SHOPPING DAY

Wednesday (yesterday) was shopping day. Now that we live out of town, I manage shopping differently than I did when shops were within a mile or two of my house. Now, instead of running to one or two stores per outing, I try to do as much as I can in one trip. That means – organize!

First, I’m finishing a baby afghan, so I devoted considerable thought to the next project on my schedule -- an afghan for grandson Jack (see photo right). It’s not a surprise – I told him he would be next. He said his favorite color is blue. I chose a ripple pattern from my new “Vanna’s Choice – Color It Beautiful” book. Using the color chart in the front of the book, I made a basic plan of the colors I would need, choosing two shades of blue but adding other colors for a warmer, more youthful look.

Next I made a grocery list and attached coupons, then rounded out my list according to household needs. I also made a list of everything I needed to take with me – trash for recycling, a cooler and ice, shopping bags -- and another list ordering my stops. If I don’t plan my route, I will head off according to habit instead of plan. Even so, I drove right past my first stop, the recycling bins, and had to turn around and go back.

I left home at 9:30 and was back before 12:30. I still had energy, so I cleared, cleaned, and rearranged another shelf in the pantry and crocheted on the baby afghan.

Here’s a picture of the yarn I bought for Jack’s afghan. I can hardly wait to start it. The gray piece is a shrug I made in January. You can also see the baby afghan, and the off-white piece underneath is a lap throw I made from some of Mother's leftover yarn.