Very early Monday

 I found a very cute sling backpack yesterday that was on clearance.  I know just looking at it Mom will love it; so I had to, literally had to, take the time after work to buy it, which of course meant I was halfway across the parking lot when the bus went flying by.  But worth it, in my opinion.  

It meant I had to wait with the homeless man at the bus stop for a while.  He behaves, I don't have any issues.  He is not mentally ill although he is a drinker.  Some would say drinking is a mental illness...anyway.  

I got on the second bus 'I don't eat candy" driver.  Someone asked me once how I know God is speaking to me so I will relate a little story.  

I carry a plastic tote bag.  Now I have always carried a tote bag when off by myself.  With Ron I would hang it on the back of his wheelchair and Ron would call it my "trunk".  "You need a trunk" he used to say.  Well for now the tote bag is it and I'm fine with that.  

But I have had 2 occasions where my tote bag was damaged and could not carry my goods, so I always carry a backup from Ikea, a very nice canvas bag with shoulder and hand straps.  I bought it for a few dollars last summer at Ikea with my aunt and I really like it.  It is wonderful for groceries, it seems bottomless and the shoulder straps make it easy to balance.  And, since it is canvas, it folds up very nicely in my other bag.  

So I'm riding the bus.  A woman gets on, struggling with groceries.  She is wearing scrubs, seems very tired, and has several bags on each arm.  Give her the tote bag I heard clear as day, not an audible but I heard it.  So, being obedient, I dug out the tote bag, got a bag of candy with a Scripture booklet (while I was at it and the driver didn't want it anyway), and gave both to her.  She was shocked but once she got a look at the bag very happy.  "I'm going to bring this every time I get groceries" she said with a grin.  And she had a much easier time getting off.  

I was glad I did it.  So that's how I work.  I have another tote bag which I will put in the work bag now.  That was my ride home.  And maybe that is the whole point of me riding the bus, planting these little seeds along the way.  God makes them grow.  

It was dark when I got off my last bus but I had a fine walk home.  Mom is on one side of the country, Dad another, and I am in the middle.  Mom did a speakerphone call - a 3 way call - with us.  That was fun.  She is doing pretty well.  So is grandma, who may need a catheter long term.  

I took my pot roast to work and it was very good.  Here is the recipe: 

Pot roast in Red Wine

2 pound pot roast 

Crock pot liner 

1/2 cup red wine

1/2 cup beef broth

1/2 t black pepper

1/2 t salt 

Handful chopped onions (I use the frozen kind but fresh works too if you have the energy)

One clove garlic 

Put liner in crock pot, put garlic and onion in liner.  Combine salt and pepper with wine and broth, stir.  Place roast in crock pot, pour broth mixture on top.  Cook on low 8 hours (overnight or while at work is great).  Enjoy.  

Very easy.  It was nice to come home to it  the other night.  I hope this makes sense.  I am trying to take care of myself the way I would take care of a husband, really excellent lunches high in nutrition and flavor, hot meals, good foods, etc.  Just because I can't afford takeout (and I'm OK with that, the last couple times I did they were really slow, expensive, and on one occasion they got the order wrong) doesn't mean I can't eat well.  

I am thinking to buy some chicken thighs on Wednesday and use up the last of the red wine on that.  I am probably the only person in Houston who can say I bought a 750 ml bottle of wine for cooking and used every drop for just that.  

I ate most of my salad mix before it went bad.  I have yet to eat it down 100% but I get pretty close before it turns.  

I also bought a jacket yesterday.  You may wonder why.  Well, back in July I bought a jacket from Amazon.  Supposed to be water resistant, puffer style, fleece lining.  I got ivory for color because it is very hard to see people at the bus stop in the dark and I want to be visible.  Even the bus drivers say my home stop is "very dark" and "Won't it be great when they put in the gas station?"  

It was a big hassle washing it and my washer got out of round which is very bad and also pretty scary, I will say.  Then it got dirty very easily.  I didn't like that especially with the washing issues.  Then I wore it one day when it rained, I got soaked and frozen.  So I was pretty done with that.  

A while back at work I saw a nice fleece jacket for $20.  It was cream, had a full zip, hand pockets.  It was light enough I could wear it under my rain jacket, which is huge on me now.  It was the polar fleece style.  Yesterday at work, before work, I pulled the trigger and used my "gift" money to buy it.  It washes easily and is more resistant to stains.  Also, very important, it packs GREAT in my bag.  There is enough room for both it and the rain coat.  I also used the gift money to buy some Mountain Dews for work (diet of course) and a McDonald's breakfast yesterday because I had no energy to fix my own.  

I plan to use the Taco Bell card tomorrow before work and buy Jack and I each a crunchwrap (he loves them, he said) before work.  That will be a really good start to the day.  

Carb Manager is acting up again... getting ANNOYED.  I hope I don't have to uninstall and reinstall like I did last time.  

My workers should be here in a couple of hours.  I cleaned up the house a little to make it more presentable, took my bras and underwear out of sight (not the sort of thing I think about day to day), cleaned the bathroom, etc.  I am wearing black sweatpants and a magenta purple sweatshirt I bought years ago, fits great, love it and never could part with even when I did the big purge a couple years ago.  

That's it for now.