Checking In

Touching base on a sunny, cold day! The birds are back at their feeding frenzy. Lizzie alternates between sleeping and watching! I alternate between baking, painting, reading, watching and blogging!

The good news, in case you missed it in the last post, is that Rick's test was negative so we finally could can see each other! He had a guitar lesson Friday and after came for a wonderful dinner. The menu? Scalloped potatoes with ham, salad, cranberry sauce and Marie's Ice Box Lemon Pie for dessert. Easiest thing ever and a super hit with everyone who's had it!

From the Shopping Front

I broke my "exit the house" rule to hit the store but went at 7:30. I bet I didn't see more than 10 customers -- all masked -- while I shopped. It felt as safe as anything can be in this upside down world. While I was there I did a bit of a reconnaissance of shelves, as I keep hearing about empty shelves in the stores.

I was pleased to find that isn't the case all that much in my Kroger, at least not at 7:30 before it's picked over. There were some holes in the meat section and parts of the frozen section (quite the run on Lean Cuisine, which was on sale!). Produce was well stocked, as was bread and dairy, along with canned goods. 

Most of the prices I noted were no more expensive than they had been before these shortages, at least at that store and in the products I buy. There were many in-store sales. Where I did notice a huge increase was in the cost of meat (you could send a kid to college on the cost of a couple pounds of ground beef!) and butter ($6/pound, usually no more than $5, generally $3.99 and often on sale -- and this was the store brand). I was relieved to see much price consistency and inventory.

And, in different shopping, my meds are still stuck in the supply chain. So, not all rosy. But it could be worse. At least the kids' Christmas gifts arrived!

In the Entertainment Zone

I've been enjoying some fun books I'll write more about soon, including "Second Act Trouble: The Inside Story of Broadway's Biggest Bombs," a couple of good mysteries and the delightful "Mrs. Queen Takes the Train." (Thanks, Lynne!) Look for a book review post coming soon.

I've also been watching "Under the Vines" (Acorn), an Australian series about two people who inherit a vineyard and will soon be binging the new season of "After Life" (Netflix).I love them both! I'm also into "Around the World in 80 Days" and "All Creatures Great and Small" on PBS. And, my newest series is "RFDS: Royal Flying Doctor Squad," which is on our PBS station. It's set in the Australian outback and I'm enjoying the plot lines. 

I'm easing into painting again. Boy, you lose your groove when you don't do it for awhile. Last summer I did this piece -- the view from Rick's hospital window after his kidney surgery. It's flat.

So, I decided to try to fix it a bit. It's basically the same, but I added another layer of color and I think it's much improved. (Unfortunately, that doesn't show up all that well in the photo.) To be honest, it's very far from perfect -- I'm not terribly good at water and I still don't like the boats (which I may have messed up more than helped!). But in person, at least, it's better and that was the point.

I also did a few bookmarks -- a good way to experiment without overusing expensive paper! They're kind of fun!

Outside

Outside it's cold! We got a couple of inches of snow with more to come. It does look very pretty, and Rick will be happy as he loves to cross country ski. 

The other morning I noticed this sunrise over the backyard.

Red sky at morning, sailors take warning. Yup. A sign of weather to come -- and it did!

Inside

While I was shoveling the driveway, my neighbor Frank was out with is snowblower and he finished the job for me. So, I decided to bake him some oatmeal raisin cookies. It was a small batch -- which was a pity!

We will soon be celebrating Christmas with the kids and their presents finally arrived and are now wrapped and good to go. (Well, almost -- a couple small things to get but we're on the way!)

And my bunny count for 2022 is four. I'm sure there are more but I've yet to see them. This one looks pretty darned cold.

I leave you with some dancing snowgirls.  

 Because why not? Keep cozy and stay well!

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