…So avoid eye contact. Or try to avoid eye contact. Or want to avoid eye contact.

 .Wegmans.

Pulled into the spot where a former co-worker backed out. Avoid eye contact.

Found $42-ish dolla on the ground. (‘Tween the bread & deli section. In case you dropped it. Or want to feign as such.) Turn it in to Customer Service, track the man whose money you think it is, abandon your grocery basket … scurry into the parking-lot to ask him, after he’s cashed out, not because you’re trying to hit on him (though if he were younger & my type…), but because you really want this person to find the $42. (See below.) …Avoid eye contact.

Cashed out in-front of the guy who’s been the It Boy for my Helga Pataki Syndrome since 1995, also known as the 5th grade. (Helga Pataki Syndrome?) …Avoid eye contact.

What I want to know is … who’s getting the $42??? 

BPA free tuna can, Blue Diamond Gluten-Free snacks; Locally owned & baked Flour City Bread.

You can compare the prices yourself.

I love the CoOp because it exposes me to products I wouldn’t normally seek. Like Blue Diamond Natural Nut-Thins. I knew about these & knew I really liked these from my visit with Christine. Still, it’s unlikely I’d seek them out amidst competing snack options–I’m not gluten intolerant and so my motivation, other than that they are super healthy & yum, is still low–such as Keebler Club Crackers. The CoOp makes it easy.

And who knew about Zevia Soda!? Legittttttttttttt. …Member how I was saying no Cola with phenylalanine and less and less of a yes to those without? Now I can have it all. Haven’t yet tried this all natural diet version. But I am SO beyond stoked. And there are tons of flavors. Root Beer, Orange, Grape. You can’t not try.

Food & Drink.

Perhaps the main reason I always end up at The CoOp is for their fresh brewed, organic, FREE TRADE coffee. I die. I’ve drank coffee all around the world–Italy, Spain, France–and this is just as good. Kid you not. I love love love love love the darkest roasts, a brew I’d try no where else within The States (except perhaps Seattle…), b/c anywhere else I’ve had it, it’s bitter, biting, cracked, & chalked. But this stuff is the real deal. Whole & full & round & chocolate. How I don’t drink it daily, I do not know. It’s worth the stop in just for that.

And Abundance has a mini-cafe area. Bagels & soups at the coffee station, fresh & nutritious. They always feature locally baked goods. Flour City Bread is some of the best stuff ’round. Difficult to cut (especially with a dull knife), even to tear, but incredibly delicious, and satisfying, to chew.

Not the mini-cafe, which is just as relaxing as my porch.

Perhaps most of all, I love the CoOp for the potential I feel it instills within me. It reminds me that I have much to learn about local food, Slow Food, globalization, & community organization. The CoOp, if not on its own then in conjunction with numerous local organizations, provides opportunities to volunteer, craft, cook, participate, & organize. Especially for someone like me who needs guidance when it comes to trying new things–I‘m just not the delve-in and DIY (myself) gal. (Really, I don’t refer to myself as a gal in general, so.)—the CoOp is a nurturing guide to nurturing more than just one’s tumtum.

My latest potential endeavor? 
To work there. Perhaps? At least volunteer, even if I’m not a shareholder.  
(That’s possible, no?) 

As I mature (try to…), I discover how essential it is to surround myself–not necessarily with like-minded people–but rather, with like-moraled people. That I can learn further how to respect my world & my community, how to contribute to both, & gain some residuals on the side (like a renewed interest in cooking … or a cute boyfriend??? … maybe?) is compelling. 

I urge, urge, urge all of you to look into your own Cooperative Market, or local source of food, whatever it may be.

I don’t really know you that well, and you don’t know me. So I won’t get all details on ya’. But I’ve been through some life in my lifetime. Dirty, gritty, nasty, ugly,

wear you down life. It’s true.

And so I write. Not just blog. But also write. Creative non-fiction. Memoir, I suppose. I hope to  someday publish. (Please read.)

In the meantime, you can enjoy this awes tat that I got at Tattoo Kamikaze. Newly moved to 98 Alexander St. The house next to Boulder. Go.

.To Life. Love. Laughs. Local. & Looks.
.But mostly to Life.

.Gold Chain. .Tassle. .Hip Satchel.

 Why buy retail when you can buy recycled?

.Gift for a Good Friend. .Shhh Don’t Tell.

And as a rule of thumb, I rarely–rarely–buy jewelry (costume jewelry b/c let’s be honest, I’m not buying the good stuff) if not thrifted or from a boutique.  . . . .   Why???

.Signed Fannie. .Emily Ann of Boca Raton.

Happy Rummaging.
.xo.

Not even so much bought, as dug out a few pennies (checkbook … they accept checks!) and practically walked (drove) away.

* * * 

Considering all of the goodies I didn’t get, that I posted about yesterday, today’s list of finds & buys is going to feel … just as expansive. I’m proud to report, that with all I purchased–spanning furniture to home goods to fashion items–I only spent $54. (Okay: Momsly bought the lamp, lamp shade, plant, planter, and plant stand.) Nonetheless, $54 total. Let’s take a look.