Fifth Avenue Freeze Out!

I woke up without the alarm on Saturday, a little later than usual. According to the news, it was 30 degrees and falling…

So, I filled in the Blog post, popped my pills, ignored the blood count stick and breakfast and took a shower.  Then I headed out.

We had significant snow (enough to coat the roads) so I drove careful. My first stop was O’Rielly’s to pick up some injector cleaner.

Sidebar #1: Sorry, Jake. I was in a hurry and didn’t snap a photo.

Sidebar #2: I’m old school, okay? Back in the day, people bought additives that reduced water in your gas tank (so the fuel line didn’t freeze). I can’t find that particular additive anymore, so I put injector cleaner in the winter. Dumb, probably, but it makes me feel proactive…

I noticed when leaving O'Rielly's that they are turning the old Farmer Jack's into a Planet Fitness! So, I took a photo for you.

I went and got my hair cut. I got my hair and beard trimmed and gave her double for her efforts as a Christmas tip. I wished her a Happy Holidays and then left.

From there, I went to Kroger’s. The wind has really picked up by then and walking in from the parking lot was brutal! I got the few items I needed to restock and split. It wasn’t that crowded.

Next I stopped at Costco. I debated long and hard about that. Simply because the morning news had kept mentioning this was “Super Shopping Saturday” (the last weekend before Christmas) But, my squirrels have been out of peanuts in the shell for a week and they didn’t sell them at Kroger’s (I checked). So, I dumped the truck in the first parking slot I saw (the handicapped ones were full) and went in. It was pretty crowed and the checkout lines were long. But since I didn’t need a cart, it wasn’t that bad…

Finally, I went to Home Depot. I got more light bulbs, a broomstick for the push broom (the other one was bent and it annoyed me) and some melting salt for any upcoming ice problems. The salt wasn’t on the list, but the walk into the store made me think of it, LOL!

I also bought a new bird feeder. The squirrels had finally destroyed the last one, breaking the weld on the bar that attached the cage to the hanger.

Back home, I unloaded everything and put it all away. It was almost noon and I was hungry. So, I got out the rest of the mushroom and the last potato. I sliced the potatoes and fried them in butter and turned the mushrooms into an omelet.

Brunch was excellent!

I went outside, refilled the squirrel feeder and hung up the new bird feeder, aster filling it. I threw a lot of seed on the ground as it will take the birds a few days to get used to the new feeder.

Back inside, I started cleaning the house. My goal is “from top to bottom.” I started in the living room. By the time I got done it was after 3:00 p.m. and I needed a break. So, I took a short nap.

When I woke up, I started back cleaning downstairs. This was not easy as there are doors, saw horses and “stuff” everywhere.

I finally got back upstairs and into the kitchen. I had just moved the chairs and the rolling cart into the living room when I noticed it was already 6:00 p.m. So, I stopped cleaning and started dinner.

I peeled and diced four smaller russet potatoes and put them into the Dutch oven. I topped them with a bag of sauerkraut and then sliced up a link of smoked kielbasa. I brought that to a boil, turned it down to simmer and then went back to cleaning.

I checked back on the Dutch oven every now and then and when the potatoes were done, I tuned off the heat. 

I finished up what I was doing and then plated my meal. I ate it in the bedroom on a tray and turned on my taped show: This year’s only episode of Luther.

I thought that, since I started early, I would stay awake until it ended, but that didn’t happen, dammit! I dozed off instead and when I woke back up, Saturday Night Live was just coming on. So, I watched that, instead. It was excellent, BTW.

I will try and figure out the last thing I remember on Luther tomorrow and finish it.