Town day. So much to do. So, so much.
“Look, I say we use our heads for once and stay overnight in town. Spread the chore list over two days. Waddya say?”
“Well, I have a quilting course which wouldn’t get me over to help anyway and the list is long so I am onside. Ya wuss! Ya gonna make a habit of this?”
“Well, it’s a coping mechanism, isn’t it? As one gets on, one makes adjustments. I think we should be making a few more adjustments, actually. We could get a few things delivered by the water taxi as it goes by or by the monthly barge?”
“Won’t the milk go sour?”
“OK, a bit more thinking is needed on this topic but I am gonna plan to do less and pay more for that to happen.”
And so we stayed at Money Penny’s B&B Tuesday night in Campbell River. Had dinner out at a nice restaurant. Very civilized. Sal’s course had taken her late into the afternoon but I got two things done on the car, bought some materials for more slip-proofing and picked up a few odds and ends that are usually put off because they take so long to get and are only small items. Visited a friend for a few minutes. I also put our book in the Campbell River Museum. By three, I had picked Sal up from the ferry and a bit later we had an early dinner.
GREAT breakfast. The next day was then spent travelling to Comox for a mini-Costco run. Found and scored some organic fowl at a turkey farm nearby. Hit up another organic vendor on the highway and returned in time to complete the usual ‘shop’ in Campbell River and get on the 1:30 pm ferry. Stopped in to see a friend in need of a book on Quadra Island. Picked up another boat like WASABI on the way home and got it stowed away nicely. Hit the seas about 3:30. Raining hard but flat water. Got home and unloaded by 5:00 – 5:30 pm.
We have never done a major shop and arrived home before dark in the winter. We have never done as major a shop so easily. We have never had a less stressful ‘town day’.
So, THIS is the new town-day plan, town-days.
And, ironically, it is only marginally more expensive. One night at a nice B&B and we can now accomplish about 1.5 times what we used to accomplish by beating ourselves up and getting exhausted. Given that the tasks are more tiring as we age, that’s not too bad. It’s not the world’s best plan, I admit, but it’s a good one for now. And I will get on some kind of ‘delivery’ plan when I can figure out something that works. Minimum charge for the water taxi to ‘stop and drop’ a delivery is $150.00. But it is 200 pounds, I think. 200 pounds of food (200 pounds of bottled, packaged, wrapped, frozen food is more like 150 of actual food) is enough to delay a town day a whole extra month.
Something to consider.
Our Off the Grid Home 
Uh oh. Is THAT what I have to look forward as I grow older? Slowdownitess? Not very encouraging. Did make a run to town and found that cauliflower is less than 2 bucks a head! Shudda shorted them. Good thing Chrispy didn’t listen to me and cancel Site C in favour of growing food.
Another thing that cuts down on town trips is procrastination. Then by the time you go to get it you find that you didn’t really need it, or you fixed it with something else.
Enjoy!
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Shorting cauliflower futures has got to be a risky business given their shelf-life.
And procrastination and rationalization are kissing cousins. I rationalize staying over, you wait til you forgot why….much the same – no relation to logic and efficiency.
But we got a lot done. The old Pathfinder riding down on her axels all the way home (boat and trailer didn’t help). And the water taxi/foodstore plan is already afoot/afloat. Gonna try the real easy way next time. You back, amigo?
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Powdered milk? Or a goat and a milking stool?
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Sour milk was just an obtuse metaphor for running out of scotch. Actually milk freezes. So does butter. No idea about sour cream or cottage cheese. Typically we think food shopping needs the personal touch….this steak vs that one, this lettuce looks better…that kind of thing. But, for the convenience of it, I am happy to delegate it and reward our shopper when we see them. Time to re-think the routines.
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Would you be able to “preorder stuff” via the internet? Or do you shop like me and graze for items on sale…..
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No, we could pre-order. We tend to ‘graze’ and ‘pounce’ on sale items as well but that is a personal touch I would easily sacrifice for NOT having to do it at all. Maybe I lose a saving of $5.00 or $10.00 on a $200 order. I can live with that. It costs about $50.00 just to go to town in gas and ferry, maybe $75.00. And, if you add lunch in town and a ‘quickie’ dinner from the deli section (so that we can get home late and not have to cook) and it is more like $100 a trip. So I would just ‘spend’ that on the water taxi and lost sale items. Same outcome but no effort. It’s worth it.
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Just so long as the taxi boater isnt a born again christian and starts pouring out your sinful alcohol a la Katherine Hepburn in The African Queen…… Hate to see a grown man cry….
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We always find town days stressful. You try to cram everything into a short period of time, and for us that includes using the Internet because it is so minimal up at the cabin. We like it that way at the cabin, but it does put a huge burden on town time. On my town days I also try to cook for a family where the husband has had to take over all of the household responsibilities. It isn’t a big help to have one meal prepared every two weeks or so, but it’s at least something I can do to help. – Margy
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And therein lies the real challenge. Town day is NOT just shopping. It is doctor visits, friend-visits, materials gathering and repair shops just to mention a few. So, I would not aim to eliminate the town days, just halve the frequency if I could. Right now, going in less just means carting MORE when we do go. And that system works to a point. But the Pathfinder is only so big and we rode home on the axles last time. Plus, that kind of load is tiring and difficult when the weather is bad, the current is running and it is getting dark. So, right now, I can’t do better than once a month unless I find a way to use the water taxi.
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