Argos

Today was a long day of running errands...so excuse me if I make absolutely no sense--my eyelids are fighting my desire to get a post in. This whole relocation got real when we hopped on the plane at SFO, but today, it got even more real as we started buying appliances! Up until now, I could still trick myself into thinking that we were tagging along with Stegen on a business trip. Now that we've invested in UK appliances that won't work back home, I'm pretty convinced we're staying. Here's the loot we picked up from a store called Argos today:

Argos is quite an interesting store. They're usually located on High Street in a town centre mall of sorts. They have a storefront, but not much going on in the store! They sell just about everything you can think of, but instead of walking the aisles and browsing different microwave options, for example, you have two choices: 1) Go online to their website and reserve things that you want, go to the store, pay, and pick your items up. 2) Use their catalogue in the store with accompanying computer to reserve what you want, walk to the cashier, pay, and pick up your items. It was basically set up so that you'd have to buy online, but pick up from the store. Strange... Anyway, they have good prices, so I won't complain too much! Here's Audrey at one of the catalogue kiosks:

We also made our second trip to Costco since our arrival two weeks ago. This time we tried out their Aberdeen Beef Cottage Pie (basically mashed potato baked over beef stew) and seriously--YUM. It even came with a side of cooked beans and cole slaw. Dad (Smith), if you're reading this, get ready to make several trips to Costco when you get here in a few weeks. I think you'll love this! 

We've been scouring spice aisles at all of the markets, looking for some Lowry's Seasoning Salt. We even asked GG to pack us some when she came for a visit next month. Well, Mom, I think you might be able to save some space in your suitcase! We found this at Costco today, and while it's not Lowry's, it tastes similar and is also made in the US.

While we were out of Maidenhead, it seems the locals were busy getting ready for their annual "Zombie Walk" around town...nice.

I joked about getting a diesel vehicle in a previous post (kinda), but after reading up on how difficult the driving tests in the UK are (and experiencing the anarchy of driving in the car with Stegen today), I think we might try to go without a car for a while. There was so much white-knuckling and screeching today that by the time we were finally home, Stegen turned to me and said, "I love you, but I want to kill you right now." Touché!