Shopping with a Purpose

 On Friday I went shopping downtown with two specific goals in mind.

GOAL #1

In the kitchen of my apartment, by the phone and the intercom, there is a circuit breaker box.  The former owners had a souvenir from London hanging on the wall to cover it.  It's not that I particularly disliked what was hanging there, but it didn't cover the entire box.

I wanted to find some sort of plaque or an "azulejo" (decorative ceramic tile) that would cover the whole box.  I took the measurements of the circuit breaker as well as how much leeway I had with the phone and intercom.

I took a tape measure with me and went to the Ciudadela Handicraft Market.  I walked every aisle of that large market.  I found a few possibilities, but, when I measured them, they were not the right size.

I finally gave up and headed to my destination for shopping goal #2.  As I was walking down 16 de Septiembre Street, there was a vendor selling works of paper quilling.  Quilling is an art form in which strips of colored paper are rolled and curled to form decorative designs.  One of the pieces was framed and under glass.  I took out my tape measure, and it was the right size.  I had accomplished goal #1 after all.

Here's how it looks in the kitchen.

It could have been a fraction of an inch wider, but the box that it is hiding is barely noticeable.

A very pretty handmade item

GOAL #2

The office in the apartment is where I plan to do my painting.  The easel is already set up there.

There are plastic mats on the floor, so I don't have to worry about spilling paint on the carpet.  Next to the easel is a cabinet that will be useful to store my painting supplies.  However, when I am painting, I want to cover that piece of furniture so that I don't get paint on it.  Thus, my second shopping goal was to buy a plastic tablecloth.

I walked from the handicrafts market about a mile to the department store Nuevo Mundo.  The store is located near the Zócalo not far from the downtown branches of the bigger department store chains of Liverpool and Palacio de Hierro.  I find the employees at Nuevo Mundo to be exceptionally helpful and friendly.  One clerk directed me to the top floor, and once I was there, another clerk helped me find exactly what I wanted and then directed me to a cash register to pay for my purchase.  Unfortunately, the tablecloth was made in China, but I had expected that.

With my two goals accomplished, I headed back to the apartment with my purchases.