suburban excursion

Saturday afternoon Bunnings trip with a tired Poet and Vampire Che (who wore a pirate flag but will have his very own cape & mask set come Christmas). 

First stop is always the paint aisle where, on almost every visit, I hear the ubiquitous discussion about white paint. Usually the paint buyer is completely baffled by the fact that white doesn't exist and then proceeds to explore the many options including, but not restricted to: eggshell, old lace, magnolia, ghost, porcelain, vanilla, snow, ricotta, marshmallow, ivory, lightbulb, cloud and my personal favourite 'simply white'. Che always grabs a few colour cards (perfect for the craft cupboard) and then we make our way to the brooms, mops, bins, washing baskets and door mats while Daniel peruses the tool shed in peace. 

We spend so long wandering the aisles that we stop in the outdoor furniture section for a snack break and then Che runs off to the park. From there we wander past the gnomes and odd looking cement figurines to the garden centre where I always get chatting to a sweet elderly couple about their vegetable garden triumphs and failures. I buy a few seedlings and remind Che that yes, he can choose a plant but it must be edible and he has to look after it. 

Conversations on Saturday included a doddery old lady complaining about the fact that she's always buying thyme. "I grow it and dry it out and then I can never remember where I put it." Her husband's response? "You can't buy time, dear."

We came home with a beautiful lemon verbena plant and a few strawberry seedlings. Che is dreaming of an abundant strawberry vine but somehow I don't think he'll grow quite enough fruit to whet his appetite (he's a punnet-in-one-sitting kid).