Meanderings.

I have a pretty distinct mental checklist I follow for emptying the car of stuff if I'm ever planning on needing to leave it overnight for service or whatever, but apparently I need a card in my wallet with a checklist for unplanned instances, like having to abandon it in Shootin' Buddy's garage until I get fresh keys.

This morning Bobbi asked if I was good for transportation, and I replied that of course I was. I could Uber to the Bimmer dealership and back and, if I needed to do any errands, this is Broad Ripple and I have a bicycle with ample baskets.

Then she left for work and I realized that my garage door opener is still clipped to the sun visor of the Zed Drei in Lafayette.

While it is still technically possible to get my bike out of the garage, and then out of the locked gates in the back yard, and then get everything all locked up again without having a garage door opener, it's pretty much a "missionaries & cannibals" exercise and too much hassle to be worth it except for dire needs.

Fortunately, Fresh Market and the various restaurants at 54th & College are a pretty easy stroll. Heck, the neighborhood is walkable enough that, if one worked from home, a car...or even a bicycle...wouldn't be absolutely necessary. I remember walking to the neighborhood grocery store with my grandmother in Chicago when I was in grade school; it was a little closer, but not much. She had a collapsible wire two-wheeled grocery cart to haul her goodies in... (Note to self: Grandma wasn't dumb. Look into one of those.)

It was a beautiful day for it, too. Low seventies and sunny. I grabbed lunch, a Chicago dog at Fat Dan's, before heading over to Fresh Market for groceries.

"It could be like this all year 'round and I wouldn't complain," I remarked to the cashier at Fresh Market.

"Yeah, but we couldn't afford to live anyplace with weather like this year 'round," he pointed out. "I'll shovel snow a few times a year in exchange for the nice low cost of living."

Fair point.