Whenever I go out to grab a few logs for the fire inevitably some bark will fall off and onto the floor as I’m bringing it inside. And, inevitably, the dogs pick up this bark and eat it.

I guess they are getting a refill so they don’t run out.

My two furry accomplices and I did some running of the errands today. I needed to make a few stops and the dogs were happy as always to get out for a big day. We were gone for several hours and they were so excited.

We stopped at Menard’s so I could pick up a couple of things, one being the (hopefully) correct rubber coupler for the drain I fixed. It’s still dripping so I got a different size one that should fix it. I’ll get that done pretty soon now that I remembered to get the part. Forgot to get a gasket/seal for one of the toilet tanks though. Discovered I had a low tire so hit Discount for some air. They can look at it when I get a rotation, maybe next week.

After that was IKEA. The previous bistro chairs I sent back; they just weren’t working for me. I found some at IKEA that were really cheap and my T-Mobile refund card paid for them almost completely.

Next was REI. I picked up a Patagonia Black Hole 6L packing cube. It’s designed similar to my Cotopaxi packs – it’s a clamshell-style and each side has a zippered mesh cover. My current Dopp kit covers my toothbrush, etc. but I have a separate bag for meds I have to take, and going to a foreign country I keep them in their original bottles to avoid hassles. Now I can put them both in this one bag and it’s one less thing to track.

Next was a shorter-than-anticipated Costco visit. I needed to make a return and, as I expected, I had to wait in line. The line did move pretty good so I got it returned fairly quick. I wanted to shop but the place was packed. It was crazy busy. There were about 20 carts waiting to get out to their cars. They must have been oiling people up to slide more in the door.

After a quick grocery stop I stopped at a little farm store on the way back and was amazed at the place. Quite a nice little farm store with different meats from animals grown right on the property and sent to an FDA-certified processor. Some interesting sausages were in the freezer, along with buffalo steaks, ground lamb (grabbed a pound of that for kofta skewers), cheesecakes, bulk pantry staples and more…all small business and most looked to be local. Prices were reasonable and that makes it even easier to support small business.

Saw the Southwest Airlines fiasco unfolding over the last several days. I saw pictures of suitcases/luggage piled up all over airports, and those are the ones that weren’t sent ahead despite the owner not getting a connecting flight. I’m not too sure how that works; if your flight is cancelled – your plane doesn’t go – then how in the hell does your luggage go ahead without you? Apparently they DON’T always go on YOUR flight. Many good reasons to never check a bag even if it’s free or cheap. Carry-on is the best option.

Weather was windy but in the upper 50s. Tomorrow it will be even warmer. The dogs will be loving this but it’s going to be a bit muddy so maybe not much playing. We’ll see. The days are now getting longer so we are now gaining an additional 15 minutes of daylight a week. That’s uplifting news .

That’s all for now. See you next time.