synthetic socklets, so I do not fear
the vagaries of a house with air conditioning courtesy of the white
ants.
A friend of mine requested help -
the local Salvation Army Home League had a competition on as to who
could bring the most home-grown herbs. Thankfully, it didn't
matter as to whose home had them growing, and after a visit to me she
apparently won. I was so chuffed! Admittedly, not a lot of
people know that couch grass is a herb (well, dogs do eat it when they
are sick), and it's amazing how many 'weeds' are actually herbs that
are rendered invisible by lack of knowledge. More like
disguised, actually. I was once told that the true definition of a
weed is any plant where it is not appreciated, so that even a towering
conifer can be a weed. Although not without Local Council
permission, they have a thing over here about not chopping down
anything you could possibly take an axe to. Why is it that the
older I get, the more numerous and complicated the laws seem to be.
Still, I remind myself, in Feudal Japan, spitting in public (pardon
me, expectorating in public) was punishable with beheading. What
an enlightened attitude to the spread of Hepatitis! I know we
are oft told to treat the cause and not the symptoms, but I think that
may be going a little far. Perhaps a public education
campaign???
Isn't that amazing - here I am
writing about the beneficience of herbs and I end up with executions.
I don't know why my husband claims I'm easily distracted...
Quite often when you shop depends on
what your bargains are likely to be. If you are blessed and live
near a large supermarket, groceries can be picked up really cheaply
and the only major investment, if you are not using public transport
or a fuelled vehicle, is time. I'll give you some f'rinstances:
Our Safeway Supermarket in
Warrnambool is fairly large. If I were to live nearby and on as
strict a budget as I am now, this is how I would plan my shopping-
9:30am - buy bread as they put out
cheaply around this time the stuff from yesterday.
4pm+ - check out the Meat Dept.
There are a lot of markdowns just before the butchers knock off at
5-5:30pm. Some butchers don't mind you hovering like an
expectant vulture as they write out the sales stickers, others give up
part way or get "distracted" if you show too much interest.
Not that I'm paranoid.
6pm+ - the Deli. Look for
already wrapped parcels at the back of the displays. These
usually have the markdown stickers on them. Quite often the
staff at the Deli will now start marking down the "better move
this stuff right now before we have to put the fresher stuff in".
One has to be creative in the Menu Dept. at home, but it can be quite
fun.
6:30/7pm+ - the Deli. Yesterday
I bought two roast chooks (with stuffing) for $4 each. Normal
price was twice that. Made up rolls at home with cream cheese
(low fat) mixed with spring onions and mint chopped in, and added some
Tom Thumb tomatoes and cucumber. Yummo. More of the
chicken went for lunch, and still more snacked on in front of the
Idiot Box tonight (television). The bones will go to the pigs,
who are delighted to help with cleaning up. The Deli staff have
to get rid of the roast chooks or chuck 'em. And they are not
allowed to take them home themselves. Mind you, I can see
how anyone could get quite sick of eating roast chook if you had to
deal with the little cackleberry layers every day of your working
life. Oh, same goes for fish. Now is an excellent time to
wander down to that part of the Deli, because at our Supermarket, they
tidy up the piscene area much sooner than the other, more pedestrian
stuff.
Thursdays - every Supermarket worth
its Express Aisle has a day when things are cheaper. Some
things. This is called a loss leader. What the management
want you to do is to be enticed inside with "Late Week
Specials" and then buy heaps more with the normal mark-up on
them. You do know that most supermarkets get paid for
shelf-placement of the supplier's goods, don't you. That's why
the home-brand products are usually on a lower or higher shelf and not
at eye-level. Other tricks - red packaging because so many women
prefer the colour red and its association with food. End of the
aisle specials that sometimes aren't specials at all. Kiddie
tempters dotted all over the store, but more especially where you are
likely to stop to ponder which is the better purchase. Symbiotic
placement, eg chips and cola. Ketchup bottles near the hamburger
mince. You get the idea. Oh, the kiddie tempters are at
their best at the actual checkout, along with the magazines for we
easily bored types. Cold drinks, ditto. I still take issue
with the person (I won't put into print the terms that are going
through my tiny mind, they are NOT Christian) who put the greengrocery
at the opposite end of the Supermarket to the bread. Now which
would you rather see at the bottom of your loaded trolley? And
getting squishier by the moment.
