Day 6 - On a Mission

The critters were noisy last night.

There would be a nearby bark, followed by a responding bark somewhere in the far off distance.

The barking noises did not seem to belong to dogs. Yet, they did not have that shrieking, blood-orgy sound that I have heard coyotes make. But then again, coyotes have more than one type of vocalization.

And I was going to say those barks belonged to the coyotes until I read that javelinas also making barking noises.

Yes, javelinas bark. Their bark is a "togetherness call" when they are trying to find other herd members. And they "woof" in alarm when they are running away.

So maybe what I heard that night were javelinas. And that was the closest I was ever going to get experiencing javelinas on my trip out west.

Today was going to be my last full day in Arizona, and there were things that needed to get done today.

The first thing I had to do after breakfast was to drive down to the post office to mail some stuff back home so that I would not have to schlep a heavy suitcase.

There were those books that I packed ~ airplane reading and technical stuff that dealt with my original reason for coming to Cave Creek. The 2-pound portfolio could also be packed, along with all the real estate books that Carolyn got me. The same went for my notebook and information folder. I would not be needing them on my trip back home.

Then I had the gifts and goodies that I bought, the cowboy boots I wore only once, my bathing suit and a top that I never wore. They were to provide extra cushioning for the breakables.

I was originally intending on sending 2 packages ~ the reading material going as media mail, and the other stuff going priority.

But when I selected my mailer from the post office postal products stand, there was plenty of room left to pack everything into one box ~ even with the bubble wrap I bought to further cushion my breakables.

I had to wrestle to remove that damn cardboard hanger thingie from the packaging tape. And in retaliation, it bit me and drew blood. It got me good. But fortunately everything was under control by the time I reached the window. And I did not have to request the first aid kit.

The package was going to go "Priority."

"Do you want delivery confirmation with that?"

"I don't think so. I'll know when it gets there."

Upon saying that, the clerk realized that I was sending the package to myself. It was kind of hard not to notice since the return address was the same as the delivery address.

Having been a postal window clerk 10 years ago, I struck up a conversation with both of the window clerks. It was interesting comparing notes.

After paying for my postal products and postage, it cost me just slightly over $40 to save me from having to pay an additional $25 fee for an overweight suitcase. However, it also saved me the trouble of hauling around a suitcase that weighed a ton.

That mission accomplished, I was off on my next mission.

At first I was considering in going for a horseback ride. But I figured that I had enough of outdoor adventures. Besides, I needed to find a bracelet to replace the one I had to return after the stone fell out.

I planned my attack.

First of all, I was going to drive down to North Scottsdale and check out the gift shop at the Heard Museum. Their ad on the local map looked promising.

So, driving to Carefree, I took a right onto Tom Darlington Road. The museum was supposed to be at the corner of Scottsdale Road (which is what Tom Darlington turns into) and Carefree Highway.

I got there alright. But where was the museum? I drove into the mall-like area on my right, where I saw a Starbucks and some other shops with very familiar names. However, the museum was nowhere in sight.

Going a few miles down Carefree Highway did not meet with any success either.

OK. Let's turn around and go the other direction and see if that elusive museum is tucked somewhere inside El Pedregal, an up-scale, multi-level and open-air shopping plaza.

However, I didn't see too many signs of activity. Could it be because it was not quite 10 in the morning?

Oh well, all I could do was to head back to Cave Creek and hit every shop along the way.

I was first going to hit the shops in Carefee. But while driving through the shopping areas nothing caught my eye.

It was hard to spot any interesting shops among the plethora building supply stores, real estate offices, and nail salons. If there were any neat and interesting shops, they must have been Carefree's well-kept secrets.

Shortly upon entering Cave Creek I passed the Town Dump. No sense in stopping there, especially after I have done some serious damage to my wallet 4 days earlier.

The next shop, Indian Village, was a bust.

Big Bronco was interesting. There was even a really cool antler basket that I was almost tempted to buy. However, I was on a mission for a bracelet.

And besides, with all the disarray in my house from my stalled studio renovation project, where would I put the antler basket without Attila thinking it was another litter box alternative and the dogs thinking I brought home a new bone for them to chew on?

The fellow there was a nice chap ~ a Brit actually. He got a big kick out of the fact that I was born in Corby and that Roma had attended Our Lady's Convent School in Kettering.

