DAY 60

I managed to place two separate on line grocery orders today despite several technical issues. I also ordered ink cartridges from Staples and rotary cutter blades and a couple of crafty things for Miss Nine from Joann Fabrics. I did a curbside pickup at Staples, but I have been waiting for a notification about my rotary blades. I finally called and was told that it won't be ready for several days. They have 800 orders to process at our local Joann Store. Evidently everyone is feeling crafty.

I have been thinking more and more about what I want to come out of this ordeal with, and what I hope that others have learned in our season of isolation. One of the things I want is to seriously reduce my impact on the planet. Buying less, wasting less, driving less. Most of us have so much more than we need, but we continue to buy more. We consume, at a very high cost to other living things. Think about what the word consume means - to use up.

I have found that ordering groceries online eliminates any impulse buying. I have my list and I stick to it. Of course there are those suggestions about what other people have bought when you get to checkout but I don't fall for that. I figure if I do one large order a month I will reduce the amount of fuel required for pickup or delivery. I am trying to decide how to handle my fresh produce purchases. When the weather is warm I can ride my bike to the grocery store and fill up that big basket in the back. Or I can go to the farmers market three blocks from my house. I have lettuce and spinach planted in my back yard so that I have fresh greens all season. I tried growing them indoors a couple of years ago with limited success. I will try again next winter.

I was never much of a shopper. At some point in the last sixty days I lost any desire to go into a store and search for something to spend money on. I do miss book stores, though. My best friend and I rate our mental health by how many books we come out of a book store with. I am pretty sure that when I can finally go into a book store again I might need a wagon to haul out my purchases. As you can see I really need more books.