Shopping Local (or trying to)

With the temperatures in the 60s I decided the deer weren't about to be moving about. The one I deboned the other day had a good 3/4 to 1 inch of fat under its skin as winter storage and insulation. YOU go running about with all your winter clothes on when it's in the mid 60s and tell me what it feels like.

Instead, Terry and I went and did some shopping and dining over at Wellsboro ("It's where the stores are!"--or so the billboards say.) and Mansfield. We had been talking about trying the pizza at Timeless Destinations and lunch would be the perect time for that. You go in in the evenings and you either want to dine on their appetizers (two or three of which can make a great and varied meal) or one of their entrees which are to die for!

We had a Cheese Steak Pizza on a regular pie (i.e. a "red" pie as opposed to a "white" pie). And it was great. The crust was neither too thin nor too thick and just right as far as crispy texture. The beef, mushrooms and cheeses were excellent although Terry added a touch of salt to bring out the beef's flavor. And, unlike some pizza, there wasn't a puddle of grease from either the meats or the cheeses.

Terry chose to have a glass of seltzer with a twist of lime but I had a draft of Mad Elf Ale from Troegs Brewing Company out of Hershey, PA. With Christmas coming, how could I NOT have Mad Elf Ale? Man! Was that ever good!

Mad Elf is a seasonal brew that has just enough spicy/fruity flavor to mask the 11% alcohol. It's full-bodied enough that you don't want to sit down and quaff a six pack of the stuff in one go, but with a light meal...PERFECT!

We did some shopping, for Xmas presents in the local stores and looked for a new pair of shoes for me. The presents we did okay on--even got some made locally--but the shoes...well, I've got wide feet and not enough stores stock wide sizes in casual and/or dress shoes. We saw three pairs I liked, two didn't come in wide, the third was in stock in black while I wanted brown. They could order them, they said. Seven to ten days, they said. No thanks. I've got a couple of other places to check out first.

In Mansfield, Terry picked up some local maple syrup from a friends sugar bush. Sold via consignment at one of the local shops, the small bottles will be appreciated by the folks for which they are intended.

We were back home by 2:30 PM and enjoying this fine post script of an Indian Summer. (We already had one Indian Summer before Thanksgiving.). It's nice to smell the damp earth and enjoy the warmth (bank thermometer in Wellsboro read 70 degrees!), but the sound of a spring peeper I heard last night is going a bit too far. It's got to get colder and snowier before spring actually arrives...so let's get to it already!  The colder part may be here tomorrow when things are supposed to be a closer to normal. Tonight we have a chance of rain showers and a low of 40, then a high of 40 during the day tomorrow (right after midnight, hence the overnight low?) with snow showers possible tomorrow night with Wednesday night low near 20 degrees.