"Oh. there aren't all that many convent schools anymore."

And there also wasn't that special bracelet that I was looking for either.

I could smell the Cave Creek Candles and Gifts from the outside. And even though I knew that I would not find my bracelet there, I still went in for a look and and a whiff.

Neat place! There were candles everywhere. Duh! And some of them had scents that I never encountered before in a candle, like leather.

In addition to candles, there were scented oils and incense, a hookah, interesting metal sculptures, and a few pieces of clothing.

I also poked my nose into a tiny art gallery next to the candle shop and had a pleasant conversation with the gallery keeper.

(Yeah, I've been having lots of pleasant conversations wherever I went. People were incredibly friendly where I was visiting.)

Further up the road, I stopped at the Shoppes At the Creek. Only 2 stores were open at the time, a western clothing store, which carried had no jewelry except for belt buckles, and Spirit of the West Boot Company, which was a lot more promising.

And boy was it promising!

Hey! Now we're talking!

There were tons of gorgeous jewelry there ~ even silver cuff bracelets with turquoise. The shop keeper was very friendly and patient, allowing me all the time in the world that I needed to try on all the bracelets that caught my eye.

After trying one countless bracelets, my eye kept coming back to this one cuff that was made out of multiple skinny bands of silver and had 2 good-sized stones set on top.

The stones weren't as beautiful as the pale green turquoise from the original bracelet. However, they were beautiful in a different way. The stones had greenish blue spots in a black matrix. And it was a shade of greenish blue that agreed with my complexion.

The store had more than just silver and turquoise jewelry.

There were ropes of tiny beads that were beaded in a spiral pattern so that they had a very serpentine appearance. Simply gorgeous.

I wanted to buy one for Roma, who I knew would appreciate such fine bead work. Unfortunately, I had to balk at the $400 price tag. If only Roma were there to see the bead work herself!

There was also a wall full of gorgeous western boots ~ some even custom-made, along with their custom-made price tags.

There were Tony Lama and Lucchese boots ~ the premier names in western boots.

Oh! The temptation was great ~ especially for a girl who loves her shoes! (And what girl doesn't love shoes?) In fact, I had even considered coming home with a pair of gen-you-ine cowboy boots. But I remained firm resisting all temptation.

And then there was the shop bird ~ an African Grey parrot. What a delightful character! And nowhere near the ornery bugger that our Double-Yellow Amazon was.

I liked that bracelet, but I decided on holding off until I explored my other other options.

I did mention to the shop keeper that I tried finding the Heard Museum, but that it was not where the map said it should be.

"Oh, that's because it just moved. Just go further down the road and you'll see it. But if you get to Ashler Hills, you've gone too far."

OK, I'll keep that in mind.

After leaving that fabuloso store I went to the very funky Lazy Lizard, a consignment shop that would have had Roma spending hours exploring every nook and cranny.

And guess what? There were quite a few used Tony Lama and Lucchese boots there ~ and at a fraction of the cost of those just a few stores down.

Unfortunately, none were in my size. I left the store telling the shop keepers, "There are no Tony Lamas or Luccheses in my size. I guess God doesn't want me to get a pair of boots just yet."

At this point, I continued further up the road, turning left onto Skyline Road to check out the Cave Creek Museum. I over-shot it and had to turn around in the Jehovah's Witness Kingdom Hall parking lot. However, when I got to the museum, I discovered that it was closed.

Keep on driving.

I was going to stop at the Blue Coyote Gallery, but I over-shot that, too, and did not feel like turning around. In retrospect, I wish I had turned around and stopped in for a visit. But at that time I was a woman on a mission.

The next stop was the various shops in Frontier Town, the same place where I bought my goodies 4 days ago. And while I did find some more wonderful conversation, there were no bracelets to distract me from the one I saw at the Spirit of the West Boot Company.

However, I did buy some more of that intriguing southwestern style candy and those very inexpensive rose-scented clay-like thingies (presumably for your lingerie drawer) that I forgot to buy earlier when I was there.

Time to move on.

Deciding to by-pass the Western Mercantile store that was near Carefree (mainly because I did not get the feeling that I would find what I was looking for), I made my way back to North Scottsdale to find the Heard Museum.

