Today it's Novembering all over the place outside and I'm feeling chilly and a little bit fussy. It's grey, windy, we had a little rain, and even though the thermometer jumped up to 55 at about 3:00, it feels much colder. My head is threatening to start something with me, so I'm hydrating and preparing to take a migraine pill if necessary.
I already went to the grocery store this morning, where I noted with dismay that they installed brand new Self Checkout stations. One of the many reasons I love my odd little grocery store is that there were no Self Checkouts. All purchases were scanned and totalled by friendly (and sometimes quirky) cashiers, many of whom I've gotten to know pretty well. The chances of me using Self Checkout there are slim: too many items in my weekly shop, and I'd miss talking with Sunshine and the other cashiers.
When I got home, the little black cat was curled up under our Japanese maple again. We have a lot of strays in our neighborhood, especially at this time of year, and for some reason, they love our back yard. And they're all gorgeous cats, too--certainly worthy of being someone's pampered pet. This one is a longhaired cat, black with coppery colour hair underneath and beautiful amber eyes. When our porch furniture was out, it often slept curled up on a cushion.
I spend a lot of time worrying about this cat, but I cannot begin taking care of it. I have two cats, and they are The Last Cats Forever. I have sworn A Sacred Oath to myself and Rick. And all dark-coloured clothing and all the stuff in my house that is continually covered in cat hair. Besides, it may very well be that it is already Someone Else's Cat, but they allow it to run amok. I wish they wouldn't; I feed birds in my yard, and this cat cannot be depended upon to only menace chipmunks.
Anyway.
It is not a hospitable day for me or for little black stray cats that I have named Nairobi in my head.
Is it Novembering where you are? Do you have stray cats in your neighborhood? Don't you think stores should give you a percentage off your groceries for using Self Checkout?
Oh goodness, I hope the migraine stays away, but glad you are prepared to vanquish it if need be.
ReplyDeleteNairobi is lovely, I hope he or she is just an outdoor cat. I don't understand outdoor cats and don't like the mayhem they create with the bird population, but will admit to cheering on an outdoor cat a couple of years ago when I saw it with a dead rat in its mouth, running home to make a gift to the humans.
My favorite grocery store is the only one around here that no longer has self checkout. They recently did a renovation and STILL no self checkout. I am holding out hope and make sure to let them know that this is one reason I shop there. They also have people to bag your groceries consistently, they unload the cart for you, and the prices are only sometimes higher than the other stores. Worth a bit of a surcharge for me. Oh, AND I believe they are union, though perhaps that is true of all of the grocery workers around here, I'm not sure.
J--Rick came home with a headache, too, so we both were having That Kind Of Day.
DeleteI don't understand the concept of The Outdoor Pet Cat, either. When we adopted Piper and Marlowe from the shelter, we had to sign a document that said we promised to keep them as Indoor Pets, period. It's so much safer and hospitable.
My grocery store has used the pandemic as an excuse to stop bagging groceries. They used to do it, but since the pandemic, they stopped and never picked it back up again. Once in a while a cashier will do it, probably to speed things along, but not that often, especially if you bring your own bags, which I always do. I don't mind bagging my own; that way, I can do it the way I want to and have far less chance of squished items. Your grocery store sounds terrific. I hope it stays that way.
Is it Novembering where you are? It is doing what it does here in November which is nothing like what it does where you are, so YES.
ReplyDeleteDo you have stray cats in your neighborhood? No
Don't you think stores should give you a percentage off your groceries for using Self Checkout? It would seem logical but I feel you're dreaming on this point. Not that there's anything wrong with dreaming, but like using the self-serve gas pump we all are being trained to do the work of someone else.
Ally--I am envious of your delightful November weather. Sometimes I wonder why I continue to live here. Sigh.
DeleteIt's true that we're all working part time at other jobs! For free! We're part of the service economy against our will. Good heavens, I never thought of it that way.
Oh how I wish I had a visiting cat to greet me and make use of my porch! But alas. No cats for me.
ReplyDeleteMy sense of the weather is that it is unseasonably warm; I wore no jacket today, although I did have on a long cardigan. The sun is battling with the clouds, and though I know the clouds will win eventually (they always do) there was enough sun to cheer me. We have also had beautiful sunrises and sunsets lately.
Suzanne--That's a pleasant perspective on stray cats in the yard. I like it. However, when they stalk my birds and make use of my herb garden as their litterbox, it's hard to stay pleasant and positive.
