DT and I are rushing-around getting ready to leave Monday for a months-long trip in our RV. The house must be prepared. The RV must be prepared The tow car must be prepared. In our spare time... our preparation coincides with the busy holiday shipping season for The Camping Journal RV Log Book (apparently many campers asked Santa for a RV log book this year!), and My Driver still spends two days a week in Eugene at his volunteer job with the University of Oregon.
But we are still getting organized. Today I went to my hippy grocer - the glorious New Seasons Market - to purchase a few items from the butcher for our RV freezer. At this small local chain, steak does not come packaged like this:
Steak comes like this:
Nothing is pre-packaged. Styrofoam is banned in the Portland Metro Area. Meat is cut on-premise by butchers, from meat raised by local ranchers. Ranchers the butchers know. The meat is hand-wrapped in brown butcher paper. At my market, the steak comes from here:
Call me crazy!
After I had ordered a steak and a few lamb loin chops, and was moving on towards the chicken area, the butcher raised his eyebrow. I shop at this market about twice a week and he knows I don't buy much meat... unless... we... are... "Are you driving your motorhome to Glendale?"
Busted! The entire meat counter caught-on that Terry was loading her RV freezer for a road trip to Arizona to watch the Ducks in the BCS Championship game! They sent us on our way with a lovely selection of organic Oregon poultry, lamb and beef.
No duck.
Chicken breasts (skinless & split breasts), one large steak, lamb chops and a parmesan-encrusted chicken cutlet - vacuum-sealed and headed for the freezer. This should keep us well-supplied for several weeks on the road.In other news... Oregon had a very, very, very rare visitor today - a tornado. Basically unheard-of in Oregon... unless you lived in little Aumsville today. This small community, just east of our Capital City, Salem, had a EF2 tornado swing down Main Street around noon. The twister pulled massive trees straight out of the ground, flattened buildings, turned homes upside down and lifted RVs into the next block. Amazingly enough, there were only two small injuries!
As it just so happened, Kathy & Woody were driving very near Aumsville this morning and Kathy snapped this photo with her phone of the scary black sky.Be careful out there people.
Until my next update, I remain, your well-stocked correspondent.