And find it I did, after driving to Ashler Heights and having to turn around.

It wasn't big for what I was expecting in a museum. But then, this location was the main museum's (which is in Phoenix) northern annex.

I paid my $5.00 admission and received a museum booklet, bookmark, and paper fan before I made my way to the single gallery room. It featured mainly contemporary Native art from the area. The jewelry was gorgeous. The other stuff was note-worthy too. But I had jewelry on the brain.

After spending sufficient time in the gallery, I exited through the side door to the much-anticipated gift shop. However, I did not rush to the jewelry counter right away. I first lingered over the books and folk art that was for sale.

The prices on many of the folk art pieces already gave me a foreshadowing of what to expect at the jewelry counter. But undaunted, that's where I proceeded to after I checked out all the other wares for sale.

As expected, the jewelry was stunning and the sales help extremely accommodating. (I had yet to meet someone who was not friendly and accommodating!)

The sales lady graciously got out every single piece that I was interested in trying on. I tried not to look at the price tags, but I couldn't help it.

These pieces were the costliest I've seen so far. But then, since the museum did not charge sales tax, I probably would have wound up paying close to the same amount elsewhere.

As with the other store, it was hard finding a bracelet that would fit me. I have very skinny wrists, which are perhaps the only parts of my body that are still skinny. So, I did not have as many choices as I would have liked.

And even the smaller bracelets would have still has to be taken to a jeweler to be properly sized to my skinny and bony wrist. (I was warned many times not to do the sizing myself.)

There was one bracelet that I absolutely adored and would have even considered purchasing over the one I saw in Cave Creek. It was gorgeous ~ the nicest bracelet ever.

But the sucker had no price tag. And why was that? Because it was part of a $3200 set! Ouch!

Why? Oh why does the most expensive bling catch my eyes? Why doesn't my eye find something far less expensive more pleasing?

Yeah, I did have the money to buy that set. But was I going to spend the amount of money that was more than a mortgage payment on a drool-worthy bracelet and a delectably gorgeous squash blossom necklace?

I don't think so.

And just for the heck of it, I decided to look at the other squash blossom necklaces. They, too, were off limits in price.

Just as God did not want me to get a pair of boots, He also did not want me to get a bracelet from the Heard Museum. So, I left empty handed,

but not without first stopping at the sculptural garden before making my way back to the car.

It wasn't an overly large sculptural garden, but there were some interesting things to look at.

Of course, I was more interested in the cacti than I was in the sculpture.

However, I wasn't the total cultureless Philistine. The sculptural garden did have some whimsical pieces.

And it also had some more traditional-style pieces.

Here's a closer look of the Native American woman with an umbrella. Check out the nice copper patina.

The Red Bird of Paradise was one of the desert plants that was still in bloom. People often speak about how gorgeous the desert looks in springtime when just about everything is in bloom. But there are also plenty of flowering plants whose blooming season falls later on in the year.

Here's a close-up of the Red Bird of Paradise flowers.

Anyhow, I was all done with the Heard Museum. Now it was time to venture back the way I came.

Seeing that it was around lunch time, I figured there would be more signs of life at El Pedregal than there were when I passed by earlier.

The many cars in the parking did make it look more promising.

The hills at El Pedregal were very different from the ones I saw at Cave Creek. These were very "bouldery." In fact, El Pedregal is located in the area of North Scottsdale that's known as "The Boulders."

Here's a closer view of the boulders.

And a bit further away was this rocky hill.

There were definitely signs of life inside El Pedregal. Not only were there people inside its many shops and restaurants, I saw a significant number of people wearing the type of ID tags one would find among conference-goers. Obviously whatever conference was going on broke for lunch at the time of my visit.

One of the most intriguing shops at El Pedregal was Adelante, a gallery that featured folk and devotional art, and jewelry.

It was obvious from the start that this was not the place for me to find that special bracelet that I was looking for. But that did not matter, because Adelante was quite the visual treat in itself. This gallery deserved a special visit on its own.

This is how El Pedregal's web site described Adelante:

Folk and devotional art and jewelry. A featured gallery on CNN International's program "Art Club", Adelante celebrated its 10th year at el Pedregal in September. Adelante showcases paintings, sculptures, and jewelry by local and international folk and fine artists, whose work runs the gamut from the devotional to the irreverent.

