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Yesterday was a Little Surreal

January 27th, 2019 at 05:57 am

Yesterday was payday and it was the day of our big two week grocery shop. We got started late. Really late. Normally I hate to do things in the late afternoon and evening because the traffic is nasty and the stores are packed. But due to one thing after the other, we didn't make it to do the banking until 4:00.

I noticed how light the traffic was on the way to credit union #1. As we pulled in, there was only one car in drive-thru, but two lanes open so I was able to pull right up and get my cash out and be on our way. It has never been dead like that on a Friday afternoon before.

Then we went to CU #2, which is where I have my medical fund. I keep it separate from regular banking so there is no crossover. It's a little extra running, but it is worth it to me to have the accounts physically separated. So I had to go in, because for some reason they had a $1000 hold on my account and have done for three weeks. Ever since I cashed that big $5000 check from MIL. It should have come off over two weeks ago. They had some kind of glitch. So the teller took it off.

But anyway, we walk in and there is no one visible. This place is always bustling at 4:30 on a Friday. There are several desks that usually have people at them and you can usually see people in the back offices. As we came forward we could see one teller who had been blocked by a pillar and one person at a desk behind a large potted plant, and then a little further there were a couple of women in a walled off office. But at first glance it was like someone had come and abducted all the people.

Back on the road there was still no traffic. We went to store #1, got a front space for parking, in a lot that was 1/3 full. Got in, didn't have to navigate around a ton of people, walked right up to an empty cashier. We were in and out in 15 minutes. This never happens at this time. We hit Safeway right at 5. I kept waiting for a massive traffic back up, but nothing. The lot was only half full and again we got in and out, even with a lot of stuff, quickly. Now normally at 5:30 it takes about 20 minutes to get out of their parking lot. It is usually just atrocious.

We made it to the Food Co-op by 6. No one in the parking lot. Maybe 10 cars when it is usually wall to wall. Only needed 3 things and we were on to Costco. The huge main road was not back upped even a little. Now the Costco parking lot was quite full, but even so, we got a spot right up near the building. A few rows from the door, but still right up front.

We were in and out in another 20 minutes. Never happens. Not ever. Then on to Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's is usually worse than Costco on a Friday, but we were riding the luck. Again, parking right up front and less than 30 minutes in the store.

It took me a while to realize what was even going on. A lot people hadn't been shopping or on the roads to go shopping because they hadn't been getting their paychecks. That has to be it. It is the only thing I can think of that would have made it so easy to travel and shop yesterday. But it felt like a complete Twilight Zone experience.

I did spend right up to my new $500 budget, but I got some really great deals on meat and vegetables. DS and I will be doing more cooking lessons this week and we are both going to be eating a lot more healthy. Some of our go to products have started incorporating soy. These were some of the last few convenience items we were buying, so now we are eliminating the altogether. Sad, but necessary.

I am going to teach him how to make fruit bars and granola bars this week, since they now have soy. They are easy enough to make and then he will have a few safe snack foods on hand. We did find a granola cereal, though, without almonds. It uses pecans instead. I was happy about that. I don't eat granola often because it is not that healthy with the sugar content. This uses maple sugar. Sugar is sugar, so I still won't eat it much, but a little once in a while.

Does anyone have a good club cracker recipe? That's what has soy in it now. I'll take plain, but if there is a multi-grain one, that would be awesome. Just no soy. Even the TJ multi-grain crackers have soy. Soy, last time I checked, is not a grain.

I've got my counters completely cleared off now. I wiped down all the appliances and the knife block. I am just waiting for my husband to get back home so he clean the last two inches in the corner that my fingers are not long enough to reach. There is also a spider there, so there's that. Then everything can go into place and we are going to keep it nice and uncluttered from now on. At least, that is the hope.

I got the pasta shelf and the Asian cooking shelf wiped down and got rid of some soy sauce that was in the back. There were two open bottles, so I dumped those and recycled them. I found out I have more sesame oil and hoison sauce than I thought, so won't need to buy those for a while, but am low on rice vinegar. I don't use it often, though, so probably won't buy more until I run out. I need to get oyster sauce next payday, but I'm good on mirin and coconut aminos for a while yet.

I also found the parts to my Kitchen Aid spice grinder that were missing because someone put them away wrong. I like that one for the heavy duty spices like cloves, fennel seeds, cardamom, star anise, and cinnamon sticks and things that scratch because it has a stainless steel chamber and doesn't throw stuff against the lid.

I also found the other spice grinder dedicated to grinding peppers only. If I try to grind anything else in it, it flavors it with pepper flavors. Not fun when you've been making homemade cayenne powder or chili powder. I found the top to the third spice grinder that I use for herbs, but am not sure where the bottom is. Maybe one of the drawers I haven't gotten to yet. I have 3 more drawers to clean out and reorganize. I'll do that tomorrow. Then all the cabinet doors need to be wiped down and the sink and back splash washed down. Then the kitchen should be done.

I threw out the old can opener. We bought a new one a year ago that does the safe rim, instead of the sharp rim. The cutter part was kind of bent out of shape and wasn't opening right anyway, so I don't even know why it was still around. Oh, and I found the toaster tongs. They make it so much easier to get English muffins out of the toaster.

I've only got two more days of Prednisone left, so hopefully I can finish what I want to get done in that time. I know I will crash back down as soon as I go off it, so I am taking advantage of it while I've got it. There are some more shelves that could do with some organizing that are not in the kitchen, but have excess kitchen stuff on them and I hope to get to that tomorrow, too.

I should be exhausted after the last two days, but I'm not. Prednisone is a wonderful invention. I wish I could feel like this all the time. After I am done with my antibiotics, I am going to get my cortisol levels tested. I think there is something wrong with them if steroids will make me feel decent and functional again. I do have a lot of the same symptoms as my daughter when it comes to adrenal issues, so it is worth getting it checked out.

3 Responses to “Yesterday was a Little Surreal”

  1. rob62521 Says:
    1548626571

    As I was reading about the bank and credit union, I wondered if people were afraid because of the recent shooting, until you said about people not getting their checks. They can't spend if they don't have the money. I'm sure it was surreal.

    You have done a fine job decluttering and getting things organized. When can I expect you to come to my house? LOL

  2. LuckyRobin Says:
    1548632926

    Rob--Definitely not in the weather you're having! Way too cold to go there. I am just doing it while I can. I know I will crash when I run out of the steroids. I got another drawer done this morning, though. Progress.

  3. crazyliblady Says:
    1548728860

    I have seen a bunch of soy free recipes for club crackers online. Just search google for paleo club crackers.

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