The Saturday Story

I woke up on Saturday around 7:00 AM. I threw on my shorts and a tee shirt so I could go out and get the sprinkler set up before the sun was too strong on the front yard.

Back inside, I set the timer for an hour and made some coffee. Then I ate my oatmeal and my pills. As the timer went off, I moved the sprinkler around, ending up watering the gardens on the south side of the garage; not necessarily because they need the water, but more to help the dirt outside the new edging and the mulch inside to settle more.

Inside, I cleaned out the fridge of old or outdated items and made up a short grocery list. Rather than pitch it, I cooked the rest of the bacon in the oven as I now have a lot of BLTs to eat, lol! I also took out a small half of a ham I had put in the freezer so it could thaw for Sunday’s supper (or something).

I already had the window opened a bit in my bedroom (it went down to 60 degrees F. last night) so I turned on the vent to try and not heat up the house. It’s supposed to be in the mid-80’s today and I don’t want the air conditioner kicking on too soon.

When the bacon was done, I put most of it on another half sheet pan lined with paper towels to drain. I say “most” because who could resist sampling a few strips after smelling it cooking?

I shut off the sprinkler for the last time today at 11:30 AM, so I could finally take my shower (I shaved much earlier). I got dressed for grocery shopping and, before I left, I stripped the bed and put the bedding in the washer. That way, it will be done and ready for the dryer when I return and I can do the second load of weekend laundry.

I ran my errands and got back home just after 2:00 PM. Oddly enough, it was a simple bottle of Fuel Injector Cleaner at O’Reilly’s that took the longest. For some reason, everyone was in the damn store and I had to wait forever!

From there I went to GFS and bought a 12-count bag of bar towels (I use them for everything in the kitchen, from drying a pot to using as a hot pad to take things out of the oven or off the stove). I also bought two aluminum scoops for my new sugar and flour containers (the old ones were ancient plastic ones and had the handles broken off) and two inserts for my steam tray (mine mysteriously disappeared when Jake and Carla moved to Westland – I’m not pointing fingers, I’m just saying...)

After that, I hit Kroger’s up for their sale items. I researched their sale paper and they had a LOT of stuff I use on sale, if you bought 10 total of the sale items. So, I loaded up on both kinds of Instant Oatmeal (I use one packet of each of regular and low sugar maple sugar with some trail mix every morning for breakfast), Mott’s apple juice, Ocean Spray straight cranberry juice, etc.

I kept to my list and only bought one impulse buy: A package of three fresh Kowalski Polish sausages in the “Manager’s Special” spot (I always check there since I lived in St. Clair as was instructed by the butcher to do so). I figured I’d freeze them and make them with sauerkraut in the fall.

I admit I spent over $100.00 US, but I saved $34.43, according to my receipt. And, I don’t have to go shopping (except for fresh veggies) for a long, long time.

Crap! As I am writing this, I realized when looking at the grocery list, I forgot to ask the teller for a book of stamps. I have plenty at home, but like to have a booklet in my Franklin Planner for emergencies.

And speaking of fresh veggies, let me explain. If you have a large family, it makes sense to buy a 10 pound bag of potatoes or five pounds of yellow onions. But, when I was down at Jake and Carla’s this summer, I was explaining just how bad the bag of potatoes I stored in the garage smelled when I discovered they had gone wrong. I washed everything out and let it air out for days, BTW.

He said he and Carla had experienced the same thing with say, onions, and decided to use the European method (my aunt Mitieza (sp), God rest her soul, told me she used this when she was the housekeeper for my uncle, the priest, Father Peter) and shop daily for just the items you need for today’s meals). And, so I have adapted that idea.

Rather than throw away good food (remember, I am a member of Forgotten Harvest after all. I spent a day picking beans last Fall, for Christ’s sake!) I will make a special trip at lunch to buy the onion or potato or lemon or whatever I need for my dinner.

I unloaded everything and made room in the freezers for the frozen stuff, I found two items; a pound of ground chuck from 2010 and some cube steak from the last time we (Jake and Carla and I) bought a portion of a cow. Both of them went into the trash.

When I had everything put away, I gave some serious thought about what to do next. I decided the best thing was to take a nap, so I did.

I am not sure quite why, but I always feel tired these days.

When I finally woke up, I cut a big slice of the ham off and warmed it up in a skillet with some of the bacon grease. I made a blue box of the mac and cheese for my side dish. Dinner was delicious!

When it was bed time I easily opened the window in my bedroom but couldn’t get the kitchen window opened. So, I used a wooden spoon to pry it up (neither of my arms are strong enough to lift the damn window at that level).

With fresh air flowing into the house, I went to sleep.