Cleaning One's Coat

The first thing you do when you pull your winter coat out of the closet, aside from grumbling about how it's finally so cold that you've resorted to pulling out your winter coat, is to check inside the pockets for any money you may have left inside last spring when it was finally getting warm enough that you didn't have to wear your winter coat so much anymore.

True story, I once did find a $20 inside my winter coat pocket when I pulled it on for the first time late one November.

But not this year. This year the only items I found in my winter coat were crumpled up old faded receipts that had begun to smell like the inside of my pockets. (Or is that my pockets smell like old receipts? Who can say?)

One receipt was from December of 2013. Apparently I was buying a 6 oz bottle and some formula at the Pittsford Wegmans. The timeline for this seems wrong. James would have been two at this point, so I don't think he would have needed formula. Perhaps we were watching Liam? Silas and Abby hadn't been born yet, so it certainly couldn't have been for them. I didn't know what to make of this receipt. I spent $18. For each receipt I pulled out of my pocket, I tried to think what kind of wine I could have purchased with the same amount of money. I don't know what happened to the bottle or the formula, but a bottle of La Crema Pinot Noir would have been in order for about that much.

Next I found an AirTran luggage tag with J's name and address on it. That wouldn't have been any good in exchange for wine.

In February of 2013 we would have still been living at Washington Street, and apparently I spent $66 at the Brockport Wegmans. It looks like it was a fairly standard grocery run--soup, milk, beer, yogurt, pasta, biscuits, sweet potatoes, carrots, bananas, duck tape, some facewash, dark chocolate, and onions. It was dated mid-month, though. We must have been out of a lot of things. $66 could be a really nice bottle of premium scotch. But I suppose groceries are good too.

In March of 2013 I spent $1.83 on a cup of coffee somewhere. Apparently Sarah was my server and I made the purchase at 5:03 pm, but the top of the receipt is so faded I can't tell where it was. Sarah, whoever you are, and wherever you were working, thanks for the cup of coffee. I'm sure it was a $1.83 well spent. If I hadn't had afternoon coffee by 5:03 pm, I'm sure I needed it.

The next receipt actually gave me a good clue as to where I might have been--on an audition somewhere, presumably. I have another coffee receipt, dated one day later, this time for $2.43 (at 9:44 am) in the Atlanta International Airport. Airports always mark up the coffee something ridiculous. Then again, it's so hard to get a decent cup of coffee in the south that I was probably just glad to see a place with a name like "The Coffee Beanery." I don't remember, but I hope it was worth it. Also, if this was at the end of my trip, it was probably Sorrow Coffee.

We must have been traveling to Pennsylvania on February 15th, 2015, because I have a receipt from the Williamsport Wegmans for $7 at the hot bar. I bet it was sesame chicken for James during a lunch stop. I also bet I remember Valentine's Day 2015 quite vividly, and that we were working through a case of Ergo Rioja at that point. I was probably pretty happy on February 15th, despite the cold weather and the long drive.

I have two hall passes from Lima, both for Hannah on March 21st (year unknown), both to Study Hall. Neither is in my handwriting. I don't know what Hannah was up to that day, but I smell a mystery...

From April of 2015, I have a receipt for coffee and a scone ($3.87) from "Roberts Wesleyan University We Proudly Brew Starbucks" coffee shop. Unsurprisingly, the coffee shop has changed hands since then. I suspect that I was meeting Aunt Martha, and that James was pointing out all of the different flags that he recognized in the library coffee area. $3.87 wouldn't have gone very far anywhere else. I'm glad I had coffee with my sister. She's sick right now and I hope she feels better.

On January 7th of last year I spent $24 on a large chicken charlie pizza from Salvatore's. As much I would appreciate a bottle of Bordeaux for that amount, that Salvatore's chicken charlie pizza is REALLY good. Really, REALLY good. I should probably stop thinking about it.

In February of 2013 we were shopping at the Brockport Wal-Mart again. Lots of baby food, some cereal, some shampoo, and a pack of chapsticks. Again, groceries are important, but for $86 I'd almost be at a case of $10 wine with a decent rebate. (Of course, yes, you do have to pay for the rebate up front.)

I must have had a double in Buffalo in March of last year, because I bought something from the hot bar and a large coffee. Did I really NEED to eat lunch that day? What if I'd packed a peanut butter and jelly? Okay, I probably still would have needed coffee...but I'd still have $6 left towards a bottle of wine. (And there's a pretty good wine store in the same plaza as the Amherst Wegmans.

Well, we have a bottle of Riesling and a bottle of Chianti that we haven't finished yet here. And I also found $.56 in my coat, so I can keep on saving for something nice.

To wrap up, I have a horrible suicide mission exciting announcement: I'm going to blog every day through December, even through the craziness of Holiday Pops. I'm posting the titles of all 31 blogs below. (As you'll notice, all taken from chapter titles of books that are currently being read in the Smith house.) I have no idea which order I'll goin, but every day I promise to cross off one of these "prompts."

Promenade
Dining
Old Smith and Old Smith
Young Smith and Young Smith
Passing of a Sportsman
Venture
Figures and Facts
Tenterhooks
The Mark Falls
Owen Walks and Talks
J's Body
J's Soul
---Gets "What-For"
The Altogether
---Takes the Matter Up
Sleuth
Cocked Hat
Going East
Bank Holiday
Office Work
Afternoon of a Dryad
---Gives Advice
Quittance
Christmas Tree
Game Theory
Bubbles
Incentives
Dobby's Warning
Gilderoy Lockhart
The Writing on the Wall
Owl Post