Vacation, Day 3, Shopping

 We had handcakes (leftover pancakes, eaten cold without using silverware) and yogurt for breakfast. By the time we had our tea/coffee and discussed possible birding road trips, it was too late to start on a long drive. We drove to Grand Marais to do some shopping. We Intended to get frozen custard at Sydney’s in spite of the expense. It’s traditional! The street leading to Sydney’s was oddly deserted. At first, I thought it was our lucky day because parking spots were everywhere. Alas, when we drove past Sydney’s, this is what we saw, a building gutted by fire.

Remains of old Sydney's

Horreur! What shall we do? The sign left us hope that there was another location “downtown”, but where? It’s not a big town, but more of a clue would have been helpful.

We went to Ben Franklin for old time’s sake. Sydney’s temporary location was in two shipping containers on the space that used to be a tiny parking lot. Saved! Or not. They didn’t have any Dutch chocolate custard. Shoot. We went to DQ instead.

Our luck changed for the better after that. We went to a new thrift store on the south side of town, Oddz & Endz. It was run by a nonprofit agency to benefit the community. They had some really nice stuff! I bought a Cuisinart induction-ready smallish stockpot with lid for $6, an angel food cake pan for $5, and 8 retro cafeteria-style tumblers for $0.25 each! I have been looking for new glasses for some time. I don’t like the modern designs much, so these were perfect!

Fun new thrift store south of Grand Marais

Jane got a wall basket to hang on her door to collect association fees each month. You may or may not remember that she is the treasurer for her housing association. Treasurer seems to be a lifetime appointment, as several of her predecessors have died. Jane considers collecting the checks and hounding people to pay their dues to be the worst part of her job.

“No, Jane,” I said. “Dying is the worst part of the job.”

So far so good, though. She’s not dead yet. The old basket is wearing out. The “new” basket she got at Oddz & Endz was plenty dusty. She’ll have to hose it off before hanging it up.

We bought calendars at Betsy Bowen’s studio, another annual tradition.

Back at the cabin, Jane fired up the grill. I cut and buttered zucchini and made a foil pack of potatoes and onions. We shared a porterhouse steak and a bottle of wine. All was right with the world.

Jane grills dinner