I am still exploring Knoxville. Yesterday’s errands sent me to the western side of town, I suppose far in local terms, but not really. It took me less time on the road than any attempt at shopping at home; the mileage might be smaller but the time spent traveling is far greater in New York. Tennessee is able to build far more and better roads than New York without the excessive gas tax. That is not to say that all other things are equal though.
Yesterday my conversations with people I met seemed to center around families with children. There was the store where I tried to make some photocopies, where Dad ran the store and Mom had just come in with their twin daughters to bring lunch. It is a fairly new enterprise and although they are on target so far, Dad is the sole employee of the business and so is there all day six days a week from about 9 until 6. His 7 month old twin daughters bring him lunch everyday and afford a little break and family time.
At another small store, mom was filling in for an absent employee for a few hours and had her 5 month old son in his car-seat carrier with her at the counter. The junior entrepreneur was fascinated by the sounds and lights made by the copy machine as it did its work; he’ll be taking it apart before his parents are ready, I’m sure.
I was much more successful in my pursuit of perfect vegetables this time, I suppose learning delivery times is an important consideration in any town. I managed to come home with some lovely chard which will be transformed into soup for lunch today.
On my way to the store I stopped at the local wine store to pick up another bottle for a little evening indulgence of a glass before bed, or after dinner is made and while we are waiting for Owen to settle down so that his mom can enjoy her dinner. When I arrived, I was the only customer, but it must have been a brief lull for the place quickly filled up. As I perused the shelves, trying to decide which one bottle I felt like drinking, I had a nice conversation with a young woman in her mid twenties who was scanning the rows of Spanish wines. She too was exploring. She and her husband have gotten interested in wine and have started drinking and trying different things. She said they worked out a budget and decided that if they were careful they could spend $25 a week on wine, and they buy weekly because it is more fun and easier to manage. Some weeks they buy two bottles or even 3 if they are lucky and some they buy one. Some weeks they don’t spend all the money so they save it up for something special another time. They are having a great time and she is learning the kinds of things they like and why and having lots of fun. We didn’t talk of anything else but wine and learning. She is interested in Spanish wines right now, Temperanillo especially. The conversation brought a smile to my face,
But now, the kitchen calls again and there is a pot of soup waiting to be made.