It's the White Death!

Actually, it's not so much even the White Death as it is the freezing cold! Brrr....Of course, it wasn't cold when I got dressed this morning (by not cold, I mean 35ºF), so I decided to be bold and go without my leggings and with a short sleeved shirt.

This was a mistake.

I decided that, since it is supposed to get bitter through the last of the week, I'd go ahead and go to the grocery store today. I feared that all my neighbors would also be at the store since the WHITE DEATH is supposed to be approaching, but it was surprisingly uncrowded. I didn't have have to wait for a checker. She was waiting for me.

So, after I finished, I realized that I had not used my $5 off my next shopping trip coupon and had 3 other coupons I wanted to use which I had neglected to. I positioned Sarah and David by the already loaded cart while I made a trip back for the other stuff. This is the still life I photographed of the items I went back to get.



The reason why these, unlike most others of my groceries, merit being immortalized by photography is that I got these free with my coupons and the sales. I did pay full price for the can of Skyline Chili (and it's not cheap) but that's what we're having for dinner tomorrow night.

In and amongst the shopping, I discovered that they had a deal that I was looking for. Last year, they sold big ol' hunks o' beef for $1.99 a pound. I would basically butcher these myself into roasts and stew meat. Since we can pretty much kill a roast at a sitting (so to speak), it's nice to be able to cut them bigger and maybe have some leftovers. So I was happy about that. Seeing as I am too tired to cut them up right now (what is it about grocery shopping that just drains the life right out of me?), they're in the back of my van. Since it's 24º and falling outside, I figure it'll be ok for the time being.

Yesterday was our "Halfday off with Mom" wherein I attempt to do something fun with the children. They do half a day's work on Saturday with Dad (thus doing a bit of role reversal for us) and have a half day's "fun" with Mom. (Remember that I am not a 'fun mom' so the word "fun" is subjective here.) Yesterday, I decided that we were going to go to Jungle Jim's, which is certainly fun for me, although not so much for the children, I'm afraid. And I just don't understand that. Not only is there the magic of all sorts of exotic foods from all over the globe (that's where I go to buy bulk spices and legumes for my Indian cooking, for instance) but they have fun things like America's Best Restroom, and all sorts of fun vignettes to watch and hear. Well, I will say that the twins like it pretty much but I guess the big girls are bored by it.

I will insert just a little bit here about how spoiled my girls are. When I was growing up, no one knew about lovely things like Indian food (or Italian or Chinese, in my family), much less could appreciate a place where all the spices of the Orient, plus food products from around the globe are all gathered. That to me is just amazing! It makes my imagination run wild to think of where these things came from and how they come together to make yummy stuff from all over. The girls, having been exposed to my exotic cooking and shopping expeditions for their whole lives, are not so amazed by it all, I guess.

Anyway, we were out of 3 crucial items in our house (red lentils, curry powder, and coconut milk), plus I was hoping to score some of the ever-elusive curry leaves (which are not due in until tomorrow ). So off we went. As you can see by this picture, the children were thrilled (Rachel had to stay home because she hadn't finished her half day's worth of work).



After scoring some marked-down fresh ginger (yummy stuff, fresh ginger) and my Indian spices and legumes, I strolled down the European aisle, which is also a favorite. Aisle is sort of a misnomer because they are a series of tiny shops set off an aisle. You can walk into the one marked "Spain" and see all sorts of Spanish food items. I always go into the "Swedish" one and look around. Yesterday, I decided we needed to actually try something. So I found these round flatbreads. Cousin Monica says they're called Knäckebröd. If you've ever tried those Wasa rye crackers, they're like that. Only big and round. And that makes them much funner to eat. Plus they're good with a schmear of sour cream.





And apparently, very fun to play with.

It makes me sad that I cannot take pictures of all the things in Jungle Jim's that amuse me, but they have a strict policy of no photography within. So there I am. Except, I think at the place where one of Henry VIII's toilets is because I took a picture of Rachel there last year. Peruse their website, maybe you'll see a few of the places. None of them is as cool as actually seeing it. When you come and visit me, I'll take you there, along with the Creation Museum.

But now I have to go out and install the heating lamp in the doghouse of Lucy the Wonder Dog. Because it is supposed to be very cold. Starting soon. Brrr....