Three Beautiful Things 11-15-2024: I Made It Into CdA's Trader Joe's, Traveling Back in Time with Moby, Superb Left Over Stir Fry

1. Okay. 

I have fun shopping at Trader Joe's. 

It's nostalgic. 

I also enjoy the novelty of some of their products. 

It's kind of like going to a grocery theme park -- by the way, I went through a period of not enjoying Trader Joe's around twenty years ago or so -- I'm not sure when I quit being a grump about the store. 

So, today, Debbie and I were yakkin' about eating the left over stir fry from last night for dinner again tonight. Debbie wondered if we had any of those Thai wheat noodles from Trader Joe's we like so much, that she'd rather have noodles than rice in the stir fry. 

I replied that we were out -- but, I also said that after not going to Trader Joe's in CdA on Wednesday because of the full parking lot, but being inspired by Christy's parking lot success on Thursday, I'd pop over and give it another shot today!

So full of hope and enthusiasm, early this afternoon,  I bought a latte at Espresso Peak,  blasted over to CdA, arrived at Trader Joe's, and, as I was circling around the parking lot, I was near an exit on to Spokane Street and a shopper pulled out of a street parking spot that was easy for me to slide into.

I snagged it. 

Trader Joe's just opened in CdA on Tuesday. Shoppers thronged there and, like me, continued to do so today. 

I toured around the store, acquainted myself with its layout, dropped a few things in my cart, and eventually found the Thai wheat noodles. I was grateful they hadn't sold out. Many products had. . I grabbed three boxes, added it to my cart, checked out, and headed across the the street to Pilgrim's Market where I bought produce, tofu, and a few other items. 

I enjoyed this outing a lot. 

2. On my way to CdA and back I enjoyed listening to more Lofi Dream Pop alternative rock music from around the 1980s and 1990s.

Back home, an album I loved right at the turn of the century suddenly came to mind. 

Moby's album Play. 

Patrick absorbed this album when he was in high school and when he wasn't playing it, I got way into myself. 

Then, to my utter delight, when I used to assign my students creative projects, some of them used tracks from Moby's Play as accompaniment to slide shows or videos and their work moved me, stayed with me. 

I spent about three hours this evening listening to Moby, to his versatility, to his ambient music, to his electro genius, and I enjoyed the trip he took me on back to the early 2000s when I lived out my home life and work life with Moby occasionally providing the soundtrack to my life. 

3. By the way, stretching that stir fry from last night worked. I don't know if I can replicate it because making stir fried food is, for me, inexact and spontaneous. But, adding the noodles, fresh spinach, more yellow squash, and fresh Thai basil transformed what I'd already made and enjoyed Thursday night into a miraculously delicious new dinner tonight.