random truths – Day 1,033 (Saturday) – stores and stuff

The grocery shopping hobby seems to be in full force again. Or maybe the hobby is closer to food hoarding, but whatever it is, in two days there have been three trips to two grocery stores in two different cities.

The first trip was on Friday after work to Market Basket to look for stuffed grape leaves for an art reception today. For years, they lived in a refrigerated end cap near the produce department in the store closest to home, and I would often buy them for reception food tables and for my own fine dining.

In the past year, the stuffed grape leaves become scarce. On Friday, the case was filled with containers of soup and some prepared meals. Near the deli, there were jars of just grape leaves for the real do it yourself types, or a 70 ounce can of stuffed grape leaves fit for commercial usage. I bought the fallback item, two boxes of Little Debby cakes. Because no trip to a grocery store for a single item is ever limited to the target item, Friday’s trip also yielded a roasted chicken, Italian anisette cookies, sliced mushrooms, and bananas, “to make it worth the trip.”  

Freshly trimmed.

Today’s itinerary included a trip to my friend’s hair salon in Worcester. There was a trim and freshening of the layers and the chunk of hair that keeps falling in my face was trimmed and the professional blowout is smooth and shiny. It won't be long before it's back to the wavy on the bottom and straight on the top average daily 'do. 

After the salon, a stop was made at Aldi, a couple miles away, to look for the ginger and turmeric tea I like from there. Not knowing where the tea might be located, all the rows were visited, which is basically the kiss of death to sticking to a list. The stop for a single box of tea ended up being 19 items, with two of them being the tea.

Because Aldi is across the street from Savers, it’s pretty easy to guess where the car drove itself next. The plan was to look for a very specific style of soup bowl that seems to have gone extinct and café curtains for the window over the kitchen sink. There were none of those items, but I left with a merino wool quarter zip sweater and a cashmere vee neck. The last thing I need or have room for is more sweaters, but they are merino and cashmere! And to my credit, I put two other cashmeres and a merino back on the rack. There was a time I would have bought all five, so I it felt like progress. My wallet can thank the removal of the dressing rooms and my inability to try on the three where the fit was questionable for the restraint shown.

Back in Lowell, there was another visit to Market Basket in the hope that stuffed grape leaves had miraculously returned since the night before, and if not, a savory option for the reception. No miracles had occurred, so it was Club Crackers and artichoke and spinach dip for the reception plus some for home, and a bag of frozen mixed vegetables. The dip is delicious, so it will probably never be found there again.

Supper!

Grazing was done at the reception, which served as a light lunch after a breakfast of the last two anisette cookies. Lobster ravioli was one of the off-list purchases at Aldi, and all afternoon I imagined preparing it for supper with olive oil, capers, parmesan and whatever else hopped into the pan. 

By the time I got home, the ravioli was forgotten. Supper ended up being a small plate with Club Crackers, artichoke and spinach dip, and pepperoni slices. It was like I was still grazing at an art reception, and it’s one of the perks of being an alleged grownup. It’s certainly more fun than the other adult crap like snaking the bathtub drain, paying bills and taxes, and worrying about retirement savings.