quickies
Grania on Nov 22 2009 at 10:27 pm | Filed under: Randomness
I baked banana bread this morning. I don’t bake often, but I bought some bananas a few days ago on a whim, ever hopeful that my guts won’t reject them so painfully, but that didn’t happen and Saturday afternoon sucked because of the half banana that I had with lunch. So, it seems the only way I can eat bananas anymore is cooked. I used this recipe. My Mom made banana bread with nuts and chocolate chips. Minime loved it that way, but I don’t have her recipe, and I could give or take the nuts, so I found a recipe that sounded like just what I wanted. Pure banana bread. The only thing I might add is a little vanilla, just to make it a tad richer. I thought about chocolate chips, but decided to actually try the recipe before I monkey with it, so I didn’t do the chocolate. I’m pretty pleased with how it turned out. The last time I made banana bread, I over mixed it and it was, effectively, a banana flavored rubber brick. This time, much better. Go me.
I spent the afternoon with my best friend, exploring a grocery store that I hadn’t been to before. They’re fairly local, just in Wisconsin and northern Illinois. I’ve had a few people tell me about them now, so I thought I’d give it a go. My best friend lives 15 min from there so I called her and we made the trek. I don’t get too excited about grocery stores, but Woodmans is pretty cool. Aside from the selection, and the good prices, the best part is the carts and checking out. The carts are the kind that the front unhooks and the checker takes everything out of the cart, then there’s a bagger that loads everything into another cart while the checker is still emptying mine. It’s a beautiful system. I remember a few stores that did that when I was a kid but stopped as they realized that they could get away with one checker/bagger at a register if the customer helped load and unload, and they wouldn’t have to pay the extra salary. Woodman’s even does the “Paper or Plastic” trip. Most stores around here don’t give you a choice anymore. I’d have gotten paper if it was a normal shopping trip, but my cart was packed full, and I can carry more plastic bags at a time up to the kitchen when I get home. All in all, I’ve found a new grocery store that will get more of my business than any local chain. They do things right, the way stores used to be. I like that.
Best friend and I got to catch up too. We need to do that more often. It’s about a 40 minute ride to her house from mine. That’s a lot better than the 8 hour drive that it was for the previous 5 years. We’re getting better at calling more often, and even if it’s just grocery shopping we’re seeing each other more often. The holidays are coming which usually means that we’ll see even more of each other. That’s the best part of the holidays for me. The people that I love all get together at one house or another. With best friend there will probably be a couple of gatherings. YAY!
This week coming will be short. YAY for 3 day work weeks. YAY even more for time to be thankful for the love that I have in my life. I’m very blessed. Even when things get a little hard all it takes is reminding myself of how much my life has changed in the last few years. I live with an awesome guy, I’m blessed with good friends, my job has been stable, I’m cancer free for 2 years now, and the backbone behind it all is a family that’s grounded in love and laughter. Even in the every day mundane routine of my days, my life is richer than I ever imagined it could be. That is what I’m thankful for this year. Life is good.
