Petty Vents

[Kayelle]

For a few items that I may be buying in CVS or Rite Aid, I just use the little hand basket. If a 12 pack of paper towels or toilet paper are on sale, then I will get a shopping cart. At the Rite Aid in my community, there are five steps. Now steps are a BIG barrier for me. And the store is so small, that there is no room for carts. But if there is anything I need on the second level, I will ask an employee to go get it for me. They understand the barrier that the stairs presents for me. Very rarely does Rite Aid have any On Sale bargains that I am interested in. But for the few times there have been, they are always on the second level and I let the employee do my shopping. That is what they are there for. The shopper.

As much as I hate to admit it Addie, shopping carts are needed for those of us (like me) who need "some" assistance that hand baskets just don't provide. Thankfully, I need no other mobility assistance at this point, and I'll deal with that when I must. For now, I expect shopping carts!

 

[Zhizara]

The other thing about those hand baskets is that they hurt your fingers, especially when you get a few items in them.

 

[Dawgluver]

My mom relied on the shopping carts too. She didn't use a scooter and they were a real help to her whenever she'd go shopping.

 

[Katie H]

Okay...yes...this IS a petty vent, but it's a vent just the same.

We're southerners and we're, sort of, country folks...and we like grits. Prepared lots of ways. Seems mundane so far, doesn't it? Yes, until one needs to buy more grits.

I thought that would be a simple task. But, oh no, it's not!! Well, not really, unless you want "quick" grits. They are a dime a dozen and come in nearly every iteration imaginable. I DO NOT want quick grits. I want "old-fashioned" grits, which I thought wasn't asking much.

In my quest, I visited no fewer than 11 stores, including 4 Wal-Mart stores, and a couple (I considered "country-type" markets) and struck out. Zero, zip, nada, goose egg. I even called one of at least three Mennonite markets in our area and asked if they had grits. The young girl I spoke to put the phone down. Apparently they didn't have a HOLD feature on their phone. I heard her say to someone, "What are grits?" Hmmmm?! I had a feeling I'd struck out again. Yep. She came back and reported that they didn't have any.

Well, heck!!!!

Now, I really had a quest!!

Today was my day to drive to what we call "the big city" to run some errands. On my way into the town, there's a family-owned grocery store, a large, somewhat sophisticated one (for here, anyway), so I thought, "Why not?" I stopped and hit the jackpot.

I marched out of the store with 10 pounds of Aunt Jemima old-fashioned grits.

One 5-pound bag filled a gallon canning jar, vacuum sealed with my FoodSaver attachment, the remaining 5 pounds will fill our tummies in the coming weeks.

Yeah!!! I as victorious!!!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Okay...yes...this IS a petty vent, but it's a vent just the same.

We're southerners and we're, sort of, country folks...and we like grits. Prepared lots of ways. Seems mundane so far, doesn't it? Yes, until one needs to buy more grits...


Yeah!!! I as victorious!!!

Happens to me all the time. Not sure what I am going to do when I run out of my Dawn Fresh Steak Sauce. I bought the last of it on clearance at the store that was carrying it.

Glad you found your grits, Katie. Want me to keep track of them around here?

 

[Steve Kroll]

Okay...yes...this IS a petty vent, but it's a vent just the same.

We're southerners and we're, sort of, country folks...and we like grits. Prepared lots of ways. Seems mundane so far, doesn't it? Yes, until one needs to buy more grits.

I thought that would be a simple task. But, oh no, it's not!! Well, not really, unless you want "quick" grits. They are a dime a dozen and come in nearly every iteration imaginable. I DO NOT want quick grits. I want "old-fashioned" grits, which I thought wasn't asking much.

Katie,

My wife and I are northerners and city folks, and guess what? We like grits, too. If you think they are hard to find where you live, you should shop here. They are impossible to find - and I've looked everywhere.

Oh, very, very occasionally I will see "instant grits" in the store. But they are even worse than quick grits.

I'll tell you my story. Earlier this year we were in Phoenix and shopping in a Wal-Mart for something. Sunscreen maybe. I don't remember. In any case, as I was wandering around this store I came across a 5 lb bag of Quaker old fashioned grits. Eureka!

So I bought the bag, and when we left to come home, I packed it in my suitcase. We arrived at the airport and did the automatic check-in of our luggage. Long story short, my grits made it back home safe and sound.

A few days later, I was going through the expenses when I found a charge of $100 on my credit card from Delta Airlines and freaked out a little. I called the airline to ask about the charge and, after being passed around from person to person, finally got someone on the other end of the line who was able to help. It turns out that my luggage was 3 pounds over the limit, and the charge was for having an oversize bag.

That silly 5 pound bag of grits had cost me $100!

After a little begging and pleading, the nice woman credited me back the fee.

To this day, whenever I make up a batch of those grits, they are not your ordinary grits. We call them "hundred dollar grits." And yes, they do taste like a hundred dollars!

 

[Addie]

My mom relied on the shopping carts too. She didn't use a scooter and they were a real help to her whenever she'd go shopping.

My sister's walking disabilities were not as severe as mine. But she too had to rely on a shopping cart. I tried to get her to use the electric cart in the supermarket. But she flatly refused. And all because of vanity. I figured I don't know one person in that store and I don't care what others think. I am not there to amuse their thinking.

