Death of a rodent

The expiration of an ancient mouse was all the excuse needed to devote the day to as much gallivanting as we could stand, ideally without being forced to hear some of the worst of the commercial musical offerings of the season. You probably have a list of "music" that you never, ever want to hear again. The Official Errand of the Day was in two parts: to draw a cashier's check, and to pay the exorbitant property tax. The county tax assessor-collector office moved from the easy-to-get-to downtown location to one that can be reached by bus, but not during anyone's noon hour. Luckily, the credit union was not busy; luckily, the new clerk's location turns out to be nearly across the street from Lamme's candies, which was doing great business and is even open on Sundays until the end of the year. There were prewrapped boxes of pralines, and people were buying stacks and stacks at a time. K. indulged in almond bark made with dark chocolate and also in orange peel dipped in dark chocolate. On the way back south, we stopped at Wheatsville Co-op, which was selling those small, mirrored Diwali lights (will hold tealights) for much less than what they go for in the mail-order catalogues. There were people shopping who looked like retired faculty from the less prosperous departments, as well as those who still get by with part-time or very low-paying jobs. We took magazines to the library and went to the post office. At OfficeMax, things were very busy, but a standard PS2 three-button wheelmouse was available cheaply and we indulged again in the great deal on flash/key/pen drives. At the City Market, the lime index was 12 for a dollar, and the Villager was available. Following a quick stop at the house to unload, we were off on the Annual Pilgrimage to Target for the dollar deal on Cella's dark-chocolate-covered cherries. The box is red and handsome. The price is no longer one dollar for a five-ounce box, but it's still not bad. K. also found the house-brand razorblades in stock. Target did not stock the Tucanes wanted, the one with El Amor Sonado, but there was one with Me Gusta Vivir de Noche, which, of course, has not left the constant-play list on the mental jukebox. The Banda el Recodo CD has all the best hits of the past two or three years, but that's purely coincidence! Oddly, only Wal-Mart seems to have the track list complete with audio samples. So now we can listen to Yo Se Que Te Acordaras and Y Llegaste Tu and several others. As always, Azul Tequila was full of guys, even though it was quite late for lunch by this time. There was nothing at all wrong with my enchiladas verdes, but the chicken soup was delicious, with a very homemade quality to it, and lots of chicken and lots of assorted vegetables. The red table salsa was good. The frijoles charros were the best ever. All this was more errands and shopping than we've done in one day since last year around this time, we'd guess.