August 28, 2020 - 350 - " Vamos a Costco!"

Let Out of Jail

     We've been friends with a couple here in San Miguel for about -8- 5? years.  

     They have a car and offered to take us with them on their first outing to Costco since the pandemic started.  They've mostly stayed home and ordered what they needed.

     We don't have a car here, and a ride to Costco is a huge treat for us.  Finding things around town involves many trips to many stores that you hope might have what you want, then using bad Spanish, and translation apps to see if they have it.  If you're still getting a household established, Costco is like Shangri-la and Alladin's cave all rolled into one!

     So we all masked up.  Our friends sat in the front, and Michael and I sat in the far back seats of their van.  We went first thing in the morning when the doors opened.  

     We had to work  the system and go in individually, as only one family member is officially allowed into the store at a time.  We walked through trays of bleach, got doused with disinfectant, and had our temperature checked.

     But it was all well worth it.  

     You'd think none of us have shopped in our lives.  We were practically dancing down the aisles with our long lists in hand.

     Our friend's wine rack and deep freeze were bare, and we needed a ton of things for the new house...and to replace the food our dead fridge ruined.  

     Between two couples, we ended up with five carts, two long sales receipts...and a full van.

     Michael and I, very literally, crawled from the side door, over our piled-up stuff to the back seat on the way back. 

Holding Up Traffic

     The streets are narrow here, and parking spots are rare.  We went to their house first, since we couldn't get out until they unloaded some of their stuff.  There, of course, was no parking spot.  We just stopped in the street and unloaded until cars backed up and began to honk.  Then our friend made a trip around the block and came back to finish unloading. 

     Miraculously, at our house, there was a parking spot right out front.  The only downside is it was right under a downspout pouring out water from the neighbors watering their rooftop plants. 

     The good news:  we didn't have to make anyone wait.  The bad news:  We got drenched.

All Stocked Up

     But we now have a vacuum cleaner, cookware, groceries, cleaning supplies, meat in the freezer, and about a six month supply of toilet paper.  

     ...and we had a fun excursion away from the house.  

Daily Hits of Happy

     -My 3rd tutoring session with the wonderful Jelisa, who is cute and patient and a darn good teacher

     -Trying to sing Jarabe de Palo's 'Bonito.'  (It's a beautiful, but fast-moving tongue-twister of a song!)
     -Two days ahead with no hammering, sawing, or sounds of demolition!