This morning – a Friday – we set off rather earlier than usual and somewhat aggressively upon the completion of a routine shopping agenda. It was strictly a so-called “grocery shopping” which means the necessities not a search for new retail acquisitions such as the latest iPhone, Apple Watch, MacBook Pro or iPad. We clearly had it in our heads that getting to the grocery store (Guido Patrice’s Your Independent Grocer) early in the morning meant beating the rush whatever and whenever that might be. To our credit we did however first insist upon going for our constitutional 5 km bicycle ride about the neighbourhood before succumbing to the grocery cart. There were already a number of dog walkers and other cyclists upon the periphery.

The varieties of cleaned, boxed sets of seasonal leaves on the cooler shelves at the grocery store is quite remarkable. It makes salad preparation a breeze! My mundane food preparations – breakfast and dinner (no lunch) – are uncomplicated and elemental.  It is strictly appetite which propels my culinary satisfaction. Naturally this is consistent with the adage that, “The best sauce for any meal is an appetite!”  I am perfectly content with that visceral eruption within my daily agenda.  The plain truth is that novelty and originality are hardly the normal characteristics of old age. For some people this prescription is unsettling or dissatisfying. I on the other hand prefer to see it as the natural evolution of things. Indeed I cannot think of anything I’d rather be doing. We have fully escaped the necessity of employment. Our accountant now enjoys the same singular devotion as our family physicians; namely, it’s all in their ball park. A glance at our on-line CRA site and the financial advisor’s endlessly changing Canadian and US Dollar Accounts is all that is required to quell any possible concerns.

As repetitive as my afternoon outings are, it is the very simplicity and unvarying nature of the drives – usually northward to Renfrew County and back – which afford me the contemplative feature I find so necessary.  Granted it helps to have the mechanical precision of a clockwork automobile.  And the array of lush, green fields; and balmy summer air throughout the cabin.

My only intrigue in today’s jaunt was an extension of my drive northward beyond Arnprior to the Calabogie Road.