And this how Adelante was described by AZCentral.com:

Adelante features whimsical art, photographs, paintings, a few furniture pieces and objects that defy description. Check out the tower made of brightly colored paint cans and the giant pig sculpture. Owner Meg Witwer calls her shop "a singular vision . . . an interesting gallery for people who are interesting."

I must say that both descriptions were fitting.

One of the first things that I noticed was the proliferation of Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) artifacts. My eyes could not get enough of all the many various Day of the Dead figures, altars, nichos, etc.

There was also a painting of St. George slaying the dragon, which was a fairly common motif in traditional religious folk art. However what was not common ~ nor typical ~ was seeing Michael Jackson's face on St. George!

There were frames, mirrors, and wall art made by this one artist using only found material.

Another artist cut bracelets out of tin cans that had the labels painted on, and then lined the inside with felt.

There was also an intriguing snake sculpture that was made by stringing loads of bottle caps on a thick, but flexible wire.

What was also intriguing was the story behind the couple of tiny Sculpy clay figures in the display case. They were made by a 9-year-old New England boy whose aunt lives locally.

Whenever the boy came to Arizona to visit his aunt, he would bring with him his tiny Sculpy figures to sell at Adelante.

To me, that spoke very highly of Adelante. Here was a gallery that welcomed and supported the work of even very young artists. No one could accuse Adelante of being a hoity-toity gallery that's too big for its britches.

The shop-keeper (who may have been Meg, the owner) was a nice and interesting person to talk to. She very eagerly showed me around the small gallery, even unlocking the glass case so that I could have a better look at the pieces inside.

On the sales counter were a pair of socks that Meg(?) was knitting in a complex Fair Isle type of pattern out of very lightweight wool. (Honestly! Who would be wearing socks in Arizona, let alone socks knit out of wool?)

In another glass case, there were some interesting silver rings where the top of the ring was fashioned in a graceful knuckle guard. Not only were these rings unusual and gorgeous, they were also quite comfortable.

And guess what? One of them was a size 6 ~ just perfect for my pointer finger. (Too bad there wasn't another one the same size, otherwise I would have bought a second ring to give to Ariana.)

After lingering a considerable time at Adelante, it was time to mosey on and check out the other shops in El Pedregal.

While there where other neat shops on both top and bottom levels, none had matched Adelante in the "Blow-Me-Away-and-Knock-My-Socks-Off" category. Adelante was by far the most interesting establishment in El Pedregal.

Seeing that none of the other shops at El Pedregal had what I was looking for, it was time for me to head back to Cave Creek. My destination? Spirit of the West Boot Company.

When I got to Spirit of the West Boot, I noticed that one of the shops in the building that was closed earlier was now open. And because it looked promising, I went in.

There were 2 people there, a burly fellow that I presumed was the owner, and a quiet Native shop girl. The guy was impressed with my most recent jewelry purchase.

After letting Mr. Burly know what I was looking for, he directed Miss Shy & Quiet to assist me. There were plenty of silver and turquoise bracelets to be seen.

But none were as pretty as the ones I saw in the Horny Toad gift shop and the Spirit of the West Boot Company. Also, none seemed to carry the aura and mystique that I was seeking in a bracelet.

And besides, while the folks in the store seemed pleasant enough, the vibes of the store did not quite sit right with me. Thus, I made my polite farewell and walked towards the Spirit of the West Boot Company.

The shop keeper I talked to earlier was outside, getting ready to smoke a cigarette ~ American Spirit, methol flavor. Even though it was a few days since I had a butt, and not missing it in the least, I asked her if I could have one too. She gladly obliged.

So we sat on the bench and talked for awhile. We talked about guacamole and sales tax.

That was when I found out that the Cave Creek city taxes went to buying up the land at the Spur Cross Ranch to save it from developers. Cool! I would not complain if my tax dollars went towards conservation efforts.

In the meantime, another shop girl came out with the phone in one hand and the African Grey parrot on the other arm. Shop girl #1 paused to take a call from a customer who was inquiring about posters for Cave Creek's Annual Wild West Days.

After the phone call was done, we all went in, where it was time to make my wallet scream.

