Flags, Deodorant, and Hoovers

I got a good start today. Maybe it's because I was outside and active yesterday, which made me get some good rest last night! I completed my morning routine involving taking care of the dogs, stretching, meditation and prayer, walking the dogs, and then breakfast. After breakfast, I cleaned for a while and then met my friend Laine for lunch at Prego so that I could borrow the book we are reading in book club. I had a really nice time chatting with her, and the food was great as always. :o)

After lunch I had to go back to the grocery store. Apparently stores here don't often carry Marsala sauce, but they do have Marsala wine. That stuff is 18% alcohol by volume! I bought some to make my own Marsala sauce, which I don't mind doing. In fact, I'm looking forward to it! I did find some other great things. Oh, and here's an interesting tidbit: Here, they put flags on lots of things. If the product is from the UK, it will have a big UK flag on the package, and if it's from Scotland specifically, they will stick a Scottish flag sticker on it. I've noticed that in the UK, it's pretty common to see the flag on lots of things instead of just text that says it's from the UK.  :o)

You can see the UK flag is on the entire back, but the Scottish flag sticker is on there to let you know that it is specifically from Scotland. They even tell you what city it came from and sometimes it will say who grew them! How cool is that?

I went a little oil crazy. They just had so many good types! Groundnut oil is peanut oil. FYI.

Steve loves these crackers.

I also learned today that deodorant is slightly different regarding what is commonly sold here. They sell mostly roll-on and spray-on deodorant, whereas in the US, they sell mostly solids. It's funny how small things to which you don't give a second thought, suddenly become bigger as you look for something to buy that you've never really used.

Vacuums are different as well regarding common items in stores. Moreover, here they are referred to as "hoovers" instead of vacuums. I found more vacuums with long hoses connecting the sweeper to the dustbin than I did your typical upright, push vacuum. Here is what I bought, and I really like it so far! It makes vacuuming the stairs much easier than with an upright style.

It's in storage mode. HAHA. You just have to lift the pole from it's hook on the back of the vacuum. Sort of reminds me of our old pool cleaner. :o)

Anyway, that's all for now. I've got a book to read!