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| Day 17: Storm |
Today's drawing prompt is Storm and according to my daughter, this is a cloud throwing a tantrum! LOL.
I had another relaxed day, today. I practiced the piano, cleared the kitchen counters, decanted the raisins in the opened bag into two pint sized glass jars I had washed and saved, did the dishes, watched some cooking shows on TV, made a grocery shopping list, and, later in the evening, with my daughter's help, ordered groceries to be picked up, tomorrow. I called friend R to ask her if she wanted anything from the store, before I completed my order, but, she said she didn't need anything, this time.
It has been exactly one month since my last grocery shopping pick up (on September 17). I had come to the end of a lot of the items I bought then, but, I was also quite pleased how well things kept, too. I did ask my neighbor to pick up a packet of raisins for me, earlier this month, but, this will be my main grocery shopping order, this month. I ordered bread, milk, orange juice, some fresh vegetables (cucumber, broccoli, carrots, lettuce), some frozen vegetables (green peas and corn), some fruits (banana, grapes, peaches), a bag of potatoes, eggs, meat (pork chops), smoked sausage, a packet of hot dogs and buns, some stock up items such as rice and instant cup of noodles, and a couple of toiletry items (soap and toothpaste; I still have most of the package of soap I bought in March, but, there was a sale on them, this week, and I thought it would be a good item to stock up). Of course, I won't know, till tomorrow, if everything I ordered will be available. I okayed substitutions if necessary.
Shortly after that, neighbor S called me. It was her mother's birthday, they had a family celebration, and would I like some barbecued meat and kebabs, fresh fruit, potatoes her daughter had made, and a piece of chocolate olive oil cake that her daughter had also made? Well, of course I said, "Yes, please!" A few minutes later, S brought me a feast:
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| Dinner Plus! Compliments of S! |
I had just enough time to put one of the frilly scarves I had knitted into a gift bag with a card as a gift to her mother, L, before S brought me the dinner! I am so glad I had something on hand to give!
I had some of the meat and potatoes with a salad for dinner, followed by a small slice of the cake. It was all very delicious and I have plenty of leftovers for another meal or two. Have I mentioned I am blessed with some lovely, caring neighbors? They spoil me!
I took the fruit off the skewers and put them into a small, covered dish; I will probably have them for breakfast, tomorrow. The skewers were washed and saved, along with the skewers from the prior serving of fruit I received from S, earlier in the month; I am keeping them to reuse them, one day in the future. Of course, I am someone who is known to wash and reuse things like aluminum foil and sandwich baggies, much to the chagrin of some of my family members! LOL. It was something I learned to do when I was a university student, earning $2.10 minimum wage per hour (by the time taxes and other deductions were taken out, it came to $1.90 per hour). It was a long time ago (1970s), but, frugal habits die hard!
Today, I am grateful for:
- Kind neighbors who bless me with dinner and more
- Daughter helping me with ordering the groceries
- Having a gift on hand to give S's mother
- Relaxed days
- Glass jars
Today's joyful activity was enjoying the dinner provided by neighbor S!
Tomorrow would have been my mother's birthday. My plans include a visit to the cemetery and then, picking up the groceries I ordered.
How was your day? What are your plans for tomorrow?
You really are blessed to have such wonderful friends and neighbours.
ReplyDeleteBeing able to pick up the groceries the day after you order them is good service or were you just lucky to get a vacant slot. I'd expected to have to wait a couple of weeks to get a vacant collection slot here.
Tomorrow (Monday) I am hoping to go to the animal park with L if it is fine, or out to lunch if rain stops play!
It seems like there are plenty of grocery pick up slots available at this end, at least, these days. At the very beginning, when we were still under lockdown, I had to wait a couple of days, but, never as long as a couple of weeks even then. I received an email, this morning, saying my order has been assembled. So far, I haven't received a text saying anything was unavailable, so, I am hopeful that I will receive everything I ordered.
DeleteHope you can go to the animal park and take lots of pictures! If not, lunch out will be fun, too. :)
And not only do your neighbors bless you with food, they bless you with good food. Yes, you all treat each other well.
ReplyDeleteYes, especially food that I don't usually make for myself. It was a treat to get barbecue and scalloped potatoes, not to mention the cake! :)
DeleteThat does look like quite a little feast. So nice that you have such great neighbors. Enjoy! :)
ReplyDeleteThey are some of the best neighbors and we have become good friends over the years. My daughter and her daughters played and grew up together (they are still friends) and neighbor S is my piano teacher! She taught piano to my daughter, too. :)
DeleteThat's so nice that your neighbor S always thinks of you when they have a celebration or any extra food.
ReplyDeleteI wash my bags too lol as well as foil if it's not overly dirty and baked on.
I just can't see throwing something away that is still useful.
That's funny that you still remember your pay from so many years ago.
My first job was at McDonald's in 1973 and I made $1.60 an hour and couldn't believe how much money my paycheck was. :)
It really is very kind of S to think of me, isn't it? She is such a generous person.
DeleteHa, ha, glad to see that someone else also rinses out bags and foil! If I had stored raw meat in a freezer bag, I generally toss that, but, if it is something else, then, I will wash it out and reuse it! Foil with baked on things get tossed, but, foil used to just cover something will be washed and reused.
$1.60 was a lot of money those days, wasn't it? I used to round off my hourly wage to $2 when I wanted to calculate how long I'd have to work to pay for something I wanted to buy, which is probably why I still remember what I earned back then. I might have told this story before, but, there was a pair of fake fur lined boots in the second-hand store on campus (run by wives of faculty and staff) that cost $8; I had spent my first winter in Wisconsin without any boots and was approaching the second winter, there - probably late October. I was trying to save up the $8 to buy those boots and would go past the little store every week, just to check if the boots were still there. One day, a lady I had made friends with in the community asked me why I was wearing sneakers when it was getting so close to winter and I told her I was saving up to buy the boots. She told me that it had been a very long time since she had to save up to buy a pair of boots (she held a good position in the post office at the time), gave me $8, told me she wanted to see me wearing the boots the next time she saw me and said to consider it an early birthday present! I shall never forget that!
What a wonderful story of kindness.
ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing it with us.
I wore those boots until I left Wisconsin. They were a little too much for California, so I donated them. There have been many kind people who have blessed me over the years. I try to pass it on when I can. :)
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