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Wednesday, July 8, 2015

Grocery Day


I think my favorite part of grocery shopping is getting home and 
putting it all away.  Especially days like today, when the weather 
 calls for severe thunderstorms and the first drop waits to fall 
 until I bring the last bag into the house.  And as I put things away
this afternoon, I thought how ordinary things can be  
beautiful when captured with a camera.  Here's what putting  
away the groceries looked like in our house today.









Of course, some grocery trips are not like this.
I'm thinking of the ones where the rain drenches me,
I forget my grocery list and forget important items,
I hit a bump in the parking lot and a pint of blueberries
pops out of the cart and spills all over the asphalt
(that happened last week!) and I arrive home just in time to
 meet the boys off the bus and all hell seems to be breaking 
 loose.  Groceries finally get put away after dinner. haha... 
It just doesn't have the same feel as it did today.
But for today, putting away the groceries was lovely. :)


65 comments:

  1. I did the same thing!! But...unfortunately...got soaked!! I could hear the thunder from inside the store!!
    Looks like a lovely calming time for you...
    Enjoy the rest of your day!
    Cheers!
    Linda :o)

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    Replies
    1. Hope you had an umbrella! I've been known to buy one in the store if I forgot mine! haha.

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    2. Had it in my purse!! TOo bad the rain was coming kinda sideways!!
      I always check the weather network before heading out!!

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    3. Sideways? Ugh...that's furry hair weather! haha...

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  2. Oh so true - "ordinary things can be beautiful when captured with a camera"
    Maybe that is why I love reading blogs . . .

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    Replies
    1. I do agree....some gorgeous photography on the blogs! Love it!

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  3. Well, if anyone could make putting away groceries look good it would be you. Did you forget treats for Slate? He looks miffed. haha!

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    1. haha...That is Smoke. He wants rotiserrie chicken and not treats. lol....

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  4. and I'm glad you documented this lovely shopping day, you can always come back to it when the other kind of shopping day ears its ugly head,,, so sorry about the berries,,,

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    1. The cashier usually puts a rubber band around the little containers of berries since they pop open so easily but this time she didn't. And then the bagger put that bag teetering on the edge of my very full cart. Just a freak thing but geesh...lost half my berries! lol....

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  5. You take the days as they come Betsy..some lovely and some not so lovely! And this was a good day. I can't say I like any part of grocery shopping.

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    1. Well, I didn't use to, but I've figured out a few ways to make it more enjoyable...

      --don't go on the weekend...too crowded and crazy.
      --don't go on Monday. The shelves are empty from the weekend.
      --make your list the day before.
      --make dinner the day before from anything you have that is at the end of it's prime.
      --wipe the refrigerator out the day before.
      --go when you aren't in a hurry, which is late morning for me.
      --go when the grocery isn't crowded....less wait to check out.
      --park beside the cart coral.

      You get the idea. haha...yes, I've put a lot of thought into it, ocd person that I am. :)

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    2. And don't go when your hungry....lol
      ~Jo

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    3. Oh yes!~ that's the most important one of all!

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  6. Putting the groceries away is my LEAST favorite part of the job! I always hope there's someone home to help.

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    1. Really? I don't like anyone to help! I like help unloading the Jeep, but I like to put it all away. :)

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  7. I say you chaps, you do make life difficult, do it the way I do it. I phone the local hyper-market and place my order. Then they phone back later and say it is packed and ready for collection. So the butler sends James, my chauffeur, to collect them in the Range Rover GTi and take them round to the tradesman's entrance where the maid and the cook put every thing into the pantry. Simple. Even if there is a storm raging at the time, it doesn't affect me one bit. An absolutely spiffing way to live, what?

    Then I wake up and realise I have to get my bicycle out and pedal to the local shop in the rain to get my beans and bread for dinner!

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    Replies
    1. The only thing better would be to hop aboard your private jet and go off to Paris for dinner, right? Wizard prang, and all that rot.

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    2. That gets boring after a while, old girl. Too many foreigners in France!

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    3. Oh, just for dinner...then jet back home. Maybe a stop in London for dessert on the last leg of the journey? What's that? Too many foreigners in London, too? ha.

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    4. Paris is only 55 mins by air from here. Grocery shopping in the Paris markets and back home in time to cook escargot for my evening meal.

      Of course I could go to Jim's Cafe in Cedarville again. . . . . . . . . .

