Grocery Pick-Up

We have now picked up groceries twice and had them delivered twice. I like picking them up. They are so efficient. All employees were wearing masks. They do not touch the vehicle. I open the door where we want the sacks located and then close it after they put them inside.

They had this service quite some time before the present situation. It is really a convenience. We may just do this from now on.

Nice warm day here - so someone turned on the AC. I have a blanket over my legs.

April 29, 1952

The second most important day in my life.

The first was when my parents adopted me and gave me wonderful life. "Only child" is dirty word - phrase - but if you mean I had lots of stuff, I did. I also had lots of love, care, teaching of morals and discipline, applied with swats on the bottom. No slaps or abuse but plenty of corrections!

And now, the Other Day. The day I met Lee and had a blind date. He had a date with another girl in the dorm but she had received a letter from her boy friend and decided she didn't want to go out. (the idea of not cheating.) So she asked if I would go on this double date with another girl and her boy friend. Sure. Anything to help a friend and a sailor home on leave.

On seeing the last name on the key chain in the 1948 coupe, I thought, "What a weird last name. Never heard that one before."

We had a picnic with fried chicken made by Lee's mom. She was a good cook! We went to a place near the river where for some forgotten reason Lee went wading. It was a grand time.

Three and a half months later, we were married. And yes, our oldest son arrived as all the gossips held their breath, seven years later.

We are so blessed. We've had our good times and bad, but so blessed to never be out of work. Sixty- eight years. My mother-in-law told me they didn't come to the manse where we got married because she figured it wouldn't last and she didn't want to be a witness to the crime! By the way, she and I got along great.  She was tough but I was lucky - she liked me and I liked her. In later years she had a different opinion, but I blame that on age and mental outlook.

So celebrating today on a blind date that turned out O. K. (We appear to be a little cracked.)

Who Knew?

I have been ordering a prescription every month for almost a year. Let's say it costs x number of dollars for one month supply. 

Yesterday I drove through the pharmacy area and picked up the pills. Instead of x dollars it was 3x dollars. I luckily had more than that in my wallet.

Shocked at why it would go up triple amount in one month, I came home and opened the sack. I had three bottles of medicine instead of one. I began figuring (and this took a lot of brain power!) and I had eight months of pills for the price of three months when buying them every thirty days.

Who knew there was a discount in volumes of pills?

Monday Could Be the Best Day

I had my grocery list. I hadn't ordered online since Easter so I was rusty on the site.

I finally got everything ordered and couldn't find the site to view my "cart." Finally I found it - after signing out and figuring I had deleted the whole thing.

The choice for delivery to our porch was two hours or five hours. I picked five. It was two minutes till 10:00. The estimate was between 11:00 am and 3:00 pm.

About forty-five minutes later the doorbell rang. Groceries were here! I could hardly believe it. We got everything we ordered in the food category.  Some Air Wyck thingy was broken accidentally so we didn't get that but we were not charged for it.

Putting it all away was almost fun. What a system! It's back to the twenties and thirties when they delivered milk to your door and groceries if you wanted the store to do that!

Day Forty-Two

But who's counting? I am and I don't mind it a bit. As I have said earlier, we don't go very many places normally. We used to bring home a pizza once in a while but not lately.

I have heard all they have said about how to stay safe. I am still not sure how bringing carry-out food home is safe. I guess we will just do the best we can and stay home.

I may cancel another doctor appointment next week. I last saw this doctor  six months ago and as far as I can tell, nothing has changed. Next week may bring up something different but so far, so good.

I hope you are finding fun things to do at home.

Chili in April

We like chili any time of the year. So I made a batch yesterday. Lee announced it delicious. I told him to thank Mrs. McCormick. I do add some other stuff - a shot of Liquid Smoke, a couple of shakes of Worcestershire Sauce, celery, green pepper, onions and of course canned tomatoes and kidney beans.

We are so easily pleased.

Today it will be Beef Stew. And then, leftovers for a while. With soup and sandwiches in between.

I read that we should eat a 1 1/4 vegetables every day and a cup of fruit daily. We don't quite meet that requirement but we're still here and eating.

People!

This morning I sat in a parking lot for forty-five minutes, watching people go in and out of a place of business. I estimate that 90% were not wearing masks. All ages - young, old and middle aged. Perhaps they don't watch television news or read the guide lines that have been published.

PEOPLE!  Please protect yourself and others. Our county has fifteen cases and several other possible patients with the virus.

I cannot believe that several states are opening tattoo parlors and gyms.

This is a serious time.

Temperatures

We have seventy-two degrees at 1:00p.m. I think I'll spend some time on the back porch. It is screened in and in the winter, someone puts plastic up to keep the snow off the porch. The first year we did not do that. Lots of snow. Since then we have arranged to tack up the plastic barrier. Not so much snow at all. This last fall, we didn't get it installed but there was still very little snow! 