If you get any sort of bargain on the
back of the checkout receipt, see if you can find any more sculling
around in parked trolleys or you might be blessed to have a
supermarket that gives you cents off per litre at a nominated Service
Station for your fuel. Ours does, and as we have two vehicles,
and only I do the shopping, I keep an eye out for any around the
parking areas and have even been known to rifle through clean bins.
I am blessed as my daughter is not at this type of embarrassment
stage. Yet. Other types involving lauding her beauty in public,
or singing the songs I made up for her as a baby, yes.
If you find money, so long as it is a
decent amount (any paper, for example), please give it to the Kiosk
attendant. It may be the last money someone has to see them
through the week. It's the old "I know if it was me, I'd
want it back" stuff. And while we are on the
subject of honesty, one of my pet peeves is stealing within the
Supermarket. Funnily enough, no-one I have yet seen would try a
pear or an apple, or, Heaven forfend, a coconut. So why do
people help themselves to the grapes as though there is a
"Free" sign on them? I find it distinctly annoying to
pick up a bag of grapes, only to discover most of the fruit is
recently gone and I am left with almost autumnal twigs to exhibit
someone's greed. And they encourage their children to do it.
If I am at all dubious about a fruit, and have at least some
intentions of buying it, I ask one of the staff. They are
usually overjoyed to assist you in the decision. I have even
tried weird and wonderful fruit before buying, using this method.
Believe me, they are human, and will understand if something is not to
your taste. You can make friends of these founts of knowledge,
and occasionally ask them to discount produce for which you have a use
but will probably not sell due to age or blemishes.
Speaking of greengrocery, you may
remember a while back I mentioned Materia Brothers, one of our local
private specialised Greengrocers (I still have not got around to
asking them to interpret the Italian writing on those seed packets).
Well, they have a side lane where they display 1/2 cases and full
cases of cheap fruit and veggies. To give you an idea, today I
bought a half case of carrots for $1. Now these were obviously
not the sort of carrots that one would expect at the Waldorf-Astoria,
but they are amazingly edible and quite good for carrot cake and
juicing. They also have a wonderful habit of off-loading all of
their individual grapes off the stem into one box. I bought a
box of those today for $2:50. They bag up dead or dying bananas
(one bag :60cents, two bags for $1) although prices do vary according
to the fluctuating nature of the good stock. Out the back of
Materia's is the huge wooden pallet area. Cauliflower leaves
galore. Great for your animals, and if you are desperate for
edible greenery, then you could probably treat these in the same way
as cabbage. I always ask first. Even if I have a regular
run. Never take anything for granted. And if I find
anything that should not be there, as I did once with whole
cauliflowers in saleable condition, I return the articles, not only
for the sake of my conscience, but there is the old maxim that one
does not bite the hand that feeds one.
I hope that here is some little hint
that might help. I earnestly believe that even if there is only
one thing that might be of use to you, neither of us has wasted our
time. And don't forget to thank Nita.
Apologies to a Venerable Poet
I must go down to the sea today,
to the wonderful sea and the shore
to watch the waves crashing in fury
as each the rock it will claw.
I long to watch the tiniest crab
scuttle past my shadow and hide
follow the glass shrimp to their lair
and wonder at their pulsing inside
My fingers tingle at the merest
thought
of anemones lying in wait
as I slip my digits within their
mouths
and they grab at ill-disguised bait
The painted fish, the hula-skirt
weed,
the albatross and cormorant
I long to watch them all from the
cliffs
until the sun long-slants
Today I smelled that wondrous sea-air
I sniffed in great joy and passion
Tomorrow perhaps I'll journey there
and continue my naval obsession
Dominus tecum
Leonie
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