Friday, February 12, 2021

Normal?

 We are back to normal...if there is such a thing! 

It is very cold.  -26 for a low and -8 for a high.  Anything done outside should take as little time as possible!  We recycled on the way into town, I dropped Far Guy off at the Infusion Center I picked up our online grocery order, went by the Post Office drop box and the drive through at the bank, filled the gas guzzling car with its 4 gallons of gas so we have a full tank and then waited in the parking lot for Far Guy's call...I crocheted while I waited and watched people.

The grocery adventure was not without drama...seems they overcharged us...and when I called the gal said "Oh my I recall that and it is my fault."  I hate calling them to complain...but I refuse to pay for groceries I did not get.

In the mail was a tiny box of chocolates and some lip balm from a local retirement home...they said it would be sweet of us to move there. 

We disinfected groceries at home and washed fruit and vegetables.  

I mixed up a bunch of stuff; brown sugar, apple cider, Worcestershire sauce, and Sweet Baby Rays BBQ Sauce...poured it over some miserable pork shoulder poor excuse for pork chops that I got one week last Fall...put the whole works in the slow cooker for about five hours...and it wasn't too bad served with vegetables and a baked potato.  

So we are normal for these pandemic times.  It is supposed to get colder in the next couple of days...brutal they said.  Oh well at least we will be warm! 



Lupines in the Wild Gardens 2009

Far Side 


37 comments:

linda m said...

Sounds like another typical Winter day. So glad you got your new furnace and at least have a warm house. We had snow over night - just enough that hubby had to get out and shovel before going to work. I am so looking forward to Spring and no more snow and cold. Have a great weekend.

Martha said...

How can it possibly get colder?! Is that normal weather there? I'm so glad your heat was fixed before even colder weather moves in. Glad you got shopping and errands taken care of beforehand too!

The Feminine Energy said...

Oh my... your weather IS brutal. Lordy day! I'm so glad you're warm again! Yes, a crockpot can make an old shoe tender enough to eat, I swear. I love them (crockpots... not old shoes). :-D ~Andrea xoxo

Shirley said...

Hahaha gas guzzling 4 gallon car.....
I can't see you ever moving to one of those retirement homes. Sure recipe for an early pandemic related death.
Thank you for the lovely flower photos you post!

Galla Creek said...

I’m looking up infusion...dummy me doesn’t know what it is.

Wildflower Adventures said...

Mmmmmmm! I was thinking what to fix for supper. Karen

Dawn said...

Like -8 for a high isn't already brutal??

Wildflower Adventures said...

MMmmmmm! I was thinking what to fix for supper. Karen

Miss Merry said...

We are hunkered in for the weekend - cold and snow in the forecast. We bought a cow in early fall and, although they packaged as small as they could, some packages are huge. I am defrosting skirt steak which will make at least 3 meals for us. I am looking through my recipes to make it new and different the next 3 nights.

I feel your pain on the pork chops. It is hard to buy grocery store meat without really looking it over, isn't it!

Val Ewing said...

We are supposed to get the -25 degrees this weekend for night time temps. Gosh I cannot imagine what it will be for you guys.
Stay warm.
Oh, I'm going to do a nice pork roast this weekend! Yum!

Pauline Persing said...

Thanks for posting the photo of the lupines. I may have to break down and buy a bouquet from the grocery store. You and Far Guy are tough people to live through winter after winter of cold weather and snow.

gigi-hawaii said...

I like Sweet Baby Ray Honey BBQ sauce. Just bought a bottle last week. Used it on chicken thighs and baked them. Yummy.

Sara said...

It will be a good weekend to stay home for sure. We've had such a mild winter up to this point, so this is hard to take. I hope to just hide in my sewing room all weekend.

Far Side of Fifty said...

He gets an infusion once a week to protect his lungs. His liver does not produce the protein that he needs to protect his lungs.

Far Side of Fifty said...

He gets the infusion by IV

Betsy said...

It is definitely cold here too but not as bone chilling as you. We were below zero with wind chill last night. It's cozy warm inside the RV but not so much for the water spicket. We have no water as of last night. The spicket is frozen and I can't get ahold of the campground manager. The phone goes directly to voicemail. Dennis took a shower at work this morning. We have 1/2 gallon of water and some water bottles. We figure we can use dehumidifier water to flush the toilet! He'll pick up more water tonight if they haven't figured out the problem here.
I'm ready for spring. But we ARE surviving. It will all be fine in the end.
Blessings,
Betsy

www.self-sufficientsam.blogspot.com said...

