OK, so I have taken care of the meals at our house for a whole week just ending Sunday.
What have I learned?
It can take up to one hour to make what I would call a ?good meal? and clean it up.
It is hard to shop for groceries if you don?t know what to buy, and then after you have a list, you don?t know where it is in the store. Some nice people told me where to find things.
Shopping can be a social experience as you meet lots of people you don?t normally see. I went grocery shopping by myself four times during the week. And it?s great to have two handy places to shop in town.
The last half of the week was easier because I had to fend only for myself because Nancy was in Dallas at market. I only ate out one time.
Potatoes, salad and chili are staples in my repertoire. Potatoes can be served in so many ways?and frozen french fries rock.
Grilling outdoors cuts down on the mess.
I think I am now involved with food chores from here on out. Not every day, for sure, but it won?t hurt to chip in on a regular basis.
n
Longtime Hillsboro businesswoman Nell Hiebert passed away this past week. She hasn?t been in retail for nearly 30 years, but many will remember her as the nice woman at Hiebert?s Store, which was located where Quick Flick is now.
She and husband Henry owned a clothing store and carried about anything you would need, including shoes.
The Hieberts also were our neighbors on South Adams when we moved to town in 1955.
n
Can you believe that folks around here do not plan anything else on the day of the KU-K-State football game? At least not on purpose.
If you are a Jayhawk fan like me, you?re nervous about the game this time.
n
When Nancy got home Sunday and we were catching up on the TV shows recorded during the previous week, the ?L? word came up.
She was wondering what it would be like if I started to do the laundry. Not so fast.
n
I learned last week that I was born early enough not to need an H1N1 shot. But I was in need of a pneumonia shot, and a regular flu shot, which I am still waiting to receive because it?s not available.
n
I?m looking forward to the Great Pumpkin Race this Saturday. It?s the 5K Fun Run/Walk that begins at 8 a.m. at First Mennonite Church. I?ve never participated in a run/ walk before, so I?m eager to see how long it takes to walk 3.1 miles.
n
I was told that grocery-store owners like to see men shop because they tend to buy too much food. I can believe it because everything looks so good on the shelf. On my last trip, I ended up with some chocolate-chip cookies, which weren?t on my list.
Also, it?s hard to buy the right amount of food for just two people.
n
Sometimes trying to be clever results in a wrong impression. I had several people tell me that they thought I had written last week that the fast-food places in town were closing. If they only read the first sentence it may have appeared that?s what I said.
Actually, I was trying to counter silly rumors.
