Wal-Mart and Chili's, Hutto, TX

Monday, February 1, wow! It's Feb. and we're going to The Texas Coast this month! I tossed and turned for several hours last night and finally slept like a rock. I was up at 8:30. It is cloudy with a low of 35 degrees and misty skies all day.

After Herb Cheese Bread for breakfast (Thanks Elaine!-another great one from the lady at Bastrop Farmer's Market.) I cut up the breads in smaller portions to freeze. I do my stretching and strength routines. Then I search for my lost five months of digital pictures (Bellingrath Gardens in Mobile, AL and St. Pat's Parade in Waveland, MS--what a bummer!) I finally found a box of CDs that I thought were new, unused disks, behind the printer in the entertainment center. I'm so happy I didn't lose the early months of our travels right after I got the digital camera. Bob can now load the colorful Bellingrath Gardens Maids onto the digital picture frame.

Time to get cleaned up and we leave at 12:30 for lunch. We need to go to the Super Wal-Mart in Hutto so we hope to eat the the cafe there. On the way an 18-wheel dump truck of dirt turned over on the entrance ramp off Hwy 95 onto Hwy 79. We got around it and discovered the cafe in Hutto is closed on Mondays. Bummer. We continue west on 79 and find a Chili's near Lowe's and Home Depot (all new since we were here last.)

This Chili's has a bunch of new menu items. I have a cup of a new Chicken Green Chili and a new small Asian Salad with Salmon (soy beans, wontons, and peanut sauce-a new favorite!) On to Wal-Mart after the hostess at Chili's tries to send us to 685. But we find it on 79 west of 130. We spend several hours in there but find the perfect hamper and shelving for our laundry closet in the bathroom. At least we hope the dimensions are correct.

It's 3:45, dangerously close to rush hour, as we head home. We sure hate to by-pass 130 Tollway. We need to get a toll tag one of these days. But we do remember to take the 1660 cutoff from Hutto to Copeland. What a nasty, wet and cold day. The high only gets to 46. When we get home we go to work right away on the laundry closet. Bob puts the wire shelf together. He declares it to be a sturdy bargain for $19.99 and weighs much less than if he built shelves out of wood. Voila! It's the perfect size and the shelves adjust up and down. We put the divided hamper together and it is also a perfect fit. We are now officially organized!

We deserve a rest so we read the paper and work the puzzles. It is still cold and rainy but Steve and Elaine's Lasko heater allows us to quickly recover the heat we lost while we in Hutto all day. We have leftovers for dinner and watch House and a Castle repeat after Headlines on Jay Leno. Then at 10:00 we watch Triple D. It's 10:20 p.m. and 45 degrees with 86% humidity. Federer winds the Australian Open; Serena Williams won the women's' on Saturday.