Thank goodness you have heat and Far Guy got his infusion and you got groceries! Now you can hunker down and stay warm! Your temps make me cold just thinking about it. I'm thinking I may have gotten a little "soft" living down here! LOL!

Terry and Linda said...

It seems brutal cold there now! I have been meaning to ask you for some time (I love your recipes and copy and keep them) years ago a Swedish lady told me one her favorite recipes was noddle's and beans. Do you know of a good recipe. There are lots of them on the internet but I don't know what would be good. Since you do lots of cooking I wondered if you had or knew of such a recipe.

Gemma's person said...

Lupines, how beautiful, furnace, how warm, adventures, never-ending, something new every day.

Henny Penny said...

Oh gosh! I can't imagine it getting even colder! -8 for your high, and I'm complaining about the rain. Most of the time we stay above freezing. I worry about one of the tall trees falling on the house in all this rain. The trees are standing in puddles of water and we have five days of rain coming. So glad you got the new furnace and heat!

L. D. said...

Normal doesn't really seem normal, but safe and sound in a warm house is excellent. I crank up the heat in the sun room and pretend it isn't cold outside. I think the lupines are so wonderful to see. We use to travel the North Shore at the times when they were in bloom all along the highways. I sure miss that. Stay warm today after yesterday's trips to everywhere.

Red said...

There's hope for the weather. We warm up on Monday.

Coloring Outside the Lines said...

I guess this really is our normal now...and I don't like how quickly I've become used to staying in all the time. My outings are always grocery store and doctor now. I won't feel safe until I can get a vaccine shot, but that's not looking promising for anytime soon. Maybe this summer or fall. Stay warm!

Far Side of Fifty said...

Hi Linda! Yes it is brutal -35 this morning. Still -5 here now, probably the high for the day!
I do not know of any recipes that are specifically swedish for noodles and beans. I will have a look in my cookbooks!

Far Side of Fifty said...

It is Minnesota! I recall one year where it did not get above zero for 30 days:( I hope that doesn't happen this year

Linda Reeder said...

I love the lupine photo in juxtaposition with the talk of -26 temperatures.
I know you know how to handle the cold. Stay safe.

Bonnie said...

I am so thankful that your heat is back! Those temperatures are horrible! We've been complaining about having single digit temps this past week but now they say it will be even colder for the next 6 or 7 days. However when we get below 0 it's only a few degrees - nothing like what you have!

I love the lupines. They help us to dream about Spring. You two stay in and warm!

Jo-Anne's Ramblings said...

No one like to pay for stuff they didn't get I miss being able to go shopping in person instead of online.

Rita said...

Love seeing the flowers today. It is nice to remember them in the deep freeze times--LOL!

Stay warm! So glad you have your new furnace!!!

Granny Marigold said...

Reading about your temperatures makes me grateful for our minus 8C which we think is terrible. I think that's about 18F which would be a treat for you I'm sure.

Victoria Zigler said...

Suddenly it doesn't feel so cold here... I think I'll keep our temperatures, thanks. It's below 0C here most of the time, but only just. Glad you got the infusion and errands sorted, and your heat works again, so you can stay in and stay warm.

Susan Zarzycki said...

So glad to hear your are back to normal! Normal is good! Especially when talking about staying warm where you live. Unbelievable temps! 💖

Maebeme said...

The photo of the lupines is so welcome in this cold weather...a reminder of what will come.
Sheesh, you never have good luck with your groceries.

Take care, stay well.

diane in northern wis said...

OOOh...that last pic is a doozy! I love those Lupines!!! Sounds like you got alot accomplished on your jaunt into town. So the local retirement home wants you to move in? Kind of a cute way to ring your bell! Our cold weather started one week ago today...seems like a month ago. But just wait...we're going to start warming up this coming week. The weatherman promised!!!!!!! :)

Leah said...

Back to normal but dang this cold is getting old! I am happy you have heat and don't have that worry.

Jacqi Stevens said...

It hardly seems possible that it can get any colder there than it already has! Sounds like a good time to stay home and enjoy that new heater. Hope the cold spell doesn't last long.

aurora said...

It is going to feel so balmy next weekend, forecasted high temps just above the 32F freezing range! Woo Hoo!! I can't get over the "sweet marketing" the retirement place did...that approach is a little odd. Guess you have to think outside the box these days. Your Lupines are so beautiful!! I might try growing them again now that we no longer have clay soil, and have sandy loam. It is fun learning what grows for me all over again. I am also going to try growing blueberry bushes. If we think warm thoughts, it will happen eventually. Stay warm!!