Can you tell I am running out of things to  blog about?

Helpers?

Today we had to make a trip to the drug store to get an item Lee needed for his health. We both wore masks. I stayed in the car as usual. He left the van and a middle aged woman WITHOUT a mask approached him and took his arm and helped him into the building. She even offered to wait and help him back to the car! He declined. People are very nice and thoughtful - except where was  her mask?

As he came out, another woman, slightly older than the first, approached him and offered to help. He said no, he was fine. As she passed the window on the passenger side she told me that he hadn't wanted to accept her help. She was probably a foot away from him - with his mask on.

I would probably do it, but he wouldn't; "Please back away six feet."

Don't tell me people are all complying. As I sat there, most of the older people were wearing masks but none of the teen age types were. And these two nice, helpful women who evidently don't have a clue.

Slight Snow

We also need to harvest that field of  green.

Calls!

Today was a first for our house. We received a call about a possible warranty on our vehicle.(We don't answer unknown numbers so they left a message.) It had expired. I would guess so since it's a 1998 model. If we would like to speak to an agent and get a new warranty they will connect us.

Then comes on another voice advising us that all their agents were busy helping others so we could hold or leave our number and they would call us back.

So we get a call that leaves a message to put us on hold? Weird.

Got that one twice today. Each call was from a different town where we don't know anyone.

P.S. We had a slight snow this morning. I have a picture but somehow this one does not want to download.

Morning Nap?

I woke up early and watched an hour of TV. Went back to sleep without meaning to. I use a CPAP machine and I had taken it off, turned it off and was just lying there watch some news.

Well, I fell asleep about 8:00, slept through lunch and woke up at 1:15. This is not a a good plan. In fact, it was not a plan at all.

After some lunch, I'm feeling better. I guess Lee is too. If he had been really hungry, he would have fixed himself something. He used to cook a lot when I worked and we had left-overs.

So we'll see how the rest of the day goes.

Out of the House

This is the first time we have had to go anywhere for over a week. In fact, the last time I was in another building was March 15th. (I may have mentioned this before.) That was when I went into the grocery store.

Lee had a doctor's appointment. He wore a mask and at the door, they took his temperature.
He wasn't there long for a follow-up. I waited in the car. As chief cook and bottle washer and driver -
I have driven several places for him. We both wore masks today. A woman in a car parked in front of me in the lot signaled with  her mask that I could take mine off. I just smiled and left it on. Maybe she thought I didn't know that I don't need it unless I am near someone. I figure even driving down the street with it on is a message. Probably a message that they thank that woman is weird. Don't care!

I think many people aren't using them at all. They are required at the grocers now. And the clinic.

Stay safe.

Monday

Our overnight freeze can't compare with what happens "up north" but 28 F. is cold enough to damage some buds. On the roller coaster ride, we may have 64 by Wednesday.

I am so thankful that we have a grocer who can get food out to us in only a few days. Reports from Texas say a week or more for pick-up! In Washington it sounds as though you have to make an appointment. We are lucky/blessed to be in a small town.

Stay safe.

Saturday - A Day Late

The usual things go on around here. Have coffee and some kind of breakfast. Read the paper.

Have lunch. I outdid myself. I fixed tuna and noodles and scalloped cabbage. I think the second one was first made in eighth grade cooking class. Lee really likes both of those dishes.

Well, with the chopping, boiling, combining and baking, I was ready for a nap. It turned out to be almost a full night's sleep.

In other words, my night is from right after lunch till six hours later. I am not liking this and I really plan to do something about it. After this craziness, I am up half the night watching old movies on TCM.

So today after sleeping a few more hours until about 7:00 a.m., I ordered groceries online. The only other time we did this we picked them up at the store. That usually has a charge of $4.95, but Dillons (Krogers) has dropped that charge during this "stay at home time." The time we could have picked it up on Wednesday was the time of Lee's appointment with the doctor! I changed it to Home Delivery for $9.95 and it will be here this afternoon between 2:00 and 3:00. The last time I remember getting food delivered was in the 1930's when the milk man came by.

Later:  The groceries arrived at 3:45 !  What a deal! Thank you, Dillon's (Kroger's)

Odd Colors

I finished this afghan today. The colors didn't come out quite like I imagined they would. The twelve rows in the middle and the rows between the colors were supposed to be variegated. The skein looked like that type of coloring but obviously it is not. In some brands it is called "striped" but this one did not indicate either variegated or stripe.

It is washed and tomorrow I will trim the fringe. I'll never catch up with my sister-in-law!