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    5. I don't think Jim serves escargot. ha. Trip is a little longer, too. But the company would be nice, if I do say so myself. :)

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    6. Oh, wait...I'm a foreigner to you, right? hahaha.....

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    7. Not a foreigner, just a Colonialist!

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    8. haha...not me. No English blood at all, I don't think. Scottish and Irish, though...I guess that counts for something in the UK, right? :)

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  8. Well I like your organization and your lists. I do similar but on a much smaller scale so I think. My kids can't believe our food budget for two people, but I love to cook, and I hate empty cupboards and refrigerator.....And I give away a lot of what I cook....But I do enjoy shopping for groceries. I like you pick and chose my time to go....Your food photography is just so yummy.

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    1. I think if you like to cook and do it daily, your grocery bill is a bit higher. I have a freezer, too, and 2nd pantry, so I take advantage of sales and clearance items. And giving it away is fun, too!

      One thing I need to do is try out my crock pot. I got a new one as a gift last year and haven't even tried it yet! It seems I'm always home and it's just easier to let something simmer on the stove or cook in the oven. Still, I'd like to give it a try!

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    2. I don't have much to complain about in our Tree House....but the appliances came with the unit, and the freezer is really small. I am amazed at how much I do get in it. I have a system...it seems work. Except once in a while I need something that on the bottom layer...HaHa. I use my little 4 cup crock pot every week. But then the little apartment stove has much to be desired. Not complaining, just saying...HaHa

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    3. I think we all have our own systems and what works for us with what we have...and there is something to be said for small spaces...it makes you purge and be extra efficient and organized!

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  9. That is one thing I like about being "retired" at my sea
    I can go and be in and out easily
    Just old people to move around
    And not many are found lol
    Although when I bring them home
    The bags and the cats do roam

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    1. I always have a helper or two
      up on the counters to see what's to chew!
      Four legged help, is what I mean...
      looking for anything yummy to glean.
      The bags do turn into toys
      and bring all kinds of after dinner joys. ha.

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    2. lol that they do
      Orlin goes for the chicken at our zoo

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    3. I have a few chicken lovers here....
      leave your plate and it won't be there!

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  10. Today was my grocery shop day, there's nothing like having a trunk full of groceries and your vehicle is not acting right. Thank goodness I made it home, and then onto the repair shop, not too much damage thank goodness. My dad was a mechanic so I'm on the ball when I know my truck is needing attention :)
    I love the Vidalia onions, especially with sautéed summer squash....yum !
    ~Jo

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    Replies
    1. I had car trouble, too....car going in the shop tomorrow. Not so much trouble that I couldn't drive...just the check engine light flashing. :)

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  11. Ahhh... sometimes it's the simplest of things that touch our inner being. And usually it's nothing we could have planned. Been there plenty of times myself.... (just not while putting away the groceries, though).

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    1. Then you must be doing it all wrong! haha. Are you going hungry, when the crowds are there and when the shelves are emtpy? lol..
      And what do you have to go to the grocery for? You have that humongous garden and chickens!

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    2. Well, I really DO go to the grocery store!! Usually a couple of times a week in most cases. And we are eating plenty of fresh veggies from the garden, along with ONE egg per day from "Girlie." Those "newbie" chickens have not started laying yet!!

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  12. Yes the photography does make everyday things look interesting . .
    Glad you got it all sorted and put away ok. . . :)

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  13. I see you're still buying raspberries. LOL! I like Vidalia onions and I park by the cart coral, too. And another tip.....don't go to the grocery store straight from the gym. Even though you showered at the gym and washed your hair, you still didn't put on make-up AND you forgot your deodorant. It doesn't matter if you think you have an hour before the work crowd starts shopping because it's inevitable....you will definitely run into to someone you know. And you will stand there saying hello in one breath and explaining the no make-up thing in the next. It happened to me today, three times. Gah!

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    1. Well, it couldn't have been too bad....they all three could still recognize you! hahaha...

      Yep, still buying the raspberries....I'm on a raspberry and coconut yogurt kick for breakfast....so good!

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    2. HaHaHa! You have a point there! Oh wait, I did put on some lipstick before getting out of the car. HaHa!

      Raspberries and coconut yogurt sounds like a delicious combo! I had vanilla yogurt, granola and fresh blueberries this morning.

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    3. yum....you've got the perfect combination there....I could eat it every morning and never tire of it!

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  14. You make groceries look very artistic! :)

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    1. Yeah, well I didn't photograph the tp or the paper towels. ha.

