Post by Penny Saltura on Jul 27, 2009 18:52:41 GMT -8
It may not be the closest place to her apartment, but the farmer's market was the cheapest place withing bike-riding distance to get one's weekly fruits and vegetables, bread, and the occasional petition signature. Penny had biked a good half an hour into the main part of town to get here, riding a bike not because it was more 'eco friendly' (which she was a huge fan of, as evidenced by her fabric shopping bags, which were dirt cheap), or because it was a nice day (it was almost too warm), but because she simply didn't have the money to ride the bus, much less purchase a car to drive back and forth. The weekly trip to the farmer's market already took about thirty dollars out of her weekly sixty dollar food budget, which was difficult enough to maintain with her difficulty of finding and keeping a job.
Currently, she was employed at the same coin wash laundromat that she washed her clothes at -- convenient, mainly because she could do her clothes for free during her shift, but other than that, it didn't pay well. She sat there, for a majority of the day, making sure that no one cheated the machines for free laundry and making repairs as best as she could when needed. Occasionally, when she saw someone new - a visitor at a hotel nearby, or someone trying out a new laundromat - she would venture off the counter she sat cross-legged on for hours and ask if they wanted to support a cause, but otherwise (and when Billy wasn't there), she kept to herself and was content to watch people go by.
But now -- here she was, to spend half her weekly budget on food, and if she didn't concentrate, she was going to end up buying something that wasn't ripe, or over-ripe, or over-priced, or something or other. Not what she wanted, when she was determined to fill her refrigerator with decent food for the first time in three months. Penny looked over the raspberries -- a luxury of the farmer's market, and always out of her price range, and contemplated whether or not it was worth it to give up a bit more of her budget for a favorite of hers. Reluctantly, she looked over them to the blueberries, picking up a pint, as well as a quart of grapes and looking at prices on both, debating which selection would make a better addition to breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Handing over the money for the blueberries, she dumped the pint of berries into a bag, slung over her shoulder, and continued onto the rest of the market, restraint slipping as she saw raspberries at the next stand, as well.
Currently, she was employed at the same coin wash laundromat that she washed her clothes at -- convenient, mainly because she could do her clothes for free during her shift, but other than that, it didn't pay well. She sat there, for a majority of the day, making sure that no one cheated the machines for free laundry and making repairs as best as she could when needed. Occasionally, when she saw someone new - a visitor at a hotel nearby, or someone trying out a new laundromat - she would venture off the counter she sat cross-legged on for hours and ask if they wanted to support a cause, but otherwise (and when Billy wasn't there), she kept to herself and was content to watch people go by.
But now -- here she was, to spend half her weekly budget on food, and if she didn't concentrate, she was going to end up buying something that wasn't ripe, or over-ripe, or over-priced, or something or other. Not what she wanted, when she was determined to fill her refrigerator with decent food for the first time in three months. Penny looked over the raspberries -- a luxury of the farmer's market, and always out of her price range, and contemplated whether or not it was worth it to give up a bit more of her budget for a favorite of hers. Reluctantly, she looked over them to the blueberries, picking up a pint, as well as a quart of grapes and looking at prices on both, debating which selection would make a better addition to breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Handing over the money for the blueberries, she dumped the pint of berries into a bag, slung over her shoulder, and continued onto the rest of the market, restraint slipping as she saw raspberries at the next stand, as well.
