The Fourth Loaf

We drove to another country town this afternoon, the Plumbaby and I, for a change of scene and a different park. Not being too interested by all this sporting stuff, I was surprised to find the town blocked off, shut down and all ribboned and streamered up for the Commonwealth Games Baton Relay passing through. This didn't bother us, we went and had a pleasant time in the playground and then, when the heat got too much, wandered up to the main street to see the crowds gathered for the relay. Children, bouncy castles, the works. As we walked along, Plumbaby was looking more and more reluctant to take one more step without a balloon. After all, every child in sight had an orange or green one, why not him? Even some adults were waving bunches of the things.

I spied a supermarket and hustled him in, saying "I'm sure we can buy you a balloon in here". We did find them, and also a suprisingly good array of organic products and unusual breads. I picked up a dark rye and headed for the checkout. However, the salesgirl asked if I'd noticed the loaves on sale - there was a trolley full of bread marked down at half price. She helped me sort through them and I left with a couple of sale loaves for toasting and a different style of darker rye.

The bubs and I kept walking (he was temporarily distracted by the juice I'd opened after a desperate fight with the lid in the midst of an aisle) but eventually he demanded his bounty. We were looking around a busy bakery but I stopped and blew up a giant balloon and tried to tie it around the juice bottle (this was less awkward than it sounds). I struggled for a bit, fended off questions from the staff and then realised I'd pushed the sippy lid to "open" and while I'd been tying the balloon end, half a bottle of orange juice had spilled onto the floor. Of their very busy bakery. It was wiped up with a smile, but I still felt obliged to buy a loaf of sourdough. To add to the three I was already carrying. And with no freezer space at home. The things I do.