Highlight of my day#1: grocery shopping with Scarlet bean at Lewis Fresh Market on Grand Avenue.
Yes, this is how exciting my life is and how low I have slid. Felt super low this morning, glum and teary; recognizing and feeling some more loss, namely friendships.
I took Audrey over to Timmy and Wescott’s, her beloved friends, and Scarlet and I proceeded to finish up the grocery shopping at Lewis Fresh Foods. I am one of those mom’s that shops at 3-4 different stores to get the cheapest, very specific and most fresh foods that I need. Our fridge and pantry were bare, literally, after going away for the holiday so I have been on a stock piling spree.
Scarlet and I arrive and this time I remembered a quarter (just like Aldi’s where you have to “rent” the shopping cart). Last time I forgot. It’s tough gathering groceries with a whining three year old who wants candy around every corner and a 23 pound one year old who isn’t quite ready to be cruising through a store at a fast clip on her own two legs. Needless to say, heavy loads and high stress with an F-word thrown in there.
I had one of those shopping excursions today where you have some leisure time to simply peruse. And, friends, this is the store to do it in. They have the most amazing things in this store. First, you start in produce where you can find every pepper known to the Latino world. You can usually buy 10 limes for a dollar even in the winter. And the mushrooms; have I told you lately how much I love mushrooms?
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Every time I come here I am simply amazed. They have an aisle for all Indian foods. The whole bottom two rows along one aisle are almost entirely legumes. Jasmine rice, basmati, wild rice, brown rice, all different kinds and brands. Greek foods abound with the best selection of reasonably priced olive oil. There is an aisle that is all varieties of Asian foods including a whole selection of Filipino foods, which I recognize from my summer in Manila. I walked down the aisle marked “International foods, European favorites, Yugoslavian groceries, Lithuanian and Polish groceries”. Amazing! There are some really interesting jars of something-or-others on the shelves. And since we live in a primarily Latino neighborhood, the store abounds with anything and everything you might need to cook authentic Mexican food. Yumm.
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I realized I have been spending way too much on my roasted bell peppers at Walmart. You can get a huge jar of them for 1/2 the price at this place. I found banana leaves; what do you do with those? I found myself wanting someone from each of these cultures to walk around with me and explain what you might use some of these ingredients for in cooking. I had the brilliant thought to start reading up on ethnic cooking and check out some cookbooks at the local library. I have every ingredient at my disposal here. I found myself in sheer delight and celebration of other cultures. How wonderful that we are not all the same.
I was entirely refreshed after my hour long walk through this grocery store.
Highlight of my day #2: doing dishes while listening to music.
The other moment today that lifted by sorrowful heart was when I found myself worshiping with my dish gloved hands high in the air rocking out to Kim Walker. You know you are desperate for some Jesus-connection when you have purple plastic gloves dripping with soapy water high in the air, praising. I can’t remember the last time I really worshiped. I was reminded by a Matt Redman oldie-but-goodie song that I am invited to worship despite my circumstances, to worship because of who I know God to be and his affection for me. I had forgotten this. You give and take away, my heart will choose to say, BLESSED BE YOUR NAME.
And one last highlight of my day #3: hugs from Scarlet.
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