A Day Off!

 Yes, for us it was a day off!

I decided yesterday that we needed to just go somewhere.  Gary said that sounded good to him and to plan where we were going and he would drive.

How could I resist that!

After I listened/watched the service online from FCC this morning,  Gary was ready to go, and soon I was also.  Jeans, long sleeved t-shirt from Michigan, tennis shoes, jacket.  Ready.

We headed out on the Hoosier Heartland, then north on 31.  Destination?  Green Oak.

Green Oak is usually a place we visit maybe twice a year.  Once is during the Christmas Open House which is always around Veteran's Day.  The next time is usually the day after Thanksgiving when Greta is here and she, Hilary, and I have a "Girls Day" out to have fun shopping and lunch.

I was on a mission to find a new wreath for above the fireplace.  I had switched out the summer wreath for one with sunflowers, but a new fallish wreath was needed for that spot.  Fortunately I found one  plus another to hang by the front door.  As we were wandering around, we also noticed charcuterie boards and bought one of those.  Then I found another bowl to add to my collection on the hutch.  The fun thing about checking out at Green Oak is that the prices are always discounted by a few dollars.  When I looked at the sales slip later, there were anywhere from $3-5 off the tagged price.

 

Next stop was Wings Etc. for lunch.  Small crowd.  Socially distanced seating.  We sat in the bar at a pub table.  Pretzel  bites with pub cheese.  Wings and tots for Gary.  Fish tacos for me.  Everything was great.  Except the fish tacos.  Little bit of fish in the bottom of the shell topped with gobs of onion, lettuce, and a few specks of tomato. Very disappointing.  But the pretzels were fan-tas-tic!

Walmart was next for a few items which grew into a longer list by the time we reached the check out.  Isn't that always the way?  We needed ingredients to make caramel corn and cookies for Hilary's fall photo shoot.  Somehow a couple of gifts for the boys' Christmas totes found their way into the cart.  Then I remembered I was low on shampoo, we needed more paper plates, and Gary was out of razor blades.  Since Lynnlee's birthday party is next week and I had no gitt bags big enough for her quilt, I had to find one that was!  On and on as we roamed around the store. 

The drive home from Rochester would naturally include a stop in Royal Center, right?  We caught up with Karen and Clay for a couple of hours, hashing over recent conversations, news items in the family, and future plans.  They will be leaving for their trip to Michigan on Tuesday. 

Last stop was at Bob Evans in Logansport.  The option of eating leftovers at home didn't sound like fun, so we decided to enjoy breakfast at Bog Evans instead.  Cinnamon pancakes with bacon for me.  Gary ordered eggs, hash browns, sausage, and a side of pancakes.  Other than the very s l o w service, it was a good choice for 'breakfast for dinner.'  

A beautiful day should end by enjoying a beautiful sunset.  We rarely see any type of sunset at our house because of the woods to the west.  Sunrises, yes.  Sunsets, not very often, unless we are standing by the raspberry bushes or driving home from visiting one of the girls.  Tonight the sky was changing to a deep blue with streaks of pink and red, with varied clouds scattered through.  

 

All in all it was a good day.  Other than the card we found for Landon's adoption day disappearing, our shopping was a success.  And it felt good just to get away from the house and enjoy different scenery and feel like we were living a normal, non-pandemic life (except for the masks, hand sanitizer, and social distancing).