After some welcome sleep late last evening, I was set to gain another comfortable sleeping position and resume further unconsciousness when some curiosity concerning the time set in ─ and was I hearing sounds indicating that my younger brother was surrendering his evening of drinking alone while watching T.V. downstairs?
I was only sleeping the latter evening away, after all, as a measure to fortify me to rise ─ once my brother had gone to bed ─ and get to work on whatever I felt I needed to do here at my computer.
So I listened, and then I heard what seemed to be him come upstairs and shut himself into his bedroom. Even so, I was still sufficiently sleepy that I almost considered trying for more sleep myself.
Then I shook off the impulse and checked the time ─ it was less than five minutes after midnight. It was time to rise.
I had plans for the early morning ─ a shopping expedition to the nearest Real Canadian Superstore outlet (Google Map) that is just over 2¾ miles from here. I try to arrive at the store right around its 7 a.m. opening, so that requires that I leave home as soon after 6 a.m. as I can manage. I do not drive, so I have to make the 5.625-mile round trip on foot.
Obviously I had no intention of sitting up all night and then making any such venture ─ I would need to get some further restorative bed rest or face the likelihood of declining far too seriously to be able to countenance any such expedition.
As a consequence, I rightly concluded that I was not going to have any time to put any work into the post I have in development at one of my two hosted websites. Instead, I would focus on making a post here (I had not buckled down yesterday to blog that day, so I felt that I needed to atone for the omission and then predate the post's publication to just before midnight).
I got more involved in the post's creation than I thought I would, and that used up far more time that budgeted. But I got the post composed and published (ostensibly at 11:59 p.m. last evening).
Then I had to create a post in my private blog.
Once that was accomplished, it was already after 4 a.m., and I finally made my return to bed with my cellphone's alarm set for 5:15 a.m. ─ in effect, I was only allowing myself about an hour to try and capture a nap before I would have to rise, set my dishevelled beard, boil water for a black instant coffee, and eventually begin readying for the hike.
Well, all did go according plan, although it was at least 6:08 a.m. by the time I was on my way. The street was somewhat wet, but there was no rain.
Or I should say, there was none initially. I was soon enough certain that I felt a spit of rain; and before too long, others began regularly striking me. And although the frequency of these spittings increased until it was definitely very lightly raining, I was never in jeopardy of getting wet.
My chequing account only had around $75 above the balance that I would need for the monthly mortgage that will probably get debited from it tomorrow, so I figured on only shopping relatively lightly. My main reason for going was to purchase two litres of heavy cream (33% butterfat) and a 3-kg container of honey ─ no other chain store anywhere nearer to me sells these items for a price that is even close to being as reasonable. This is why I make the trek ─ but no more often than every two weeks.
Unfortunately for me both two and four Sundays ago when I made that hike, there was no heavy cream in the dairy section, so I had to buy a feeble creamer that was only 18% butterfat and ─ inexplicably ─ at least $1.50 more per litre.
Since I do not make that hike on anything like a weekly basis, it is why I always buy two litres of the heavy cream. I probably use just about a litre of cream a week if everyone else in the household leaves it alone. My brother only buys the 10% butterfat creamer, which to me is the skim milk of cream ─ if I have to ever use that stuff in an emergency, I actually add a goodly amount of butter in a desperate bid to add some butterfat taste to my beverages.
As may be imagined, it was quite wonderful to find the dairy section stocked with the heavy cream this morning.
There were other commodities that I would normally have bought, and in weakness I did choose to include most of them. For one thing, I wanted carrots ─ I try to eat a raw carrot a day, and I think there were only two quite small ones remaining here at home. I usually buy a 3-lb bag of organic carrots. However, there was a sale of 5-lb bags of carrots, so I got those.
I also needed apples. I was sorely tempted to take advantage of a sale on 8-lb bags of 'imperfect' apples, but at the very last minute I put them down after concluding that I was going to be badly overloaded as it was. But I did pick up a 3-lb bag of organic apples.
