I went Shopping Anyway

Didn't sleep worth a damn last night - I have NO idea what THAT was all about but it happened. I ended up listening to a 4.5 hour audio book - The Powers That Be - by Anne McCaffrey. It was sadly condensed into that 4.5 hours which made it a little choppy but I know it off by heart, so I guess it doesn't really matter. As soon as the neighborhood kids were gone to school, I headed off to the Dollar Store. I'm a big fan of Primo's canned beans & the Dollar Store usually has them for $1.25 a can. I buy Diced Tomatoes, Kidney Beans, Mixed beans, Chickpeas & Lentils for less than HALF of what the grocery store charges. I know, I know, I could buy them dried in bulk for pennies a serving & I have jars full, but  sometimes I just want a cup of beans or lentils in my soup or stew or salad. Canned beans are still a great cheap food. Now that it's Crock Pot time again, I'll be making Italian Soup & 5 Bean Chilli more often!!

Dinosaurs are really fun. And I'm having a great time in Dinosaur 101! I'm with a group in one of the forums right now & we're identifying fossils. It's a pain because I don't know WHEN the fossil will be posted by the Instructor & who will be first to make the ID, but it's still great fun. It keeps the  'Little Grey Cells' working. I'm half way through & doing very well. I like the fees - NONE - which makes it affordable for people like me. I think I'll take a course every semester just to keep life interesting now that I'm officially OLD.

Did I say?? I'm officially OLD. Got my first Canada Pension cheque for October. Sigh, it wasn't a great amount - I couldn't even live well in the Brazilian slums - but every dollar in the pot helps. This isn't what I planned for this time of my life but I do like Lemonade so I'll just keep trucking along. Good thing too. My other old, broke friends & I have been kidding each other about banding together to rent a warehouse to live in. We could build cubicles or park trailers in the space & share the utilities. We figure we can pick bottles & surf the recycling bins just as well as some ethnic types driving big cars here in Surrey. The big car comes into a neighborhood early when the bins come out. 10 people get out of the car with bags & race around picking the bottles & cans with a deposit on them. They fill the trunk & move on. EVERY WEEK. Two guys with a pick-up should do as well & split it fewer ways!! Maybe I should just go back to buying "Cash for Life" scratch cards.

Knitting Content - Yeah baby! My last pair of Summer Socks are just about finished. Boy, is it tough to knit that dark yarn now that it's getting dark earlier. Since I only had one 50 gram ball of that lovely muted Regia, I've had to use that dark brown for the foot once the heel is turned. The brown does look good with the Regia but it's hard to see. Good thing it's just straight knitting to the toe shaping - I have enough Regia left to do the toes!! Makes life easier because I can SEE it to decrease.

Tomorrow, I'm going to try on my Poncho Pullover to see where I am & plan the sleeves. It's pretty nice with all the bands in different colors of blue but the main body will be in one solid blue so the sleeves can be something else .  .  .  .