But those screams fell on deaf ears as I admired the gorgeous new bracelet that was now sitting on my wrist.

Adventures Of A Different Sort

I now had 2 hikes under my belt, and yet it was only just about lunch time. God! In such a short of time I had already accomplished a lot by conquering 2 mountains. And yet, the day was not even half over.

So what was my next adventure to be? Certainly not another encounter with the great outdoors. Not this time. Nope. No way.

Instead, it was time to do some shopping. After all, isn't that what people usually do when they go away to a different place?

Well, I wasn't going to stop at Carefree to do my shopping. All the stores there were in shopping centers. And while I'm sure that Carefree had its fair share of nice gift shops, I had a tough time imagining one of them sharing space with a building supply store, real estate office, or pharmacy.

So, it was back to Cave Creek.

While heading back, I passed this rather wild and garish structure that was called the "Town Dump." When I had first first seen it on a local map, I thought that it was a place where people went to dispose of their trash, just like I thought the the post office, town hall, and the fire station were what the labels said they were.

I never suspected it to be this crazy, wild, and bizarre store of the tourist trap persuasion.

So whoa!

I had to stop there, even if it meant that I had to find a turn-around because I had already passed the store while trying to process what I was seeing while I was driving. I had to visit this tourist trap that sported the sign "Malfunction Junction."

One of the first things that I saw, aside from the sensory over-loaded front of the store, was a yard that was filled with large Mexican pottery and humongous metal sculptures. That wasn't for me. I didn't even want to think about shipping one of those gigantic and heavy pieces back home.

The inside of the store was crammed to the hilt. Literally crammed. It was hard to walk around without practically hitting something. And it was definitely NOT a place for strollers, or for that matter, any life forms under 3 and a half feet tall.

Perhaps I could find something for Roma and Ariana in this store. But like all tourist traps, I had to carefully check the bottom to make sure that I was getting something local or labeled "Hecho en Mexico" instead of "Made in China."

Yeah, those long scarves were lovely. And I bet that Roma would have loved the colors. But, "Made in Indonesia?" I don't think so. And that nice looking string of cloth birds that were made in India? Forget it!

I did find a whimsical wooden hummingbird mobile. And while it had no sticker to indicate country of origin, it was undeniably a piece of Mexican folk art. I got 2 ~ one for me and one for Roma. I also got an iron hanging hook in the shape of a frog.

And I found 2 Dios de los Meurtos (Day of the Dead) figures that did have the "Hecho en Mexico" sticker. And for 9 bucks a piece, they cost a fraction of what I would have had to pay on my side of the coast.

Those items were in just the main building of this labyrinthine shopping establishment. There was still far more to explore.

Entering one of the rear rooms in the main building gave me this very weird feeling that I could not readily identify. It took a few minutes to realize that feeling came from that room looking like something out of one of my bizarre dreams.

Can you say, "Twilight Zone?" Sure you can.

After exiting the main building, there were 2 more buildings in a courtyard that was crammed with even more enormous metal sculptures and big pottery pieces along with any sort of miscellanea imaginable.

These buildings had a series of rooms that were open on one side, sort of like a garage or stables. Some of the rooms had antique furniture. Others had what looked like could have been a collection of old bar stools from some defunct diner. Still others had tons of retablos, santos, nichos (both wooden and tin), and Mexican tin work.

All these rooms were crowded, crammed, and in some places totally impassable.

In one room I found the perfect gift for Ariana ~ a cow skull. The room was loaded with them. 2 were on a table that was easy to get to. The others were hanging on all 3 walls. Those were not easy to get to, especially the ones on the right hand wall, which would have required that I climb on top of the antique furniture shoved in that very tight space.

So it was going to have to be one of the 2 skulls on the table. When I picked up the one on the right, the teeth fell out. So it wasn't going to be that one. And seeing that the other skulls were not easily accessible, it was fortunate that the remaining skull had its teeth intact. They were loose, but they were still marginally secured in the upper jaw.

Now there was no way I was going to pack a large cow skull in my suitcase. I could just see the reaction of the Transportation Security Agents. And with the Phoenix airport being über-anal with their security, I wasn't going to take the chance. Besides, where would the rest of my stuff fit?

