If Ya Got Trouble

Started off a cloudy but much cooler morning with breakfast and Breakfast With the Beatles. Today's theme was "Unused Songs and Alternate Versions," or Past Masters. I added pumpkin puree and brown sugar to Alton Brown's Whole Wheat Pancakes recipe from his baking book and made divine Pumpkin Pancakes. Spread with farm market apple butter and topped with real Vermont Country Store maple syrup, they were the yummiest pancakes I've made in a long time. I felt so cozy, sipping jasmine green tea and eating my pancakes while the Beatles played in the background.

I wish work was that cozy. It was just as loony as yesterday, with more than half the registers open. It was insane even after the Eagles/Giants started at 1. I was tired from a long work week and overwhelmed by the long lines, especially in express, and fed up with obnoxious beginning of the month customers.

People were a real pain today. One woman sent us chasing after a bag of shrimp that was on sale...and then decided she wanted the first bag anyway, coupon or no coupon. A couple had to return a quarter of their order when they realized they'd shoved way more into their basket than they could afford. People fussed about prices without reading them first. They tried to return items and weren't happy when I told them only customer service can do item returns.

And then I had to stand in long lines after work with the three things I'd forgotten yesterday. I needed buttermilk, Smart Balance 50/50 Butter Blend, and popcorn kernels. The lines for every register were still so busy, I ended up at self-checkout...and even that took five minutes. It rained going to work, but by the time I was on my way out, the sky was blue and the sun was setting in brilliant shades of gold and purple.

Needless to say, I was very happy to get home. I tried to call Mom earlier, but I couldn't get a hold of her until this evening. Mom was tired but happy. She'd worked all week herself. She and Keefe had just finished watching the aforementioned Eagles game. The Eagles kicked the Giants' rear ends, 40-17. She'd spent the morning chatting with her sister Terri, who lives in Virginia. Aunt Terri's a bit of a chatterbox and always makes long calls, which is why I got a busy signal twice when I called her this morning.

Their Halloween apparently went well. My nephews went out for an hour in North Cape May with their mother and Mike and got tons of candy. Mom and Keefe gave out candy in Erma and got 20 kids, more than they did last year and about what I got at Dad's yesterday.

My sister Rose is fine, too. She and her boyfriend Craig got her first sonogram yesterday and got to see their child developing. They're really excited about this baby. They sound so cute. They're going to be wonderful parents.