The good, the bad, and the ugly

Yesterday we went to Blue Springs to go shopping, mainly because I like Aldi.  It was raining, but I'm neither sugar nor salt, so I don't melt in the rain.  It was actually a nice rainfall, and I imagine there was at least an inch; I asked a local farmer on Facebook if he knew the total, but haven't heard back from him yet.  

Aldi had grapes for a decent price, and they always have fruits and vegetables that are worth the money.  I buy Aldi bacon when I'm there; it has more fat than most bacon, but I save bacon grease for gravy and seasoning, so that's fine.  You can buy bacon grease at Walmart, but it's $6.87 for 14 ounces.  I also got a pound of butter for $3.98 and a dozen eggs for (ouch) $4.72.  We use as many eggs as any average person who cooks, I suppose.  I wonder if the price will ever go back to what it was before bird flu.  I like buying my eggs at Aldi because they are fresher and larger than eggs anyplace else.  And really, as Cliff and I were talking about, what we pay for eggs won't break the bank.  I just wish they'd quit raising the price of Miracle Whip and mayonnaise.  

Back to Aldi:  I was ready to check out when I pushed my cart past the open freezer case when I noticed big frozen turkeys piled up in end of the case, and thought, "Who is going to buy a big turkey this time of year?  Most people are sick of turkey."

Then I happened to notice a sign below those turkeys:  16 to 18 pound turkeys, 49 cents a pound."

If those grocery carts had brakes like a car, you would have heard my brakes squealing.  I came out of Aldi with a TWENTY POUND turkey that cost $10, which made my day.  I can make a lot of things with left-over turkey.  I freeze the cooked turkey in various amounts and get a dozen or more meals from it.  I'll wait a while, though.  I used to boil turkeys whole if it was just for us; it's done in an hour and a half that way, and not so much mess.  However, Cliff never gets tired of roast turkey with all the trimmings, so I'll probably spend the extra time and money to cook it in the oven in March or April, then freeze most of that goodness within 24 hours.  Turkey Gumbo, turkey Jambalaya, turkey salad sandwiches, turkey gumbo, turkey enchiladas, turkey  pot pies....

One good thing about shopping in the rain yesterday, there weren't so many people out and about.  City people don't like to get their hair wet, while my hair, being curly, looks better wet.  Not so much  lately, since it's far too long.  I have an appointment for next Tuesday.

Good grief, look at all the words I've written, just talking about Aldi.  

We also went to Walmart to get a handful of things Aldi doesn't have.  My pet peeve for today is that nobody has Chili Cheese Fritos in stock!  We only buy them when I want to make taco salad, but I had to get the regular Fritos, which isn't nearly as good.

Another pet peeve:  Amazon is dropping all the good benefits they used to have, one by one.  Cliff and I used Alexa mostly to ask for a single song, one we're craving to hear at the time.  Some months back, they decided not to allow us to ask for just one song.  If I asked for Coat of Many Colors, they'd just give me a whole stream of Dolly Parton and other singers, and maybe not even play the song we really wanted.  I finally found out why:  The only way they'll play one requested song now is if you pay $10 a month.  I was going to just leave things alone, but then realized I'd be cutting off my nose to spite my face, so I gave them their money.  I probably wouldn't have done it except that Cliff really enjoys asking for whatever song tickles his fancy. so it was for both of us.  

Today I got an email saying that as of February 20, Amazon will no longer have Amazon Smile.  I loved knowing they was giving money to my favorite charities.  They say they'd rather find one charity to give to so it will make a bigger impact.  I admit, my charities didn't receive a lot, but I liked knowing every time I shopped, Amazon gave my charity a few pennies.  In all the years since they started giving (2013), my charity has only received $56.61 from me.  But look at what all US charities have received from everybody!  

I'm sure Amazon will raise their yearly price AGAIN at the end of the year, too.

So there you have it:  The good, the bad, and the ugly.