I actually went to the mall today.  Not to buy gifts, but to get a battery and some other parts for my lawn tractor.  With five days off, I was planning to catch up on some yard work:  picking up and composting leaves, making mulch out of the tree branches I’d trimmed last month, and generally cleaning things up.  It looks like I won’t be doing much outside work in the next few days, though:  it’s going to be very cold and wet until Wednesday.

I was surprised at how empty the stores were.  I got a parking place within the first 10 rows, there were no major crowds in the stores, and no long lines at the checkout counters.  News reports had said that sales were down from expectations and that retailers were expecting a big rush on the last weekend before Christmas.  I don’t know about the rest of the country, but it certainly didn’t happen here.  Perhaps the weather (cold and wet) kept people home.  The exception was the grocery store, where yesterday Debra had to park in the very last row and wait in line for a shopping cart.  There were actually empty shelves and signs apologizing for being out of turkeys and other holiday items.  One of our friends went to the same grocery store today and reported similar results.  I just don’t understand the last-minute attitude.