This is the down side of automobile ownership — not just the cost of gasoline, but insurance and repairs to pass state inspection too. Had to replace the front tie rods, then needed front end alignment. The local garage doesn’t do that, so I scheduled an appointment to get the last of that done in Indiana at 11 am on Thursday.
Decided to do some trip chaining to economize on gas and cut down global climate change. When the repairs were done, I drove down Philadelphia Street a couple blocks, parked, fed the meter, got out the walker, and proceeded to a restaurant where I had a slice of pizza. It has cooled off, so was quite nice to have something hot for lunch.
The Coney Island was across the street. As I recall, that was where my college classmates went for our first legal beer after we turned 21 in the fall semester of our senior year. Pitchers were $1. We each smoked a cigarette to prove our maturity. That was my last, although I continue to enjoy draft beer. It has taken over the building next door and they now offer outdoor dining and have a dance floor too. Guess it was a success.
My mom spotted an article about a yarn shop and knitting guild in the business section of the newspaper two weeks ago. I found the shop and connected with the guild. I brought a sock along to work on while waiting for the car, so got it out and alternated between knitting, chatting, and looking over the yarn and other supplies. The display of completed projects was quite interesting too. Lace shawls, sweaters, hats, socks all made by the owner and guild members.
I stayed until about 3, then proceeded to the next stop, Trader Horn, one of the few remaining suppliers of Hartz plain clay cat litter. They have it in 25 lb bags, so should be set for a while. With an 18 year old cat with chronic renal failure, don’t want to take any chances on upsetting his routine.
Found they had bird seed and feeders marked down, so invested in a new one for feeding thistle seed to the finches. The one I had been using was made of wood with two plexiglass sides. Although I drilled a grid of holes in the wooden bottom and the lower edge of the plexiglass sides for drainage and ventilation after the first round of torrential rains, guess the dampness was too much. The seeds were swelling so that they didn’t flow down to the tiny holes. The finches had pecked out all they could reach. When I dumped out the seed to refill it the last time, found there were cup shaped cavities surrounding the holes. Worse yet, there was mold growing on the seeds on the bottom.
Got some rawhide chewy sticks for Bode too.
One of the advantages of the van is that it is roomy and I can recline the seat to rest. I did that then proceeded to the next stop, the mall.
K-Mart had the cardboard cat scratcher pads that Ling Ling likes. His old one moved here from Milwaukee last fall. He sat on it as we emptied the apartment into the moving van, so he is attached. I put the new one beside the tattered old one so that he can transition.
I visited the kitchen store and came away with several things, including a peppercorn mixture similar to what I used to buy at the Spice House on Old World Third Street near my apartment in Milwaukee. Still trying to locate a source of sesame tahini (for making sesame noodles and hummus) and red lentils. The final investment was potato chips. Those and hot dogs are what I usually eat when craving junk foods.
Time for another rest in the reclining seat. I charged up by eating some of the potato chips. The final stop was for groceries and it is not good to shop hungry. I got home after 7 pm. Quite a long day. Took it easy yesterday except for some vacuuming, still tired this morning.
The dense morning fog cleared off almost two hours ago. I have finished a pot of tea, watered the plants in containers and in the ground, have a load of laundry in the washer, and am eating pilaf for brunch. I had leftover roast beef and broth from earlier in the week, so sauteed the bulb of a red onion I spotted while watering with the cubed beef and some frozen squash. I chopped the onion greens and the first sprigs of parsley from the garden to add after the rice. I am really enjoying the fresh herbs and although the onions are still small, they really taste good.
The finches like the new feeder. While I sat at the front window sipping tea, saw it full to above capacity — birds on each of the six perches and one hanging upside down from the bail at the top!
