Thursday, January 29, 2009

Gotta love fresh fruit and veges


I just love my local fruit and veg shop. It's run by a little Italian family and they are always so lovely. When I was pregnant the older man who owns it used to carry my fruit and veg out to the car, and now when I go there with Jett he moves my basket around the store if I look like I'm struggling to carry it and a wriggling little boy who no longer wants to be carried but still cannot walk, and then out to my car afterward.

I find it so satisfying carrying my groceries home in a big cardboard box rather than plastic bags - I'm taken back to my childhood when I look at those boxes (growing up in country Victorian meant we earned our pocket money in school holidays picking fruit and veg). Ah the memories :) Funny how you gloss over it when you get older. At the time it meant you were covered in dirt, smelt of something gross like rotten onions, grapes or garlic, had to dodge spiders, and watch out for brown snakes. Yet, they're still good memories!

So I'm off to make minestrone soup. I know - it's the middle of Summer and my southern counterparts are sweltering in 40 degree heat, but it seems my extended family and I might be fighting a cold so I want to stock up the immune system and deliver it round to the family members who want some tomorrow. Besides if I keep the air-con on I can imagine it's cold out rather than muggy... it is rainy after all :P

5 comments:

Bec said...

Ha ha, do you find that when you say "I grew up on a vineyard" it sounds all romantic and you have to remind yourself that it actually meant sunburn and three-corner-jacks in your knees, getting stung by bees, slicing your thumb with the picking knife, getting whipped with vine suckers when pulling out, and trying to pick grapes in 42 degree heat with a hangover...or maybe that was just me....

Bec said...

....and maybe that was the longest sentence ever left in a blog post....

Anastasia said...

Our local fruit grocer is also Italian - his sons help out and its a family affair - they make you feel part of the family too!
Vegies have such great colour!!

Cindy said...

I was just watching something the other day on the importance of home shopping and local produce. I think it also helps you feel part of a community.

Jade said...

Yep Bec, that was pretty long :D I think I was too young for the hangover part (I was working at McDonald's for those years...) but definitely the three-corner-jacks, 40 degree says, and sunburn are all part of the memories!

I think you're right too Cindy, it does make you feel good to support your local community. Always shopping at Woolies or Coles can at times feel a bit soul-destroying...