Stonyford, Red Bluff, Corning...

...

Last of the Xmas Shopping: Chico Mall!

Chico Mall is radical to the max, totally tubular: it has a JC Penney AND a Forever 21 (with, I swear to GOD, the ugliest shit I've ever seen on a department store rack - I may be 40 and too old, but I'm pretty sure I still know better... BLECH!) I am happy to see a Torrid, though (hold the Beth Lisick jokes, please!), and I was able to find lovely body oil for mom, socks for my brother, and Dick's Sporting Goods is always the tops for tennis shoes, throwing knives, et cetera...

But to start, we just had to eat at Red Lobster:

And to everyone: Happy Holidays and Safe Shopping!

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(Feeling naughty or nice? Either way, links to my Gofundme, Paypal and Venmo accounts are to the right, in the sidebar under William R. Way... KTHNXBAI!)

"Patches! Here boy, Patches! *whistle*"

So I've had this hemp t-shirt by ONNO (retail value, approx. $30 - 40) for about three years. It had a hole in the abdomen caused by some shenanigan or work or another (maybe those dang Walmart suspenders...) Anyway, the fabric I wanted to patch it with, from an old Levi's shirt once belonging to my brother (and now in a rag bag for a hoodoo/Appalachia-style hand-knotted rug I'm to craft for the kitchen someday soon, but I digress...) - that fabric tends to unravel once cut, so instead of stitching, I adhered the patch with Krazy glue, which darkened the patch nicely and gave it a sparkly effect. Cute, somewhat girly-boy, and right up my alley... That with some RIT dye (azabache) before patching makes the shirt like brand-new... AND ARTSY-FAGGY!

(Full disclosure: this kind of fix is okay when I do it, because even though I use a mild detergent, I do so in a machine with cold water... Unlikely the patch will come off in the next few washes... And kids, here's a tip: for certain contusions, or if a cut person is on blood thinners like Coumadin, Krazy glue is a first-aid godsend; if you or your baby sitter or mom stick two fingers together by accident or otherwise get it on skin, a soak in a bowl of warm, soapy - Dawn, or somesuch dishwashing detergent - will help you get the stuff off...)

!!!

(Feeling gushy for the holidays, or drunk? My venmo.com and paypal.me links are to the right, in the sidebar under William R. Way...! Many hearts guys!)

Shopping Day in Willows (ZIP 95988)

Can't go shopping on an empty stomach...

...So fish and chips at Black Bear Diner...

...Where, by the way, the Marine Corps Reserve has a Toys For Tots campaign - be sure to drop off new, unwrapped toys! (Willows Black Bear Diner, off the Interstate 5)

Then on to Walmart...

...All the boys/Think she's a spy/She's got/Bette Davis eyes...

...AY! But they've still got this often-not-good ground beef from their Clackamas, OR interest, Interstate Meat on sale... Now in bigger sizes than EVAR! (I highly recommend against buying it, btw...)

And here we are, checking out...

...And we drive past the fall almond orchards...

...Only to arrive home, glared at by ungrateful cats...

Ahhh, dinner!

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If you're feeling generou$$, Gofundme, Paypal and Venmo links in the right sidebar under William R. Way...

95988 ZIP (Willows, California - Just Off the I-5 Corridor in Glenn County)

Physical therapy, Black Bear Diner delish, lots of shopping, and... PHOTOGRAPHY!

Pretty painted stone, found in situ...

...Hoosegow...

...Mixed with Starbucks hot cocoa and creamer, the Guy Fieri chocolate mint for Keurig can't be beat!

Mom's all settled at physical therapy (no, she's not blind, just kind of dickin'...)

...So I head afuera...

...RILLY?

Pause for the cause.

I'm 40 and funny-looking, and in love with a dude whom I haven't seen in almost a month...

...Anyway, to the back alleys of Willows!

Historical buildings, cool shopping, and that radio tower!

REAL JOURNALISM! Tim and company really take it to the mat! A newspaper with heart and a purpose...

Dandelions make me think of drifters and weeds...

Can't go shopping on an empty stomach, and can't go wrong with Black Bear Diner - all over Northern California and Oregon!

Play Misty for me, Mom!

I've had this for breakfast, and it's pretty bomb.

The reuben is excellent, and habanero sauce goes great with onion rings, IMHO (I wanted the Waldorf, but I'd already eaten chicken salad the night before.)

#02053!

I must say, despite my malingering grudge against their Clackamas-based Interstate subsidiary, the #02053 store is clean and orderly, and seldom out of what I want or need...

Check-out is often a breeze. (And our cashier was que linda!)

On the way home, we pass Thunder Hill Raceway. They have a restaurant, and a racetrack for your car. (No, they do not have Nicole Kidman in her DAYS OF THUNDER hair.)

Beautiful pastureland (a lot of Northern California looks like this, from Sonoma and Solano to Butte, really...)

...Finally, home to lovely Stonyford, California, home of the Stonyford Museum, Hester Ranch (organic! Beef!), and an entrance to Mendocino National Forest...

_-_-_

(Yesterday, we said good-bye to an old classmate, Chris Buchanan, who passed away due to cancer. RIP, Chris - I'll always remember you from my youth as a super stand-up guy. You will be missed.)