Mad for Menards

I apologize to my loyal readers for the long September hiatus. I was a little busy. I had to make 90 thank-you scrolls, stop by and visit Gina King at the Farmington Bakery a couple of times, and haul the same dress back and forth between Marshall Fields and Farmington several times. (Purchase, alterations, cleaning and pressing, if you must ask.)
I also had to make time to give the van a tuxedo makeover and to do some bodywork on the Del Sol. First things first, of course. I would never let automotive maintenance slip, even to throw a party for 90 of my closest associates.
I made a trip to Menards tonight, for the first time in months. I have a few things left on our registry there that I'd like to pick up. The Keg-erator is the biggest thing, but I might not get it, since Farmington Liquors banned the sale of kegs.
In addition, the big fall projects are looming right now. Courtesy of Menards, I have heat tape to put on the roof to stave off ice dams and gutter guards to stave off rougue leaves. I avoided a couple of impulse purchases while I was there. The first was the "Wag Bag", a really large, fuzzy bed that I know Perro would love. I just bought him a new bed last week at Aldi, but he likes to sleep in a lot of different places around the house, so it's hard for me not to outfit every room with a pet bed. I always rationalize when I'm buying these pet things. I think, hey, it's for the pet, not myself, so it's not greedy to buy it. You know what I mean. It would be wrong to waste $13 on a new shirt from Target, but $13 for a Wag Bag is a bargain. I guess my life has become pet-centric.
The second impulse purchase I astutely avoided tonight at Menards was the Pirates' Galleon. Menards has a set of Halloween village pieces, much like the Christmas village at Department 56 in the mall. I'm completely uninterested in the Dept. 56 version, but fascinated by the Menards version. You can buy miniature gothic ruins, haunted by tiny ghosts, and little graveyards with light-up skeletons. My favorite piece is this year's new edition, the Pirates Galleon, a ghostly ship flying the Jolly Roger from its mast. There's a little pirate skeleton hanging from a noose above the bow. As if that weren't enough, there's a haunted lighthouse for the ship to navigate. I love the tiny accents for the Halloween village, including light-up skulls, baby gargolyes and an undead corpse that pops out of a mini-coffin.
I saw the collection last year, and I really convinced myself that it was an unwise investment. But this year, I'm thinking maybe I could do a little pet-sitting on the side to supplement my income enough to pick up a few Halloween village pieces on clearance. The concept is growing on me. All those tiny blacklights and cute little ghouls beckon. I guess tonight I just went a little mad at Menard's.

The Jolly Roger of the Pirates' Galleon
This flag is on sale at Menards for $4.44 this week!