To Market We Go...

You guys were pretty darned decent about my having gone and purchased two pairs of new shoes in as many days. You're good that way. But, I don't want to abuse your kind natures and I think it might be too much to ask that you find it in your hearts to help me excuse my lack of spinning. In spite of rather breezily declaring that I saw no problem whatsoever with my finishing up the superwash merino sock yarn by summer's end, I have failed to reach the finish line on that one. For what it's worth, I spun quite a bit on the second bobbin today.

But that's not exactly finished yarn, now is it?

Rather than use up Blogger space frantically trying to come up with excuses for my laxness, I'm going to simply distract you with some grocery store musings. That's usually pretty good for keeping folks' eyes from wandering back to the unfinished yarn. At least for a bit.

Considering that I am a single gal and that I don't eat forty or fifty meals per day, I seem to spend a remarkable amount of time at the grocery store. I often forget things or wake up in the middle of the night thinking about some oddball thing that I simply cannot live without and must purchase at the earliest opportunity. My "real" shopping day is actually Sunday. If I go in the morning, I can usually avoid the masses and hordes that like to get in my way while I stock up for the week. As I motored off to the supermarket this morning, I feared that I might have to work around a few more people than is usual since this is a holiday weekend. Surprisingly, it was pretty mellow. I had lots and lots of time to just get lost in thought. Here are a few observations:

You know how some people say, "I guess I just have one of those faces?" There are those among us who simply radiate a trustworthy or knowledgeable aura and I be one of them. It is not unusual for people to stop me as I shop and to ask questions or share life happenings. Today's encounter was with a lady in need of a good bandage. It seems her daughter had cut her toe rather badly while on vacation and that none of the wound-tending to date had been successful. Apparently today I was giving off a "health care" vibe. Together, the woman and I perused the bandage displays, read labels, debated the merits of "waterproof" vs. "not waterproof" and so on. In the process, I learned a great deal about her daughter and we can all be thankful that I am the one who responds to these poor souls rather than someone who is a bit more nefarious in nature. This was not the most interesting of grocery store conversations I've ever had. In the past, I have comforted a woman whose son was in a serious motorcycle accident, helped a gentleman choose a good moisturizer for his wife's crusty feet and read cat food labels to a very sweet older woman.

The downside to Sunday morning shopping is that I must do so with the college-aged and rather hung-over crowd. They are generally purchasing a great deal of pain reliever, corn chips and more libations in an effort to test the "hair of the dog that bit" you theory of nausea management. I honestly hate checking out behind them. Next to their fun-filled purchases, I must place my assortment of items designed to stimulate or simulate bodily conditions that they have in place and fully functioning by simply awakening in the morning. Today was a nice surprise, though. The young men ahead of me were purchasing fruit and what was clearly the makings for chocolate chip cookies. Goes to show you...profiling by age doesn't work. But the lesson came with a serious cookie craving and I was already at the register with the cart unloaded. Probably for the best. At their age, they can eat chocolate chip cookies with wild abandon and without consequences. The Sheep? Not so much.

If I am pulling to the right since I hurt my knee and I have a cart that is pulling to the left, shouldn't that balance itself out? Is it not reasonable to think that I could have shopped in a straight line? Apparently not. Everything seemed to be pulling to the left. There is a physics lesson in there somewhere, but I was too busy trying to keep the cart from taking out a lemon pyramid to really think it through thoroughly. Besides, I learned the whole sociological lesson during the checkout process so I feel like that's enough thinking for one shopping excursion.

Single gals (and fellers) who live in second floor condos, please stand with me and give a big round of applause to the greatest invention since the husband. (and it's one that will never tell you that your lasagna doesn't taste like his mother's or give you lip about yarn purchases) The Baggler is, hands down, the most amazing thing ever. And I'm not just saying that because it's a Maine-made thing-a-ma-jiggie. This little handle, designed to hold multiple plastic bags full of groceries or whatnot, is a lifesaver. I've used cheaper doo-hickeys and tossed them. This is the thing-a-ma-bobber for me! It holds up to fifty pounds, the bags are secure, the whole load is well-balanced and you can easily carry six bags per Baggler. Buy two, keep 'em in your purse. You can tell yourself until the cows come home that you will remember to put them back in the car when you're done, but you probably won't. They belong in the purse. Guys, you'll have to come up with your own strategy on this one, I'm afraid. Whatever you do, just keep them handy. They work like a dream.

And they come in cool colors, too!

But, now I must bid you a fond farewell. Sure, I could keep regaling you with more of my marketing musings, but that's not going to get that sock yarn spun up now is it? I have one more day left to me in the summer vacation and there is always hope that I can get this finished before it all comes to a crashing halt and I have to go back to being a full time teacher. Hope is a beautiful thing. All things are possible until they aren't anymore, right?

Maybe one of those random strangers from the grocery store will come spin it for me as a "Thank You" for my assistance...

SA