V & I biked to the Rose Festival on Saturday morning. It was cloudy and every now and then we did get some drops, but the vendors and info booths were all staffed and eager to tell us about stuff. And give us stuff, too, but we couldn't carry much so we said no a lot. It did rain on us as we started back home which was no big deal. I tried to convince V that it would be fun to see the zombie walk but she could not be swayed. Maybe next time. We did chores instead.

Sunday after church I suggested we drive back to the festival and get some stuff: plants and lawn art. I had been thinking about posting poetry out by the mailbox (stole this idea from the city of Takoma Park, but I plan to change my poems every so often and include shorter pieces for kids and dogs as well) and it occurred to me that a flag-type poem holder might be easier to manage than a signpost for the grownup poems. I saw a holder that might work. V thought it would be better if É came along, but É wasn't feeling the Rose Festival. É's mom said V could stay and play while I went by myself--at least I think that's how she would have ended if I hadn't sped away with a triumphant cackle mid-sentence. So I ended up with a holder, a birdish creature, a bottle tree, and two shrubberies.

This morning I had a big to-do list and things started poorly at The Home Depot. I needed bolts for my toe-clips and I couldn't find the right ones. Neither could the The Home Depot guy and HE DIDN'T CARE. If I worked at The Home Depot and someone had to go home boltless I would at least pretend I were sorry. They did have wall screws for the stupid IKEA lights I stupidly bought a long time ago. Jennifer took them and then decided they were too stupid to put anywhere, so she snuck them into my car when I was last in town. Oh look--now LJ spellcheck is trying to tell me "snuck" is misspelled! My life is very difficult. My troubles with THD were nowhere near over, as I needed a type-B base bulb and no bulb in the store stated "type B" on its packaging. I had a very unenlightening conversation with another THD guy about "type B" vs. "candelabra" base bulbs. I bought a bunch of things and the total bill was not as bad as I'd thought it would be. Back at the car, I checked the receipt and figured out that I wasn't charged for two items. Even though I TOTALLY DESERVED two free items I went back in and paid for them.

We went to the library, JoAnn's, a camping store that turned out to be closed on Mondays dangit, and the grocery store. Then I dug some holes and we planted things near the mailbox, to complement the poetry when I finally get that thing put together. Then we went to the other library and watched Aladdin--after the movie, we learned that Wednesday nights you (if you're 6-10 years old) can read books to a real live dog. V is looking forward to this and I am a little jealous.