Sunday, May 15, 2011

Connecting, leaf collecting, seed popping

Dawood, who works at my nearest supermarket, is the most delightful check-out operator there is. He's friendly and chatty, and he when I said I didn't need plastic bags for my groceries, he commented that I never get bags. He hasn't served me in ages but remembers my bag habits!

This is part of the reason I'm determined to avoid using the DIY check-outs that are popping up everywhere in Melbourne supermarkets - a machine is never going to recognise me or serve me with a smile. Life is impersonal enough as it is. We should be connecting with each other, not retreating. I also had a chat with the butcher too, and not just about the weather.

Actually, I don't think I mentioned it here before, but rather than making a normal New Year's Resolution this year I chose a one-word 'theme' to direct my energies into improving part of my life that I felt was lacking. My theme is 'connect'. Just one short 'doing' word.

And so far I'm doing pretty well. I've made some ace new friends, I've resolved some ongoing issues with a close family member, and  that guy I've liked for ages? He's now my boyfriend. Wooh! Always more connecting to do though...

I saw a little girl in a purple fur-trimmed jacket walking along the street with her parents, holding onto some large, brown autumn leaves. Souvenirs from the park, no doubt.  

I love the way the little round seeds in wholegrain mustard give a teeny tiny pop when you bite on them.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I remember how special an autumn leaf could be to me when I was a kid. There may have been lots of leaves, but one leaf was special. I agree about seed mustard. Love it.

Shelley L. MacKenzie said...

When we were little and find some awesome coloured fall/autumn leaves, we'd melt clear wax (with my mom's help) being very careful it didn't get too hot and catch fire, and dip the leaves in it and let the excess drip off. Once the wax hardened, we had a nice little keepsake.