Mr. Frugal with a Cheapskate Tendency is Ending 2023 with a Pretty Darn Good 70% Off Bag of Foo-Foo-Fee Adult Shit. What Has Happened to Me?

Seriously. I did two days of clearance aisles in all sorts of stores and I have many of my gifts for next year already stored away. I found $302.42 worth of post-Holiday shenanigans and spent about $100 to get it. I've been cheap since my teenage years and always learned to shop the racks after the season is over. 

That is where I got the fancy foo-foo stuff for a large Sudanese crafted basket I have in the hallway. I wish I got holiday lights for it, too. 

I even picked up Halloween items for 75% off. Such a dork.

The drive back to Connecticut was uneventful, but listening to Braiding Sweetgrass some more had me looking at the landscape even deeper than I usually do. I've always loved the spaces between spaces, but Robin Wall Kimmerer made me think even further along the ecological literacy line. I am most amazed, however, that she resides in Pompey, NY, and tells stories of the Maple lands, her people, and the original people of Ononondaga . It's beautiful, and my favorite part was when she refers to the gas station/community store as the Pompey Mall. I could only smile. I felt like I knew her and it made her academic arguments and beautiful writing even better. 

I did, however, try to cut through backroads once I hit Connecticut and it backfired because the traffic had me follow a man going 20 mph for almost 30 miles. It was insane, and passing on the hilly and curvy roads of CT was not an option. It was torture. 

And I forget that I always set the house to be pristine when I return, so the crazy I come in with doesn't clash with the crazy that usually is. I walked in and was like, "Wow. This place is nice."

Love to the family who hosted me this past week. Always restorative to come home. I'm not sure I want to get back to my routine after altering in for several days, but that is the way all journeys go. 

Oh. I wouldn't mind snow at least once this season.