Old Age Day by Day January 30, 2012

I'm reading a series of mysteries by Louise Penny.  She is delightful.  She sets them in a small village outside of Montreal.  The characterization is vivid and the plots interesting.  Her philosophising is so intelligent and provocative that there is a lot of resonance to each one, and also a lot about art in each.  I read one, went back to my local mystery store and bought another, then found the others in another indie bookstore and bought the lot.  It is a treat to get to know this fictional world, and see the characters grow and change.

Yesterday I had fun having brunch with my younger daughter and daughter-in-law, and then shopping at Macy's.  My daughter-in-law was spending her Xmas gift certificate, and we wandered the isles, and she and my daughter tried on clothes, and I found a pair of my favorite jeans Not Your Daughter's Jeans - for 50% off.  I'm having to cut them off, because they aren't petite, but it's worth it.  I also got two tee shirts on sale, and imagined myself in a lot of dressy clothes without going to the waste of actually trying them on or buying them.  My daughter-in-law came home with a new watch and jeans, and my daughter with nothing, but she's proud of her frugality, so she was pleased enough.  Every time I'm in Macy's now I wonder if it will be the last time, as the day of department stores is over.  I only get to Macy's now about three times a year.  I don't really shop that way.  I'm not much of an online shopper, but I have favorite little stores, and for underwear and socks I end up at Target or a little local department store in Oakland.  I do shop locally, and independently mostly, but it's a strange world of now big stores, except for the hideous ones, which I avoid.  Target is getting to be less satisfying as well, as it morphs into a grocery store.  I go less and less.  So I am watching this transition, but ambivalent about it.  My kids, well, they are online shoppers.  They have no nostalgia, and no loyalty, and online serves them better.  But me, I liked the deja vu of yesterday's outting, reminding me of big trips to Richmond, Virginia, and the magic of the big department stores, and the perfume smells and lights and mannequins.  Soon to be over.