Arm and a Leg

We have had a massive week here.  A birthday, a new job, holidays, and my two year old has started asking to go to the “Big banana shop,” (translated as the Legana supermarket) and getting upset when we drive right past.  

Unsurprisingly, not shopping at the supermarket is expensive. Mark came back from the IGA with what seemed like half a bag of shopping and was $170 lighter for the experience.  I have no idea how much we normally spend on food, nappies and red frogs in a week. The word "budget" gets bandied about occasionally around here and is greeted like a bad smell. Now I’m not going to the supermarket and I am really not well organised, the little small trips add up.

So this week I made a shopping list and a menu planner. I was really pleased with myself, to the point where I was telling one of the mums at playgroup, to which I was simply told 'everyone does this.' Well great, I am just like everyone and they should also be very proud.  So proud I took a photo.  

Armed with my list I went to the Veggie Shed, Beaky Butcher, Baker and IGA and for less than $100 have everything for the week - including nappies and Diet Coke. Whether or not everyone enjoys it, is another story - possibly next week’s.   

How Dare you Question me ;)

I am very excited that over a thousand people read my first blog entry- it turned up on an Arabic version of Stumble Upon and was read by what google tells is a small area in the UAE. As a reult there have been some questions asked about what I am doing. So I have tried to answer them!

Does the IGA count? I say if you get served by the owner of the store, it’s not a bad place to shop. Our local is pretty small and nice. I am staying away from big multinational/Australian supermarkets Coles and Woolworths (is our Tassie choices).  

When will you write your blog? I hope to do one a week, hopefully on a Sunday night.

Does your husband know you are using his computer? Yes and it’s annoying him, he has another- but he would rather this one with the internet dongle.  

What kind of work do you do at night, and is it sexy work? No it’s defiantly not that- I’m a psychologist mainly doing emergency assessments.

Did you just have a crap trip to the supermarket? I have had many, but I just want to see if an average family can buy what they need to survive without going to a supermarket, going broke and losing the will to live.

So this week I visited a road side fruit stand for apples, pears, eggs and strawberries. Bakery surprisingly for bread! Bought some terrific sun dried tomato and bush pepper sausages from the butchers- amazing.  The best thing was some terrific non-alcoholic beers at Salamanca, ginger, raspberry and chilli lime!

J

No More!

Simple - I am not going to the supermarket anymore. Before I start it should be noted I am not a millionaire and going to get my caviar shipped to my door. I am just another ordinary person, but I hate the supermarket. I hate that the food can be old, you have to wait for them to serve you or even have to serve yourself. I hate that I can't fit two toddlers and food in a trolley. I hate that they hide the milk and that staff look like they want to die or stab you. I hate that people are shouting at each other, their kids and to the woman who is day dreaming in the aisle. I hate it.

I did at a time enjoy it! We used to live in England and more importantly over the road from what was for a time Manchester's biggest Tesco. Twenty four hours a day we could get tv's, nappies, beer, sleeping bags or bathers (all of these items were purchased). The English and furthermore the British nation know supermarkets.

We live now at the beach in Tassie, but we both work in town (granted two separate towns) so it is decidedly easier and cheaper to go to the supermarket. I work shifts and weekends, so its obviously easier to go there, then wait for our local shop to be open or go to the butcher, baker and candlestickmaker. We also can't get shopping delivered, which has been suggested. I also know people who work at supermarkets, and I am not saying everyone stop going there and let these people have no job/let everyone with coles myer shares go bankrupt, it's just that I am not going there anymore and I probably won't be missed.

So this is just a blog to for me to tell people about how I am not going there and how to do it/not to do it, as I embark on my journey.