LOCATION: In our tiny house in Retama Village (but not for long!) in Mission, Texas
WEATHER: Less humidity so it was more bearable. High 98
The excitement mounts! George brought the Airstream back to our house so we can start preparing for the trip. Great news: The refrigerator is working perfectly!
Here is Joy (the Airstream) back in our driveway. We have the awnings up to protect her from the sun and the A/C on to help the refrigerator. Who cares about electricity bills! Ha!
In the afternoon, we ran errands. George bought some hedge clippers at Home Depot. I waited in the car. Somehow he came out with a circular saw as well. I don’t know what he plans to do with that. It is dangerous to let him go shopping alone!!! . Then to Best Buy. I stayed in the car again. I feel like if it is not necessary to go into a store, it is not worth exposing myself to Covid-19. He bought a computer fan to put in the Airstream refrigerator to give it an extra boost.
Then, on to the supermarket. I guess they have lifted the mask requirement. We wore ours, and I would guess that about 90% of the customers were wearing them. All staff had them on. We bought a lot of stuff – mostly canned goods for my “pantry” that sits in the back seat of the pick-up as we travel. George pointed out that usually the clerk asks: “Did you find everything?” But, since we had so much in our cart, she didn’t ask us this usual question. It was obvious that we found a lot!
We had a lovely surprise awaiting us when we returned – a package from Galway, Ireland. When our daughter was visiting there last February (pre-coronavirus), she visited an aquaculture enterprise where they are farming abalone and seaweed. She asked the owner to send me a gift package. It includes all sorts of interesting food items with like kelp, carrageen moss, seaweed seasoning and dillisk – all seaweed products. And, a facial seaweed mask, divine-smelling soaps, and a bath soak potion. It will be fun to check it all out!
How hot is it? As an example – I have to refrigerate our garbage such as shrimp shells as they get too smelly if I put them in the outdoor garbage bins. And, the last time I did laundry, the detergent pods melted from sitting in the car too long! And now, packing up, I cannot put things in the truck too soon, as they will get too hot – like DVDs and CDs.
George grilled for the last time. It is so hard to buy small amounts of meat in our supermarket. Everything seems to come in “family packs”. I only needed one chicken thigh for tonight’s dinner, but had to buy a package of 8. I had George cook them all up and I froze what I didn’t need for tonight. Before grilling the chicken, I marinated them in leftover kalamata olive brine. Don’t throw that away! It makes a great brine! While George was grilling, I had him grill some sausage for tomorrow.
DINNER: Naan with feta, grilled chicken, and kalamata olives. Side was caprese salad. I have replanted my basil from the pot to the ground, so it will get watered by our irrigation system while we are gone. So far, it is happier there.
