Visiting a mall and a restaurant after a decade

On Saturday, I visited a shopping mall that I haven't frequented in nearly a decade. It has changed quite a bit.

I used to go to a Vietnamese restaurant located in this mall with co-workers when we all used to work nearby. We all don't work at this company anymore.

I was pleased to learn that this restaurant is still alive and kicking. I went back to get some takeout. I felt the need to support it and find out whether the quality is still there. It is!

The food was delicious. I was relieved and happy.

I will try not to wait another decade to drop by this eatery and mall.

Wine, Pusheen, and joy

Last night, I went out to pick up a couple of bottles of wine that were a perk. I had the nicest chat with the woman who owns the store.

I then went to a mall close by and spent more time that I had anticipated looking at Pusheen and other plushies. I was in heaven. There was so much joy!

I am looking forward to drinking the wine. I was told that the white can be consumed immediately. The red wine will be even better in a couple of months.

Voted early at a shopping mall

We've got a federal election coming up this month. Yesterday, after work, I voted early.

In the past, my advance poll was either at a community centre or school. I feel that the pandemic has changed things. The former tends to be used as a vaccination centre these days. School just started for many here and it's in-person, so having the auditorium as a poll with students, teachers, and voters was probably not the best idea, either.

My advance poll, which is also my poll on election day, was at a shopping mall. It was different and deadly. There's nothing like shopping and eating after voting!

I'm glad that I voted. Happy weekend, everyone!

Walking and winter storm advisory

I walked a lot on Sunday. It has been ages since I spent almost four hours at a mall. I did.

There is a winter storm advisory for tomorrow. Naturally, it's the day that I am meeting a friend whom I haven't seen in almost a decade. I told her that I'd let her know how things unfold. The worst case would be to reschedule for Tuesday.

It's never a dull day, even on vacation!

Lots of walking and thoughts about pillows

On Saturday, I walked a lot. I walked an entire mall. I had a late lunch by driving over to that restaurant, and then came back and shopped some more at a plaza.

I felt good, although my feet are tired right now. It has been a good long weekend so far.

I head back home later on today. The only damper is the pillows in my hotel room. They don't support my head and neck as well as my own pillows at home do. Otherwise, I feel rested. It's a quiet hotel.

Road trip, suggestions, and gems

My mini road trip is over. I did a fair bit of driving, but the concert was wonderful and worth the effort getting there.

On Sunday, I took my time driving back. I am glad that I did.

My guy told me about an outlet mall in the town next to his. I decided to drive there on my way home. I'm glad that I did.

I found a store that sells British food items. I ended up getting curry sauce for chips (also known as fries) and blackcurrant jelly. I love anything blackcurrant. My guy has always remembered my drinking blackcurrant tea when we were both in Stockholm. I had it every day.

I should do more road trips more often. I have learned so much about how kind folks are and some places that are pure gems. For instance, I found an excellent latino restaurant. The food was amazing!

Unfortunately, all good things have to end. I head back to work. Still, it makes Monday more bearable knowing that I had a fun weekend.

My guy and his quest to find his car daily

My guy is pretty good at practically everything that he does. Naturally, there are exceptions to everything. In his case, he is horrible at directions and finding where he parked his car.

I tend to cringe whenever we go to the parking lot at work. He is kind to offer to drive, but he often does not know where he parked his car.

Monday's issue was my guy figuring out whether he had parked in the lower lot or the top one. We started going upstairs and it clicked that he had parked downstairs.

The rest of the week, he got the parking lot level correct. The specific part of the lot was problematic.

On Tuesday, I asked where he had parked. He stopped and told me that he had parked "somewhere over there." I basically rested my forehead against his back and told him that we'd never have lunch. He laughed. He went with pressing the lock button on his car's remote and guided us to the sound of his car.

Thursday was amusing. I asked him where he had parked. He stood there, pointed where he thought he had parked, but he was standing right in front of his car.

I have mentioned various phone apps to him where you can save your parking location and easily find it when you need it. I will need to convince my guy to give at least one of them a try. I can't have him walk aimlessly around a large mall now that the Christmas shopping season is in full gear.