For me, there are times when I can't even walk around my own small apartment without having to sit down every five minutes. For those who have to lean on a shopping cart, use them to their fullest. My sister let vanity interfere with her well being and comfort. It cost her, her toes.

I let folks know. "I am elderly and handicapped." And I do expect to be treated as such. Being so, I finally qualify for a lot of benefits without filling out reams of paperwork and answering questions that have nothing to do with my problem.

Fortunately for me, my CVS has nice wide aisles and my scooter can run up and down them with ease. Wheee! See me go! Hop on. I will give you the ride of your life.

 

[Addie]

Being a born and bred Yankee, I too like grits. With cheese or an egg with a nice runny yolk.

When I visited a friend in Tenn. a number of years ago, we all went to Dollywood for the day. They have a barn there that grinds the corn for you while you wait. I bought a bag and it made the best cornbread I have ever had the pleasure of making. Sometimes I think living for more than five years in Texas, the south rubbed off on me more than I realize.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

When it comes to grits, we have all kinds in our local stores. I guess it helps when there is a high concentration of Hispanic people in the area. Works for me! Cheesy grits, creamy grits, fry-a-slab type grits. We eat them all.

Has anyone tried the bake-in-the-oven preparation method for grits? I've read that they turn out great and you don't have to stir or dodge splatters. Just wondering if anyone has first-hand experience. Thanks.

 

[Aunt Bea]

As much as I hate to admit it Addie, shopping carts are needed for those of us (like me) who need "some" assistance that hand baskets just don't provide. Thankfully, I need no other mobility assistance at this point, and I'll deal with that when I must. For now, I expect shopping carts!

I have those days too!

I use the carts to do my shopping aerobics, my memory is so bad somtimes I have to do 3 or 4 laps around the store before I find everything I need!

The main thing is to keep truckin'!

 

[Katie H]

When it comes to grits, we have all kinds in our local stores. I guess it helps when there is a high concentration of Hispanic people in the area. Works for me! Cheesy grits, creamy grits, fry-a-slab type grits. We eat them all.

Has anyone tried the bake-in-the-oven preparation method for grits? I've read that they turn out great and you don't have to stir or dodge splatters. Just wondering if anyone has first-hand experience. Thanks.

Actually, CG, we do have a very large Hispanic community and, in fact, it's pretty easy to buy goat for cooking in our community than in many regions.

All the grits I found in any of the markets I visited were of the instant/quick variety, which is not what I wanted.

Yep, we love grits any way they can be prepared and I discovered a foolproof way of making them, minus splatters, etc., in the October issue of Southern Living magazine. They were the creamiest and most delicious grits I'd ever tasted, much less cooked. Glenn loved them, too.

 

[CarolPa]

LOL! Something about the squeaky (shopping cart) wheel getting the grease...

Way to go, K!

The squeaky wheel carts are reserved for me. I always get a cart with a squeak. DH said he can always find me in the store. Squeak, squeak, squeak. Or, I get the cart that always wants to pull to one side.

 

[CarolPa]

I have never tried grits. I think one restaurant has them on their breakfast buffet. I've never seen them on any other menus. Probably at Cracker Barrel, but we don't go there. I've seen them in stores, but never bought them.

I also use a shopping cart as a walker. One time I tried one of their scooters and I was crashing into everything including another shopper. That was one clue that I'd better keep my mobility up. LOL I was almost run down by someone else in a scooter. I told him, "Handicapped or not, you should show some respect for the other shoppers."

 

[CarolPa]

My stretchy shoe laces came today. Can't wait to put them in my shoes.

 

[Addie]

The squeaky wheel carts are reserved for me. I always get a cart with a squeak. DH said he can always find me in the store. Squeak, squeak, squeak. Or, I get the cart that always wants to pull to one side.

You forgot the cart with the square wheels. I always got that one. The electric carts do have a beeper on them. Because I have my own scooter, I am a whiz on the store ones. They go snail pace compared to mine. I back up, turn around in the middle of an aisle, and race around like a maniac. But then I am at the store at seven in the morning and a lot of times it is only me and my son along with the help stocking the shelves.

Today I made a run up to Rite Aid. I was thinking of Kayelle. Sure enough I needed something on the upper level. I called for help. They are doing a major construction job on the sidewalk. I had to go out into the street. Two cops looked at me and I whizzed by them. They were all set to stop traffic for me. It dawned on them I was doing just fine on my own. But I did say thank you.

 

[CarolPa]

DH took some of my stretchy laces so I had to order more! LOL

 

[Addie]

DH took some of my stretchy laces so I had to order more! LOL

You should have hidden them. It is time for him to learn how to tie his own shoes.

 

[Addie]

A couple of days ago there were a couple of illegal posts for sneakers from China. I had to open them in order to report them. Now I have these banners across and on the side of my screen. Too bad I can't read them. But they are so annoying.

 

[CarolPa]

You should have hidden them. It is time for him to learn how to tie his own shoes.

I don't hide things from him.....well, except for money.

 

[Zhizara]

I don't hide things from him.....well, except for money.

Give him the site to order his own!