My Week that Was - January 13

Comfort-food breakfast. 1/6/24 dwm

Saturday morning we had a little snow, it didn't amount to much but brightened things up and made the roads slippery.

We drove over bridges and through farm fields to Cross Plains for breakfast at the Vessel Cafe where I enjoyed a filling order of biscuits and gravy.

 

Afterwards we went after groceries.  We used to go shopping together but recently that's was easier for my wife to do during the week.  As we walked the aisles, it took me back to my last year of college when I lived in an apartment and did my own shopping.

 

Comfort-food anytime. 1/6/24

 Back then, one of my staples was mac and cheese.  

 

 I recall getting four boxes (each box was one serving) for $1.  Each box is $1.25 these days, which isn't bad.

 We had a shopping cart of groceries to put in the car, then two more stops to use coupons that provided deals on Pepsi and Tombstone pizza too good to pass up.

 

There was just enough snow on the driveway to shovel which I took care of before it could melt.  

 

Black Earth Creek in Cross Plains. 1/6/24 dwm

I mentioned in this space December 23 an issue I had with a can of shaving cream.  It was resolved nicely last week by the Schick corporation when they sent coupons for a free product and a heavy discount on a second.

 

Given their speedy response in their reply and choosing to send compensation was more than expected, I appreciate their response and plan to remain a customer.

 

Monday I received my report card from Kwik Trip.  In 2022, I registered 264 visits, purchased 311 gallons of gas, and visited 37 stores.

 

In 2023 I made 321 visits to 35 of Kwik Trip's 868 stores. I bought 338 gallons of gas and redeemed visit reward points 22 times for Big Buddy size soft drinks.  The Kwik Rewards program tracks visits and purchases of Kwik Reward members.  In exchange are frequent discounts and a variety of 'freebies' you can earn by redeeming the required number of points. A free Big Buddy (32-ounce soft drink) costs 15 visits.

Part of my Kwik Trip report card. (screen shot)

 According to the family-owned convenience store only 5% of Reward members reached Trusted Tripper status.  

 

 I don't have bragging rights in the family, however, as the oldest son had more than 400 Kwik stops!

 

 Tuesday we got our first big snow.  Some places got as much as ten inches.  It was also the first time more accumulating snow was expected before the week ended.

 

 I took the day-off and enjoyed watching the snow, next up is weather cold enough to freeze the lakes.  Lakes around Wisconsin usually freeze over by mid-December.

 

The morning after the big snow. 1/10/24

 

The day after 8-inches of snow fell, I returned to work. One perk of seniority is underground parking.  I pulled in at 7 am with three inches on the car's roof and hatch.

When I returned at 4:30, the car was almost clean, on the top of the roof, in the middle, was a foot-wide but thin patch of ice.  It's the first time a day in the garage wasn't enough to melt everything.

More snow was forecast for Friday, up to 12 inches for our part of the state with strong winds to blow it around.  We had close to five inches before sunset.  The roads were snow-covered and slippery on my drives to and from work.  To see what happened to the rest of the storm, you'll need to check next week's blog.

Have a great week!

A sunny Thursday showed off Tuesday's heavy snow. (photos above and below) 1/11//24 dwm