supermarket update...

The supermarket here is called the Grand Union. Or the GU. Or the Grand Onion. Or sometimes the A&P, which is the brand of supermarket it was before it was a Grand Union. January and February are so quiet here, that the supermarked becomes a meeting place.

Conversation overheard yesterday:
"Why, hello sweetie, you're still wearing the same jacket. I saw you here in that jacket last week!"
"Well, I just got it out again today, you know. It seemed like a cord jacket sort of a day. [yes, it was a cord jacket, funnily enough. I took note of the wind direction, temperature and humidity etc outside later so that I know what a cord jacket type of a day looks like in the future]. So what have you been doing today?"
"Watching television. And you?"
"Watching television. It was driving me crazy so I thought I'd come here and get out of the house for a bit."

Even Miriam, who has only been here a handful of times, runs into people she knows or recognises while cruising the aisles. It's rather pleasant actually. You browse and put things in the basket, then stop and chat with someone and move on to more browsing. Here's my new friend Nancy-Ann, holding me in front of a Mulan DVD display (for some reason). Miriam's known her for a few years and ran into her today near the checkouts. Sorry about the blur - Miriam was talking and photographing at the same time. Imagine.


Each week there are specials and coupons... people sit in their warm houses and cut out coupons for a few cents' discount on this product or that, and then go and purchase that product - and enjoy a social life at the same time! There's an air of gleeful excitement around a shopper with a handful of coupons, waiting for the items to be scanned so that they can thrust the coupons at the checkout chick / bloke and watch dollars and cents come off the final bill.

It's something Miriam definitely needs to work on, I think. She's never been much of a coupon shopper, but you know what they say... when in Rome... I found some scissors in the drawer yesterday. Figured I might help her out and do the coupon thing when she's upstairs cleaning walls tomorrow. Might be a nice surprise for her.

Aside: She had me in the sock yesterday so I wouldn't get chipped by the keys in her handbag (Sheesh!) and I heard her talking to someone about quilting. Do you know, they say 'a scissors' here? As in "I got myself a scissors and I cut myself a coupon". I tell you what, I could feel Miriam twitch through the bag. She was just holding herself in -- admirable self-control. Later, on the way home, she said to me. "Noam, how did that happen? Don't they know that scissors is a plural? Do you hear them say 'an underpants'? I had to admit I had never heard an American say 'an underpants'. "So," said a very agitated Miriam, "why do they say 'a scissors'?" I had no answer of course, so we lapsed into an uncomfortable silence for the rest of the way home. At least she'd had the manners to take me out of the sock before talking to me this time. I think I'll log on later when she's not looking and check that site http://www.worldwidewords.org for an answer to the scissors question.

So yesterday, there was a good special on cocoa. It was $1.99 for a fairly sizeable tin. We saw a few of them at various cash registers. Miriam's getting one tomorrow. It will be an outing.
The other supermarket phenomenon here is the cash register conversation. Individuals working the cash registers actually act like people instead of automatons. Interesting. Miriam nearly fell off her elbow yesterday when she heard the checkout chick say to the customer ahead of me "Wow, alot of junk food today!" The customer's response? "Well, it was all on special." Good point.