Warmer and damp. Supposed to be partly cloudy today, and then light rain for the next week, so I’ve got work to do…
Spent most of yesterday not doing what I was planning to do. Yeah I know. Kid needed to be picked up from school, and that is a hard stop in my afternoon, and so I did some other stuff, then left the house early. She needed her Halloween costume, and I usually find all the pieces for it. I’ve been slack this year, or unlucky, so I thought I’d better make an effort and complete that project. It’s pretty hardcore work avoidance, but someone’s gotta do it. I shopped before picking her up, then we both shopped on the way home. I think we got it.
Stopped in our local Aldi on the way home, and bought a pack of gum. Really. And it turned out to be the exact gum I have at home too. But I’d never been in the Aldi, and we were already in the car, so I agreed. Aldi was barren. HUGE wide aisles, empty spaces where product should have been, very limited selection, and prices are not lower than elsewhere. I don’t know what modern Aldi stores typically look like, but I wasn’t impressed. Lots of quick meals, and ‘meals for one’ with the sort of fake healthy prepackaged food the yoga pants crowd likes, but very little meat or veg. In fact there were two empty coolers in the meat section, and several empty open front coolers in the aisle. Weird “fake loft” feel to the whole place too. Kinda like when they call a completely styled and furnished 750KUSD condo a “loft”. Polished concrete floors and no ceiling don’t a loft make, only the ersatz version. Place was empty too. Two employees, two shoppers.
Today, well, more of the same. I still have a load to drop off at the auction, and I’ve got stuff to put out before the rain comes. D1 has her last sportsball game in the late afternoon, and I’m going to that, so it will be a short work day. I’m having a hard time with motivation this week.
Oh, power went out yesterday too, which is one of the reasons I decided to hit the thrifts and shop. “Damage to equipment” was the reason given, with no further details. It was back on in about an hour, but I really need to get the gennie set up. We are sliding faster down the slope. I need some new UPSs and extended run batteries too. I’ll be buying new, in case I won’t have a chance to do so later. The last round of ‘new’ didn’t last very long, or maybe they did their job and died in the line of duty, but I wasn’t impressed. Back to commercial grade APC– if I can find them at a price I can afford.
I’m thinking hard about what is most critical to top up. Food is obvious, and I’ve got a lot aging out, along with meds. We don’t actually use many OTC products though so that should be covered, and the food is mostly “do I have room for that” at this point. Water filtration and purification, along with power are my most serious concerns at the moment. Both will take more thought, some scrounging or luck in the auctions, and more time and planning. Gah. It’s always something.
But, it’s doable. And I’m doing it. Stack with me my friends…
nick