Not your mother's market...

 My husband and I went grocery shopping at Meijer today.  We most often shop at Kroger so we weren't really familiar with the layout of the grocery section of the super Meijer near us.  I am an old fashioned make a list on paper and wander around the store, following the signs till I have everything I need kind of person.  This system has worked for me for many years.  But not my Wonder Spouse. He has definitely moved into 21st century shopping.  He had a list (on his phone of course) and was able to call up the exact location, aisle and section, for every item on his list.  So efficient, and yet the same thing happened to us that seems to occur whenever I go grocery shopping.  At check out there are always items in my cart that were definitely not on my list.  I suspect that they jump in my cart when my back is turned.  You may have had the same experience.  Today it was cherries, but who can resist sweet dark red cherries when they are in season?  A bag of pretzels also jumped in the cart.  At the end of the expedition came the checkout. Again we are different.  I like to get in line and let a friendly cashier ring up the charges, a bagger bag them, then place them back in my cart, and I am on my way.  Not so my WS.  He prefers self checkout, and he's right, it is faster, but not easier, at least for me.  In today's scenario I was the bagger which is not as easy as it looks.  I tried to keep up with his rapid fire checkout technique but it wasn't easy.  I managed to keep everything on the scale 'til he was finished and did not  smush the bread with the jug of cranberry juice, so all was well.  We loaded everything in the car and made it home without mishap.  But, just between you and me, when I next go to the grocery store alone, I will probably do things my way.  

be artistic...

 Today, according to my west coast brother, (what would I do without him?) is "Water a Flower Day" and also "National Creativity Day."  The first was easy to accomplish because my spouse waters our house plants every Sunday and Thursday.  When I moved here my only house plant came along and it is thriving with this improved schedule.  I never neglected it exactly, I mean I've kept it alive for 18 years, but these days it gets regular watering and feeding.  Lucky plant.  Mother nature took care of the outside flowers.  We have roses and lilies.

As far as creativity is concerned, I can be creative.  For example, I'm working on a wall hanging right now.  First I wove the fabric on my loom and now I'm working on stitching the 'picture' on it.  This is the sixth one of these that I've created, but it has taken much too long.  That's because I was interrupted by getting married and having COVID and other stuff, some fun, some not so much.  But now I am trying to get it finished.  We have a parish art show coming up in September and I want to exhibit it there.  I have a lovely space to work in, and all the materials I need, but life still keeps getting in the way.  Things like going to the Amish bakery this morning are way more fun.  In case you're interested we each got a mini-pie, mine blueberry, his cherry, and apple bread, which is what we went for in the first place.  Then of course there was the four pack of cinnamon rolls.  I am looking forward to breakfast, then I will work on my stitchery, after a manicure and a quick trip to JC Penny's.  You do see why this isn't getting done very fast, don't you?

eat up

 My west coast brother informed me that today is 'International Coq Au Vin Day.'  He was planning to threaten his chickens that so they keep laying.  It's also 'National Biscuit Day' and 'National Senior Health and Fitness Day.'  Those two kind of cancel each other out.  I did exercise today, but it was my laptop giving me fits.  Thanks to my Wonder Spouse all the computer problems have been solved for now.  But let's focus on biscuits, specifically biscuits and gravy. I'm sure that's what is meant by biscuit day.  I mean a biscuit without gravy is just another form of bread.  My very favorite breakfast in a restaurant is biscuits and gravy with one egg over easy on top.          A Divine Encounter Cafe on Coliseum is always my first choice for biscuits and gravy. Soo good.  I did, however, break with tradition on Tuesday morning.  DE is closed on Tuesdays so we went to Klemm's Candlelight Cafe on East State.  Side note, we were there for breakfast, but they also make excellent cheeseburgers.  On Tuesday, to my husband's surprise, I ordered a waffle and chicken tenders.  Quite good, but next time it will be biscuits and gravy for sure.  Are we hungry yet?

a new wrinkle...

 Recently a friend told me that she had read that eating a prune a day helps improve bone density.  At my age bone density is not something to be taken lightly so I purchased some prunes.  Actually, my spouse purchased them when he was at the grocery store.  I have been eating one a day, and, while I have no way of knowing if my bone density has improved, I do enjoy the taste, and eating prunes does remind me of a story my mother used to tell me.  When she and my father were first married they lived in Havre de Grace, Maryland because my dad was stationed at Aberdeen Proving Grounds.  This was during WWII and rations were limited.  She told me that, when they went to their favorite neighborhood restaurant, the dessert choices were always the same "prunes, pudding or Jello." I always thought I would have chosen the pudding, but, since it was made with powdered milk, maybe not.  Evidently prunes was the tastiest choice.  Tasty then, tasty now, and good for you.  Although the key lime cheese cake I had a Casa's last Friday was way better, and, you know, cheese has calcium, also good for my bones.  

a day to remember...

 I hope for each of you that your Memorial Day was filled with more good memories than bad.  When I think about it, I marvel about how very fortunate my own family has been.  While many of my family, including my daughter and son-in-law, have served in the military none have died in battle that I know of from actual knowledge and family history.  i hope you have had similar memories to appreciate on this memorial day.  

This is the banner I displayed in my front window while my daughter was deployed in Iraq, to show that I had one child serving in the military.  I am so proud of her and eternally grateful that she came home safely.

the big race...

My husband and I started the day on a healthy note by walking to and from Blueberry Pancake House which is about a twenty minute walk from our home.  While there we ate relatively healthy food (no pancakes, waffles or stuffed French toast) for our brunch.  After we got home we did a few chores, then settled down to watch a bit of the Indianapolis 500.  In case you don't know, that's a really big deal car race.  We ended up reading our books and half watching a rerun of last year's race which was broadcast while Indianapolis was deluged with rain.  At 3:00pm, after the rain had passed and the track had been dried, the Indy 500 started with 45 minutes of pomp and ceremony.  I always enjoy that part and the soloist who sang "Back Home Again in Indiana" this year was excellent.  Ordinarily if  I watched any of the race, it would probably be just the first few minutes, same with my spouse, but this one sucked us in.  There was an accident within the first five minutes of the race, and several more happened in the first half.  Blessedly, no drivers were injured.  The accidents were mostly of the running off the track and scraping against the wall variety.  The cars weren't smashed up too badly, just enough to be out of commission. During the race, almost all in the first half, there were eight times that the yellow flag slowed everything down.  The explanation given for this spate of accidents was that possibly, during the long rain delay, the drivers indulged in too much Red Bull and/or coffee.  Sounds reasonable to me.  All in all it made for an interesting race with a very exciting finish.  Maybe we will watch again next year.

I'm guilty...

 Today, according to my west coast brother, is "Geek Pride Day." Also "National Italian Beef Day" if you would rather think about food.  I looked up the definition of 'geek.'  It's someone who is knowledgeable about and obsessively interested in a certain subject.  The example given was a computer geek.  Not naming names, but I have known a few of those in my life.  But this evening I think my spouse and I may have joined the ranks of 'geekdom.'  During supper we just casually started talking about travel plans for this year.  We both agreed we would like to travel west to see my WCB and family.  Before we knew it, we were seated at my husband's computer creating a list of everything we would like to see on a trip west and then exploring ways to get there.  We considered train, plane, automobile, bus and ship.  The last two were quickly eliminated.  We want to do a lot of sight seeing on the way there and back which makes it trickier.  As I write this my Wonder Spouse is still working away at his computer.  He may have the whole trip scheduled by now.  One way or another we will be heading west in September (probably).