This is the week everyone did their grocery shopping on Thursday.
Better safe than sorry is probably the motto at the local tv stations. The newscasters laid out a scary scenario for us, so we all expected to see two to six inches of snow on the ground this morning. The early morning news shows would be full of school closings, and we would all get a snow day as the entire city would be iced over. So we all went shopping yesterday.
The parking lots of the grocery stores were packed, really packed. The only available spaces were way out on parking lot perimeter. And the line at the H.E.B. express lane was the longest I've ever seen it.
It wasn't so bad, though. Unusual circumstances seem to draw people together, and those of us in the line had a nice conversation as we inched toward the cashier. That's the way it is on the Gulf Coast when the hurricanes are swirling around offshore. People chat it up as they strip the shelves.
When I finally got to the cashier I asked if she had ever seen the store this busy. "Oh sure," she said, nonchalantly. She was an old hand at this. Big crowd? No problem. "When was that, Christmas?" I asked. "No, it was the day the store opened." Well, okay. So yesterday either tied for first or came in at second place.
Anyway, the storm was a big let down. The wet stuff fell from the sky, but with above freezing temperatures it just made everything wet and sloppy.
And today the store shelves were full, the parking lots were empty, and the express lane was a breeze.
We're so used to good weather, I forgot to even think about perishables! Glad the weather stayed decent (though wet) today!
Posted by: Janie | January 19, 2007 at 08:50 PM
The weather certainly took turn for the better. Janie, I ended up with more perishables than I need. Hope they don't spoil.
Posted by: Geo | January 21, 2007 at 05:15 PM