Be brave...

 Well, it had to be done, sooner or later.  After giving cash gifts to several relatives, and ordering gifts on line for others, I realized that the time had come for me to finally brave the mall.  Today was the day. I did fortify myself by enjoying a very good Chinese lunch with a friend first.  She treated me for my birthday, which made it even better.  So off I went.  I did visit some of my favorite stores, especially the games and more shop and Barnes & Noble.  My assignment at B&N was to buy some books for my six-year-old soon to be step-granddaughter.  She's in first grade so I looked for books she could read or enjoy having read to her.  I looked at the Barbie fairy tales book but it just didn't thrill me, then I explored further and discovered three books I think she will like.  One is all about dinosaurs, which she loves, one is an easy to read book of poems called "My Parents Think I'm Sleeping."  And finally, one of my all time favorite books "Blueberries for Sal."  I really hope I get to read that one to her.  On my way out of the mall, having achieved my main missions, and taking a quick detour through Macy's, I spotted a lovely, long swishy dress that appeared by the tag to be a returned item, on sale, although the price wasn't marked.  The size tag was missing, but it looked about right so I tried it on.  It had long tight sleeves, but not uncomfortably so, and the skirt was floor length on me, which is rare. I couldn't zip it all the way up the back because I didn't have anyone to help me, but it felt like it might work, so I carefully took it off and went in search of a sales clerk or cashier.  This is not an easy task in Macy's these days, but I did finally find a cashier and asked her if she could figure out the size and tell me what the sale price was.  I was delighted to learn that it was a size eight (since I usually wear a 12) but when I learned that the marked down price was $299, I quickly told myself that it was really too tight and walked away.  Ah well, it was fun to try on, and my mall shopping is done for this year.