Sunday, August 16, 2009

Be grateful for the home you have, knowing that at this moment, all you have is all you need. - Sarah Ban Breathnach

This quote really struck true this week. We managed to rent a trailer to stay in while we are in North Dakota. Phil’s work area is big and spread out but all of the towns are small and the rental properties are few.

The trailer we rented is very run down but I’ve actually seen worse.

 

017 (600 x 450)

 

006 (600 x 450)

008 (600 x 450)

009 (600 x 450)

010 (600 x 450)

I didn’t take a photo of the dead mouse laid out on the kitchen floor. I figured I’d let him have his dignity.

We will be moving in on Monday.  We won’t have any TV while we are here though.  There is only one phone/cable/internet provider in this area, and they want a one year contract for DSL service, so we won’t deal with them for anything.  Thank goodness for reruns and shows on the internet.  I love to read, though, so as long as I have books to read I’ll be content.  I never watch daytime television, and I will still be getting my Netflix, so I can watch movies.  Phil will miss his races, though.  We are planning to use cellular broadband for our internet. but we aren’t sure yet when we will be back online.  When we do get online, cellular broadband will mean no downloading for me!

We keep telling ourselves that we are working, we are together, and that is all that matters!

It has been kind of fun buying the things we need to set up housekeeping in the new place (Speak for yourself! – Editor).  We’ve tried to buy things that we can take home with us as far as linens and such, but the kitchen articles will be donated to the Presbyterian Ladies Thrift Store that is in town.  I have way more kitchen appliances, gadgets and doodads than I need now at home.  Just ask my husband!

America is filled with different cultures.  All the places we have been over the years have their own unique offerings.  I’ve noticed an item on the menus in Minnesota and here in North Dakota that I had never seen before:

Beer Cheese Soup

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I’m willing to try most food items so I ordered it the other night at dinner.  I have no frame of reference, so I don’t know if this is how beer cheese soup usually tastes, but to me it was like eating a bowl of thin, warm Velveeta cheese.  Not bad, but not something I would order again.

They also have “bottle shops” here instead of liquor stores.

Yesterday was an exhausting day!  The nearest Wal-Mart and Sam’s Club is eighty miles away in Grand Forks, ND.  We needed a lot of things, so after work Phil and I went down there in the van to stock up.

Our first stop was a store called Home of Economy.  Someone from work had told Phil that they had good deals on Carhartt clothes there.  Phil will be working outside, so he needed some extreme weather gear.  They haven’t gotten a lot of their winter inventory in yet, but he did get some coveralls, some thermal underwear, and some hats.   He wanted to make sure he got those before they were sold out.  A lot of the guys on the project are from Texas and Louisiana and may not have cold weather clothes either, so everyone will be scrambling to stock up!

I got some more kitchen items that I needed. It was a neat store, one that we will be going to again, I’m sure.

We then went to Wal-Mart and bought non-food items.  On our trip to Sam’s Club we bought a 6’ folding table and chairs to use as our computer work station, and a round folding table for our dining room table.

We then went to dinner at this fabulous restaurant called Giuseppe’s Italian Ristorante.  Oh, the bread was warm and to die for!  We could have made a meal out of just the Italian bread.  I had lasagna and Phil had the spaghetti.  This is a restaurant we will definitely be eating at again.

After filling up our tummies we were ready for our second trip to Wal-Mart and Sam’s to buy groceries.

We decided we won’t be able to go to Grand Forks every week so we bought at least two weeks worth of groceries.  The van was so full when we left for home and we were both exhausted.

I’ll be so glad to be cooking again.  There are just a few restaurants in town and only one with “good” food.  I went there yesterday to get some fried chicken gizzards. I’m a Southern girl but I can’t fry chicken worth a darn, so I was excited when I saw that the Pitstop Diner has them on the menu.  The owner and I got to talking, then Phil came in.  We were discussing not buying a tv because we aren’t going to get cable and this woman offers to loan us a tv!  She said she had one in a spare bedroom that she never uses and we were welcome to borrow it.  Here we were, two strangers she had just met, and she was offering to loan us a tv!  I love small towns!

The next few months should be challenging and interesting.

1 comment:

  1. LOLOL! Oh well, Steve and I have lived in worse. As far as that soup...I don't know why I can't eat food with liquor in it. Beer might not be so bad, but I can't stand food cooked with wines and liquor. Strange, I know.

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