"We just let a random stranger into our house!"

Last night we went shopping at Costco.

Let me rephrase that slightly. In the unwavering conviction that we didn't want to get burned by the often experienced "Costco Conundrum", we went back to Costco last night, a scant four nights since we had first seen a nice looking bathroom vanity in the aisle at Costco last Friday night. The "Costco Conundrum" is, of course, that experience by which you see something you want at Costco, but can't afford it at that time; some time later, you return to purchase the item, only to find that it is no longer carried.

Mrs. Spit wanted, I think in a fit of madness, to go back on Saturday to pick it up.

Costco.

On a Saturday.

Surely I'm not the only one who sees the folly in this statement. Heck, we make a point of NOT going to Costco on a weekend because it's always a somewhat frenzied hive of activity, with the crush of humanity who has driven into town from afar for the sole purpose of loaded up three carts and a flatbed with supplies for their corner store in Outer Armpit, Alberta - or worse, Beyond Nowhere, Northwest Territories. Would that I was making this up, I'm not.

Reason and sanity prevailed, and we returned with our mostly great little Jetta station wagon to pick up the vanity. This is, almost, the last piece we need before we can do our little bathroom renovation this winter. It would have been the last, but the faucet we bought a few years ago is, I believe, a single unit with supply pipes at 4 inches on centre. The vanity we picked up is made for a faucet with holes 8 inches on centre. Signature Hardware, here we come again. But then, they are an absolutely amazing online retailer that I will continue to frequent as long as I need hardware. Sure, they're not free, but the service? Excellent all around.

After paying for our new acquisition (a box weighing 165 pounds counts as more than a mere purchase, don't you think?) we were asked if we wanted some help loading it. After a short pause, we nodded our heads thankfully. We were directed where to pull up with our car and we were off. When we pulled up to the loading area, there was a questioning look to the Costco employee's face when I started rearranging the car seats. I think it was the "trunk" aka retractable cargo cover behind the back seats. He didn't think that the huge box would fit in the small car - being that we live in the province o'pickup trucks and all. Once that obstacle was surmounted, we were in business.

Tipping the box up and sliding it into the car, with some shuffling around of sundry items, we were loaded and ready to take off for home. Our wagon was mostly full, but it swallowed it. I don't know how people manage with sedans, no cargo capacity! On getting home, it stayed in the car as Mrs. Spit was a touch under the weather.

This evening, Mrs. Spit was to go meet up with her mother for some shopping. And could we unload the wee box? Grudgingly, we got dressed for the weather and proceeded to unload the box. I was trying to get one end of the box arranged so she could lift one side. A bit of a hiccup almost left the box - marked fragile in several places - tumbling to the snow-covered pavement. At that time, a random guy walking down the sidewalk asked us if we wanted a hand. Gladly!

The dogs were quite put out when the saw a stranger walking backwards up our front steps, carrying the rather large box. After Mrs. Spit opened the front door and corralled the dogs, who were barking furiously, away from the front entrance, we got it inside and into the front room. We thanked the stranger, who managed to avoid getting nibbled on by the English Mastiff, and saw him off.

Which is how we ended up, standing in the front entrance, with Mrs. Spit commenting to me in some minor discomfort that "We just let a random stranger into our house!" After consideration that there was nothing visible worth stealing, and that we very obviously had two dogs who would delight in greeting an intruder, the moment of distress passed and we were able to continue with our evening.