Smoky Air. Outdoor Shopping

Quick morning because we got up late. Supposed to leave at 9 and out of bed at 810. You can imagine the rush. Coffee, breakfast, shower, dressed and gone. Out the door at 930. See, we are slow.

I washed my car last night and parked in the garage. Noted this morning, covered with ash already. Great. Another wash coming.

The air is thick with ash and smoke again today. And we have to breathe it. Probably shortening our lives. On the plus side, it’s a lot like having a snack with each breath.

We are traveling through the Suisun Marsh now. Very eerily desolate with the added smoky air. Landscape looks lunar-like and lifeless. Today no sign of the usual wildlife, mostly sea birds. All I have seen is one bird carcass. Seems like some end of the world scenario. Just lovely.

Just crossed the “Fresh Air” bridge. Seriously. A little funny.

Finally we are at the destination: Corte Madera. There is a large outdoor old style mall. It being Corte Madera, Marin County, next to Tiburon, the mall is upscale. Very. Fortunately, the rich people in this area are cheap. So lots of things on sale! Which suits us. I like cheap. Or cheaper. Or cheapest. Really, I like free.

We met Marika in the parking lot in front of Nordstrom. She is in a fine mood. The whole reason for this shopping trip is getting Marika an outfit for her upcoming interview.

We were at Nordstrom so we started the shopping there. Nordstrom was what I expect. We started in shoes. No surprise there. And Marika bought a pair. I looked at men’s shoes just to stay connected but found nothing.

The mall is not over large but hs plenty f nice places. Actually, it’s a “full price” mall, no discounters. Nordstrom and Macy’s are the only big boxes.

After leaving Nordys we decided to do the loop, shop down the north side and come back on the south side. We did not go in every store, some are pointless. Like the Tesla store. Or Peloton. No need. We stopped at Sundance (Emily’s fave) and waited for Emily to look at all. I wasn’t interested. Marika wasn’t interested. Then off to Pottery Barn, Lucky, North Face, Anthropologie, Restoration Hardware, and on. We did stop at Apple, Emily got a new i8 yesterday and having battery issues. So she spoke to the genius at Apple who told her give it back to Verizon. The battery was working that poorly. They make a bad one once in awhile.

Stopped at Tommy Bahama. I just received a fifty dollar credit from them so best to go check and see if they have anything. They didn’t as far as I was concerned. Emily came up with a few things that I said no to. I don’t spend the card just cuz I have it. I need to like what I get.

Marika suggested lunch next. Mom suggested Boudin (which is what Marika has told me she would say). Marika and I navigated through the menu and both got soup. Emily has the Asian chicken salad. We all concluded this Boudin was not near as good as the one by us in Vacaville. Too bad.

After lunch back to Nordy to use the restroom. Then off to Tommy again mostly for Emily but pretending it’s for me. Emily said now that I had thought about it I might have changed my mind. It actually means buy something and use the gift card. So I did. I have a new Tommy shirt 👕. To go with the other 50 Tommy shirts in my closet. Yes, true. But I do look fantastic in Tommy. Well, I look fantastic all the time.

Now we are headed home. Currently in the wasteland I was speaking of earlier. An hour from home. Just got through a one hour traffic jam. Cruising. Got off 37 and another major slowdown. Shit. 5 miles an hour for 15 mins. What was it? Three cars pulled over, no accident. People are truly very stupid. Very. Stupid.

Got home at a bit past 530. We had thought 4. We need to stop thinking. So, now work. Unpack and sort through the meager haul from today. I put out the garbage since Tuesday is G day. Fed the worthless animals. Like the one next to me currently occupying the small space left on the chair. Then we made dinner for ourselves. I grabbed a bottle of wine from my case. I ordered a mixed case for a flat $150 from the Bounty Hunter. The $150 is a great bargain, 10 reds and 2 whites and so far all excellent. They guarantee you will love them. Then we made meatballs with devalued eggs, fried potato patties and green beans. Dinner was excellent.

We are relaxing here after dinner and dinner dishes. Watched Jeopardy, teen version, and got all answers. Then Wheel. Boring. Now another competitive singing show. They have these shoes because there is a shortage of professional singers and they need help finding more. Right. I think the rest of the evening will be mediocre TV until bedtime. When it works you stay with it.