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  15. I always love a peek into other people's lives and you have a way of sharing in so many novel ways. Something different like grocery shopping, so cool! I think the picture of the kitty with the bag of food is adorable!

    I have always loved grocery shopping, something about all the visual stimulation and that feeling of nurturing my family. And don't feel like the odd man out when it comes to putting it away. For me, it's 2 hours minimum. People picking at what I bought, me cleaning out the fridge before I fill it up, trying to pack everything in in spite of the fact that it will be mostly gone in three days! Ha! But I still enjoy it the most of all my 'chores'.

    I once complained to a friend about grocery shopping mishaps, in particular, naughty children. Then she said, "Have you ever had them tip your full cart over?" OMG!

    Jane x

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    Replies
    1. It takes me a long time to put it all away, too! But I enjoy it and just putter through without rushing. I enjoy it a lot. I also enjoy laundry...maybe I'll do a post on that. It's cleaning bathrooms and mopping floors that are my least favorite...lol....

      I was shopping one time with my sister many years ago and her little kids turned the cart over! ha!

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  16. Beautiful food!!!!
    Unfortunatly, no thunders here just hot and hot again and bringing bags into the home is rally exhausting!
    Love reading your posts.
    xox

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    1. Bringing the bags into the house is the worst part, I think!

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  17. I don't mind the shopping, even if it's raining, but by the time I get home and drag everything into the house, I'm exhausted.
    Perhaps I need to look at the job of putting it all away from a new perspective. Now where is my camera?
    :0)

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    1. My goodness, you exhaust easily. I'm worried about you.

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  18. I love doing this also!! Something is exciting about filling your cabinets and fridge. :)

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    1. Yes, I agree....must be a nesting type of thing. :)

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  19. I enjoyed this post much. You see it all looks so perfect nice and tidy easy and relaxed. But I enjoyed the end of the story as much as the beginning. In deed if every time your grocery shopping would be so relaxed and lovely it would make you almost out of this world ... haha. You have an art of setting a beautiful atmosphere yet you also have the art to show your 'humanity' :-) and I love both in you! :-) happy rest of the week Betsy!

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    1. haha...some things are great and then you try and repeat and that time it is awful. haha.... Just keeping it real. :)

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  20. But for today it was good! ;) LOVE you eye for beauty in the ordinary... you elevate it to extraordinary, Betsy. blessings and hugs ~ tanna

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  21. The last time that we went to the Grocery store --- it started raining heavily as we were getting ready to leave. I decided to go out to the car thru...the rain. We got soaked! =)

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    1. Well, sometimes you just have to go instead of waiting...especially if the rain isn't going to let up for hours! ha.

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  22. Are you having an orgy with the OR~G? lol Cool bottle.
    Fun straw basket with the red trim - very cute.
    Love all the grey shades in the shot with Smoke.
    I don't drive and I walk with a cane so grocery shopping can be quite a drag. I have a cart but it can only hold so much and it is heavy to lug home. Therefore, especially in winter, I often order from Grocery Gateway. The have every conceivable item and it is so convenient. Still have to put them away though!

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    1. haha...that was on the clearance shelf and the beautiful color caught my eye. Then I read the flavor...persimmon with papaya, mango and lime. Yum! Haven't opened it yet...I'm just enjoying the way it looks on the counter!

      I love that Grocery Gateway idea...I'd use it all the time if I was single and in the city!

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  23. The first picture is a gathering of the most wonderful treasures: The bright colours of the purse, the riches, the link to all the world, the bit of useful jewelry holding keys to unimaginable good things. There are shades for when things are just too much to see at once, and a reflection of the whole green world a-waiting, for next time.

    Life on a countertop.

    says rachel, off to primp and arrange my OWN lovely new white countertops with all the gleaming clear glass cannisters and apothecary jars. Tomorrow will be my own FIRST shopping trip since we finished the new kitchen, and I'm planning it Just So, just because.

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    1. I love the way you worded that...life on a countertop. So true...beauty in the ordinary if we just look!

      Enjoy your new kitchen! We finished ours last November and that is such a wonderful feeling. I STILL walk out into the kitchen each morning and think "Wow, this is lovely!" I hope I never get over the appreciation!

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  24. Sometimes I think the grocery store consumes my life..it seems every time I turn around I need to go back for this or that. I dislike shopping day so much that any little hiccup puts me in an even worse mood than I start out in.. I'm sure it would help if I were more organized. :)

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