I'm starting to miss little non essential things!

[poozel]

Dd asleep so doing some tidying and housework.

We are very rural and a trip to places like home bargains, pound shop would be about an hour drive, is not in our nearest town, and is not really essential at the moment.

After eleven weeks at home I was just thinking as I went round house how much I miss the little things.

I get a shop every ten days but have to share with PIL. We are not starving but it's the rubbish i miss.

Random extra cleaning products, cloths, sprays etc. Cupboard is looking a bit sad.

Cooking stuff, marshmallows, spreads, syrup, jams, little random things you don't think of till you see them.

Toys. Things like bubbles, colouring books, a bucket and spade, crayons. I can get the, in amazon but nothing beats a pound shop colouring book.

Junk food. The cupboard looks very empty. Chewy sweets, weird crisps, interesting biscuits, all gone.

Bathroom crap. Candles, tea lights, bubble bath, weird bath toys, soaps etc.

Garden, cheap seeds, plants, random animals to hide in the flower bed. Solar lights and outdoor wine glasses.

None of this is essential or matters but was just thinking and must enjoy a wander round and buying these little things more than I realised.

Anyone else have silly things they are missing?

No doubt we will get the militants coming and telling us we shouldn’t care about what our family think or say

Totally, I live near two excellent charity shops which I both donate to, and buy a lot from. I've been trying to make our house cosier (DC's toys have recently been reorganised and some have now gone upstairs) and I miss the little knick-knacks/photo frames sort of thing that I can pick up very cheaply in there.

My cousin is the secretary for show entries and she has the same fights every year. The Highland dancers are a particular nightmare The same two old farmers have the same fight every year about the horse entries. Actually I'm feeling very sad for her. She's nearly 80 and this is a big part of her social life. I'm hoping Kelso tup sales go ahead. That's in September so fingers crossed.

I totally get that it’s pottering around the shops and the sense of things being normal that you miss, really, but in case it helps a bit, there are loads of non-grocery stores who deliver treats!

In the last month I’ve sent my parents pies from pies by post, popcorn to a colleague having a tough time from popcorn shed, and a birthday card and posh biscuits to a friend via moonpig. Get yourself online and buy order some sweets for delivery, or whatever else you fancy

I miss browsing magazines. I've signed up for a free month on an iPad app that gives you access to hundreds of magazines which is awesome, but it's not the same as browsing a shelf of tacky Take a Break style headlines!

Also I miss going to the bakers' and picking some delicious cake or other off the shelf. Maybe a Chelsea bun.

I know exactly what you mean OP, and I live in a city. I could be amongst all the major high street shops in about ten minutes from a standing start.

I can't justify it though, because there's nothing I really need. (I don't mean that other people shouldn't go, but for myself it would be far too stressful to make it any sort of enjoyable experience so it would defeat the purpose.) I've not really missed it until now, but the past week or so I've thought ooh, it would be nice to go into town for a coffee and a bit of a browse. In normal times that is!

Hit me as well last night. It was so hot and sticky yesterday and our meal plan said burgers. Normally I would have changed it and grabbed some salady bits on the way home from work or popped to the local shop. Felt a bit sad, and a bit silly about being sad about something so trivial.

(And yes, I know legally I can food shop as much as I like but I consider that I am being responsible by limiting it to necessary trips.)

I'm now wondering if I know you @derxa !!

Yes I might do an online browse later tonight.

I marked a thread a few weeks back which was alternatives to amazon so might start with that and see what I can find.

I could pull out an old show programme and do a virtual walk around the food hall. No samples though!

I'm now wondering if I know you @derxa !! It's always possible
Everybody knows everyone else.

I miss browsing shops, seeing what's new and looks good in the supermarket and picking my own fruit and veg
Seeing friends
Going for a wander and having a coffee
Makeup and beauty shopping in Boots!
Seeing my colleagues

I miss all the small local events too, they are part of an internal calendar. I miss going to work, chatteng to clients, and nipping to the shop for something like bread or carrots on the way home! I try to limit shopping to a big weekly and a small topup, combined with bank or post office.
I find the idea of browsing stressful just now. And I hate internet shopping.

I am fed up with click and collect / online shopping and inappropriate substitutions and stuff we rely on because of allergies being unavailable because supermarkets / producers having restricted production lines ...

I just want to go to the supermarket and not have to be faced with people ignoring social distancing and thinking face masks make them invincible.

I want to be able to buy flour and yeast.

I am trying to use stuff and replace it, remembering that if anyone is ill we'd be stuck at home for days. I used a jar of pasta sauce this evening and it was horrible.
I don't like online supermarket shopping, trying to remember to keep things in stock. I like to get sidetracked by fancy bun cases or flower pots. Then have tea and cake close enough to eavesdrop.