Hanno did the grocery shopping yesterday; he does it almost every week because I don't like going to the shops. I was preparing lunch when he came home and he said it was difficult finding what I had written on the list. I do put things on there such as: "with real juice", "only Australian" or "free range only". Today he had to ask the shop assistant to help him find Granita biscuits. I need a packet for the Christmas cheesecake. They searched and finally found them on the top shelf. That tells me that soon we won't be able to buy Granitas from Woolworths any more. They will be gone from the shelves like so many other old Australian brands. I wonder if you have found a similar scenario in your local supermarket.
I'm watching a TV program called "The Abbey" at the moment and although I am by no means a religious person, I feel that life in that Abbey somehow reflects my life here. The Benedictine nuns in the abbey are living a cloistered life of gardening, craft, preparing meals and regular prayer. Here in our home we live according to our values while maintaining simplicity in our lives. I live by sunrise and sundown rather than an alarm clock or watch. We eat at the same time every day, taking a main meal at midday, we tend our chores, and each day runs to a gentle routine that makes the work satisfying and enriching. I do not pray but I am mindful and have periods of quiet reflection. The work I do here defines my character as much as it defines my days. Some would believe that being at home most of the time would be a burden but I find much of the world outside my own community superficial and loud. It's easier to stay at home but from next week on, and possibly for the next few weeks, I'll do the shopping at the supermarket and try to make sense of it.
I wonder what changes you've noticed in your local supermarket in the past few years. Have you seen a big move towards foreign products and generics? Are the old brands disappearing?
I wonder what changes you've noticed in your local supermarket in the past few years. Have you seen a big move towards foreign products and generics? Are the old brands disappearing?