Of Visits and Viewpoints

Today I went on an outing to a place I'd been before as an infiltrator, i.e. someone who didn't officially belong in the place, but who was pretending to. My role today was much more fun: VIP visitor. Part of the VIP visit was a tour. The tour itself was interesting, but I also found it interesting to imagine how my tour group and I looked to the other people we saw and to imagine things from their perspectives. For instance, we saw a few patrons of the establishment, the folks who come to utilize the services offered at the facility. True, I'd never been a patron of that particular facility, but I could imagine how a big tour group might look to them. Were they curious about why we were touring? Or were they just trying to be patient while we got out of their path? Then there were the tour guides, who were also workers at the facility. Although I've never done what they do, I could imagine how the rooms and equipment I saw must look different to them, since they actually work with the stuff rather than just order work done. I also saw a bunch of ordinary people, the folks who have a reason to be at the establishment but who weren't currently concerned with the area we were in. I wonder how many tour groups they see and whether they find them interesting. There were also helpers in charge of making the visit enjoyable for all us VIPs. I imagine that tour groups all start to look pretty much the same when you deal with group after group like they do. I went on my first VIP tour many years ago to a different facility in a completely different place. At that time, I didn't really appreciate how tour groups affect (or don't affect) the regulars at a place. And then I spent a few years watching other groups. I really do enjoy being in VIP groups. But I'm also okay with being one of the observers. Hope we didn't disrupt anyone's day too much.

Some random things I learned/saw on my visit: There is a University that has the same tune as the hymn Come Ye Children of the Lord as the tune for its school song. And it's NOT a school in Utah or even a religious school. Also, I saw a purple and green duck. Very interesting, to say the least. It looked black at first, but upon closer inspection its plumage was clearly dark green and dark purple. I wonder whether it's a natural phenomenon, or whether someone had a very bizarre sense of prankery (yes, spell check, I know it's not a regular word, but I like it anyway).

All in all a very interesting day. It was fun to be a VIP. And it was also fun to see the kids smile and get their hugs when we retrieved them from their babysitter.

Vinegar Man to the rescue and other tales from the Food Shrine

I confess, I love shopping at Food Shrine. Yes, I had my time of mourning for the old store and my frustration with the crowds that came with the grand opening. But now, I have moved on and thoroughly embraced the Food Shrine and all its exoticness. Someday I even hope to find the ricotta cheese. But I digress . . . on to today's tales.

Vinegar Man to the Rescue!
There was trouble on the baking aisle. Big trouble. Two little boys wrestling loudly in the confines of their race car shopping cart. Most disconcerting. But then . . . Vinegar Man to the rescue! The store worker in charge of the vinegar bar area that day came over and asked if we would like to try some bread with vinegars or olive oils (and yes, I do mean the plural for both). The boys calmed down fast as the vinegar man handed them little slices of baguette bread with a little bit of olive oil in a cup for dipping (the Mediterranean version of bread and butter). I tried something a little more exotic that I'd been eying for awhile: peach vinegar. It was remarkably tasty, and surprisingly peachy. Mayhap I'll try the berry vinegar next time, just for fun. The best part of it all, though, was that thanks to Vinegar Man, the rest of the shopping trip went much more smoothly. Thank you, Mr. Vinegar Man. You saved our day.

Wild, Wonderful Waffles
Ah, but the vinegar incident is not our only tale from Food Shrine today. Our first bit of foodie fun today came from one of the waffle makers from the waffle station. He left his station to give samples of his wares to customers in the produce section, where we happened to be. Today's flavor: pumpkin. Surprisingly tasty, actually. We were also surveyed about our feelings regarding gingerbread waffles, which may be next month's exotic waffle, assuming they come up with a suitable recipe.

Chocolate dipped WHAT?
The visit from the waffle man reminded me that some baked goods might be nice, something in the kaiser roll department, perhaps. It just so happens that such rolls are located within view of the candy section (the one that looks like it should have "The Candy Man" as perpetual background music). Naturally, the boys wanted to pass through the candy section when they saw it, and so we took a little detour. One of the features of the candy section is the wide selection of stuff hand-dipped in chocolate. The first time I saw the place, it looked like the employees had gone on a sweet-grabbing spree through the store and then dipped it all in chocolate. Today, however, I found out that they will dip ANYTHING in chocolate. Having found samples in the candy section before, we looked for them again today and found what looked like chocolate-dipped potato chips. I asked the lady at the counter what they were. And that's exactly what they were. And they tasted like potato chips, dipped in chocolate.

All in all, a fine day of shopping at Food Shrine.

A little request to the West and anywhere else involved in this plot

Dear rest of the world that is not here,

Please stop taking away our friends. We do appreciate that you send us new friends from time to time, but we're very sad about all the ones who are moving away. Maybe the rest of the world could just come here instead?

Sincerely,

me

So, where have I been?

For the most part, I have been living in my own little world within walking distance of home, with the double stroller as my main vehicle. I am grateful more than ever for my neighborhood and its amenities (although I won't be sorry to use a vehicle again if one is available, since it's getting cold). My middle child likes vegetables when his older sister isn't there to tell him not to. My younger middle child likes baths and has made friends with one of the boys who does playground monitor duty at my oldest child's school. My oldest is deeply engrossed in the social politics of kindergarten, but I'm afraid she will never be quite as popular as the little girl who brings candy to share with the other girls everyday. After all, how could I support such a practice? What if I ended up in the same family as a dentist someday? (Veggie-Jared would be a prime candidate, don't you think?) No, we'll keep depleting our stash of Halloween candy privately I think. My baby sleeps at night . . . hallelujah! I have great hopes of reuniting with the lost portions of my brain someday. :) And now, I must be off to run errands again in my little world. But yes, I am still here . . . somewhere.