...but not just any old Tuesday, it's a sunny 90 degree Tuesday in July! What's not to like?
I got up this fine morning, got some coffee and bee-lined for the comfy chair. I wasted some time, and read some news and some blogs, and then before nine o'clock, I was on my way to Walmart, all by my lonesome. I had important things to get.
The camper came with hideous toppers on the blinds, and they cannot be separated, unless we got a skilled surgical team involved. Paul couldn't figure it out. One of them came loose on our last camping trip, so he took the whole kit and caboodle down for the operation, but nope, if the blind goes back up, the ugly valance/cornice goes too.
So, we scrapped it, and since we're going tomorrow and I'd like to cover that window better than when we stayed in it last time, which involved taking a cute camping blanket I got from Target for $3 at the end of the season last year, and closing the edges of it in the cupboards, then tucking the bottom behind the couch, it covered the window...but. :)
Miniblinds...but they are SO long, and this window is wide and short. So I bought a curtain rod, and...two adorable kitchen towels...and those cafe clasps, so I can just clip them up. I am capable of getting the drill and putting up the curtain rod, but Paul is way MORE capable, so I'll see if he'll do it later.
I also found a birthday present for Evelyn, bought hot dogs, pepperoni, and sugar free popsicles, and a platter and some bowls for the camper. I'm trying really hard not to overload it, minimal is nice when camping, but these were so cute and the total for the matching platter, two bowls, and two tiny bowls: $5.
Home....ahh, home. But only for a few minutes, I went to Kathryn's for a swim! Seriously amazing.
Home again...my deck plants need watering, the garden is thirsty again, and I have to pack. I am partially packed, but I need to grind lots of coffee, as we won't have electricity, but hmmm, I could hook the coffee grinder to the generator...freshly ground IS better!
Yesterday, I went to the thrift store with Miss Charlotte Claire and Miss Camille Anaya. I told them when we were going in not to put just everything in the cart, it's not Tuesday, I don't have 25% off. Well. They behaved. Cam found one pair of cute jeans, Char found a skirt and two dresses...I was the problem. I found Allbirds Merino wool sneakers for $9, that fit me perfectly! I found FOUR tops from C.J.Banks, just my style, and five dollars each. I got some books for camping, and after my surgery... then a jean skirt, fits perfectly...it was a bonus day, but it came to a hundred bucks! The prices have really been creeping up, but wow!
I bought some sweet corn this morning from Walmart, it looked fresh and was only 33 cents an ear. Some for Achilles' family (he loves corn!), and some for us. It's hot to cook, but we have steak to grill, a birthday gift from Sam and Grace. So I thought corn would go really well with it.
Random things I like:
Vaccuming when it starts to get dark, using the headlight of the vacuum cleaner...you cannot see the dog fur during the day, but oh dear, it's there! (it's weirdly satisfying to see it and vacuum it up!)
A genuine smile from a stranger.
Making friends with the cashier.
Tipping the kid who pumps my gas, he always seems so tickled.
When someone else makes dinner...last evening, Miss Char cooked the chicken breast, sizzled it up in little chunks in the iron frying pan, very well seasoned, so good. They had theirs with lemon pasta, I had mine in crispy lime corn tortillas with cilantro and lime hot sauce.
Zucchini bread. I love it when it's really cinnamon-y and moist. The garden promises a bumper crop, a few are almost ready, so I need to dust off my low carb recipe and get out the shredder that attaches to the kitchen aid mixer, and get moving.
The tiger Lillies in full bloom on the country roads. The fields of corn flourishing, and just everything about the warmth of summer. Lightening bugs. (except for when they get in my room! The other night, there were two in there! One was minding it's own business in the corner of the ceiling, just blinking on and off. The other one though, possessed by Satan! It was terrorizing me! It would start to dive bomb towards me, I would wave at it and it would go back to the ceiling...I tried to close my eyes and go to sleep, but who are we kidding? I had to get up and wave my pillow at it until it got near the door, then I whooshed it right into the hallway and closed the door. The other one furtively planned to move as soon as I closed my eyes, but I closed them anyways, and have no idea where it went.)
Things I don't like:
The camper refrigerator is broken. Paul thinks a new circuit board might do it, but it wouldn't get here until Saturday, and we're leaving tomorrow. So, we're going back in time to when we didn't have the luxury of a propane run refrigerator (and freezer!). Coolers. Ice, and coolers.
(the ice melts, the stuff gets wet, baggies are your friends...)
I don't like when I have to do a lot in the heat. Heat is nice for being on the beach or by the pool, taking frequent dips to cool off. But when you have to bring loads of things to the camper, nope, not fun.
Sand. I like sand where it belongs, on the beach. I do not like sand in my camper, or worse: in my bed. I bring nice white cotton sheets to the camper, and wipe my feet diligently before getting into bed, because I am the princess and the pea with sand.
(Sunny, on the other hand, loves sand, although admittedly the late Suri Tubbikans was the REAL sand lover, she was a chocolate cinnamon donut every time she came trotting (in later years hobbling) out of the lake after fetching the stick, she would roll in that sand. She extra liked getting it all over her face. It's hard to go camping without her.)
Catsup (ketchup?), mustard, mayo...no thank you! I will eat small amounts of mayo on a tomato sandwich, but mostly it's a no.
Ah well. Never a dull moment. You all have a really nice afternoon!
