Because I Can

Today I took a solo road trip.  Why . . . because I can.  I wanted to see the country side as harvest will soon be upon us.  The smiling face at the end of my trip wasn’t too bad either.  The year is in its ninth month and I have several more solo trips to treat myself to.  There is more to a treat than doctor appointments, and trips to the grocery store.  When the wheels on the Lincoln go round and round, it feels oh so good.

While I was gone, Dennis had plans to take Snuggles to the vet for his shots.  I casually mentioned that small animals need to have an appointment.  “I’ll take care of it, they know me.”  I said no more as I backed the car out of the garage.

I got home a bit after twelve noon.  I went into the patio porch to greet whomever I found there.  On the floor was a kitty carrier with the door open.  Snuggles was fast asleep in one of the chairs.  I thought he looked pretty good for the event of the morning.  Dennis came in from the backyard and handed me a business card.  It was a card from the veterinary clinic.  Hmm.  Next week Dennis will need to call for an appointment.  They were booked solid for the remainder of this week.  I took the card and placed it where we will not forget to call.

In St. James we had two large stores side by side on the west end of Main Street.  One was a grocery store and the other a Pamida store, that became a Shopko.  Both large buildings had stood empty for several years.  This summer the Dollar General took over the Shopko building.  Dennis shared with me that the grocery store will be the new veterinary clinic.  They will be tripling their space.  Sweet!  But in the meantime, they are also short staffed.  This is the cry of the land.  It will take until the late winter before all the work that the building needs is completed.  Right off the bat, a new roof is needed.  A grocery store that had had a Deli . . . I can only imagine that a hot steam sprayer will be needed.

I got a wonderful opportunity to help granddaughter Megan.  Megan goes to a Christian high school.  Their senior class trip is to Puerto Rico in November.  Megan was excited about the adventure as this would go towards their grades as it is also being a mission outreach.  Each child had their own dollar amount to reach.  That, would include the plane fare, housing and food.  Of course each child would have a few nickels of their own to spend.  Opportunities that I couldn’t imagine for our youth.  When Megan was in ninth grade, the students had the opportunity to spend time in Washington DC.  Amazing!

When I got home today, I had a message that Megan’s mom, Carrie is coming tomorrow from the metro for a visit.  This will be great to get caught up with her.  Carrie hasn’t been able to get off work for some time.  Again . . . short staffed. 

Time to think on supper.  My pie pan will be used.  It will be chopped chicken leftover from a rotisserie meal, placed on the bottom.  Prepared Stove Top Chicken stuffing layered on the chicken.  I won’t need all of it for this dish.  We had instant potatoes with the rotisserie chicken.  That leftover is put between two layers of cling wrap and pushed out to resemble a circle.  With a quick flip, the potatoes are the topping of what I call a Sheppard’s Pie.  325 degrees until totally heated through.

That about does it for the day.  Fall temps are upon us.