Grocery time

 I finally went out to buy groceries, the one excursion I make outside my room every week or two.

The little supermarket where I normally shop is frustrating because it doesn't restock consistently. I find something I like on one trip, and then it's gone on the next trip. I haven't seen oatmeal for the last two trips, and oatmeal is the main staple of my diet. I bought some Country Crisp instead. Bigger supermarkets seem to be more consistent in the products they offer from week to week.

Roast chicken at the store

I ended up getting potato balls and potato chips, cereal, milk, and spinach. Hopefully that will last me for two weeks. There are lots of tastier things on sale—such as the slow-roasted chickens that food stores often have turning in a rotisserie outside the entrance—but they are beyond my budget.

Let's see … when did I last shop in a specialty shop for food? I think it must have been five or so years ago, when I bought some delicious cheese in a cheese shop. It cost around €20, which today would be almost a week's food budget.

Those were the days

Since March, I've stopped in a non-supermarket food shop once. I was hungry and it was a bakery. I tried to buy three croissants for €3, but the clerk would not accept cash. I pointed out that it's illegal in France for a retailer to refuse cash for payments under €1000, but he still refused. So I left the shop without buying anything. I wanted to pay cash because I had some cash but not enough in my checking account to buy anything with plastic.

Oh well, back to my cozy apartment, with the fridge newly stocked, at least for a while.