How we love nature (as long as it doesn't crawl on our counters!)

The peonies have started to bud. But I don't see any ants. They are needed for something in this flower's health, but with all the sterilization of our grounds, there may be few ants to be found.

I voted yesterday...early voting for the primaries in our county's libraries is really easy. I was just the 435th person to do so at our little library. But just thinking that my efforts may help get Madison Cawthorn out of the Legislature...you'd better believe I want my vote to count! Most unfortunately he is our district's representative. What a disaster!

Another topic just came to my in box...An Exo-planet. A short video follows.

The Flame Azaleas (native to North Carolina woods) have all burst into color.

And now I must make a mundane statement about the prices we're trying to live with these days. This week I finally was able to buy some water for the C-Pap machine. The grocery store has been out every time I've looked in the last 2 years. But the cost used to be a bit over $1.00...and now each gallon costs $1.50. There are actually quarts for sale also, at $1.00 each. The gallons have increased in price by 50%. I can, and have lived without using any water in my machine. That may need to be my choice again soon.

I was unable to purchase my choice of brand of toilet tissue. They have a huge stock of a brand I don't like...this store has the habit of filling shelves with whatever they happen to have, rather than stocking the variety of brands which they used to have. So I got something that is totally made from recycled materials. Yay me. I've been recycling for years, and finally am going to use one of the end products of that effort.

Today's quote:

 “If our heart were large enough to love life in all its detail, we would see that every instant is at once a giver and a plunderer.”

Gaston Bachelard 

Shopping

We are creatures that consume. Can't get around it.  But also it's fun to find a new venue (new to me) which offers prices that are pretty unimaginable.  Such is Aldi's.  It's in nearby Asheville, where all the competing grocery stores are besides Ingles and Hopeys here in Black Mountain.

I shared a statement (in a Facebook ad?) that said they were offering organic produce.  Other Facebooker's said no, it wasn't all organic.  The first time I shopped there several weeks ago, avocados were 29 cents...and this time they were 59 cents.  Either one is great for competing with $2 in my regular grocery.

I was happy to find Gaelic Ale tucked away here.

And others (on FB) said they didn't like the stores for various reasons.  I continue to enjoy this one which was recently renovated...but I'd never seen it before that, so I don't know what its improvements were.

 It's clean and well organized.  I make sure to go on weekdays earlier than when school's out, to avoid a crowded venue.  This time new things were being brought out and shelved (Wed. afternoon) so that took up aisle space.

I was pretty happy with prices. Of course there are many things I'm not interested in purchasing. And because space is given to them, I missed finding some of my regular grocery items.  But it was kind of fun to see what they had.  I did have to be a wise shopper when I saw a few items that were not really low priced. I didn't notice any items that I purchased that had 'expired' dates on them, which is often the case in bargain stores.


Today's Quote:

It is a powerful practice to be generous when you are the one feeling in need.

ALLAN LOKOS