Drawing the line.

At being cheap.

Saw this in the grocery store Saturday morning.

 

*D’oh!*  I didn’t quite catch the price down below,  did I? 

Dang. 

It’s €1,99 and you get the second bottle free! What a dealski!  OK so,  a Euro a bottle?   Besides,  at first I thought it said,  “Red Beef”. 

That was what actually caught my attention,  and then I sort of stood there mesmerized for a second or two.  How crappy does the wine have to be to get shipped all the way from California and offered at basically a Euro a bottle?  I didn’t think I wanted to find out.  I mean,  I don’t really drink alone,  or at least not often, so how’s that going to work?   If T.C. gives it the thumbs down,  then it’s down the sink drain I’m thinking. 

And I’ve never been tempted to make Glühwein.  Gah!  Tried some on New Year’s Eve,  which was the second time in my life.  First time was probably 35 years ago.  Didn’t like then.  Nothing has changed.

Last week at some point,  I thought I’d try and find a couple little items for Travelling Companion in the make-up department.   Ya ya, I know.  “What are you thinking?”    Just wait.

The thing is,  whether I go by myself or not is immaterial,  since I’d have to go along anyway on one of these missions on a Saturday in order to speak the lingo.  Some store clerks speak a smattering of English,  but certainly not at the level of say,  the Dutch.   It’s a very limited vocabulary,  and one does tend to get ignored if you don’t speak German.  Hate to say it,  but thems the facts.

 

 

My mission,  should I choose to accept it,  was to find these two items.  

Struck out.  On both counts.   This was on Friday,  by the way,  and I set out on my lonesome.  The top one was available down on Kärtnerstraße,  at another Douglas location in the First District,  but I wasn’t about to go all the way down there.   Interesting to note by the way,  that that website takes you to a page where the head of the US operations is telling everyone they are no longer doing business in the States.  Hm.

Whatever.

Each of these items are some sort of “spackle”  or at least that’s what I’d call it.  Something to do with “covering up”  or ….something.   There were some alternative offered,  but like I said to the lady in the store,  “Wenn es mit Werkzeuge zu tun hät..?”  (If it had something to do with tools…?)   then I’d at least have a clue!  

So ….I tried.

Well,  what THAT meant was,  Travelling Companion and I had to go shopping together for make-up on Saturday afternoon.   Oh goodie.   The stores are basically mobbed,  or at least that’s my perception,  and so are the side walks.   I’d prefer not to go out there.  I get my shit done in the morning before the bag carrying shoppers are out,  and then that’s it. 

Fine then.   We found what was required.  Even got this nifty little bag.  

 

   

Isn’t that special?    Well that sure makes spending €80 a helluva sight more enjoyable.  So glad we had that time together there,  *squints* Jean Paul.   You weirdo.

I’ll be able to very fashionably throw out my paper recycling in that one.   Never hurts to do it with style I suppose.

See,  I KNEW that it was going to be pricey.  It’s just the way these things are.  Just the same,  I would have still preferred to get the two items on my own,  since the very first words I hear after we come out of the store are,  “Oh,  I want to go look at shoes”.  

See?? 

 

And you were thinking,  “Oh Bob,  you’re such a sweetie to go buy make-up for you lovely wife.”  

Um ya,  whatever. 

You know how Spiderman has that “Spidey-sense”?   See,  I’ve developed some sort of “If we go shopping together I know it’s a slippery slope”  sense.   Now you know.  It’s never about ‘one thing’.  Oh Gawd if it could only be that way!   This is probably THE ONE THING I miss about not being at home.  Back home, T.C. goes shopping with her sister.  I smile and wave.  Smile and wave.  “Have fun!”.  And off they go.

 

Aren’t they lovely?

We didn’t buy any of those.

I don’t even know where the shoes ended up.  They’re around here somewhere.  They fine.  Wonderful even.  From a company called Paul Green, up in Munich.  And besides,  the pair they’re replacing have been around for something like 15 years and refuse to die.  So I guess I could do some sort of 15 year amortisation of these shoes that we bought.  Oh, plus the shoe trees the girl basically hood winked me into buying for an additional €14.   *note,  as a discretionary measure,  I didn’t put in the price of the shoes,  only the “up sell”  that I was suckered into*.   Just thought I’d point that out.   I know shoe trees are necessary, but I’m sure I have a couple pair somewhere.  Maybe back in Canada.  So we ended up with a souvenir.   There you go, there’s my justification.

 

For my part,  I bought myself a pair of “45s”.   (Um,  I know it’s not reflexive,  the poor grammar is intentional.  Don’t you know by now?)

 

 

I caught a glimpse of these in the window of the “Dollar Store”.  (It’s really a “Euro Store”,  but you know what I mean).   A whopping Three Euros.   My big expenditure.

I’ll admit they are slightly large,  but not nearly as large as the photo makes them look.  There’s a bit of an angle illusion happening there.  Really.  Trust me.

The pair we are presently using for nipping out on the terrace are starting to show signs of aging.  They never seem to wear out on the bottom.  It’s the strap part that begins to give away.  There are flip-flops galore it seems,  but I CANNOT abide anything between my toes,  and sometimes finding this type of sandal (if that’s what you call it)  can be a bit of a challenge. 

I should say,  I did find a pair back home in Canadian Tire a few year back,  when I was trying to replace a pair that were getting so old that even the duct tape holding them together was showing signs.   They wanted twenty bucks!   That’s a lot to pay for that “Swoosh”  along the sides I thought?   I put them back.  They’re the same “Made in China”  crappy things that all the stores pay about seventy-nine cents for,  so they’re making a tidy profit charging me what they did at three Euros.   Twenty bucks my ass!

 

So it’s a darned good thing that bank machine started working.  That’s all I have to say.

 

Speaking of “slippery slopes”,  I’ve been getting into the habit of putting in a pic of our evening meals.  This is hit and miss,  but if I think of it,  I’ll do it I suppose.

I mentioned that the butcher will cut a steak off a tenderloin at whatever thickness I prefer? 

Well,  there you go.  These guys were well over an inch thick,  which means being able to get the outsides nicely grilled,  while leaving the middle nice and soft. *drool*

Don’t want no shoe leather.  And they sure weren’t.

 

 

The peas AND the beans is only because I’m trying to clear out some room in our tiny freezer.

We’re not huge “meat eaters”,  but I’d sooner “go big or go home” when it comes right down to it.   No point in buying cheap meat.  That’s all there is to it.  Why bother?  So I can gnaw at it a little and then throw it out? 

 

Anyway,  I think I’ve used up enough words for today.

 

Thanks for stopping by.

 

 

.