Shopping

Someone Likes My Laura Ingalls Wilder Blouse & It Isn’t Me

/ Ally Bean / 18 Comments

{Sub-titled: Never Underestimate The Youthful Appeal Of Calico}

Personal style is such a fickle thing.

I was in the grocery store about 10:00 a.m. standing near the deli counter, but not at it.  I was looking for a particular brand of taco chips, not sliced meat.

A woman behind me started talking to me.  She said: “Oh, it’s you!  I always know when you’re shopping in the store because of that blouse you’re wearing.”

I turned around to see who it might be that was aware of my grocery shopping ensemble, which I apparently wear quite often.

• • •

Standing there, in her Kroger uniform, was a women who works full-time behind the deli counter.  She is, as you can imagine from her unexpected chatty hello, a happy person who always gets my order right.

I like her.

I thanked her, and then not knowing what to say next I shared with her that this blouse, which I think of as my Laura Ingalls Wilder blouse, came from the Lands End at Sears sale rack years ago.

I didn’t explain to her that I bought this blouse, not because I thought that it was pretty, but because it fit perfectly, the price was right and the blue/periwinkle colors of the fussy pattern flatter my skin tone.

• • •

The woman went on to tell me that she liked my blouse because: “I had one just like it in junior high when I was 14 years old.  And now when I see you in yours, I  feel young again.”

Now isn’t that sweet?

The only problem here is that this faded summer blouse, which I do not like, is living on borrowed time.  Come cold weather it’s leaving my closet permanently and going into the Goodwill pile.

I hate to disappoint the best deli meat slicer in the store, but honest to goodness, I’ve seen enough calico print on me to last a lifetime.  I only hope that my decision to part with this blouse does not adversely affect my future deli counter service.

Only time, and a half pound of turkey sliced thin, will tell.

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Supercalifragilisticexpi*ALLY*docious: Goofing Off On Tuesday

/ Ally Bean / 21 Comments

Dear Diary,

Yesterday morning I awakened with the Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious song from Mary Poppins floating through my head.  In fact, as I walked downstairs from the bedroom to the kitchen I was singing it out loud.

I am such a dork!!!

Because I was feeling English suddenly I decided to have a proper pot of tea with milk and sugar.  I got out my little blue 2-cup tea-pot, added some Taylors of Harrogate Irish Breakfast Tea [which I admit is not English at all, but is the only kind of strong black tea that we have in the house] and brewed myself a lovely beverage.

Jolly good, I tell you.

Did I mention to you, Dear Diary, that Z-D took a day off from work yesterday?  Well, he did.  And because the weather was so mild and the skies were so clear, we decided to skip yard work and drive over the river to the next state to have lunch on the patio of an English Pub.

Yes, my morning theme continued.  Isn’t that cool?

At the Pub, I had my favorite unhealthy appetizer, curry and chips.  I washed it down with a Belhaven Scottish Lager [which I admit is not from England either, but I like it– probably my ancestry coming through].  I also had healthy fish tacos with a side salad to balance out my first course.

Then, fortified with alcohol and calories, we decided to go exploring.

We drove back over the river into our state and went to a crowded, fussy, older part of the city where we found the bestest place yet.  Yes, we went to Penzeys Spices, a place I’ve longed to go to for years, but only just discovered has a retail store in our city. You’d be proud of us, Dear Diary, we showed admirable restraint and only bought 6 small jars of spice, 2 small bottles of extract and 1 bag of herbs.

My inner foodie was in heaven.

Then we drove back home to the ‘burbs where we collapsed on our screened-in porch.  One of us played Candy Crush [Level 205, be impressed] while the other one, exhausted by the day’s excitement, napped while pretending to read a book set in London [because once you have a theme day, you have to go with it].

This is middle age fun.  Such as it is.

The rest of the day was the usual hum-drum of laundry, dishes, bills, planning, what have you.  But that was okay, Dear Diary, because we had such a good time goofing off earlier in the day.

We need to play hooky again, real soon!!!

Faced With Irony In The Grocery Store Checkout Lane, I Smile

/ Ally Bean / 30 Comments

While standing in the checkout lane at Kroger the shopper in front of me, a 70-something woman, told me and the cashier, a 20-something man, about how she downloaded her coupons onto her smart phone all by herself.  She was very proud of her success, and both the cashier and I congratulated her on doing so.

She was happy. And so were we.

In passing, the chatty cashier mentioned to us that Kroger was using virtual coupons because that was a way to save paper and help the environment.  The 70-something woman said: Oh yes, I’m all about saving paper.  It’s such an important thing to do.  I believe in that.

She was adamant. And we were impressed.

Then she pulled out her checkbook and wrote a [paper] check for her purchases leaving me to glance at the cashier who looked like he was going bust a gut, not saying a word about her incongruous behavior, as he finished the transaction.  Then with a friendly wave to both of us, she pushed her cart through the door and left the store.

She was clueless. And we couldn’t stop smiling.

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The One About The Friend, The Dog & The Suburban Grocery Store Salad Bar

/ Ally Bean / 14 Comments

Funny story.  File this one under: “Things We Do For Our Pets.” 

A former suburbanite, who has moved to a condo in a high-rise in the city, still works out this way, near where she used to live.  Having shopped in a large, suburban grocery store for years, she cannot tolerate the smaller, more citified ones near her current home.  So she continues to shop, either before work or at lunchtime, in her former suburban grocery store.

This woman, who we’ll call Wendy, has an old dog who she adores.  And this dog has taken, sort of, to city living.  Which is to say that when there are proper treats involved the old dog will do what is asked of him.

It follows, of course, that Wendy is conscientious about having a large supply of proper treats on hand.  And because Wendy now shops on the fly, she likes to get as many treats for her money as she can at one time.  Easier, you know. 

# # #

So, here’s what happened.  Wendy’s old dog likes one treat in particular and that one treat is bacon bits.

Wendy, who used to make bacon once a week for her dog, doesn’t like to make bacon in her new smaller condo because it smells up the place.  So Wendy has hit upon a solution.  This solution is to go to the salad bar in the grocery store and fill up one of those square clear plastic containers with the bacon bits that are on the salad bar.

It is less expensive by the pound to do this than to buy a package of raw bacon.  And it is more efficient, from Wendy’s point of view, because she doesn’t have to cook the bacon.  Plus her old dog loves these salad bar bacon bits.

# # #

Win. Win. Win.  That is until the day that Wendy ran into her suburban grocery store and discovered that the store had removed all the bacon bits from the salad bar.  

When Wendy inquired why the bacon bits were gone, an employee told her that some crazy lady kept coming in and buying a day’s worth of bacon bits all at once.  And that the manager in charge of the salad bar couldn’t afford to keep the bacon bits stocked, so the manager decided to take away all. the. bacon. bits. 

This sad turn of events, caused by Wendy herself, has left her bacon bit-less… somewhat ashamed of her behavior… and now shopping at the next nearest suburban grocery store to her place of work.

Because an old dog has gotta have his treats, ‘ya know?   😉