So it was a great thing that the Town Dump is a USP shipping location. They would ship my swag for me. Not only that, if I have them ship my purchases, I don't have to pay sales tax. And in Arizona, that is a good thing.

You see, in Arizona you don't have just one plain state sales tax (5.6%). You also have the Maricopa County tax (.7%). And on top of that, each city has its own separate tax which could run anywhere from 1.5% to 3.0%.

Yowzah!

So in Phoenix you would have the total sales tax of 8.1% while Carefree, Cave Creek's next door neighbor has a whopping 9.3%. Cave Creek's grand sales tax total amounts to 8.8%.

So don't you go off complaining about about taxes if you live elsewhere.

And speaking of complaining about taxes, I really haven't heard much squawking from the locals.

Apparently the county tax supports the roads and jails. And I must say, the roads are pretty decent. However, I can't make judgment either way about the jails.

In Cave Creek, the city tax has gone to major conservation efforts to buy up land in order to protect it from development. And that's a good thing. It would be a shame to have all that gorgeous land turned into strip malls, even if the developers do find new homes for all those displaced refugee saguaro cacti.

Anyhow, back to my story.

Having made my purchases and shipping arrangements, it was now time to go on and continue with my retail therapy.

Next on the list were post cards and gifts for Ariana and Neil.

I must say that the next stores I've gone into were nowhere near as colorful and freaky as the Town Dump. The Town Dump was a unique experience in itself.

The next place that I stopped at were a set of shops, one of them being Crazy Ed's Satisfied Frog, located in Cave Creek's Frontier Village.

There I found the post cards that I've been looking for, along with tee shirts for Neil, Ariana, and me.

I also found some interesting hot sauces, including one that had to stay hidden behind a curtain marked "For Adults Only" because of its ~ ahem ~ saucy name ("One Fuckin' Drop At a Time" for those of you who want to know).

I also found unique southwest candy in flavors like jalapeno and prickly pear. For Ariana and me I got 2 lighters in engraved wooden sheaths.

Also, I found an industrial-size coffee mug in the shape of a rattlesnake. The tail was the handle. But where was the head? Why, it was inside the cup, poised to strike at any unsuspecting soul. Of course I had to get that one for myself. (I just have to make sure that Neil doesn't get a glimpse of it.)

And without a doubt, I had to stop in at Crazy Ed's to get a 6-pack of that world famous Cave Creek Chili Beer.

By now it was 4 o'clock and time to bring all the spoils of my adventures back to my room.

I was tired and beat.

Carrying my many bags, I met Gary from El Paso, who would be joining me in the CorelDRAW Boot Camp tomorrow morning. I only had enough energy to introduce myself and say "Hi."

I had to quickly get myself into my air conditioned room and decompress before heading out to rustle up some grub. (No, they really don't talk that way in Cave Creek.)

I was having a tough time deciding between Mexican and beef ribs. Both sounded really good, and my stomach was having a tough time deciding.

Eventually, Mexican won out, especially since I wanted to know what a chili relleno (Mexican stuffed pepper) tasted like.

I decided on El Encanto, which was a short distance away and across the street from the Frontier Village. It was a lovely place with a gorgeous huge koi pond in the courtyard. In addition to the koi, there were geese, ducks, turtles, and a whole bunch of red dragon flies.

I opted to sit inside at a window by the pond. There were turtles basking on the rocks by the window. They appeared to be red eared sliders.

Having already looked over the menu while still back in my room, I already knew what I wanted ~ guacamole, the carnito chili relleno, and a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon to wash it all down.

Buster, my waiter (That's his real name!), quickly brought me my wine and guacamole. Oh! That guacamole was to die for! I could not get guacamole that good where I live, unless I make it myself.

The relleno was interesting and the beef nicely seasoned. But it was not something that I would be interested in ordering again.

I had Buster wrap up my leftover guacamole and relleno with the side of black beans. More food to add to my growing leftover collection. It was time to head back.

Looking back on the day, I did 2 strenuous hikes and some serious shopping, topped off by a pleasant Mexican meal in the company of turtles. I think at this point it's time to call it a day.

And there's some chili beer waiting for me at the end of the day.

The Day Is Not Over Yet

You would think that after spending a deliciously full afternoon at the Lithuanian Picnic that we would be all set to high-tail back to Mattapoisett.

