Weekend and food

It's the weekend. Finally!

Last night, I pre-ordered some chicken pot pie samosas. They sound as yummy as I'm sure they taste. I also pre-ordered some lunch at the same store.

Here's hoping that my turkey-stuffing shopping goes well later on today.

Thanksgiving weekend

It's Thanksgiving weekend coming up. I got the vegetable part of my shopping list done on Wednesday. I have the turkey and stuffing to get on the weekend, and I'm all set to go.

I am looking forward to the longer weekend. I like making Thanksgiving dinner. I also love leftovers.

Happy Friday! I'm so glad that there's one more workday to go.

Voted early at a shopping mall

We've got a federal election coming up this month. Yesterday, after work, I voted early.

In the past, my advance poll was either at a community centre or school. I feel that the pandemic has changed things. The former tends to be used as a vaccination centre these days. School just started for many here and it's in-person, so having the auditorium as a poll with students, teachers, and voters was probably not the best idea, either.

My advance poll, which is also my poll on election day, was at a shopping mall. It was different and deadly. There's nothing like shopping and eating after voting!

I'm glad that I voted. Happy weekend, everyone!

Hair salons and Canada Day

As expected, hair salons were busy the first day out of lockdown. I did a quick look at an app that I have with my salon and there was a three-hour wait.

I will wait to get my hair cut next week at the earliest. Perhaps things will be better then.

I had a nice day doing my usual grocery run earlier in the afternoon. I ended up shopping at a couple of places that I haven't dropped by in over three months. It felt great and freeing.

My pay got deposited a day early. Today's Canada Day. Many have heavy hearts this holiday, but there is always something good to look forward to.

Ontario enters step 2 and I'll contemplating a haircut

Today, the lockdown lifts a bit in Ontario. We are entering step 2. Personal care services are allowed to reopen, for instance. There are a bunch of other changes.

I would love to get my hair cut. However, I feel like many folks will be doing that today. The worst case is getting my hair cut during the weekday next week. I'll still be on vacation.

I'm enjoying my time off so far. I got more free cookies today. I went to a bookstore and got some great deals. I'm happy.

Weekend and errands

The weekend is here. Next week is my last workweek before I go on vacation.

It's nice that I have a backup to train a new colleague. In the past, I'd have to work my vacation around training. The fact that I take my vacation during the first week of July made this decision easier to have my friend and colleague back me up.

It'll be a fun, busy day today. I'm running a bunch of errands. It's also the second full weekend where we are easing out of lockdown in Ontario. I haven't visited a ton of non-essential businesses. I still do grocery stores, bakeries, drugstores, and takeout from eateries.

I suppose that online shopping has helped during this pandemic. I still like hitting stores, but I don't have that spark right now.

Pay and my bank

I like payday. It's supposed to happen every consecutive Thursday.

I also like my bank. It has always deposited my pay directly into my account on Wednesday night instead of Thursday before I wake up. It used to be after 10 pm on Wednesday. These days, it's at 5 pm.

Crazy. It's also perfect. I go grocery shopping after work on Wednesdays. I feel rich.

So long, long weekend

My four-day long weekend is coming to a close. I start my day with a four-hour meeting that starts at 7 am.

I slept so well last night. I slept in till 10 am. I can't remember when I last did that.

Monday was great. I went out to do some shopping. I needed to get some low-carb bread. I also got a pair of double-walled glass mugs that were 45% off. I have wanted them for ages.

I am looking forward the weekend already!

Getting a compliment that I'm thin

Last Wednesday, I was doing my usual grocery store run after work. There was a woman taking up the middle of an aisle while looking at something. I wanted to get past her, so I could stand behind her. We were both waiting to pay for our items at the checkout.

I was my usual self by excusing myself to get through. I indicated that I didn't want to plow through and hit her. She was nice. We struck up a conversation.

She was telling me that during this pandemic, she has consumed way too much chocolate and that she was chocolate. She wished that she was as "thin as [I was]." She was so sweet!

I am not known to be thin. However, I'm thinking that my cutting out sugar has made a dent in how I look. I know that I feel much better and I tend to sleep better these days. My pants aren't as snug when I wear them. I thanked her for making my day.

