I haven't been to the grocery store in 6 weeks. Butch has been handling that. He prefers Kroger, I prefer Publix. There were some things I wanted from Publix, so I said I would go. They have the BEST fried chicken. I wanted to make a big salad with chicken tenders, so of course, I wanted the best. Also, they have these mini cranberry orange scones that I really like.
I never thought going to the grocery store could provide such an interesting experience but it certainly did. People are following the SEC guidelines (or whatever it's called---I think sec has something to do with football). Anyway, I was also following those guidelines.
When I got to the store, the people were already lined up outside---6 ft. apart with their masks. I don't have a mask, but used one of my dozens of pashminas. I waited in my car until the store opened and let all the people file in. Right off, I was a bit distressed that there were no grocery cart wipes. They say they wipe down the carts every night and during the day too. In fact, I saw a guy doing it. Still, it bothered me. Even in regular times, I don't touch that cart until I've wiped it down! I decided that I would be extra diligent to NOT touch my face. Of course, when you decide that you are not going to touch your face, that's when you get an itch!! My nose was itching. I sort of scratched it with my wrist, but that didn't really work. I thought, well, I'll scratch my head as a distraction. That didn't work either. I did the only thing I could do. I got out my hand sanitizer and wiped my hands. Then I touched my face!!
Upon entering the store, I noticed taped arrows on the floor. Some aisles were marked with X's. It only took me a second to figure out that they were trying to control the flow of traffic, so that you would never have to pass anyone on the other side of the aisle. They actually had a guy there explaining it to people. Still, they were doing it wrong. One guy was about ready to go down an aisle the wrong way. The clerk stopped him and explained the new "rules" and that he'd have to go down the previous aisle and circle around. The guy said, "but I don't need anything down that aisle!" He was aggravated and just went on to another aisle. I don't know whether he made it back to the wine aisle or not!
I headed to produce to get what I needed. Here, I encountered the same problem that Nicky took so much grief from the family for. You cannot open those plastic produce bags without licking your fingertips! Of course we can't do that now! I wasted a lot of time trying to get that bag open. I blew on it. I smushed it and rubbed it. What a pain! I just didn't want to have to report to the family that I licked my fingers!! It really is gross---but, hey, wadda ya gonna do?
People were doing a really good job of social distancing--waiting politely until someone got their lettuce before approaching the shelves.
Now let me be clear on this. I DO NOT have a cough. But, sometimes, ya know, you just have to cough!! And the more I thought about NOT coughing, the more I had to do it. I got to an aisle with no one in it and buried my face in my pashmina and let that cough rip!!!
When I got to the last aisle, there were no eggs, butter, or sour cream. Most everything in that aisle was out. There were just a few things of cream cheese and a couple cookie dough packs, lots of cheese, some yogurt and cottage cheese (as Mindy would say, "figures, that stuff is disgusting!" I happen to like cottage cheese---makes a nice lunch with a little fruit). But for the most part, this aisle was bare. There was plenty of milk which I needed so that was fine. I was going to pick up eggs and sour cream, but those were the only things I couldn't get. We'll live.
After checking out, I continued with those health recommendations. After putting my groceries in the car, I hand sanitized. Then when I got home, I washed my hands, put the groceries away and washed my hands again. After that, I touched my face and coughed to my hearts content!
Oh and you are going to be jealous of this:
if someone had told you just three months ago that the highlight of your week would be a trip to the supermarket you would never have believed them! Isn't it strange how the minute someone says 'don't itch your face' you cannot resist a scratch? The things missing in our shops are dried pasta, tinned tomatoes and flour!
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