Grocery Shopping

So, dear readers, does anyone else have a love-hate relationship with the store? Do any of your home scenarios sound like the following?

You start out hungry. While you've been working a lot and sleeping in between, making mediocre quick-fix meals for your poor spouse, you start to crave some GOOD food! Or any food, for that matter. You get the munchies. Whether it's hormone-related or sleep scheduled or something else, you just get the urge to eat something really great. You look at your kitchen and you think to yourself, "Man, I miss this place."

Next, you go to your fridge. Maybe there are some pitas and hummus. Maybe some Chevre and crackers. Maybe some Chevre with raspberries. Maybe I should make some of my former roommate's famous Shimp Creole recipe. So hard to beat! But when you look in the fridge, no hay nada. Outta luck. Inevtitably, no Chevra. No crackers. You go to the pantry. You're missing one or two (or all) key ingredients. Oh well.

But you just can't bring yourself to go to the store. You're tired. You think to yourself, "I think I have enough groceries and coffee and toilet paper to get us through the next two days. And then I'll go to the store."

And then, if you're lucky, your spouse goes to the store for you because you just can't figure out how to make the time, the list, the meal schedule to go.

But then, when the toilet paper and coffee (THE base essentials) start to run out, you realize you finally HAVE TO go to the store.

And when you get there, you realize how much you love grocery shopping! You hate the crowds that are there at the same time for the same reasons as you, but you can't help but pick up the produce. A ripe tomato. Haas avacados. Seasonal fruit coming back into season. Some new type of coffee bean for grinding, a new cereal your spouse might like. And then, there's the alcohol section! Do they have the wine I'm looking for? Oh, look at that! What to choose: LaPhroiag 10-year or 15-year cask? MMmmmmmm....So many choices! A gourmet heaven! Why did you dread coming here in the first place? Why on earth don't you come here more often?

So, you get home and start unpacking. You unpack the LaPhroaig, the wine, the meat and basic groceries. All fresh. All gourmet.

And two hours later, you realize that you still have the Chevre but forgot the crackers. Hummus with no pitas. You went to the store out of last-minute necessity, and thus forgot to make a list. Alas. The grocery relationship continues.