Paul is in California without me for a death in the family. We'll skip over the fact that I feel horrible being unable to travel and unable to join the family in support. When Paul left Thursday night, he took my suitcase instead of his own, which is considerably smaller because he packs significantly less than I do when we travel--especially to Europe where you often have to carry your own luggage up stairs. Anyway, it's not surprising based on our past posts about our visits to Trader Joe's in California and Washington that Paul wanted as much space as possible to do a bit of grocery shopping while on the other side of the country.

My father-in-law told me on the phone today that he and his sister had gone for a walk early this morning and when they got back to the house found Paul and his mom standing outside with Paul's/my suitcase in hand. Aunt Nancy thought Paul's flight had been changed, but no, he wanted to go to TJ's and stock up. I asked Paul how much of our monthly food budget he spent at Trader Joe's. He said 3-4 months. I wasn't sure I believed him until I logged onto the internet and saw the photograph of the suitcase in the cart at the store. I bet the owners were slightly concerned that Paul was planning something suspicious. We always have fun times exploring Trader Joe's. (It's like my Uncle Rick in a Home Depot.) I wish I could have seen the looks Paul and Nancy got from employees and patrons. Can't wait to see what he brings home when he lands tomorrow night.