DeleteYour November sounds far more delightful than mine. Please send it here immediately, at least for the weekend. Thank you in advance.
It's not Novembering here yet (about 80 degrees today) and I hope it stays that way until after the wedding. My back yard is chock full of random cats. I think a couple belong to the people across the street. As to the others, who knows. But there is something about my back yard that cats love.
ReplyDeleteGigi--If it were 80 here, I'd likely complain about it being too warm for November. Sigh. 70 would be much appreciated; 60, even, would be good. At this point I'd settle for some sunshine at any temperature, really.
DeleteYes, I do hope the weather holds out for a nice wedding day for your family.
No "strays" at my house, but the neighbor has some outside cats that sometimes venture over here. Her male cat is HUGE!
ReplyDeleteDee--My two resident cats are enormous cats, too, being part Maine Coon. And fat. Even their vet says she's never seen such tall cats.
DeleteI miss our stray cats...afterall, that is how we got Maestro (our gorgeous calico0..the slut mother (stray) gave birth in our cellar windowwell...we captured Maestro (female) and Ike (male) Queenie (another famale) was carted away by the slut mother. Anyway, for years Maestro lived with us and Ike with ourneighbors and such good friends/brothers/sisters. BUT...Mabel is HOME - let me not forget that. I dislike self checkouts - especially when someone in front of me has 100 things in their cart.
ReplyDeleteVera--Our first cat Emily was born to Sheena, a slut cat. Even my own sainted mother called Sheena a slut. We rescued Emily, the runt, who was all but discarded by Sheena. Stray cats kept getting into my parents' garage and having litters in the loft. My mother kept feeding them and would be at a loss as to why there were so many cats in her yard. Duh.
DeleteSelf checkouts have no limits on the number of things you take through them. And what kills me is that they have a cashier assigned to them to help people. This seems counterintuitive to me. I don't get it.
We don't have strays in our neighborhood currently. Several years ago, yes. It hasn't been too bad here, weather wise. I suspect we'll get cold soon. I dislike self checkout. I rarely have a small order and our grocery rarely has any of the regular checkouts open. Those things always beep at me and holler at me for not putting food in the bagging area. THERE ISN'T ENOUGH ROOM IN THE BAGGING AREA.
ReplyDeleteErnie--Exactly! I don't like being bossed around to begin with, and some computer voice trying to do it really rubs me the wrong way. I don't want a part time job, and I don't want to spend any more time in the store than I have to. Send me a trained cashier. It's not my job.
DeleteWe took in a stray cat when I was a little girl; he was 'Cristopher Columbus' for his intrepid wandering. He later left us and took up with a local butcher. And the story of Callie has been told on my blog. She is presently living a life of luxury in Brussels, having spent four years being pampered in Pakistan. It is game over if you ever feed one.
ReplyDeleteLove the sleeping on the porch chair. I have photos of Callie doing that.
We have two inches of wet snow this morning. Top that, cloud city.
Mary--Firstly, let me say this because you Canadians are kind overmuch with your weather: KEEP YOUR SNOW TO YOURSELVES, THANK YOU VERY MUCH. We have no need of it here at this time, nor do we want any of it, ever.
DeleteIt pains me considerably that a cat is far more well-traveled than I am. She probably meows fluently in several languages as well.
There will be no feeding of Nairobi, I promise you. I feed birds, period.
It is NOT Novembering here. Or maybe it is but I'm still (even after almost 8 years) in Ohio Land in my brain. Last week was cold, but this week it's been in the upper 70s. And we need rain desperately. Feels entirely unnatural.
ReplyDeleteWe had some neighborhood cats that hang around our house. They like to look like they're stalking birds, but either it's a big show or they're not very competent. We've never seen one come close to catching one, which is a big relief to me!
I like to use self check out if I have a small number of items & none of them need weighed. But otherwise I'd like the expert to handle that chore thank you very much. I do like not having to talk to people, but I don't like to work hard. It's a conundrum!
Bug--If only I could send you some rain. We have had so much, and always on weekends.
DeleteI feel like if the strays would cut down the sparrow population around here, that would be acceptable. It would clear the way for a better class of birds at my feeder.
I'm always a bit surprised at your self-professed Introversion. You enjoy church and community there; you're involved at work; you're chatty online; it seems out of character that you "don't like to talk to people." I guess after all that, you're worn out!