She had a lot of items in her cart. I had a handful. I passed by her on my way out the door and she waved to me. I wished her a good evening.

It's nice meeting friendly folks, especially during a pandemic!

Glee making ghee

Yesterday, I did something different. I made ghee.

I bought a jar a few months ago and have since been in love with the nutty taste of ghee. I was down to the last few tablespoons and went looking for a jar last week. The supermarket that I was at did not have any.

I met up with a friend afterwards and mentioned it in passing. She told me that she makes her own ghee and it's pretty straightforward.

She was right. I made mine in thirty minutes.

I use ghee all the time. It's keto-friendly and it's nice that the milk solids are gone because I am borderline lactose-intolerant.

I won't be buying ghee. It's enjoyable making my own.

Happy shopping outcome

The weekend is here. Yay!

I have some errands to run later on today. I made a decent shopping list. Most of the items are food! Here's hoping that I get everything that I need.

On a slightly different note, I had placed an order online for an item with a small business that I frequent often. I got to exchange e-mail messages with the owner. I had ordered a plushie. She said that there was some glitch on her end and it wasn't available. I got a refund.

However, there was a larger version of the same plushie that she had, but wasn't listed on her site. I got it without tax. It was such a lovely outcome that I didn't expect. She has always been nice to me and it was such a nice gesture to have the tax knocked off.

Great customer service from a small, local store that has survived this pandemic. It's one of many reasons why I return.

Shopping thoughts

I have been more nostalgic and reflective as of late than I typically am. I had a talk with a friend who is in the same boat. She blames it on the pandemic.

My region will have many restrictions eased as of Monday. It has been in lockdown for over two months. Yesterday, I went into a different part of the province where stores were open again. I didn't have any inclination to visit them.

It is one change that I have noticed since this pandemic started. I don't have a desire to go shopping and browse. I like curbside pickup. I look at what I want online, pay either online or at the store, and pick up my order. Done!

I simply get groceries and items at the drugstore. I also get takeout.

I haven't been to major stores, such as Walmart and Costco, since this pandemic started. I don't feel comfortable in them.

Maybe the urge to visit major malls and large stores will come back once we are all vaccinated. Right now, visiting them isn't a priority. 

Productive Friday heading into the weekend

The weekend is finally here. Yay!

My manager took Friday off. It was nice. I noticed that I didn't get a ton of messages in my inbox. I loved it. I could focus on completing a few tasks with few interruptions.

I got a gift card thanks to a rewards program at work. It went towards a Black Friday sale. I don't normally shop during Black Friday, but there were a few items that I have been meaning to get for months and finally got around to it.

Enjoy your weekend!

Turkey dinner preparations

Several hours from now, I'll be roasting a turkey and making a few side dishes for Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving Day is on Monday, but I tend to do the dinner a day earlier. It's a bit of work, so I'd rather have the actual day to relax.

On Saturday, I got the turkey. It's a 16-pound turkey. It's huge to me. It was the smallest one that I could find at the grocery store! I got it unstuffed, so it shouldn't take as long to roast it.

After grocery shopping, I realized that I had forgotten to buy mushrooms. I went back to get a box. Yay!

Meeting up with friends and experiencing foot pain after quite an absence

On Saturday, I met up with a couple of friends for a late lunch. It felt like we hadn't skipped a beat. We hadn't seen one another since December 2018. It was a great time chatting over food and drinks. We then went shopping for a bit.

I woke up just past 4 am with foot pain. I haven't had it in quite some time. I ate a banana and took some Ibuprofen with root beer that I had made with my Sodastream.

I have been eating bananas daily, which has helped reduce how often I experience foot pain. My thinking with Ibuprofen with root beer is that the carbonation speeds up how quickly the pain relief happens.

Nearly an hour later, my pain was gone and I slept well.

Wear a mask! An older couple were amazing enforcers

As of Friday, July 17, it's a bylaw where I live to wear a mask in public indoor areas. I realize that it's tough switching over, but it depends on the store and whether wearing a mask is being reinforced.

At Shoppers Drug Mart, a man asked me if I was in the lineup for the self-checkout. Nope, I was in the human checkout instead.

He had no mask. I wanted to say something. Obviously, everyone else was masked. He didn't get the hint. Shoppers Drug Mart wasn't spending time enforcing the bylaw.

