Actually spending money? in A small but passable life.

The internet was out again yesterday. And maybe the day before too. I don’t really remember.

Saturday I managed to get to the grocery store. By myself. The store was mobbed. I had a list and a fistful of coupons. I took my time and only had to backtrack across the store a few times.

The lines at the regular checkouts were a dozen people deep. I opted for the self checkout. There were only about a dozen people waiting on the six scanners. I like the self checkout because I can bag my own stuff, in my own bags. I only made one mistake. I had a coupon that didn’t scan. The gal said it was because I had only one of the items, not two. My bad.

Yesterday I finally got tired of Mom fussing and fidgeting about a couple of projects that I’ve been putting off for months. Putting off because I know as soon as I complete them she’ll think of something else to fuss and fidget about. The first project couldn’t be done because she’d bought the wrong materials. The second project I had to build some custom pieces and install them in the cabinet. It will work except I need to go buy some longer screws to fasten in one side.

What I’m doing is making a pull out thingy for the ice maker. Open the cabinet door, pull the machine out, make ice. It should be able to be shoved back in while it’s working.

Mom gave me a card this morning with ten $10 bills in it. I came out here with my first cup of coffee and found the internet working. I called up amazon and my wish list and used the household debit card and spent $100.23 on two items. Two Anker products. The Anker 21 watt portable solar charger and the SoundCore Mini Bluetooth speaker.

Now, if I ever do spend another month or more in the wilderness I’ll have the means to charge the kindle (which went dead after 19 days), the 8” tablet, and the smartphone. There are still some technical details to work out. All my music (14 gigs worth) is on a micro SD card. The card is in the tablet. The tablet doesn’t have Bluetooth (or I can’t find it?). I could put the card in the phone which has Bluetooth. (No idea how that works.) I could put the card in the speaker which has a slot for it but only plays the music in order of storage. Or I can get a $5 cable to go from tablet to speaker. Nothing is ever simple?

Next on the list is the Anker PowerCore 26,800mAh battery. That will be what the solar panel charges all day. And then it will fast charge everything else.

With the d.lights having their own solar charging capability plus optional USB charging capability, I should have a complete backpackable portable power system.

I’m not going to replace the PrincetonTec 3AAA battery LED headlamp with a USB rechargeable one. It was expensive. It works great. And I’ve seldom used it, but carry it for emergencies.

The AM/FM weather radio is another stand alone item. But I don’t take it backpacking. It runs on 3 AA batteries for months and it has a crank charger if the batteries ever do run down.

I’ve sent a “Merry Christmas! I love you!” text message to Daughter. I have no idea what her holiday work schedule was. And the last time we talked on the phone she didn’t know either. She may be sleeping all day today. I’ll just wait.

So yeah, Mom says I can start cooking Christmas dinner a little after noon. I’ve got the ham slices covered with some kind of Boar’s Head glaze sauce stuff lying in a foil covered casserole dish in the frig. The box of scalloped potatoes, the can of green beans, and the store bought dinner rolls are patiently waiting.

Anyway, I’ve still got the Peter Straub novel to finish.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Last updated December 25, 2017