Tuesday, June 21, 2016

So last evening...

the fellow who calls me for my grocery order was telling me about some changes in the way their organization does things.  Instead of the order takers having to sift through the entire inventory of the big box store to find one item, they are issuing a catalog listing the products available for ordering.  While that may limit some of my selections, it will make it easier and faster to place an order.  I am not concerned.  Oldest Son calls me maybe once a week while on his way home from work to see if I need anything, so if I can't order something I want, I'm pretty certain he will pick up anything I need.

Normally I place a grocery order every two weeks, but what with getting the order taker's computers changed over to the new catalog program and getting a new delivery schedule set up, it will be one month before I order groceries again.   Chuck (my order taker) wanted to know if the delay would be a problem for me, and then he started to laugh.  When I asked him what was so funny, he replied that he had been taking my grocery orders for quite some time now and he knew my grocery buying habits.  He said he was pretty sure that my pantry was well stocked enough to see me through longer than just a month.  He told me that he had changed the way he and his wife shop largely because of our conversations about the way I shop for groceries.  It is gratifying to know that there are still folks out there who can see the benefits of a deep pantry.

The new schedule will give me a new order taker.  I am going to miss talking with Chuck every other Monday evening.  I know the sound of his wife's voice from hearing her in the background.  I know that his little dog waits until he is on the phone before barking at squirrels outside their window.  He has asked me how to can hamburger and I now have his recipe for sour dough starter.  He left messages of concern when I didn't answer my phone while I was in the hospital.  I worried about him when I found out he had a broken hip after a fall on the ice.

It is reassuring to know there are still good people out there in the midst of all the hate and discontent and insanity surrounding us.  It is possible to develop friendships with folks you haven't met in person.

Kind of like those I have met right here on this silly little blog.

12 comments:

  1. And it sounds like it is a little more genuine than Facebook, a media which has not been graced with my influence.

    Grace and peace.

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  2. Well I can already say this will be a learning experience for all of us. My youngest son Scott works at our local market and they too have been making changes. Instead of SuperValu delivering most items, Marketplace hired a local trucker to pick up their orders. When Scott left yesterday at 4pm Milk still had not arrived the driver was still waiting at Deans Foods to load. I'm sure the union has something to do with that.

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  3. Get Chuck's email and give him yours. that way you can still keep in touch without even a phone call, if you choose.

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  4. Pumice...This grocery delivery service is a volunteer organization that serves seniors. Were it a government program I would not touch it with a 10 foot pole. I have been satisfied with the service since I started using it well over a year ago. Facebook...I am on it, but refrain from expressing my opinions there. I use it to snag the photos my relatives post. Easier than email.

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  5. Rob...Sounds like that store has some wrinkles to iron out before things will run smoothly. My delivery service still uses Cub for shopping. They just decided to use a catalog to make ordering easier. Sometimes it would take a half hour or longer to order because the order taker had to wade through all the items Cub carries in order to find the one thing I wanted. They changed the order and delivery dates too, but that is no problem.

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  6. Gorges...That is a good idea and I may do just that. Good people are kind of tough to find these days. You hate to lose them.

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  7. I think it's wonderful you have a great relationship with him!

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  8. Lisa...He and I have never met, but sometimes you just hit it off with a person even if it is just over the phone.

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  9. Your friendship with Chuck certainly shows how we can effect each others lives. What a blessing for him and his wife to know you and to now also keep a deep pantry.
    I have to say your 'silly little blog' is a highlight of my day when I visit. Perhaps it's where I am in my life that it is very hard for me to make new friends. I have some amazing long time friends going back decades but only two of them live close by. I have some acquaintances in my life locally but those relationships have not developed very far. So it goes.
    You gave me a chuckle about killing your house plants. I'm with you. As much as I enjoy my outside garden space, I can't keep a houseplant alive to save myself. Cheers, SJ in Vancouver BC

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  10. SJ...Chuck was a blessing to me. His cheerfulness even while recovering from a broken hip was outstanding. He was fun to talk to while giving him my grocery order.

    Thank you for your kind words. I guess I have outlived most of my childhood friends and lost track of others over the years. Fortunately I am one of those women who has never felt the need to be surrounded by people. I have never cared about "Girl's Night Out" or shopping or any of the other activities that most women seem to enjoy. I am perfectly content to be home and to spend time with my family. Which is likely a good thing since I physically cannot be out and about much these days.

    As far as this silly little blog goes, there have been times when I have thought about ending it. I mean, how much is there to write about when your world is mostly a three room apartment. But the one thing that keeps me going is you and folks like you, who read what I write and comment now and then. I would really miss all of that.

    About the plants...My reputation as a homicidal maniac when it comes to killing indoor plants is well known within my family. Some of them tell me I don't have a green thumb when it comes to indoor plants - I have a black one! Methinks they are right. :)

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  11. I'm not fond of changes in the way I do things, but sometimes it can't be helped. I'm glad that fellow is a good guy since he has clearly figured out you are stocking up.Hope he doesn't talk about it. When my wood burning stove caught on fire in the lower level of the house a couple of years ago, the fire department had to come out. I worried for a long time they would talk about some of the things they saw in the house, like weapons and supplies, but if they did I never heard about it.

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  12. Harry...Chuck told me that he was raised on a farm where stocking up for the winter was a way of life. He said that while he and his wife were working they had gotten out of the habit of storing extra food, but now that they were retired, they wanted to get back to more like what their parents did when he was young. He knows about canning and bread baking and such, but he really has no idea just how deep my pantry is.

    When the grocery delivery guy brings my order, I make sure that my food shelves are behind a closed door. Same for today, when I had an apartment sized washer and dryer delivered. I had them leave both appliances in the kitchen and Son will help me set up the dryer in the bedroom where the food shelves are located. When the grocery store shelves are bare, there is no way I want those delivery people to remember this old lady with the shelves full of food.

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