An older woman behind me said loudly, "Isn't it a bylaw to wear a mask?" I turned around and said yes. She thanked me for answering back. Her husband joined her in the lineup and they both went on about it.

Another man came in and clearly was not wear a mask. These two folks gave him quite the talk that he went out to his truck, got his mask, wore it, and came back into the store.

I loved this couple. Great job!

Shopping and seeing a pool noodle used as a playful spanking tool

On Wednesday, after work, I went grocery shopping. It's what I do on Wednesdays ever since this pandemic occurred.

I bought everything I needed, paid for my items, and carried my groceries in bags out the door. 

There was a couple ahead of me. The female was walking ahead of the male. The guy had a swimming pool noodle. He used it to playfully spank the female. She had hot red yoga capri pants on and a short t-shirt.

They both didn't seem to mind what was going on. I liked watching. I had a nice view, as did the guy. 

They were one cute, happy couple who made my shopping experience much more enjoyable!

Grocery shopping on a holiday and fireworks going off at this hour

I typically go grocery shopping on Wednesdays. Canada Day landed on a Wednesday this year. I don't recall doing grocery shopping a ton of times in my life on Canada Day, but I did this year.

It was surprisingly busy. Perhaps folks didn't know what to do with themselves. Most festivities were either cancelled or done virtually.

As I write this post, some neighbours are setting off fireworks in their backyard. I am fortunate to be on vacation this week, so I don't mind. I do feel bad for others who need to head back to work tomorrow. Setting them off at 12:30 am isn't exactly being respectful to others.

On a good note, I get paid every other Thursday. My bank tends to deposit my pay Wednesday night at around 10:10 pm. Because Wednesday was a holiday, my pay got deposited on Tuesday night instead. It feels good to have an early payday.

Don't touch my car!

I tend to go grocery shopping on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Every other Saturday, I head to a supermarket in Toronto where I can get popsicles with a banana base in them. It's the closest supermarket that sells them. They are yummy!

To make a long story short, when I backed into a parking spot in front of this store, there were cars on either side of me that were roughly the same size as mine. When I was done shopping and headed to my car, there was a pickup truck to the left of the driver's side. A man was loading groceries in the backseat of his truck. The door was pretty close to my driver's side.

I was putting my groceries in my trunk when I heard someone talking to me. It was the guy who was loading the truck. I couldn't hear him when he was standing practically at the front of my car.

"Pardon me?" I asked, as he walked from between his vehicle and mine over to the passenger side of my car.

"I pushed your side mirror in so I wouldn't hit it and fixed it. Hope that's okay" he said.

I put my hands up in the air. What?!

"I guess so," I said

"I think it's better than my door hitting it," he said.

"Not really. I have to wipe down my mirror now," I replied.

I was not impressed. I didn't articulate how annoyed I was. On a normal day, I'd be okay. Things aren't normal these days for these reasons:

• We're in a pandemic. He came up to me to talk to me without a mask and far from being six feet apart. Jerk.
• How is it okay to touch someone's property because you can't park for beans? Your germs are now on my car. Even though you appear okay health-wise, you may not be. Now, I have your grubby fingerprints on my car and need to sanitize that part of my car. Geez, thanks.
• Why couldn't you have loaded your groceries from the other door? How about finding a parking spot where you can swing your doors open freely to load your groceries because you know that you won't be using your trunk?

I seriously dislike when folks adjust my car's side mirrors when I take my car in for servicing. It takes me forever to get them back to the way that best work for me. The fact that I had a complete stranger do it unexpectedly irks me.

It may seem like nothing to this guy, but it's not okay to me. He drives a huge truck, but it doesn't mean that he has every right to adjust other people's property to suit his lack of consideration for other people's property.

Happy with simplicity

My Mac mini is acting up again. I'm currently drafting this post on my phone.

I have been contemplating getting a replacement Mac mini for a while. Despite it being down once a month, I don't feel the need to splurge.

Today, Winners, a chain of fashion and food stores, is reopening. I don't feel the excitement. I don't have any need to be there.

I'm perfectly content getting groceries and dropping by the drugstore a couple of times a week. I only get what I need. It's good to keep things simple. It keeps me content and sane.