I went shopping at Walmart in an attempt to minimize the effects of Trump Tariffs. I bought the non-perishable items that I buy repeatedly. Things like toilet paper, paper towels, drain cleaner, dishwasher detergent, dish soap, bug spray, washing machine detergent, plastic sandwich bags, garbage bags, and toilet bowl cleaner. This wasn’t all, but I bought double of each item. And, the total came to about $342 or there abouts. I don’t think I’ve every spent that much at one time at Walmart. Maybe if I bought a TV, Chromebook or Laptop, but not for the day to day items. *And later in the day I went back to a different Walmart and bought about $62 more, so the total for the day was a little over $400. *A few days later I spent another $100, bringing the ticket against Trumpflation to $500.
I’ve got a $300+ Shark standup, cordless vacuum on the way. And I just ordered a replacement passenger side mirror for my Camry.
A strange thing happened earlier in the week when I went to get my car inspected. Just after leaving Hendrick’s, I was speeding up on a nearby on ramp for MLK and I started to hear a high pitched sound. It sounded like metal on metal, and it was coming from toward the passenger side rear view mirror. Couldn’t figure it out, and took it back to Hendrick’s immediately and they couldn’t figure it out. But the noise was gone.
I’ve since paid my property taxes online and renewed my car registration for the year. I login to the NCDMV site with my Google account and have to have the following to complete the process: Completed State Inspection, Insurance ID, last numbers on my car title. I always freak because I can never remember when this is supposed to be paid. And I now think, for me, it is by the end of May each year.
So maybe day before yesterday, I looked over at the rear view mirror and realized that a large chunk of it had dropped off. And then it came to me that the high pitched sound had probably been caused by a piece of the mirror either dropping off or wind getting behind it, and making the noise. Well, I noticed a little more had gone when I was on my way to eat at Longhorn in Goldsboro. And, I kept hearing pieces of the mirror as they dropped off and hit the side of the car before bouncing off onto the road somewhere.
*Before I got back home there was only a small piece of mirror left and that appeared to be stuck pretty firmly. But I just ordered a replacement mirror for about $20. I hope I can just glue it onto the existing backing, instead of having to take the inside panel of the door off to loosen the rear view mirror assembly. *Which I won’t do. Now, $20 is a far cry from the $500 price tag that the dealer quoted me some time ago.
The meal was “perfect.” I think I equated the better flavor because the chef had added a bunch of salt. The only thing that ended up not being perfect was the cheeseburger sauce that I had to ask for. I finally thought to have the waitress tell the chef I didn’t want the bun for the cheeseburger.
I wanted all the other fixin’s, and a little more onion, and the only thing that didn’t arrive was the sauce. The sauce ended up being too salty, by a little, but that focused my attention on why the burger was “so tasty.” The appetizer bread was delicious as usual, with the butter, oh my.
The Shrimp & Lobster Chowder was good again. I even enjoyed the dill pickle slices. It’s not that I don’t like dill pickles, but I like a sweet, Bread & Butter type of pickle with that burger. I also normally bring along a little sweet onion from home, but didn’t yesterday.
I have a simple routine that goes with eating at the Longhorn. Afterwards, I drive over to a location near the SJAB air field, where I can see any airplanes taking off or landing. Sometimes I do, sometimes I don’t. I have seen the fighter jets & the fueling tankers in motion. There is a road that dead ends just before the fence that protects the runway. The road divides two large fields, and during the summer the crops sometimes block the view, but most of the year there is a clear view up & down the runway, and the control tower, and the fighter jets & the tankers.
After I view the jets I sometimes head back into town and visit the Wayne County Library. I know where the bathroom is, and it’s a comfortable rest stop. I then might look for a magazine to peruse: “Our State” or maybe “Gun & Garden.” “Gun & Garden” how Republican. like “Yellowstone.” I’ll usually sleep a little, but am usually aware if a library staffer is coming near to see if I am dead.
I’ve stopped to look at a large touch screen TV that is set up to project a web browser. I’ve seen a map and some info that proved to be part of a web page. I’m not sure if an onscreen keyboard pops up, but it would have to in order to enter a URL. *In looking for some pictures to illustrate what I’m talking about, I came upon one picture that I had taken of the back of the video display, and there was a keyboard, that appears to have a cable, and a mouse.
Oh, a couple of days ago I bought a small toaster oven, which I haven’t even taken out of the box. I hope the box is under the dining room table, because if it isn’t, I don’t know what I did with it. I also don’t know where I’m going to put it because I really don’t have room for it.
I bought a Shark handheld vacuum the same day I bought the toaster oven. And now I am wondering why. I did use it to vacuum some of the edges of the room and some of the gunk that had accumulated under my easy chair. *Which definitely needs to be replaced.
I drove from Goldsboro, to Smithfield on Hwy. 70. I stopped at J.R.s which is now a mere ghost of what it used to be. It is only a cigar shop now, but they also have a food mall next door and I think a “robot” project of some type. They didn’t have the cheap Avanti Estilo Cafe Mocha cigars that I like the smell & flavor of. I looked for something else, but didn’t find anything I wanted to buy. They did have “Ram Rod” cigars. The cigars are much like the “hard liquor” that I have in my closet. Something that I don’t use addictively, but occasionally and “to set the mood.” I used to say that I would smoke a cigar if I was reading a book like “1984.” Or maybe a detective novel.
Next, I stopped at Lee’s Fresh Market near Benson and bought some boneless pork chops. And then on down the road and I stopped at the “Rooms to Go” on I95 and walked about trying the various easy chairs. There was one, the first one I tried, that was comfortable and had electric controls for the foot rest. There was also a glass top dining table that I’ve noticed before. It’s round and I can buy chairs in different colors.
I fixed some delicious Jalapeno Pork & Cabbage Slaw yesterday. Those flavors worked really well together. I fixed some more cabbage slaw today and had it with the Black Beans & Quinoa, Salsa and Guacamole, and although it was good, it wasn’t quite the best.
And the thought came to me about how to store and display the various types of nuts I like to eat regularly. At times I will have the following: almonds, cashews, pistachios, roasted pumpkin seeds, walnuts. And I will sometimes transfer these nuts from their clear plastic containers to Ball/Mason jars. And on the top rack I could add prunes, dates, raisins, Turkish apricots and/or dried cranberries.
The idea hasn’t fleshed out completely, but I also eat plain Greek Yogurt and various pureed or whole berries like raspberries, blueberries, or strawberries every day, as a dessert or mid-meal snack. The nuts I eat throughout the day, or sometimes mixed just before bed.
I like the Greek Gods Plain yogurt, but also like the single serving, cheapo, store brands of Plain Greek Yogurt from Aldi’s SUD and LIDLs. I just gave away a four jar holder for jam, that was made of metal with a wooden handle. I only had one jar of preserves that I think Robin & Jeff had given me several years ago. I hadn’t eaten it because of the high sugar content, but was clearing things out recently and that went.
Bean Sprouting
Using Ball/Mason jars with a mesh lid. Process: soak, drain, tilt, reap. And Gemini suggested “putting a sock on it.” A cheap way to offer the seeds their privacy. *I’ve not found any sprouting jar filters or lids that are for regular sized Ball/Mason jars. They are all wide mouthed jar fittings.