Warm Days Until They Aren't

Yesterday we missed our record high temperature for the date by one degree - 88. Wonderful sunshine after a long week of clouds.

Then last night the TV weather man said we are three days from rain and four days from possible snow showers.

Another usual spring around here.

Another Tool

We bought this since we moved back to Kansas. It is very handy if you have regular height ceilings and don't want to stand on a step ladder.

I used it to replace two light bulbs in the garage yesterday. A few months ago it was a bulb in a clothes closet that had gone out. I am certain bulbs do not last as long as they used to!

Thanks to whoever invented this "thing."

An Old Trivet

This was in the photo yesterday under the carrots. I was making this sixty-eight years ago this summer. Each of those circles enclose a soda pop cap. (We called it pop here in the middle of the country. I know - elsewhere it's "soda." There are Grapette and Orange Soda tops in there.

It does look like I might need to wash it. I guess I was afraid it would rust before it dried.

This was part of the stuff I was doing to use when we got married in August. Met him in April, married in August.  And they said it wouldn't last.

Shrunken Carrots

Well, there has to be a  problem somewhere - maybe with the cook. I found a recipe for air fried carrots cooked to perfection (according to the photo) in an air fryer.

When I tried, the final dish was not as photogenic as the one on the world wide web. They were shrinking half way through when I shook the basket. At the end of the time I didn't think they were quite done but I was afraid they were going to shrink away to tooth pick size.

Someone said they were rubbery. The recipe said brown sugar glazed carrots are delicious.  I guess we may stay with potatoes and Brussels sprouts.

Air Fryer

I don't use it every day but when I do, I love it.

Today I made potatoes to go with minute steaks. The hardest part for me is getting the potatoes cut into uniform sized pieces! I see those tools advertised on TV that will cut any vegetable into evenly sized pieces. That would be a good solution.

But today I lucked out! They didn't all look the same but they were all done and tasty. Tossed with a little oil and some Texas steak seasoning - they are very good. I always had trouble frying potatoes that were cut into slices like my mom did. Turning them in the skillet and getting them all cooked through was not easy for me.

These are great!

Casserole for One

Isn't this a cute little casserole?  It measure 4 3/4" across the top and 1 1/2 " deep. I don't know where the lid came from - something my mom had. But the bottom is actually part of an electrical unit. My dad was an electrician and he brought this home. On the bottom it says, "PYREX T.M. REG. U.S. PAT. OFF. MADE IN U.S.A."  Still on the bottom, near the little lip it says "LINE."

I wish I knew what service it performed. What a neat coincidence that the lid fits!

The Substitute Cook

I've never felt creative when I cooked. I get a recipe and follow it exactly. Last week I copied one from the internet that sounded good. The ingredients all seemed to be on hand so I started it for lunch today.

First of all, I didn't write the name of the dish. I did include all the ingredients - 1/2 lb hamburger was the first one. However, There were no directions included. Do I brown it? Mix it raw with all the other stuff? Does it go in the oven as a casserole?

One cup of canned tomatoes. None in the cupboard so I squirted in some ketchup. I did have carrots, potatoes, onions and raw rice. No celery but I had part of a green pepper so that was chopped with the other veggies and added.

Oops, no beef broth! The amount of broth called for (3/4 cup) was replaced with water, added soy sauce, Worcestereshire Sauce and a couple of drops of liquid smoke. It looked like beef broth. Salt and pepper.

I decided to brown the hamburger, add the vegetables and "broth" and rice and let it cook in a skillet.

Lee loved it.  There's enough for another meal.

Dog(s) Gone

I think it was Sunday. We were taking out the trash and somehow the garage door was left open. Two small, rescued dogs hit the road chasing some cats that Someone is feeding in our garage. We cannot walk or run fast enough to chase them. So Someone started out on his battery powered chair. I got in the van and we started to search.

We came to a drive way and parking area where I could drive up to the edge and look east into a field. Lee had gotten in the van by now. I got out, leaving the car run. I wobbled up to the fence that was open in many places. No dogs in sight. Back to the car. I couldn't get the gear shift out of park!
Good grief! What else? Lee looked disgusted and started to get out and come around to the driver side. He doesn't drive any longer but I'm sure he thought his strength could make it work.

Suddenly I realized the car wasn't running. Well, heck! I had left it run on purpose. So I told him. He came back to the passenger side and climbed in. I asked him why he had turned the ignition off. He thought he heard a dog bark. It would have been nice if he had told me that.

After many trips around the neighborhood and telling three different people who were walking about the missing dogs, we headed back home. Looking straight west from our drive, I saw the three walkers and the two little untrained, mutts, rescued dogs running toward us! We waved our thanks to the unknown neighbors and got the two tired dogs into the house.

That was not a fun day. Tired and stressed out was the result of that caper.