Morning Errands

1. Went to Target to buy a mesh bag for my current felting project. In one of the useless gift endcaps was a popcorn popper with bilingual packaging: it is also something like an éclater de maïs. Reminded me of the term éclater for a blow-up and the footnote in Eisenbud about the name being chosen pour faire peur aux gens. Certainly the subject has me faisait peur more than it should have. Also picked up a strand of xmas lights for one of my houseplants, as I've been getting grief about not having a tree.


2. They changed the locks on the math building. Bastards. Do I do work at home? At the cafe? Not at all?


3. While driving I got a phone call about Grandma E. She's in the hospital again. Her favorite grandson will take charge of the situation, driving today from Charlottesville, VA to Highland Park, NJ. Will he be home for Christmas? Will she have to go into a nursing home or will she be OK with assisted living? What will happen to her cats? Too much traffic, so I couldn't talk long enough to find out.


4. I should do any other errands soon, the radio counsels, as we are facing a severe winter weather advisory. Highs in the 30s, wind chills in the teens, and a 60% chance of snow with possible accumulation of up to 2 inches.