, but hope to call it a night soon.

 Joe and Tom do battle with giant bears!