Shopping

I love the internet for this reason if nothing else!
I can and do shop for everything on-line. From shoelaces to spaghetti, from lightbulbs to lawnmowers. The funny thing is that when I search and search for something, which I think I should easily pounce on in the local shops, I end up going straight to Google after three weeks of desperation and find it after a few clicks. We dropped a melamine tray last summer, which was intrinsic to my way of life at that time. Eating in bed, on my lap, was the only option. I needed my head, neck and back supported completely and a few thick layers of duvet and blanket over my legs. This tray smashing on the kitchen floor gave us a reason to leave the house. 'Oh, great' I thought,'I can enjoy choosing one from a shelf in a department store, or kitchen shop'. "Oh, no I couldn't"- I could hear the audience chanting back at me, pantomime-style, as we couldn't find suitable alternatives anywhere. After all this excitement of going to a different shopping centre and collapsing in bed week after week, I went back to my favourite stalwart Amazon, and there they were teasing me from the page!
Researching shopping is also a must when finding clothes or shoes as the process can take such a long time and a lot of energy otherwise and I cannot take a long time, or a lot of energy! (neither can my husband's patience!) If I would prefer to try the items before buying, or the postage costs are extortionate, I find the shops, check their stocks and we appear, try and buy, if they are suitable.
I now know the local shopping centres which are accommodating to my needs; good parking facilities, flat pavements or walkways, without cobbles and only slight slopes for using the wheelchair. So always check which town we will visit to achieve the most.
The beauty of me being at home gives me the opportunity to have items sent through the post and returned if necessary. Larger items (most recently the food mixer and a new toaster) which we would otherwise have to balance on the back of the wheelchair, or on my lap, can be delivered without concerns of no one being home to sign for the items.
Food-wise I shop regularly using iPad apps, which give a quicker shop- as if I was in the store. I can usually read full lists of ingredients and also choose most of my shopping from the monthly offers. Some of the more exclusive foods can be found in health-food online shops with supplements and, as with searching out the trays, I might be going in dozens of different shops before finding what I prefer.
Thanks to Google, Amazon, Ebay and many others, my life can be a lot more focused on recovery and careful pacing than it might be otherwise!