08 September 2014

grocery trip

There are few things more discouraging than an empty fridge. Sunday morning there was literally nothing but half-used condiments, a mostly-empty gallon of milk, some eggs, and a tub of hummus. Oh yeah, and that penguin that holds baking soda. P.S. Also about 4 blocks of cheese. Can't run out of that.

No leftovers. No fruits. No veggies. No lunchmeat. Bare.
(A great opportunity to wipe down the shelves, though.)

So Sunday I dared to venture out to the grocery store. It was raining, so I figured that would keep most of the Sunday hordes at home. Fortunately, I was right.

I leisurely pushed my cart into the produce aisle. Desperate for something fresh. Oranges, raspberries, apples, bananas. Cucumber, sweet potato, spinach, carrots.
[Side note: Anyone else feel really self-conscious picking out cucumbers and other phallic items? While I tend to inspect my produce carefully before it goes into the cart, the opposite goes for cucumbers and zucchini. I pick quickly without much lingering...]

So me and this little old lady in this adorable raincoat were the only people in the produce section. I said hi to the guy restocking apples. The old lady got really into picking out broccoli. Like for real, tossing them around looking for the perfect one. I bet she wouldn't have done that if it was cucumber.

Then I slowly ventured down the aisles. The only time I ever go to that store is to pick up something quick, so I took my time checking stuff out. They have a large selection of gluten free stuff-- new stuff I hadn't seen before. Their store brands, though, aren't labeled gluten free. Walmart and Kroger brands are labeled, I guess Randall's needs to catch up.

I stopped to pick out a bouquet of flowers. Something about fresh flowers really brightens up the house and makes me happy. A few slabs of meat. I had to go back to the baking aisle 3 times because I forgot I needed brown sugar, baking soda, and also yeast. A fresh loaf of bread for Chris. The biggest jar of peanut butter they had.

That store is always more expensive than the other stores, but if you pick your stuff out right, you can manage to leave with a decent bill.

A quick checkout and 60 bucks later (See? Not too bad), I walked out into the rain with groceries for the week. I had brought the tote bag that we usually take to Aldi, but I got self conscious at the last minute and left it in the car. So when I got to the car, I put all the bags into the tote bag for an easier trip into the house. I know, I could have just taken it into the store. It's weird.

A drive through the neighborhood in the rain. Coming to complete stops at the stop signs. No hurry.

I really love grocery shopping, especially when it's not rushed and I get to take my time. That rarely happens anymore. Lately we have to get there before noon to avoid the crowds, then I have to fight foreigners for cheap, second-rate produce and often leave without things we need simply because that store doesn't carry them. Going after work isn't really ideal either, because grocery stores after work when you're tired and hungry = annoying. In a nutshell, grocery shopping is not as fun as it used to be.

Like I said, this trip was quite the treat. You know I really love a good grocery shopping trip.

No comments:

Post a Comment