Enjoying the Grocery Store

Recently - I’ve noticed how much I enjoy the weekly grocery shopping. It’s not that I ever hated grocery shopping but there has definitely been a change over the past few years. Now I actually look forward to the shopping as a kind of outing. What has changed?

I am no longer restricted to shopping during non-work hours - so I shop at 7:30 AM on Thursdays. The store is never crowded and is well stocked.

The store is very clean, always well stocked and the employees are knowledgeable and pleasant. The aisles have not been turned into obstacle courses by food displays.

I use my own bags. They harken back to old-fashioned market day rather than slick commercial modern stores (even though I shop at a very large store). It appeals to be on a historical level and is also good for the environment. It is wonderful to not have plastic bags building up in my house.

The store has a model train that winds above the yogurt and cheese section. It’s a pleasant display with correlations to childhood and holiday celebrations. I notice it every week.

Sometimes the seasonal products are just too tempting. I bought a glass-bowl bird bath last spring and a sunflower last summer. Serendipity purchases are not frequent - but I always remember that they came from the grocery store.

I don’t linger frequently and when I do - it is to buy something I don’t know very much about but want to try. Recently the question was - what are the options for lower-fat pre-cooked sausage? I discovered a turkey sausage with half the fat content of regular sausage!

The produce section is large and colorful - and I like so many of the foods there. This is the place in the store where I spend the most time and buy the most. It is also the area most like old-fashioned markets. The store highlights the local produce.

And finally - I savor the realization that enjoying grocery shopping is a trait I share with my mother. 

The Azalea Project

Every spring there are some major projects for the yard around our house that are unique to the year. This year one of those projects was planting azaleas to replace to bushes that broke under the strain of ice and snow a few years ago. We finally gave up on their recovery and dug them out last summer. When we went to the nursery to buy bushes last fall, we decided to wait until spring and plant azaleas. I had put it on the calendar as a March task but the spring weather has been so cold this year that we waited until last weekend.

Waiting the extra weeks meant that some weeds had started to come up where the bushes had been extracted. After getting the weeds pulled, loosening the soil and digging the holes was easy. The bushes we bought are projected to grow to be 4 feet high and 4 feet wide so we planted the two bushes 4 feet apart. The foliage on the azaleas is still somewhat bronze from winter. Will they bloom this year? Maybe not since I don’t see buds on them right now. I’m taking a strategic view; let them establish themselves this year and then bloom in the spring for many years to come.

There are irises planted to the front and sides of them now. That will give some color during late spring and early summer. Eventually some of the bulbs may have to be moved if they are too close or overshadowed by the bushes.

The day was so nice that I also positioned the stand for a new birdbath - pushing it down into loosened soil to make sure it was steady enough to hold the glass bowl.

What a satisfying way to spend a few hours!