Oh! The Places I've Been!

So this post 'came to be' in the twisted corners of my brain - as all posts do ... when I responded to something Gary had said by me stating:

"Good, because I need to get some soap."

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So ... I went to Purgatory today. Stayed there for some time ...

Was it really that bad a day and somehow: a freak accident, a blow to the head, falling down the stairs ... caused me to refuse to swear any more? Yeah ... as if ... (maybe the soap was for my mouth?)

Nah - I had GOOD INTEL that I would find never ending fields of blue bonnets there. So I sold my soul, and ...

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no? OK ... I just had to drive there.

On the way, I was a bit suspicious that we may just not find these 'never ending fields' - since I hadn't seen any for a good week or more - I believe the wildflowers are past their prime here.

But ... we had no where else to go, shrugged our shoulders, decided it was as good a place as something random and being hell-bent on blue bonnets we set our Garmin to 'Purgatory' ...

Before we got there, I realized that it was not going to be a fruitless trip:

Yeah - the following bugs me too - THAT SHACK IS CROOKED ...

NOT MY PHOTO!

Note the horizon:

I cheated and rotated it just a bit in this one. Man, a perfect idyllic scene - and it goes and gets all CROOKED!

We had arrived!

And thus our tour of Purgatory began.

We looked for blue bonnets and we looked for blue bonnets - but nary a one did we spot. OK - we saw a few clusters but nothing to write home about or get out of your car for ...

At the end of the road - a white horse came to my rescue - nibbling his way into my photos:

I enjoyed taking the photos - although they were very non-blue! I have my photos and that is what counts ...

A few days earlier I had been inside this store in La Grange:

I was deeply saddened to have witnessed the demise of this:

A BEAUTIFUL little drug store (with a history and everything) complete with these original wooden shelves - full of old-time items. It was beautiful. The craftsmanship of the extraordinary wooden shelves was exceptional ...

The wooden shelves were still there ... hidden behind second hand 'quirky' clothes, purses, jewelry, bags etc. A sort of upscale second hand store - just like the other three like it in that row of stores ... but did they need one more?

It was just the cutest little drug store ...

But ... did I say 'jewelry'? I did, didn't I? I am a jewelry addict. The best items are the ones that are unique, and also purchased in a unique place. If they are high quality but still affordable (um, and Gary doesn't know the price) you have hit my trifecta on a perfect jewelry purchase!

I had hit it here! My prior 'most favorite drug store in the entire world' (unique) selling recycled copper by a local artist (unique item) and Gary was not with me - thus he does not know how much they were (OK, OK, they really were not that expensive) - so I went shopping:

For me:

Probably for me (but maybe for Bonne):

For Bonne (and I am safe - she, for some reason - REFUSES to read my blog - I don't think it is mine - it is blogs in general she has a problem with - so she won't accidentally run across her birthday present ...):

What does this have to do with soap?

Well, nothing, really - other than the fact that those are the two items I don't scrimp on quality: jewelry and bath products. There are some things that are just that much better when you buy a higher priced, higher quality product.

So - when Gary said: "We can go to ..." and I replied with: "Good. I need to get some soap" I could have knocked him out the car door with a feather ...

Why?

Well, it COULD have been the fact that the last place I was addicted to a bath soap and a bath gel was called Loccitanne - a high priced French store I found in Norway (they are here too).

It COULD have been the fact that it is the LAST PLACE you would think would even sell it ... but sell it, they do ...

It looks nice enough:

And, oh my, it is WONDERFUL! Smells divine

so what if it happens to be sold at a gas-station - albeit a really high quality gas station - 'cause these babies come straight from

Buc-ees!

Gary is still appalled and speechless ...