Technology has made it super easy to sit in my comfortable reclining chair and shop for anything my heart desires. All I need is a credit card, preferably for me, Paypal. Instead of going to a department store, jewelry store, grocery store, hardware, plant nursery, pharmacie or any place 
where I would have had to actually be there in person, I can now sit contentedly in my chair and have it delivered straight to my front door.
Now how convenient is that?
Living in a very small town in rural Arkansas as my children were growing up, we ordered from a Sears catalog or a catalog store. At that time, we believed that to be very beneficial. All we had to do was place an order for cataloged products and it would be delivered by truck to our town store and we just picked it up. Handy and convenient, right? At the time we thought it was the only way as our big town was at least 40 minutes away, and, of course, we had to cross the Mississippi River Bridge to get to town.
Now I have the opportunity to sit in the comfort of my “keeping room” and order from at least a thousand online stores or more. That is just amazing in itself! I can type up anything I need, want, or just fancy and my iPad screen pulls it up immediately. I mean anything! My husband has been very skeptical about ordering on line as he has always said, “The internet will be the ruination of our world.” He stays very busy with his two jobs, retail grocer and rancher/farmer, so he does not have the time to go in to stores and shop. Now he orders clothes, shoes (especially golf shoes), parts to fix his grill, batteries,and just about anything he needs or fancies.
The drawback to this convenience is the damage this type of shopping is doing to our hometown businesses. We have seen on our square the demise of businesses, established and thriving for years ,close due to some of this online ordering. I have seen some Walmarts close their doors in recent months in other established towns and this is a place we can buy anything. Some of us would rather sit in our chairs and order online.
Now of all things we are digressing to the old days when we can have our groceries delivered. I remember as a child my mother would call A & A Grocery and Mr. Coleman Akins would have someone bring our groceries to our front door. Wonder if Prairie Farms will again hire dairy truck drivers to deliver our milk and its products each morning?
I make my own butter, just the way my grandmother made it in a little churn and it is so delicious on my homemade bread which I have made forever. This is one of my best and easiest recipes. I make it in my stand mixer with the dough hook. 1 package dry yeast, 2 ¼ cups warm water, 3 T. sugar, 1 T. salt, 2 T. oil, 6 ½ cups bread flour. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water then add sugar, salt, oil, and 3 cups of flour to form a soft dough. Turn onto floured surface and knead for about 5 minutes and place in a covered bowl and rise for 1 ½ hours. Punch dough down and half and place in two loaf pans. Cover and rise for 45 minutes. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 – 35 minutes. I always bake two loaves because I give one away, but you can freeze the extra loaf.
