Faire les Courses

Yesterday after the tasting, I dropped R off at home and decided to run a few errands and do some shopping on the outskirts of town. Today I will be taking pics in the village, but yesterday I went farther afield, which is not far, but not walking distance, especially with purchases!

My first stop is one I make every trip, to the one thrift store in town. Emmaus is pronounced like "Em Ah Oose" here. It is a charitable group, and I love to bottom fish, so I always stop by.
Two days ago we went to the higher end antique store in town, and Madame had a collection of 18th - 19C green bottles such as these. Hers were very interesting, but le prix was not at around 250 euros per bottle. I got an instant collection with the same look at Emmaus, for un prix interessant: 1-5 euros each. I bought the large damme jeanne for some future guest who will want to haul it home; 15 euros for that one; score!~
My next stop was the paper store; I stocked up on some authentic French invoice and receipt books; you will see why next month~
then to the Co-Op, which I tracked down at their new location; no good twine here, and while they have everything possible, there was nothing I needed, so...
...I went next door to a store I have not visited; Gamm Vert has everything for the garden and home, ++~
Bricoleur (reference my Bricolage post this week) also refers to a manual laborer, and so they have work clothes labeled as such~
and the bocaux or canning jars I mentioned too, the brand is the best know, Le Parfait~
and baskets, though these were kind of crude....
they did have one rolling cart, the chubby short one I don't care for too much; it's less elegant than mine, which are the classics, and twisted covering on the handle was not very well done.
but they did have this rolling cart for wood, which I have not seen before~
and everything for the hunter; the cute little renard in front was made of natural fibers~
and every kind of equestrian gear, here helmets and blankets~
bridles and bits~
Niche de Chien in all sizes~
and some kind of animal carrier, for cats? For dogs? Leave it to the French to have an animal carrier in basketry and in a shape that is convenient for an animal to curl up in. Though it looks rather like a diving helmet/diving bell, no?~
and also the standard rectangular shape, for carrying your chickens or rabbits~
lastly, a trip to the big grocery store, Casino is pronounced like Cazzino, with a soft Z. The French have a love/hate relationship with les Grandes Surfaces or large stores such as these. The prices are better, but the food is often not as good as a local purveyor. More on that before I leave.
If you want a big shopping cart, you have to deposit a 1 euro coin; this eliminates the carts scattered all over the parking lot. Each and every cart is returned to its place with this method~
Last year the store was remodeled, and half the checkouts were replaced with self-serve. It asks you in soothing French and shows on the screen, "Do you have a tote bag?"~
If you are doing light shopping, you can use this instead of a cart; leave it to the French; instead of toting a basket around, you can roll one through the store~
the fish selection is not bad at all, and note these mackerel are displayed with ice and baskets, as the rest of the fish are~
fish remains popular here and is displayed well each day; my pic is not great; I was so embarrassed to be taking it, and the girls were laughing a little with me~
the usual produce etc is also there, always displayed well~
We are off now to the pharmacie to get some kind of comprime for R as he is getting a cold. Moi, I feel totally energized! He has told me I need to stay home all day to clean and help pack. Yeah right! The sun is out today and I will be out taking photos of centre ville to show you later today!