M is for malls

I tend not to walk an entire mall these days. The malls near me are huge in the sense that you can spend countless hours there. Knowing me, I'd end up cleaning out all the money in my bank account.

In Montreal, I went to outlets and box stores. For some reason, going to several of these stores is enough for me. 

When I had returned to Toronto, I noticed that my iPhone screen had lifted at the top. I couldn't push the screen back down and be flush. I decided to book a Genius Bar appointment at my local Apple store (the nearest one is fairly new, but parking can be a challenge on the weekend). So, I had no choice but to visit the mall.

First, I was told that the entire screen needed to be replaced. I was fine with that. I signed the work order and was told that it would take an hour. So, I walked around the mall.

It's a pretty big mall. To avoid spending, I sat down on a comfortable leather bench and relaxed. Over an hour later, I went back to the Apple store.

It turns out that my iPhone's battery was "swollen," meaning that the screen could not be upgraded. Instead, I got a new replacement phone for free! It is a good thing that I had backed up all my data.

The downside? All my apps appeared on my new phone, but the apps weren't downloaded properly. So, I had to manually do that. Luckily, I had the entire weekend to do this task. It wasn't bad, though. I got rid of many apps that I no longer use and all is well.

Outlet shopping and fondling

After work last Wednesday, my two guests from Sweden, my guy, and I were off to the outlet mall. Getting there takes twenty minutes by car from work. However, during heavy Toronto rush hour traffic, it could take longer.

My guy could only shop for a bit before he had to head home. The outlet mall is on his way home. As for me, I was travelling further away from my home. That was fine.

I took the Swedes in my car. I had to ask my guy whether he knew where he was going. He is a self-professed, directionally challenged guy. He was okay. He had his trusty GPS.

I got there in a decent time and backed into a spot in the parking lot. The Swedish guy admired my rear backup camera in my car and liked how effortlessly it was for me to back into any spot.

We walked over and stood in front of the Hudson's Bay store. We were trying to synchronize our watches to figure out when we should meet after we split up to go on our own shopping sprees.

I got a text from my guy, asking where we were. I told him that we were in front of his favourite store. About two minutes later, he was there. He wasn't surprised that I was there sooner than he did. He shared that I had a lead foot.

We all went into his favourite store. Eventually, the Swedes left for more higher priced goods. My guy and I stayed there for a decent period. My guy loves shopping for clothes. I love seeing him in clothes that make him even more attractive than he already is.

We were looking at cashmere sweaters.

"What do you think of this mustard-coloured sweater?" he asked me.
"It would look good on you. You don't have that colour. How about the green one?"
"I don't need another green one. I love the one that you gave me last year," he said in his sweet way.
"Well, they have these sweaters in ketchup, mustard, and relish. You're a hot dog," I concluded.

Before he got disgusted by my statement, I quickly added the following:

"You have nice buns."

He smiled and chuckled. It was corny, but true.

We then headed over to the men's jacket section.

"What size do you take?" I asked him.
"Either a 42 or 44 long," he replied.
"I already knew about the long part," I said, which he liked.

We headed back to the sweater section.

"I like this sweater," my guy pointed out. "I need a large."
"I know. You are always large," I replied.

We slowly left the sweater aisle. He was ahead of me, reached back, and knew exactly where my crotch was. He was playing with it. He's such a fun, naughty guy.

The best part was sitting on a black cushioned bench. My guy was trying on a spiffy pair of dress shoes. He bent over to tie his shoelaces after he was done. I helped myself. I reached over and groped his butt. He looked at me, happy at how affectionate I was. I gave him a side hug and rested my head against his chest.

Unfortunately, my guy didn't buy anything, but he liked the selection that he found that evening. I was going to buy a pair of Canada red mittens. They go to a worthy cause, and they are both warm and stylish.

I went to pay for them. My guy immediately plopped down money and paid for them. He is so sweet and thoughtful.

I wish shopping were always this fun. It helps to shop with someone you love who also likes causing a bit of mischief.