Wednesday and Thursday

 

Lemons and Lace

The lemons are from the garden.  The silver fruit basket was a gift from my late friend A one Christmas.  The lace table cover was crocheted by my mother.

On Wednesday, I went grocery shopping at the Armenian store.  They were having a sale on salmon fillets ($7.99/lb.) and I wanted to buy some to cook for dinner (my daughter loves salmon).  I also bought some chicken drumsticks ($0.99/lb.) and thinly sliced beef shoulder steaks ($5.99/lb.)  In addition, I bought some half and half, six cans of coconut water (on sale for $0.99@), bread rolls, a cucumber, broccoli, onions, sweet potatoes, bananas, mangos, and nectarines.  My total came to $43.53.

When I went to pay, the cashier said my $100 note was not valid because one edge of it was torn.  I had recently received the note from a teller at the bank, so, I knew the note was valid.  I asked if there was a manager and the cashier called the manager over who looked at my note and said it was fine.  

Meanwhile, in the checkout line next to me, there was a bit of an altercation between a customer and a security guard, who said that the customer had opened a container of dried fruit and should, therefore, pay for it while the customer denied ever opening the container.  The security guard must have said that he has it on video, because the customer said, "Show me, show me" and the security guard pulled out his cell phone and began to show something.  By this time, I had paid for my groceries and I left the store, having claimed my cucumber which the bagger had forgotten to bag, without waiting to see how the issue between the other customer and the security guard was resolved.  

Who said grocery shopping was boring?  

After I came home, I ate half of a bread roll with the last slice of ham I had thawed, earlier.  

A short time later, gardener M arrived with a bag of top soil or soil amendment he had bought for me.  I served him a slice of blueberry yogurt cake, reimbursed him for the bag of soil, and chatted with him for a bit.  He watered the garden and prepared a planting bed for the corn I want to plant again.  I'll have another corn patch, this year, too!  

Last Year's Corn Patch

I had a long list of things I wanted to do, on Wednesday, but, I took a nap instead!  After I woke up from my nap, however, I was very productive.  I changed the bedding on my daughter's bed, did a load of laundry, vacuumed the whole house (the robot did the bedrooms while I vacuumed the living room, family room dining area, and the hallway with the big vacuum cleaner), and cooked dinner - rice, sauteed salmon, sauteed wax beans from the garden, and made a cucumber salad.  I also sauteed two chicken breasts I had defrosted.

Then, it was time to pick up daughter from the airport.  She had a safe flight home.  We had dinner and chatted a bit, before going to bed.

On Wednesday, I was grateful for:

- Daughter had a safe flight home
- M's help with the garden and picking up the bag of soil, etc. for me

- Water for the garden
- What I was able to accomplish
- Phone calls from my sister and friend R; emails from friend J

Wednesday's joyful activity was being with daughter.

Today (Thursday), daughter worked from home.  I found a few quiet activities to do while she worked (she had meetings, etc.)  I read my prayer book, ordered more groceries for pick up, and hand embroidered the baby's name, my name, and  the occasion (1st Birthday) on the baby quilt, using a chain stitch.  

Later in the afternoon, I drove to the pharmacy to pick up Dancer's medication as the vet had increased his medication dosage.  

Then, I drove to the supermarket and picked up the items I had ordered, including more half and half because the container of half and half I had bought at the Armenian store, which had a "best by" date of June 30, was curdled when I opened it, this morning!  Daughter had her coffee with regular milk, but, she prefers half and half.  I will not be buying any milk or half and half from the Armenian store after this.  I spent $31.89 at the supermarket and I know I have gone over June's grocery budget.  But, I'm close enough to the end of the month that I don't feel bad about borrowing from the July budget.  Some of the items I bought today, such as four cans of condensed milk and two bottles of salad dressing, will last well into July and maybe even August.

For lunch, today, I made subway-style sandwiches with the bread rolls, sandwiching them with sliced sauteed chicken breast (that I cooked Wednesday night), lettuce, and cucumber slices.  We had some ice cream bars for dessert.  I had a slice of the blueberry yogurt cake at tea time, but, daughter, who doesn't like yogurt, said the taste of yogurt was too strong for her.  We have leftover rice, salmon, and sauteed broccoli for our dinner, tonight.

On Thursday, I am grateful for:

- Daughter being home
- Dancer's medication being available
- Being able to order and pick up groceries
- Safe drives to the pharmacy and the grocery store and back
- A lovely warm and sunny day

Thursday's joyful activities included embroidering and listening to daughter play the piano (Dancer sang while daughter played the piano! LOL)

Daughter has a day off tomorrow (Friday).  We plan to just relax at home while she finishes crocheting the gift she's making for her goddaughter.  She has plans for the evening with some of her friends.  M and I will tend to the garden and I have a library book I need to finish reading.

How was your Thursday?  What are your plans for Friday?