Grocery shopping

I just got back from grocery shopping. My favorite shop is called M.K. Retail and it has almost everything I need except cheese and meats (sometimes it has chicken but you can never count on it). And there is a very nice vegetable/fruit vendor next door so it's as close to one-stop shopping as you can get in India.

Today I had to buy rice. I hate to buy rice because there are so many kinds and I don't understand the nuances. So today I decided to count the different varieties... 17!! And I'm not talking "short grain, medium grain, long grain" I'm talking Basmati, Ponni, Sona Masuri, Kajaya, etc. I went with the Sona Masuri... can you really go wrong with rice? To me rice is rice. Maybe someone will educate me one day.

I also spotted Schweppe's Bitter Lemon for the first time. That was Mom's favorite drink and the only carbonated beverage she indulged in - but those indulgences were few and far between. Every once in a while I'd sneak a can from the garage. I bought one and put it in the fridge to chill. I'm looking forward to it.

The fruit/vegetable stand had beautiful strawberries again today. Strawberries here go bad so fast due to the heat. The transport trucks are hot and the air is hot so I often don't buy them. I found a couple containers that looked promising. I took them home and washed them and they truly were a good batch. I'll bring them to the bus this afternoon for the kids' snack.

Then I stopped at the butcher to pick up some meat. The butcher is a "cold storage" facility and has many frozen products too. In one freezer I spotted Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream for the first time. I thought, oh what a treat, Erik would love to be surprised with some Phish Food tonight. I picked up a pint and the cost was Rps. 650/ = $13.54. I put it back.