Today’s prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “bagged.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!
I don’t remember exactly when it was that David first bagged the groceries. Maybe it was during the beginning of the pandemic that he started bagging regularly. It’s a habit now. An endearing habit. Some cashiers are still a little caught off guard by reusable bags. Some automatically go to the plastic out of habit. So, David heads to the bagging position before they can even get started. He enjoys the challenge of organizing groceries in one bag. Sometimes we bring two, but not usually.
Remember when they had bag boys in grocery stores who bagged the groceries and took them out to your car hoping for a tip? When I was a poor 20 something year old, I had to tell them I could take the groceries out myself, even a 50 lb. bag of dogfood. That was back in the days of youth. Now, I’m thankful for my own personal bag boy.
Every now and then, I’ll get a plastic bag if I forgot the reusable. I have a few blue or yellow plastic bags (from Food Lion or Dollar General) since those are my kitchen colors. Plastic bags can be reused for picking up dog poop, though I suppose I could carry some kind of scooper. Thankfully they are making biodegradable dog poop bags. When I traveled more, I used to put my toiletries in a plastic grocery bag, then I realized I could put them in an old (clean) pillowcase. Maybe someday, we won’t use plastic bags anymore. Except for dog poop. Until we get a waste shark for dog poop. That comes from my Good News Tuesday post which included waste sharks in the water picking up trash. Now I’m imagining a land shark going on walks with us to pick up poop. The stream is getting weird now. It would have to be a small shark. Not a shark. Something else. This is going nowhere fast. Quick take that fork in the stream to ~~~
Now I’m lost in the stream of consciousness. No, I am not going back to the waste sharks bagging dog poop. Stop it! Think of something profound. This post started out nice. Sigh.
Oh! how about those pictures from space?

My 1440 daily digest brought the story to my inbox with this article from the Washington Post, about beautiful nebula where stars are born. What knocked my socks off were the labels showing how HUGE the universe is and that there are all these other galaxies! Seeing that perspective opens up so many possibilities. In one of those galaxies far, far away, could there be a woman (or some other being) picking up dog (or some other being) poop? Going about mundane or grand tasks – different, but somehow similar? Are there constants of life and death? Maybe on another planet, the trees are in charge, served by birds, connected by mushrooms in an underground network…
There are A LOT of mushrooms around here lately, thanks to the rain and steamy temperatures. That brings us to pictures of fungi including some strange things growing things in my little urban forest and a few roses from my dentist’s office below in the gallery.










Glad I noticed it. Had to zoom in close.
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July 16, 2022 at 9:58 am
Love the praying mantis! Looks rather other worldly. I dream of other worlds in other Galaxies and imagine that’s where we go when we leave our earthly bodies. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Out in the universe, there is a planet (many planets) brimming with love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, and goodness, like we pray. And one day God’s kingdom on earth will possess all those traits.
July 16, 2022 at 9:11 pm
I love to imagine my spirit zooming around planet earth and then through a nebula or two. Thank you for this beautiful vision, dear friend. You’ve been on my mind.
July 16, 2022 at 12:26 pm
LOL, JoAnna, you certainly had dog poop on the brain. I use the plastic grocery bags (when I forget my own) for used kitty litter and stinky garbage that needs to go out right away. Otherwise, I’ve been using my own bags for a number of years and do the self checkout whenever possible. I like packing my own groceries.
I love the photos coming in from the Webb Space Telescope. The universe is HUGE! I saw a program on PBS last fall about how stars were created and that they will not last forever, including our sun. It was fascinating.
July 16, 2022 at 9:19 pm
Yep. I was tempted to edit out some of the dog poop, but mostly followed the rules. You never know with SoC. The PBS show sounds wonderful.
July 16, 2022 at 3:03 pm
Oh my yes! those photos from Webb Space Telescope are amazing. Gives me a perspective of our place in the universe. Almost mind boggling.
July 16, 2022 at 9:24 pm
Thanks for picking up on something good in my crazy stream of consciousness. They bagged some awesome photos!
July 16, 2022 at 3:45 pm
Beautiful photos, JoAnna! The photo of the Carina Nebula taken by the Webb telescope is breathtaking. We humans as mere microscopic specks within our vast Universe. We’re truly bagged to believe that we’re the only intelligent beings in the Universe.
July 16, 2022 at 9:35 pm
We can’t be the only intelligent life in the universe. Like they say in the movie, Contact, that would be an awful waste of space. We’re not even the only intelligent beings on the planet! I’m so glad you appreciate the significance of the Webb telescope photos!
July 16, 2022 at 5:19 pm
Plastic bags are banned here in CT. We have a supply that we use for meat and ice cream – things that might leak or sweat inside the reusable bags. We do reuse the plastic bags for other garbage and clean-up tasks.
I am very excited about the images and discoveries to come from the James Webb Telescope.
July 16, 2022 at 9:46 pm
Yay for CT! Yes, the Webb telescope images are truly awesome!
July 17, 2022 at 4:44 am
You were most observant to bag that mantis
July 17, 2022 at 9:10 pm
Thank you, Derrick. The little mantis was a big surprise.
July 22, 2022 at 8:26 am
I make sure to carry my cloth bag for groceries. And so glad you have a bag boy. 🙂
One day there will be a #plasticfree world.
Glad you noticed the mantis.
Here’s what I wrote about ditching the plastic :
https://natashamusing.com/2022/07/5-ways-to-go-plastic-free-this-july-beyond-monday-musings-monday-blogs/
July 22, 2022 at 9:22 pm
Thank you, Natash, for your belief in a #plasticfree world and for the link to your post!