Seussical the non-musical

Well – I made it through Thanksgiving!!  Luckily, when telling my students the lasagna puree story, one of them piped up and said, why don’t you go to a zöldség stand?  These stands are literally mom and pop type vegetable stands who have bulk foods from the farm.  The end of November, it had snowed, there wasn’t a chance there was fresh spinach at the zöldség stand.  BUT, I stopped anyway, just to check it out.  And sure enough, the eternally happy lady who wears a Seuss-like Santa hat had fresh spinach.  I didn’t know what to do – I had never purchased things at a zöldség stand.  I was the only one there.  Do I just go help myself, do I weigh it, does she?  Oh the questions.  I said “kérek szépen spinach” and she pointed at it, gave me a bag, and I was off.  It turns out I didn’t get enough spinach, but I was just so happy that she had it – I didn’t really pay attention.  THEN, I purchased a total of 150 forint worth of spinach (about $.75 worth) and I only had a 5000 forint bill- so I bought a little Christmas snowman thing that said “let it snow.”  Still, that only came to 1,150 forint, (roughly $6) and she took it willingly, and cleaned her entire drawer out of change in the meantime.  What a sweetie.  Today (12/2) I walked by her stand and I heard her say to me “hallo – hallo!!!”  She knew I don’t speak Hungarian, and yet she went out of her way to greet me- in her Seussical hat.  I laughed out loud – and asked if I could take her picture.  So – there she is.  I think everyone needs a Seussical vegetable lady 100 yards from their house.