I made my usual Saturday trek to the grocery store today, only it was far from my usual Saturday way of doing it.

I knew the grocery store would be busy, because it was Saturday and because there's a snowstorm coming tomorrow. But there were some things I needed, and I hadn't had time yesterday to go shopping. So I made my list and headed out.

To begin with, I decided to walk to the store. I didn't need all that much, and it's a pleasant walk. So off I went. Then it started to drizzle. Okay, I had an umbrella with me, so no problem. I did wonder about getting back with groceries and the umbrella, but was pretty sure I'd be fine.

I went first to the drugstore beside the grocery, to get a couple of things I usually buy there. I had taken a large handbag on purpose, and left plenty of room in it, to hold the drugstore bag while I got groceries. Conveniently, the drugstore bag kept my wet umbrella from dampening the contents of my purse.

I headed into the grocery store, list in hand and bag on shoulder. Picked up a basket and started down aisles. I noticed that there were a lot of people standing in line at the meat case. Then I noticed the line kept going. The last time I had seen this sort of line in a grocery store was in January, when those just getting out from the record-setting snow were waiting in one long line to go through check stands, instead of many shorter lines. My next trip in the general direction of the checkout area confirmed this was the reason for today's line.

It is a very efficient way of traffic control. Today, however, people were in lousy moods and were griping about it. I'm not sure how they would have solved the congestion in the store---probably by banning all other shoppers except themselves. No one offered a constructive comment.

I finally got to the head of the line, and when asked, agreed to use one of the self-serve lanes. I still don't like them, but I thought it might accomplish two things: get me out quicker than waiting for the next available regular lane, and keep me from mouthing off to the next person bitching about the length of time spent in line. The self-serve wasn't too bad, all things considered.

Once I got outside the store, I sat down on a bench to rearrange the contents of the grocery bags and the handbag. I was finishing up the chore, minding my own business, when someone started asking me if I had ever been involved with Non-Profit #1. She had seen an old agency directory---and I mean old; I quit working there fourteen years ago---and thought she recognized me. She decided to tell me the latest agency news, which might have been interesting had I ever met any of the people she wanted to talk about. Finally her husband came with their car, and I made my get-away while they loaded groceries.

By this time the drizzle was coming less steadily, but I did need the umbrella. That made things a little tricky, but I wound up with one grocery bag and my handbag on my arm while I held the umbrella in that hand. Other hand had the rest of the groceries.

I was doing pretty well heading home till I had to dodge a kid on a bike. The dodging left me standing in a puddle. That meant I had the exquisite pleasure of walking the rest of the way home with very wet feet. I got here, tired and damp, and realized something had fallen out of one of the bags. I was contemplating retracing my route, and walked out the door to see what the weather was doing.

It was still drizzling, but that was okay. The errant item had made it almost all the way home with me---all I had to do was walk out in the parking lot and pick it up. Apparently when I was reaching in my coat pocket for the keys, I tilted one of the bags just enough to cause the fallout.

I was really glad to be spared the return trip. Even without it, I haven't worked that hard to get food in a long time.