Good Morning.
I do not like to shop. I do not like wandering around malls or on city streets with something or nothing in mind to take home. When Breakfast at Tiffany's came out in 1961, I watched Audrey Hepburn gaze at the merchandise displayed in the windows of her favorite store and identified with her about as much as I do with a giraffe. I realize that I am a disgrace to my gender but it is what it is.
On-line opportunities have made things better and one, in particular, has made life easier. I buy my groceries without ever leaving home and have them delivered right into my kitchen. This is a wonderful thing with a pair of knees that don't hold up well in a supermarket the size of a small city with aisles of comestibles, a flower shop, a bank, a liquor store, a post office, a restaurant with menu service, and a huge spread of take-out. It makes me exhausted just thinking about it.
Instead I pop up my supermarket's web site with my list sitting on a desk rather than the handle of a shopping cart. I've used the home method so often that now the items I usually buy are featured at the beginning of each category, like dairy,
produce, and pantry, so I don't have to rummage through pages of products or type in what I want except when I've decided to try a new dish and need an odd ingredient. I can be done in fifteen minutes and move on to more pleasant endeavors like taking a nap.
I have to plan a bit. The groceries cannot be delivered the same day that I order them, but it's a small price to pay. I click on the time I want them ferried to the house the next day, and presto, chango, someone shows up in a van and hauls the bags into the house. The bags are arranged by temperature, so if I want to put away the meat and butter and forget about the pasta and marmalade while I have another cup of coffee, it's okay. The cost of the service is ridiculous: free for an order over $100 and $4.95 for less than that. I tip the person because I tip everyone; I've met too many bad or non tippers in my life
and do not enjoy them.
I do, however, enjoy the delivery people. One guy shares his critiques of Mexican restaurants, his favorite. He also likes to fish and lights up like a Christmas tree when he's about to have a day off and headed for the lake. A woman who also loves dogs recently turned up with her hair dyed blue and I smiled for an hour after she left.
I have never had an order messed up, a rare thing in today's world. I was concerned about not being able to personally select produce, but no worries: the baking potatoes aren't too big or too small and the avocados are ready in a couple of days. The only downside is I can't use coupons but I am not the coupon-clipping type. I admire those who are, but I prefer to make a passable spaghetti sauce with a can of tomato soup, plenty of garlic and herbs, and a splash of red wine. The wine,
of course, obliterates the cheapness of the soup, and the candle runs things up a bit, but we all have our priorities.
Best regards,
Elisabeth
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