All in all, I was to have a considerable load even after separating it into two carrying bags that I had brought with me.
I had a very charming cashier at checkout ─ the only one that I found on duty. She was an older heavyset woman of what appeared to be South Asian ancestry. Initially she was reserved; but when I sociably responded to her formulaic or generic and unfelt greeting of a good morning by asking about her own morning ─ along with extending my sympathies for what I expected would be a long day for her ─ she opened right up.
It didn't take much solicitous enquiring upon my part to learn that not only was she a part-timer, but that she only knew of maybe two others (fellow cashiers? I never got her to clarify) who worked there who were full time.
Upon asking her how long she had worked for the store, I was told 18 years!
As I was bagging my purchases, I guess she had a bit of a change of heart and did start defending the store, saying that they were otherwise a very good employer. They paid very well, for one thing. And even though she didn't get benefits through them like medical coverage, she said that where the filling of things like prescriptions was concerned, the store allowed them up to $2,000 worth of prescriptions for free.
Again, I didn't push to learn if this was a potential annual allowance, or if that sum was over some longer span of time.
Needless to say, there were no other customers in line at the time, or I am sure she never would have been so open and forthright.
She even told me that I didn't have to bag my groceries on the floor as I was doing ─ she said that I could put my personal bags on the counter.
It was a good experience chatting with this woman, and I was honest in telling her that she was 'making my morning'.
I find it gratifying when someone like her will quickly warm up to someone with my outward visual aspect once it is realized that I am not the person that my outward appearance suggests.
Apart from the beard, I am shaven-headed; and I was dressed in blue jeans and a dark denim jacket overtop a sweater so slate-grey that it too is nearly black, and with a glimpse of a black tee-shirt beneath that.
And of course boots.
As well, I am reasonably good-sized. So apart from my ready sociability, I might even have a somewhat menacing or unfriendly appearance. It's actually warming to me to be able to engender the sort of ready acceptance of me that this dear woman displayed.
As another customer approached for service, I took my leave and began my walk back home that was to prove a fair workout.
It may have been approaching 8:30 a.m. by the time I was home again; and after I had put away my purchases and was upstairs dressing down, it seemed to me that my brother was having his morning shower in his en suite shower room.
Then after he emerged from his bedroom and we exchanged "good mornings" as he headed on downstairs, I may have remained up until 9 a.m. or soon after, and then sought the refuge of my bed once more.
I napped well, and did not rouse and check the time until around 11:48 a.m. ─ I had thought to be rousing earlier than that. I rose and dressed, and then went downstairs to join my brother who was watching the end of an episode of Nova.
When that was done, I put our Android TV Box into use to play some videos that I previously recorded onto a USB flash drive ─ fare such as is produced by witty WhatsHerFace and James Corbett's The Corbett Report.
We had a little under an hour of this, and then my brother had to cancel out and go upstairs to his bedroom to rest up before heading away for the afternoon to resume his drinking somewhere.
Once had was gone, I had some exercise, and then I had my day's first meal. And that basically brings me to the present at 4:32 p.m.
The day has been fairly rainy ─ reasonably light, but still adequately wetting.
I am now going to take a break and seek another nap.
Gosh, I did better than anticipated. When finally I checked the time, it was 6:10 p.m.
I had a project I needed to get out of the way, and now it is nigh 8 p.m., so I have no time to discuss anything further. All I have to add is that when I am up overnight, once more I will be unable to work on that languishing website post that is my usual overnight concern. Instead, I am going to have to put full concentration into beginning work on the tax returns for my wife and I ─ we are going to be in desperate need of the eventual refunds.
Only a miracle can deliver me from the wretched financial straits that have characterized my retirement that began back in earliest April 2011 as a relatively newly married man. I had not been married quite six years, and my wife had only been here in Canada less than five years, but already I was deep into debt as a consequence of that union.
But enough ─ I haven't the time.
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