The latest economic forecast informs that inflation is down to manageable levels in Canada.  The single outstanding item on the index is gasoline at the pumps that has steadily increased.  Food prices appear to have stabilized, and I can recognize that at the supermarket.  Interestingly enough the latest advertising flier from the supermarket where we shop had quite a few sales items, and I don't see prices creeping up as steadily in the last month, as they had been.

On Friday morning I decided to take one of the large frozen blueberry envelopes out of the freezer to bake a blueberry pie for dinner dessert.  Among many other food items advertised, frozen wild-blueberry envelopes were on sale at a considerable saving, so it makes sense to take advantage of that.

We didn't want to leave little Riley at home by himself, so it was decided he would accompany my husband to Canadian Tire where they went to pick up an insert for the trailer hitch, while I would be left to my own devices, doing the food shopping for the week.  It seemed strange to be there myself.  I'd grown so accustomed to doing the shopping with my husband. 

At the cashier's, after I had packed everything into the three large plastic boxes we use for that purpose, and was steering the shopping cart-full out of the store, I was surprised to see him waiting there, in the foyer, holding Riley.

He used to do that, many years ago, with Button, when we had only her.  Riley seems unaffected by her absence, although he is very quiet, and seems to spend more time sleeping than we've been accustomed to seeing him do.  Unless it's just because we're noticing him more, in Button's absence.

Everything seems strangely muted to us, as though we're aware, but not yet reconciled to such a profound alteration in our life.