Now way, Jose! The day was nowhere near being over.

After leaving the picnic, we drove about 45 minutes, heading east on Route 44, to my mother's house in Providence.

Being exhausted from the long day (so far), and more so from having forgotten to take her meds in the morning, Ariana was not all too keen about me spending a whole lot of time at my mothers.

At my mother's house, time is measured in the number of cups of tea that are drunk during a visit. The way Ariana was feeling, a one-cup visit was the best she could manage.

While waiting for the tea to steep, Ariana decided to take a walk a few blocks up Smith Street to the corner 7-11. She was on a mission to get her favorite (and deliciously red grapefruit flavored) energy drink, Kronik, which she has only seen in Providence.

After Ariana came back, and as I swilled my cup of tea, we showed my mother the spoils from the loterija.

We managed to foist off on my mother two aprons, a pathetic African violet plant (that I felt sorry for and would not have minded keeping had it not been Ariana's prize), a gigunda frosted glass snowman candle holder, and a much smaller frosted glass angle candle holder. No luck in unloading more of our šūdas.

After finishing my cup, it was time to leave.

At this point, Ariana's energy drink was starting to kick in. Not only that, she was getting hungry. So when I suggested that we go to Bread and Circus (now called Whole Foods Market) on the way home, she was all for it.

(The Bread and Circus that we like to go to is located in the very hip and politically liberal East Side of Providence. It has got to be one of the coolest supermarkets ever.)

Seeing that I had done my grocery shopping the day before, I wasn't planning on going all out ~ just enough to satisfy Ariana's rumbly tummy and little treat for myself.

Boy! Was there a greatly delayed reaction in that Lithuanian beer reaching my brain! I was sorely deluded to believe that I could just walk out that store with only one bag of groceries.

For one thing, mangoes were a buck a piece.

And they were in cahoots with the mouth-watering Casaba melon that had no problem in convincing us (with free samples) that the mangoes would be lonely without its company.

Then there were the bulk-packaged raw nuts. Cashews! Brazil nuts! Macadamia nuts! I bought them all.

The bulk-packaged cornichons and assorted organic Greek olives were just too tempting to pass up.

Temptation struck again ~ big time ~ at the exotic cheese section. Five cheeses that we never even heard of flew into the shopping cart.

Then Ariana saw this delicious looking herbed pizza crust. "Ooh! I wanna make pizza tonight!" Into the cart it went.

The decadent desserts ~ with far too much class for the likes of Stop and Shop or Dunkin' Donuts ~ would not allow us to pass without three of them high-jacking the shopping cart. (Better hurry up and eat your chocolate bombe, Neil, before it goes off in someone else's stomach!)

If the desserts weren't bad enough, we now started to wander into even more dangerous territory ~ the deli counter.

We could not resist the siren's call, "Escargot ~ 59 cents each!"

"Gimme half a dozen. No! Make that a dozen."

There was spicy kimchi linguine, golden fried sesame tofu, and a perfect and nearly raw slice of steak for Ariana.

Yoghurt Land was a dizzying array of tiny yoghurt cups in exotic flavors like Vanilla Chai, Pomegranate and Açai, Plum Honey Lavender, and many other unusual and tempting flavors.

We lost count of the number of yoghurt cups we harvested for Ariana to bring to work for lunch.

And speaking of lunch, Ariana also got an udon instant soup bowl and a box of instant miso and seaweed soup.

Exotic drinks of black current, maté, and pomegranate and blueberry soda landed in our cart.

So did a jar of garlicy-garlic spaghetti sauce for Ariana to make pizza with.

And did I mention a nice bar of exotic (There's that word again!) dark chocolate that had a very subtle hot pepper after taste?

Seeing that Ariana needed a new pair of sunglasses (because she's constantly losing them) there was this darling pair with tiny cloth flowers embedded in the plastic temple arms. In the cart they went!

But the ultimate of our indulgence were two Sigg metal water bottles that came in the most outrageously cool designs.

Lest we neglect to pay homage to frugal practicality, a humble bottle of that delightfully lemon scented ~ and very long-lasting ~ Ecover All Purpose Cleaner completed our raid on Bread and Circus.

It was now time to check out before more damage got done to my wallet.