Yes! I basically put on a people suit to leave the house (because I want to make people happy). But when I get home Mike is lucky if I grunt at him. Ha!
DeleteI will use the self-check if I only have a few things and there's a line at the regular lanes, but I agree, we ought to get at least a small employee discount for doing their jobs. I saw a women recently who had a FULL cart using self-check and was floored. The area is so small, how does that even work?
ReplyDeleteNovember where I am means we can usually turn off the air conditioning and open the windows, so in our sense, yes, it is. I feel you on the lack of sunshine: that always got to me, too, when I lived in Mass.
ccr--It is 46 degrees and cloudy (again) here today. And windy. Your November sounds so much nicer.
DeleteThere are a few stores around here that have a self checkout wherein you merely scan items and drop them immediately into bags which are placed in carousels. You fill a bag, then spin the carousel to an empty one. Some also have an empty cart waiting that you load as you go, then replace the now-full cart with your now-empty one, and on it goes.
I hearken back to the Olden Tymes when self-serve pumps were first introduced at gas stations. They actually did offer a few cents off if you served yourself. How quaint, right?
I grew up in western Michigan and moped for half of my life. I did not know what SAD was, but I certainly suffered from it. The first winter I moved to Minneapolis, I was shocked at how much better my mood was and it was entirely because the sun actually shines there. Sure, it's regularly below zero and So Cold, but the sun is out! I don't think I could ever live in Michigan again. It's too grey.
ReplyDeleteMaybe I'm in the minority here, but I like doing self-checkout. I hate how other people bag my groceries because why should they know that the almonds are next to the crackers in my cupboards and they need to be bagged in the same bag? When my husband and I do our weekly shopping, we always use self-checkout (he scans, I bag). Things are more complicated if I go to the store by myself, but even then I'll try to bag if I can!
NGS--Gosh, from the ads for Pure Michigan, one would think that it's always beautiful and perfect there. Glad to know that even Pure Michigan, Utopia that it is, has its cloudy, grey days like The Heart Of It All, Ohio. LOL
DeleteI don't mind bagging my own groceries at all for the exact reason you shared. Additionally, I have very weak arms, and my reusable bags are quite big; the cashiers/baggers tend to pack them so heavily that I often have trouble lifting and carrying them. If I do it myself, I can pack lightly and avoid that.
As a fellow SAD sufferer, I guess it's time to drag out my Happy Light. I think I remember reading that you're already using yours.
Like NGS, I don't mind scanning and bagging either. Although I am the sole keeper of grocery knowledge in the family, and no one else could do it satisfactorily (according to my entirely arbitrary standards.). I think your idea about discounting groceries for self-baggers is terrific.
ReplyDeletemaya--I, too, am the Grocery Guru in my family. It's nigh unto impossible to impart all one needs to know when food shopping, so when Rick offers to go on the weekend, all I do is sigh. Could you even imagine what a list would look like? More of a narrative than anything else. It's far easier to do it ourselves.
DeleteOK, I'm way behind and catching up, but let me say that I truly and sincerely hope you do not close up your blog! Even when it's infrequent, I love it when you show up, and I truly enjoy every post.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I hope your migraine left you alone. We have had a weird November - a couple of days that feel November-ish, then suddenly back to summer, and then suddenly low 30s overnight. As you can imagine, this does not please me, since I see summer as my nemesis.
I love the black kitty on your porch. What a sweetie! I hope he does belong to someone and just likes to visit you.
Have a good weekend!
Bridget--It's always lovely to see you in Comments.
DeleteMy migraine needed some help; I took medicine and it stayed far in the background. November has been a bitch for headaches, sadly. Weather-related, I'm sure.
Nairobi the visitor has been absent for days now. I choose to believe as you do, that he is Someone's, and was just here visiting. I keep my eyes open, however, for him out and about on my walk and in my yard.
It breaks my heart seeing stray cats; hopefully this lovely one does have a home and he/she leaves the birds alone. 😳
ReplyDeleteI don't like the self checkout and YES, they should give us a discount!
November in Florida is HEAVEN. Less humidity, still warm but we can feel a change and I don't sweat as much.
I accidentally typed swear instead of sweat, but that is a lie.
I hope you have some sunshine this week.
BB Suz--Giggling at you not swearing as much. As if. Makes me wonder if there is any month in which I swear less. I have to say No.
DeleteEnjoy your Florida November. I have sunshine today, and I will make the most of it despite awakening to heavy frost. Damnit.