Shopping Adventures

When you've been sheltering in place for 3 months, and only leave home for a once per month grocery shop, even that outing becomes an adventure. Some things that stood out on yesterday's trip:

I wore a bra for the first time in over a month! It made my breasts look level again, unnaturally sitting at the same height! 😀

Today was the first 'run' for my car in about 42 days. It had been parked in my carport during a particularly blustery pollen season, and my beautiful blue paint finish was tinged yellowy/green. As I walked into the store, the motorcyclist parked beside me remarked, "Wow! And I thought my bike was dirty!" It felt good to have some personal banter with another human. "Well, I hope seeing mine makes you feel better," I said, smiling through my mask.

Don't know how I managed to see through this windshield ... spraying with wiper fluid and using the wipers just makes a gritty, pasty mess!

On the way to the store, I discovered that some things on my usual driving route had changed - a whole new lot had been cleared and a large house was almost completed on the site. I was amazed at how many people were out and about (like me!).

I was surprised to find there was no attendant at the door of the store monitoring how many customers had entered and left, and the red lines demarcating 6 feet spacing between customers waiting to be allowed in, was not being used. I wiped my cart down with the Sanitizer wipes provided by the store and committed to not letting go of my own clean cart.

My attempt to return an unused $15 item that I'd bought before the pandemic was thwarted - no returns until after the virus crisis is over. Okay, that makes sense. After lining up at the pharmacy counter, I discovered that my script wasn't ready since my insurance wouldn't cover the medication, and it had been referred back to my doctor. Thwarted again.

I was amazed at the kinds of things that were cleared off shelves in the store. Some were quite surprising - these being Leberwurst and fresh ginger - both on my shopping list. Thwarted again! Who would have thought those items would be out of stock? Certainly not me. There was no 'Planet Oak' oak milk to be had, either.

Paper towels and toilet rolls were non-existent again. Only once in my 3 months of COVID-19 shopping have I been able to buy toilet paper, but it's an item I have always bought in bulk, so we've not had any emergency depletions. There weren't a great variety of cookies available, either, and the packer confided in me that he was surprised about this, but that it was probably because people were seeking out comfort food. There was a sign apologizing for the increased price of eggs, beef prices were higher than usual, and only one bag of flour was permitted per customer (despite the bags being of various sizes, some way bigger than others).

Everybody was happy and cheerful, especially the employees of the store. Customers were friendly too, willing to share brief, nuanced conversations that connected us in our shared experiences of this new way of being.

I'm happy to have colorful fresh produce at home again.