Last week I was MIA because I was trying to familiarize myself with the message that I was scheduled to give at church! I used to have a photographic memory but now, not so much. It took me all week to get it down. This is how I did it, on the couch with the pup on top of me. You can see her wondering when I am going to be done so we can go for a walk. The message went well. So happy that I was able to share.
This week I am playing catch-up with my reading because that took a backseat too as I worked on my message. Finishing Black Cake, which I wasn’t able to finish for book club last week. I am also reading Nightcrawling for March’s club pick. I’ve got a couple of review copies that I am dipping in and out of too.
This week, the city I live in is expecting SNOW. Can you believe it? It’s happened before but that was like ten years ago. We’ll see if it happens but the rest of this week is supposed to be full of weather and cold temps. I don’t have much going on this week except for a BP check at the doc’s office on Friday. My BP continues to be elevated. I need to walk more but these knees and all the trauma they’ve sustained are a real challenge.
Barring weather, this Saturday I’d like to go somewhere. Maybe a museum. The last few weekends we’ve not been able to do much because of our schedules. I’ve also been missing the harbor too but we can’t go there without the pup and she does not like rain or the cold in general so we will probably try to stay indoors somewhere.
I have a question for you. Are the malls where you are doing well? Our local mall is slowly dying. Stores close every day. But big shopping venues in Los Angeles continue to do well. I like having a local mall but it’s depressing to see its decline.
That’s it from me. I hope you are all doing well. I would like to slow everything down a bit because even with the weather coming, I am seeing hints of spring. I love spring but I do not love the hellish summers we have, so can we just sit in this season for a bit?
Book Chatter 
You’ve got the cold and we now have warmth. I’m hoping that we’ve had the last of our cold weather, but you just never know. Think we are about done though. Malls – yes, in my opinion, the indoor ones are dying. We have one here in town and it’s hanging on by the fingernails. Austin has more than one large outdoor mall type thing and I think it’s funny that in my lifetime there were the outdoor malls and then indoor malls. We loved them. And then apparently, we didn’t. Who knows what’s next? No malls? LOL
We’re supposed to be in the 80s tomorrow! I hope that your knees will be good enough for you to get more walks in.
We have an outdoor mall about a mile from where I live. The big stores around the edge seem to be doing alright. I haven’t really been into the area with the smaller stores and restaurants in a while. They have been running more events, like concerts and putting in a mini golf course (according to the emails I get from them).
Our mall isn’t even trying anymore and the company that owns it, a large company, has not paid up for the last three months so soon it will be shuttered.
I cannot believe the weather they are predicting for our areas! They are saying blizzard conditions for the Santa Ynez mountains, how can that possibly be?!
Our malls and State Street are definitely suffering, it’s really depressing.
State Street is just a shell of what it used to be. That mall area without Nordstrom, Macy’s or Saks is a ghost town.
State Street is really sad with those stores gone. And where the heck am I supposed to buy bras, shoes, and basic clothes?!
Our weather is crazy here too, very cold in the mornings.
There are 2 malls close to me that are suffering other than the movie theaters. There is another one that is thriving, but it’s the more expensive one. We go there from time to time. We were there a month or so ago, we like the Apple store and some other stores there and we wanted to eat at one of the resatuants. For an example of how expensive the mall is, one store I went into to look at their face creams etc. was giving free samples of eye bag reducing cream that day. The lady showed me how much better your eyes looked when you used it. First of all I didn’t see much difference, and second I asked how much it was she said that it was on sale. It was usually $600 but that day it was only $300. For a small tube that I hardly saw make a difference. No thank you ma’am! And it’s the one that seems to be doing as well as it always has!
Glad you got your message memorized and could share it!
I was offered a free sample of cream once but then the guy looked at me and said, oh let me give you something for those bags. I just walked away. That is not how you sell cream! LOL.
After I mentioned the decline of malls, I went to two and walked around a little. It’s just so depressing. And like you said, so expensive for inferior products and depressing experience.
The weather has been crazy! We even got snow here on the OR coast. It was 24 degrees this morning, so you know the roads are icy. But at least the sun is shining again.
We don’t have any traditional malls anywhere near us, but we do have an outdoor “outlet” mall with all of the usual stores. I haven’t been up there (it’s only 15 minutes away) in a few years since I hate shopping, especially when it’s cold and rainy. During the summer, it’s crowded with tourists (no sales tax here). I do miss being able to run into a nice store to do some clothes shopping every now and then.
Hope you are able to get out soon and enjoy your walks.
From the looks of it, we will be without a mall soon. The large corp that owns it hasn’t paid their mortgage for three months. I don’t do much shopping but I grew up as a teen with the mall as my stomping ground. My first two jobs were at a swanky mall and I loved the energy. Okay, I didn’t love it during the holidays. 🙂
I love seeing Otter Pup. Is Black Cake a good book for a book club? Maybe I’ll suggest it for mine. I haven’t read it yet.
Also wondering if you got snow at your place? Did it stick?
Black Cake is good but my club had little to say about it. I am having a hard time writing the review.
Snow. Yes!! We had three days of snow off and on. It stuck for a bit but then would get rained away. But three days of it and the mountains are still covered.