Anna Buckley

I had so much to do today. Poured my morning cuppa and went to butter my toast only to find we had run out of Vegemite. My brain would not be able to function if I didn’t get my salty hit of black vitamin b paste. Shopping had not been on my to do list but I realised we needed a few other things and if I raced up to Aldi now it wouldn’t affect my day too much.

If I wrote a list I could fly in and out quickly.
The list grew as I checked the cupboards. And I thought about the value of writing a shopping list now that finances were a little tighter. By knowing exactly what was needed I wouldn’t be tempted to fill my trolley with the maybes and what ifs, or by the distractions of the unusual items cleverly laid out in the centre aisles of Aldi. A Zimmer frame, an electric guitar and I kid you not, a replica Barcelona chair to name but a few of the items that have stopped me in my tracks recently.

I photograph the list as I think it would be a good subject for the blog then head out the door.

The carpark is full and I hover for quite some time waiting to swoop on the next available space.
Aldi is chaotic, its pension day and filled with people taking their time wandering the aisles, catching up with friends, comparing notes on the specials and generally completely oblivious of my need to fly in and out of the store on this very busy day.

I reach into my back pocket, rifle through my purse and dig into the depths of my bag. The bloody list is still sitting at home on the table. It will be ok, there wasn’t all that much to remember.

Wow they’ve got a stainless steel smoker. I have always wanted to make my own prosciutto. I talk to the old Italian man and he tells me his recipe for salami. Gives me some tips on which cuts and then we get on to a discussion about favorite Aldi products. Having taken his advice I load up the trolley with the chilli chocolate, the bulk pack of mince, the five litre tub of olives, the budget bacon and extra virgin olive oil his wife swears by. And somehow I also throw in four white towels, a set of sheets and a delightful pack of novelty cookie cutters.

I scanned the checkouts, and raced to the shortest line. A change of shift, a returned product, a customer unfamiliar with the Aldi checkout protocols, make me realise I have in fact chosen the slowest line. Two pushy little old ladies who I let go ahead of me,only to find they had more than just the one item in their hand, remind me to be less polite next time, and watch as they unload stacks of stuff from the depths of their vinyl shopping nanna jeeps. A quick trip no longer.

Eventually after having to race the trolley back into the store because the key to recovering my trolley token didn’t fit, I finally got home.
Unpack, put the towels in the wash, and finally put another piece of bread in the toaster only to find that I’ve forgotten the bloody vegemite.
So much for my list!

Love you to read my books The Lost Woman series follows the sexy adventures of Christina as she makes her way through a world of new media, design, fashion,  travel, and … men. The complete series is available now at Amazon, Kobo, Google Books, Barnes & Noble and iBooks, both as eBooks and print books. They can also be ordered from any book store, or by mail order on the BOOKS page.