Randomness....with extra cheese!

I have no particular train of thought today, so here's a little serving of randomness with extra cheese, and maybe a little pepperoni.

In my last post I mentioned the neat collaged album that BCG gave me for my birthday. This is the front. And here's the back:

I think it's great, and I always appreciate receiving a gift that's creative and thoughtful. Do you notice the chocolate chip and the cookies? And how about the avocado and the Just Beachy? So California. So mom-like. I told her I was very fond of this album and that I might put our China pictures in it. Then, not long after she left, I remembered this:

It's my collection of Chinese paraphenalia. Maybe I'll attempt some collaging of my own. Seems like one of those win-win situations to me. I'll get rid of the clutter while at the same time create an album covered with something that hints at its contents. I'll need some collage mentoring though. I wonder if that's do-able by text message?

Today I sent my personal shopper (aka Mr. Gadget) out to buy me another new vacuum cleaner. You may remember the big divorce involving Dixie the Dyson a few months ago. Well Mr. G. was going over to the mall anyway. I told him what I wanted (just a basic cannister-style vacuum....that if it dies in a few years we won't mind chucking it) and I gave him my color preference....red...since I figure I might as well make cleaning as festive as possible.

So now I have Kelsie the Kenmore.....with several options I didn't request, but which Mr. G. thought I'd appreciate. Mr. G. likes to option things up when he shops. I worry about any appliance with the word "electronic" anywhere on its person. I tend to think it hastens its demise. But I will admit, I do like those seat warmers in my car (also acquired by my personal shopper), so maybe I'll keep a positive attitude about Kelsie. Maybe she and I were meant to be.

And on my way to the grocery store this morning, I stopped at FedEx to mail an envelope to BCG. It's a long story so I won't bore you with it. But as I was filling out the paperwork, I overheard a man say to the clerk (who he apparently knew from being a regular customer):

"Things have just gotten to the point of the ridiculous when you need your laptop and your blackberry just to send an envelope."

I have no idea what he was talking about, but it did somehow reinforce my belief that steering clear of more gadgets is probably a good thing. I still can't operate my MP-3 player, and I have no idea how to take a picture with my cell phone.....not that I'd ever need to since I have a digital camera....for which I just recently mastered the delete all function.

And one final tidbit (meatballs too!).....today I realized that I missed 3 hours of my birthday when I flew from west to east. I do believe I still have some birthday left to celebrate. I think I'll skip the cake and go right for the credit card.....