Buying Food Online - Jet Delivery, Bread, Subway, and Ice Cream

Because I can't easily get to a supermarket, I'm constantly looking for options for online orders.



I've been waiting for a package from Jet.com so I can make bread. I'm really looking forward to that. Unfortunately I've been waiting a long time because my 2-day order has had a setback. Apparently something was ruined in transit and it has turned into a 5-day order. I hope it wasn't the olive oil.

Here's what I ordered: organic flour, organic olive oil, organic sugar, yeast, salt (all that is for baking bread) plus a few other items.



I had to go buy a Subway sandwich to tide me over for the weekend. Yes, there's a Subway nearby, but no supermarket, and I don't want to eat a steady diet of only fast food or junk food. Anyhow, one Subway sandwich will suffice for dinner for two days.

At Subway, I always buy the vegeburger option on Italian bread, with jalapeno cheese, tomatoes, spinach, onions, and bell peppers. I ask for the two halves to be wrapped separately, as this is for two separate dinners. (I live alone, so I can do this.) At home, I fry the vegeburger in butter, and add mayo and organic mustard.

They will sell me a plain loaf of bread for about $1.50 if I want extra for a different meal.

Anyhow, today I looked for "cream online" and instead found this amazing site: Ice Cream Source - where they offer delivery of ice cream, guaranteed delivered frozen. This I have to see.

Food delivery and ordering options are among the most challenging issues when living without a car.

Finding cream for my coffee is difficult... the only source I've found so far is Full Circle, an organic food delivery service in four west coast states. I love their deliveries but this service is a bit pricey and I don't like how the weekly deliveries are automatic if you don't remember to put them on hold.

UPDATE: It seems the damaged Jet.com package is being returned to them rather than delivered to me. I am so upset by this. It is 2+1/2 miles to get to the store, taking one hour on the bicycle, each direction. I don't want to spend my whole afternoon on a bicycle journey. They are giving me a refund and a six dollar credit on my account for the inconvenience. I guess for today, more Subway. Or maybe I'll order a pizza.

I will add, my first Jet.com order came in perfect condition and on time. I wish it could be that way every time, but life is unpredictable.

ANOTHER UPDATE: I made a third order from Jet.com to try to get my bread making supplies. It should arrive Wednesday - exactly one week after I made the other order.

I Daydream About Traveling - Wyoming Version

I often daydream about travel, plotting out tours I'd like to take someday when I get a car again. Here's a tour of the top ten tourist destinations in Wyoming.



A woman can dream, can't she? This tour is about 1630 miles by car but only 1529 if I walk it.

Another thing I do to distract me from my isolation is ... read. I love to read. Right now I'm listening to an audiobook version of The Virginian by Owen Wister. It was originally published in 1902 and is said to be the first "Western" novel. The TV show of the same name was based on this novel. I find it to be amusing with lots of dusty testosterone. And horses.

The reason I started looking for Wyoming tourist attractions was because The Virginian is set in Wyoming. I decided to find some YouTube videos with views of Wyoming to illustrate the novel I'm listening to.

This video has some awesome information about Wyoming and South Dakota.

Why I Live Without a Car

I've lived three years now without a car. This may not seem like a lot of time to some people, who are not at all car-dependent, but it has been a huge lifestyle change for me.

I last owned a car in June 2013. Then I moved from California to Idaho, and left my cars behind because they weren't in good condition and I was trying to start over in so many ways.

I thought I would be moving into a senior citizen apartment building with a bus route running alongside. Well, I got here, and there were delays in getting the apartment. For five days my main transport was either a U-Haul truck, or walking. I walked so much, the soles of my feet felt like they were on fire.

After five days of hotel rooms and restaurant meals, plus moving and storage expenses, my credit cards were maxed out and my bank account was empty. Finally, the night before I was about to be sleeping on the streets, I got the happy news that I could move into that apartment building.

A corner of my living room in my first Idaho apartment served as a tiny art studio.

Right before I moved in the transit agency cut that bus route, so when I got here I found myself without any transportation at all. The apartment is 2+1/2 miles from the nearest bus stop. That bus stop is in front of the public library in the main part of town. I live in an annexed bit of semi-rural countryside far from the city center. The nearest supermarket is 2+1/2 miles away in the other direction, away from town.

Getting to and from the store has been one of the most difficult parts of my life. At first I walked -- many, many times. Later I bought a cruiser bicycle. I'm a senior citizen, and biking for groceries is not the happiest aspect of my life, believe me. But I do it because it beats walking and I really, really don't like having to call people to ask for rides. I don't want to be a burden on the friends I've made in this state.

I have been trying to dig my way out of debt since then but it hasn't been easy because as my debt mounted, my income was severely cut when one of the websites I wrote for suddenly went into deep decline in revenue, and then went out of business entirely. At times I was so destitute I had to use credit to buy groceries.

This is the bicycle I bought.
A Schwinn Sanctuary 7. Love it.

You might wonder why I don't get foodstamps. Well, it is because getting there would be so very difficult... and really, I earn a passable income, but I have to spend all of it on living expenses and paying off debt. I am really a slave to my creditors. Not a fun situation to be in.

Because of all that debt, I haven't been able to buy another car. I keep getting nice letters from car sellers offering me credit (since so far, I haven't missed any of my payments) but I know if I took on one more loan, it would seriously impair my ability to pay off the debt I already have. It is my desire not to get behind on my payments - so I don't risk it.

Instead I've embraced the carless lifestyle, to an extent. I try to be graceful about it and accepting of my circumstances, but it is hard when I have such deep desires to go exploring and sight-seeing, and when I'm so far from grocery shopping opportunities and the nearest bus stop.

This is my first entry into this blog and I'll continue my observations on the carless lifestyle, another day.

Picture I took while out walking a few days ago. pic.twitter.com/9FcrAu3IXq

— LindaJoMartin (@LindaJoMartin) August 1, 2016