Friday, June 21
The crew and I perform our usual morning rituals . . . coffee, check the blog, reply to comments, warm our bones on Dandelion Hill, breakfast, personal hygiene, another blog check, and so on . . .
“Okay, crew! Let’s go to Wal-Mart!”
Since last Monday Bridget, Spike, and I have been luxuriating in the privacy and isolation of our camp on Badger Mountain in central Utah. Like a bunch of hillbillies, we roll down the mountain. After seven or eight downward miles of washboard gravel and switchbacks, the San Pitch Mountains and Sanpete Valley come into view.
Gee, the town of Ephraim is bustling today! Banners inform me that some kind of pageant is going on this weekend. We follow the main street to the north end of town. There it is! Wal-Mart!
I implement my trash-dumping plan.
I don’t want to be too obvious throwing numerous bags of trash into the parking lot receptacles. I prefer discretion. I don’t want some snark to come around and throw a verbal missile at me. I can imagine . . . .
“Hey, ya’ too cheap to pay for trash pick-up?”
I park so the Perfect Tow Vehicle’s back doors are strategically located.
Nonchalantly I exit the PTV, go around to the back, pull out a couple of trash bags, and stuff them in. Then I open the side door for the crew to jump out. I walk them around a grassy area alongside the parking lot. Once they’re back in the PTV, I stroll to the back of the PTV, pull out a couple of trash bags, and stuff them in.
Later, when the shopping is done and the goods are packed into the passenger seat area, I waltz to the back of the PTV, pull out a couple of trash bags, and stuff them in.
“Time to go, guys! You were such good puppies!”
I fire up the PTV and on the way out, I stop, walk around to the back of the PTV, pull out the rest of the trash, and . . . Voila! No more trash!
Ephraim’s Wal-Mart is one of the best I’ve ever seen.
Rejoice, oh miserly soul of mine! It’s been months since I’ve seen such good prices! Progresso soups at $1.50 which is half what I’ve been paying. I stock up with my favorites — Tuscany Chicken, Santa Fe Chicken, and Classic Garden Vegetable. Hey, let it never be said that this blog doesn’t provide its readers with what they need to know!
After loading up my cart with groceries, I cruise over to dry goods.
Golly, don’t you have anything better to do than read this drivel? Oh well, I do enjoy your company . . .
I know Wal-Mart’s non-grocery areas are a danger zone, since I haven’t done any “real” shopping in ages. I let myself splurge. I pick up two men’s tee-shirts (longer-lasting than the cheapo stuff pawned off on women), a cap, a pack of undies (no, not men’s), three dish towels, a bowl, and denta-stix for the crew. I know what you’re thinking — “THAT’s splurging?”
Funny how frugality works.
When you rarely buy unnecessary items, when you stay away from malls and department stores, when you don’t devote yourself to the acquisition of stuff, the simple act of choosing what color dish towels to buy is a surprisingly entertaining activity.
So that’s what I picked up at Wal-Mart.
Actually, that ain’t all I picked up. Around six o’clock in the evening I start to feel strange. I become aware of barely-perceptible body aches and weakness. Uh-oh.
I toss some Emergen – C powder into a bottle of water and drink up. I don’t have the energy to blog. By eight o’clock I’m in bed, not because I’m so sick, but because I believe in the restorative power of sleep. Okay, immune system. Show your stuff!
Saturday, June 22
I wake up around seven. Hmm . . . Eleven hours of good, solid sleep. Well, except for Spike’s middle-of-the-night potty run. Gee, I’m feeling okay. If I take it easy today, sit in the sun, read my kindle, write the blog, take a nap, fortify myself with good food, drink a lot, I just might beat this thing!
rvsue
A big THANK YOU for every purchase, large or small, made through my blog! Here’s a look at what readers have bought from Amazon.
Home Bakery Virtuoso Breadmaker
High Capacity Propane Tankless Water Heater
Panasonic Lumix TOUGH Waterproof Digital Camera with 4.6x Optical Zoom
Steve McQueen Collection: 4 Film Favorites
Cheddar Cheese Powder by Hoosier Hill Farm
Coghlan’s Camper Egg Carrier
