The Grocery Store Slog

Mike and I are going to the grocery store together these days. We're both masked and gloved, and he has strict instructions to keep both hands on the shopping cart at all times. Maybe it's an unnecessary risk for both of us to go, but I really want the company. I believe we're in and out much faster too with him manning the cart, and me racing from one thing to another. I've realized these outings take nearly all my energy for the day though, and yesterday I just wanted to lie around after we got home. We had lunch, and we both took naps, but I was still wiped out for the rest of the day. I think my friend Wendy hit the nail on the head when she said it's the added stress, whether we feel it at the time or not.

Back home, we unloaded the groceries and put things away, washed our hands, and then set free the cats for a short morning outing. We're severely limiting their time outside to only the time when we can be out with them. Yesterday, they were two cats on a mission. They couldn't wait to get out and kill something.

Sadie thought they should play King of the Mountain, but Smitty was more interested in grazing on the tall stalks of grass.

Walking around, one of the rhododendrons is just about to open up all of its flowers. We just need some warmth and sunshine.

Also, a couple of the azaleas are opening. This is the bright red one.

This is the purply-pink one (or pinkly-purp, as my mother-in-law used to say).

Oh yes, and one more picture of the relocated and rededicated Gracie Memorial Catnip Garden. Yesterday, I noticed the little stone with her epitaph at the old location, and so I moved it near her garden stake.

Here's a close-up if you're having trouble reading her epitaph.

Back inside once again, and post-nap, I finished off my latest pay-it-forward project. Just hand-sewing the binding is left, and then I'll mail it off to my friend. For now, you only get a peek.

Also, I finished off the third row of sections for the poppy mosaic. Watching the design emerge as I go is what makes these so addicting.

I'll be working more with the greens as I progress. Smitty was at the ready to help me sort my green scraps into five gradients of value.

He's loving these warm afternoons when he can sunbathe on his catio.

Last night, I made a skillet cookie. I realized that my medium-sized iron skillet is the best one to use for this. I have a smaller 6-inch skillet, but I think this 8-inch skillet works a little better. It needed deeper sides. I was having trouble with the cookie dough baking over the top of the smaller one. And just now, I Googled how to measure an iron skillet. It turns out the bottom measurement is the one you need...not the top, and so this probably actually *is* a 6-inch skillet. Duh.

We split this three ways, and it was a perfect serving with a scoop of vanilla ice cream to top it off. Yum. Matthew hadn't had this before. I told him it was so good, it would make him want to die. He said something like, "You mean you never want to live life without simultaneously eating this cookie again?" Exactly. This is the recipe I'm using. They want you to save some of the chocolate chips to sprinkle over the top, or to melt for chocolate syrup. I just threw all of mine into the batter. One can never have too many chocolate chips.

So we're back to the gloom again. No sunshine = No gardening. The kitties seem to have figured out that they only go out when the sun is shining, and they headed down for their clubhouse first thing this morning. I'm going to finish off the binding on the pay-it-forward project, and then get back to work on the poppy mosaic. Dinner will go into the crockpot this morning, so it should be a fairly laid-back day.