Much Free Food; We Won; Even Cheaper Gas

 Wednesday was so busy. It was a matter of getting up to leave at 9:30 and go to Cullman. Getting my mail was important since I have not picked it up at PO in almost two weeks. There was the pickup lunch, and a lecture to attend. 

I awoke too early, hot as usual! But, I was able to watch a bit of the Today Show, eat breakfast leisurely, read blogs, read some news, and bathe without feeling rushed. I had scrambled six eggs for breakfast yesterday and put up three for today. Usually, I bathe, get dressed, and take my eggs and a glass of milk in the car. 

The day was so bright I could barely see! We picked up four lunches and went to the site of the pickling lecture. We eat in the parking lot under a tree. When we came to the site, we saw a beautiful white horse out in the sun eating a tall weed. There were four other horses, all brown, under a stand of trees that were planted for harvesting. The brown horses stood so still, sort of looking off into the trees. I surmised the heat did not affect the white horse so it could stand the sun and heat. I could be wrong. Maybe that breed can stand heat better. ???

Lunch today: hamburger, hotdog, condiment packets, huge slice of beautiful tomato and good amount of lettuce leaves for the hamburger. Since we got four, we had dinner tonight, too. 

As soon as we went into the building, there were Covid tests to take home. I got one but Tommy did not get one when he came by.  The young woman gave a demonstration of quick pickles along with a six-page handout. Each person also received a little bag of bay leaves and one of dried dill seeds, Mrs Wage's pickling mix. There was a lunch, too.

I got a portion of a sub with spicy meat and turkey and a tiny egg sandwich and a tiny tuna sandwich. I ate the filling of the tiny sandwiches and took the slice of sub with me. There were five jars of pickled relish and other stuff the young woman had made. The handout had the recipes for those. There was a huge container with water that had herbs in it. Tommy tried all the pickled garnishes for the sandwich but not the sandwich. 

Toward the end there was a drawing for door prizes--jar of blueberry jam, two small jars of smoked honey, quart jar of pickled pears, pint of canned pears, two half-dozen cartons of fresh eggs, two pints of freshly-picked grape tomatoes. All the door prizes were locally prepared. My name was drawn fourth and I chose blueberry jam, changed my mind and chose fresh eggs. Tommy's name was drawn and he chose the pint of pears. We were so pleased both our names were drawn. We came home with 6 pretty, colored eggs and a pint of pears. 

There was a donation jar for the catered lunch. We only had a $1 bill between us. So, that was that. The day was hot (heat index of 105). The only time Tommy got out of the car was to go into and out of the building. I did the same, plus went into and out of the store. He did go out to water the flowers after 7 pm. He said it was very warm, but not hot. At 10 pm, it is still 83F. 

We went to one store. I bought the huge can of Argo peaches for $1.99, and four pouches of Betty Crocker fudge brownie mix for $1.19 each. These were $1.09 about four months ago and $0.99 last year. These are small and make few brownies, but we don't need many brownies, if any at all. Freezing extras won't help since I like frozen fudge brownies.

About ten miles down the interstate, we realized we had not gone to PO! Well, I was in no mood to return, and he did not offer. He would have if I had asked. 

These days, we carry two bottles of water apiece. Tommy insists he does not need even one bottle. But, after seeing reports about the dangers of the heat and how people need to carry water, he does bring along four bottles. Of course, I do emphasize that water could save our lives if the car breaks down. I usually grab one from the table where I have been drinking it and carry it along, too. 

Gas was $3.51. Amazing! 

When you go out, do you make sure you have plenty of water? 

Do you like or attend demonstrations?

Is the price of gas falling more where you live? 

Strawberry Fields Forever and Rivers and Second Vaccine

 Dinner Tuesday night was sliced, baked chicken, sweet potato, cabbage. Getting two sweet potatoes into the oven was the hardest part. 

I finally got all the strawberries capped, washed, and sliced. Now, there is a huge bowl of strawberries ready to eat, freeze, or cook. 

Tuesday night, I did not get enough sleep but was happy I slept four hours. I wanted to get up and 8:30 and leave by 9 AM. But, unfortunately, I awoke at 7:30 and, left by 9 AM.

We had plans for Wednesday: 

*Get second Covid vaccine. 

*Pick up lunch at church.

*Eat in park at lake with friends.

Attend a lecture about rivers  under a pavilion. 

Well, as I left the house, I turned back to get  a sweater. It was frigid, cloudy and so blustery. When I got into the car, I told Tommy I was doing nothing outdoors, that if we could not hear the lecture from the car, we would just miss it. Or, he could get out and I would sit in the car. And, we were not sitting at the lake with friends. He had not even brought a light coat! 

We both now have the second vaccine. The woman pushed me right in to the table to get the vaccine. It was over in 45 seconds or less. I did not even feel the needle go in. Tommy had to walk the length of the building pushing his walker. When he finally arrived, it was time for me to leave, the end of my 15 minutes to wait for a reaction. 

We had plenty of time to get to the church as it is right near the hospital. So, we headed over to the site for the lecture--Peinhardt Living Heritage Farm. We were able to pull right to the pavilion. With both windows down and the guy using a handheld microphone, neither of us had trouble hearing. Lectures are right up my alley. Tommy like them, too. 

We both took our walkers out to walk in the pavilion and talk and browse. Tommy does not spend money on books, but bought one here--Alabama Rivers--A Celebration and Challenge. So did I.  Right now, he is reading. 

There was a table with items for sale. I chose a turtle that looks like it is carved from stone. Plants were on sale, 1/2 off. Now, I have the Hosta I want. Both items were a total of $3. I think this must have been the remains of a garage sale. 

The friends we were meeting had a pair of wooden birds for me. We picked up those and talked for a minute. By this time, the sun was coming out.

THEN, I asked to go to the farm to buy more strawberries. It is a long way, but he was okay with it. The sweet potato farmer directed me to go the strawberry field where they were picking. The farmer's kid got us a fresh basket, we paid and were on our way. This added another 20 miles to the trip home.

On the way back through town, we dropped off the papers for the attorney. 

The clouds were almost all gone and the sun shone brightly the rest of the trip. Of course, we ate strawberries on the way home. We are happy people. 

Others have complained about the cold, but we got it today. Today, a package was on the porch when we arrived. I got a new blanket as it was on sale 50% off. The trouble is the blanket is foam, sort of. It is Vellux. I can barely stand to touch it. Tommy was sort of surprised it was foam. It feels yucky, but maybe it will not touch me with the sheet between me and the blanket. 

After feeling ill, coughing, and running temp, I awoke feeling like I was okay with no fever or cough. But, I knew I had been sick. I went to get the second vaccine and eight hours later feel only a bit where the needle went in. I will get a test to see if I made antibodies after a few weeks, whenever my doctor says to do so.

Have you ever had a vellux blanket, with brushed nylon over foam? Are you as cold as I am?