Alas Poor Olaf

The above is all that was left of Olaf (named after the snowman in Frozen) when I woke up yesterday.

Saturday’s snow was replaced by the return of rain later that afternoon, washed away all our lovely snow, and what was once my little snowman Olaf was just ribbon and a sliver of ice on Sunday.

I don’t know what happened to his little carrot nose. Maybe the rain washed it away.

There was a break in the rain early yesterday, so I was able to make it to the mall, pick up my orders.

Because our mail carriers can’t be trusted to put the key to the package lockbox in the correct mail slot, when items ordered offer the option to "mail to or pick up" and it's possible to get to the location, I've been opting for pick up.

With orders I can't possibly get to the location, I pay extra for a delivery service to leave at my door, bypass the postal service completely, and sometimes that goes awry as well.

Pick up can be kind of a pain, but mail delivery has gotten so bad, since our regular mail lady went missing on us (new route or quit ???), that some residents have not only complained to the main post office — to no avail, but complained directly to the mail carriers, also to no avail.

Some have requested the post office "hold" packages for them to pick up at the main post office, so the carrier can’t get his/her hands on the packages, screw delivery up.

So, anyway, I took advantage of the brief respite from the rain, drove to the mall.

Those store designers are some smart cookies. The pickup counter was positioned way in the back of the store.

I had to walk pass clothes, shoes, jewelry.

My daily uniform is tees and leggings, Birkenstocks and Asics athletic shoes, so the store designers' manipulation didn't get me.

That is until I spotted jewelry — 50% off.

I ended up with two new pair of earrings before reaching the pickup counter where ... what did I see right next to the line but this display.

Genius placement, but how did they know I have a new great grandbaby?

Which one do you think I bought?

I’ll have to find a reason to travel to Long Beach, give the baby his shirt before he’s walking, talking, heading to college — grown too big for the tee.

Heading out of the mall, seeing the See’s Candy store sign, of course I popped in.

Walking out of See's, bag of candy in hand, I looked up and saw a shop that looked interesting.

"May I help you", asks the lady in the shop when she sees me looking at medieval pocketknives.

"No thanks. I'm just browsing".

"Are you interested in knives?"

"Not really, but the knives did make me think about the dogs that just attacked and killed a man out walking".

"You might be interested in this if you're thinking about protecting yourself from bad dogs" and she showed me a stylish looking walking stick.

Priced at $55, I wasn't interested. Not even when she said she could do $30 on it, but then she pulled off the tip and exposed a sharp tool for protection from bad boys and bad dogs.

Tip On

Tip Off

This stick won't get me up the Devil's Canyon Road incline. For that I will need the trekking poles. However, this stick will make me feel safer so that I can go back to the walks I used to take around the neighborhood until knife guy scared me off that route.

I don't think I'll be facing any bad boys or bad dogs on Devil's Canyon Road, but I've got pepper spray and a taser just in case.

So many weapons ... in the unit, in the car, in my fanny pack, in my jacket pocket, even in my hand while walking to the mailbox or car but, if you're paying attention, listening to or reading the news, bad things are happening everywhere to those who are going about their daily business unprepared, seemingly unaware that the world is no longer a safe place.

The elderly and mothers getting in/out of their cars, distracted with small children in tow, seem to be the current targets.

We were just in the news two weeks ago for a stabbing unaliving at the gas station on the corner, followed by a carjacking by the perp and a hot two-day pursuit.

I stayed inside, so no photos for you, but Trainer said the gas station had been corded off with that tape they use and, from inside my unit, it sounded like every cop car in the world was racing up/down the street.

So, one has to be on his/her toes, take nothing and no one for granted. Be aware of surroundings, walk cautiously and, in my case, carry a big stick, pepper spray and a taser.

This has been a public service announcement.

On the way out of the mall, I paused too long in front of Bath & Body Works, got lured in and walked out with a Strawberry Daiquiri scented candle.

The cashier said it’s the kind of scent that I could relax with a glass of wine, the lights down low and before she could finish, I added "With my Magic Mike DVD playing".

She cracked up.

So now, after a weekend of rain, snow, rain, shopping, though it's dry outside for the moment, on we go to another week of expected rain and the end to Black History month.

I didn't have a special shirt for Black History Month, as I do for Pride and St. Patrick's Day, but I’ve picked out the shirt I want for next year.

I’d buy it now, but they’ve sold out in my size. So, I’ll just have to keep an eye out for next year.