Bits and Pieces

Hurry Scurry: visited our local Super Target. The goal was to fill up our pantry with the normal goods. But the store was jammed packed with shoppers of every sort. The casual walker. The hummingbird item diver. The speedster shopper in for two things and only those two things. The elder in an electric cart moving ever so slowly up and down every aisle. Every one of them. Barely able to reach a higher shelf for the one perfect package of crackers, or cereal, or cookies.

The regular weekly shopper, the once a month stocker-upper, and the dart and grab sort just in to find the missing ingredient for a recipe. Yes, the store was alive and far from quiet. Like this time of year, the simple, the basic, is joined by frenetic tempos.

Must be Christmastime. 

Peace and Traffic: Awoke on Christmas Eve morning to a street silent of traffic. We live on Main Street in a medium-sized suburb. Next door is a museum. Across the street is the commuter Metra station. Next door in the other direction is City Hall. And shops. The traffic is nearly continuous here.

But not this morning. Quiet. Serene. No hubbub.

Later in the day the specialty grocer across the street was busy as could be. They normally are. Amazing meat selections. Fresh produce, too. And delectable many households desire but do not know how to make. This is a special grocer. The kind your grandparents remember several decades ago. Today, this grocer is directly across the street from our condo building. Its parking lot is always full from 7 am to 9 pm. Cars line up waiting a chance at a parking slot. Christmas is nigh and the elves need feeding with the special foods stocking the shelves of this special neighborhood store.

And then, it’s over. The traffic subsides. Parking is now available. But then, the doors are locked and the lights turned low.

Holiday Diet: a cookie here, another there, and then some fudge. Oh, and that apple pie at the next table looks scrumptious; even better with soft vanilla ice cream, and maybe, just maybe, a little hot fudge?

And so it goes. Day by day, a treat here and a treat there. And that’s in the evening while watching TV or reading a good book. Before, a dinner was consumed. You know the kind; beef tenderloin or maybe a thick lamb chop, the kind you remember as a kid? Let us not forget the Italian fare, either. The lasagna for Christmas Eve, the chicken alfredo delectable as always.

Well, you know what I am saying. I went into this season already overweight. I trimmed down a few pounds so I would not end the season grossly overweight. Well, it happened anyway. I have gained the pounds I was sure I would avoid. Just one cookie, you know? So good. So rare. Only at this time of year. One surely will not make a difference.

But oh does it ever!

December 28, 2021

 

 

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