Tomorrow morning will be two weeks without a car. It seems there's some sort of hang-up with the insurance company and damage not visible in the initial photos sent to the claims adjuster. Anyway, two weeks is a long time to go without good transportation.
I still have my two feet, and one of the nearby bus lines is a little over a mile away. However, the bus line that goes down the highway where all of the grocery stores are located is two and a half miles away. That's a little long to walk carrying much in the way of groceries. Despite this, one of my daughters needed some things from Walmart, and she was willing to bike up to the highway, then take the bus to the store. The other day she did just that. I asked if she could pick up one head of cabbage and one gallon of milk for us. Those are the only groceries that I've bought in over two weeks. So far in September, I've only bought those two items plus one package of hot dog buns bought on Sept. 1. My grocery spending may be very low this month.
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| I love having a tidy fridge |
We're doing okay with groceries for the most part. One of the benefits of not being able to shop is that my refrigerator looks quite tidy. Under our usual circumstance, the shelves and drawers are loaded with plastic containers, plates, and bowls of leftover foods. Not much in that department today. But still, we have plenty of milk, lots of produce, eggs, enough condiments and sauces to make meals interesting, a couple of types of cheese, and a few other items in the fridge.
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| my free pile cheese dome on a pie plate |
Something we did run out of last week, and that my family really enjoys for its convenience, is the individual servings of string cheese. They're not as inclined to slice or cube some cheese for themselves. So, I cubed up both mozzarella and cheddar cheese and tucked the cubes under this little cheese dome. I picked up the cheese dome from a free pile a few years ago and just now found a good use for it. I'm not fond of the floral painting. I'd rather the dome was simply clear glass. But for free, I'll take it. Maybe I could scrape or buff the paint off.
No word on when the car will be ready. Tomorrow I'll need to take a bus (the one that's a mile away) to get to a Bible study that is just starting up for the year. I don't know who will be there, so I can't call someone for a ride. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we won't have rain in the morning.
I've kept us stocked in goodies and treats by baking. Last week we had brownies. Today I made a batch of almond-coconut bars. One of my daughters made caramel sauce for dipping apple wedges. With a well-stocked pantry, there's no shortage of goodies.
There is a silver lining to being car-less. Without any place to go, I am a lot more productive around the house and yard. And that's something for which I'm grateful this evening.
It's good you are able to see the silver lining, but I'm sure you are ready for this to be over. I'm sorry it's been dragging on for so long.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Kris. One way or another, it will be over soon.
DeleteThese days, that's a long time to go without a car, but you always have a well-stocked freezer and pantry, so you won't go hungry. But I know the no-car situation is probably wearing thin on everyone. Good luck with the insurance company. From experience, I know these things usually take longer than you want them to.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Live and Learn. I'm just trying to muster up a new batch of patience each morning.
DeleteThat is a long time without any sort of auto transportation. My guess is that you stock is good for a while just like my stock is good for a while. I always look at it as an adventure when I need to have a no buy month. I'll find interesting things to make just from freezer and pantry which is what we're doing right now. We have had all kinds of appliances die. In January was a new furnace/AC combo, then the refrigerator, now the dishwasher and the range hood vent need replacing. Not so fun. Early spring was a big car repair on hubby's van and I'm so done with repairs. What is really sad is that my dishwasher is 12 years old and in super good condition except for a new leak that developed. Finding the leak is impossible and new ones cost a lot and have a life of only 7 years. We're replacing it because kids prefer that I use it when they are there and if we sell the home the new owners would probably insist on a working dishwasher. I mostly was by hand.
ReplyDeleteAlice
Hi Alice,
DeleteYour year of appliance and car issues sounds a lot like my year. We've had similar thoughts about replacing our dishwasher. We're getting along okay with hand washing. But if/when we sell our house, it will need to have a working dishwasher. Good luck to you. I hope your year of breakdowns is about over.
So sorry this is dragging on. As the other ladies said, that's hard. I hope that it's all resolved very soon!!! On the other hand, as you noted in your gratitude note, and Alice seconded, THIS is the benefit of not living from grocery day to grocery day. The pantry and freezer stocking, which some people (not many here, of course ) think is silly, is the backstop, the security blanket, for unexpected problems -- car repair, illness, weather, lay-off, family crisis, busy schedule, etc. And like Alice, I've always found satisfaction in my ability to always feed our family (and anyone else who might show up) at a moment's notice. Maybe not exactly what I'd plan or prefer, but enough to fill everyone up and nourish them at a reasonable level. I've also shared this strategy and philosophy with our DSs, and they are also resilient and creative with their food resources. I've also limited shopping/driving around on purpose to, as you said, give myself more time and energy to focus on home needs. I'd rather blow an entire day every two weeks on shopping, than to break up my time to go a couple of times a week, and many our extended family do. There's more creativity in the kitchen needed toward the end of that time, of course, but for me, it's worth the adjustment for the time I don't "waste". Again, though, I hope that it's YOUR decision, soon, Lili, how often (and how) you'll shop. Getting groceries on the bus or on foot is hard work! (DS had to do it -- and go to and from the laundromat, sometimes in the snow! -- for a while. That was an experience he'll always remember, and helps him appreciate HIS "wheels"!) Keep hanging in there! Sara
ReplyDeleteThank you, Sara.
DeleteYou're right, this is a real blessing and bonus to shopping in order to stock up. I shop this way in part to save money (buy super large packages of ingredients), but I also shop this way to deal with my mental food insecurity, something I've dealt with my entire adult life. I have a fear of running out of food. So while someone like my mother might have only bought 1 canister of cocoa powder at a time, I buy 6. But also, I like not having to think about buying cocoa powder for a long time. And now with this current hurdle to grocery shopping, I know I have enough of just about everything to get through many weeks of home cooked meals.