The Good the Bad and the Ugly

 Good morning, everyone. This is another one of those times when I sit down without a clear point of what I'm going to write about. So come along for the ride if you'd like.

The property backed up to a river.

It's a cold morning, and late fall has finally arrived. Yesterday, Ward and I explored an old family property in Virginia and drove through snow both on the way there and on the way home. Luckily, the snow was mixed with rain, so nothing was sticking to the road. However, areas nearby had half a foot, with more to come. 

Briers everywhere!

Speaking of the property, Ward's grandmother bought it over 30 years ago, and it has been untouched since then. This meant there were greenbrier and other thorny vines everywhere among the trees. The vines took every opportunity to reach out, grab us, and hang on. Despite that, we had a good day together, and I enjoyed being out in the woods even though we had thorns to contend with. 

The only thing left were the apples.

On the way home, we stopped by an orchard to get some apples and cider. It's a little late in the season, so I was pleased that we were able to find them. There was a building filled with crates of apples, and buying was entirely based on the honor system. Prices were posted, and after you made your selection, you wrote it in a notebook and put your money under a weight on the counter. They said they've been doing it that way for years without any problems. 

It was nice to be out in the country where these things happen. Also, we had to walk down a road a bit to get to the property, and two different passing cars stopped and offered help. Once again, this was much appreciated, even though we didn't need any assistance.

Last weekend, I don't know what we were thinking, but Ward and I went shopping on Sunday afternoon. We hit several stores, all of which were crowded to the point that it was hard to find parking. If I hadn't known better, I would have thought it was two days before Christmas. 

Something I noticed during our shopping was a plethora of poorly groomed clerks. Several looked like they needed a shower, and one's hands looked like he'd been digging in the dirt. At first, I was annoyed, but after thinking a bit, it may have been that these people don't have easy access to showers, etc., or they have no money and are trying to save water. I just don't know their backstory. They were not serving my food, so I decided not to be annoyed.

Martha Stewart prison pizza

Recently, while I was working, Wally and Ward went on a pub crawl. They brought me home pizza from their last stop. The pizza was named Martha Stewart's Prison Pizza. I'm not sure what made it a prison pizza because I'm pretty sure they don't serve pizza like this in prison, but it was very Martha-Stewart-like, with cheese flowers piped on top. It was delicious.

I have a plan for Thanksgiving, but it's time to kick it into gear. I guess I haven't learned and will be shopping on the weekend for things that can bought ahead of time and making some of the dishes that can made ahead of time.

That's about it. I'm done meandering for now.

Until next time...