Midnightmom

When a store has an advertised sale item that is not in stock, don't forget to ask for a "Rain Check!" Safeway's are good for 90 days past the sale date, CVS's are good forever. If I am in a store on the first or second day of a sale and they either didn't get in the item, or it is already sold out, I will get a Rain Check and also go back to that store during the "Sale" period so I can get the item I want at the sale price and also hang on to that Rain Check for "future" use. If they still don't have the item, I will ask for another Rain Check! Unfortunately, Winco does not issue them. Maybe that is just another way they keep costs down?

Do you have a family "tried and true" recipe for banana bread that you are willing to share? Please post here if you do. Thanks.

When I visit the grocery store I always go to the produce dept whether I need stuff or not. I like to pull the packing that is used in the shipping cartons for tomatoes, apples, etc. Sometimes it is "molded/shaped cardboard" between layers of apples, sometimes it is a sheet of "foam" between layers of tomatoes, etc. These items are good for packing things in boxes at home, or for shipping items to others. However, I generally only take from boxes which have had at least on layer of already purchased goods, and redistribute the remaining items to other fuller boxes of the same items. The stores don't seem to mind - less trash for them to have to get rid of.

Is that $1.25 each??? That is the price around here for stores such as Safeway, Raley's, and Holiday Market. Winco has them(green bell) for 68c each; however the price of red bells hovers between 98c & $1+ each. Winco is my "go to" store for most of my shopping because their prices are good and their shelves are always well stocked - even during the era of "social distancing" their shelves were never empty. @Littlesister Winco keeps their costs down in several ways: This one pertains to all stores in CA - Bring your own bag, or pay 10c/bag at the store when shopping. Cal-Fresh (food stamps) purchases get free bags. No baggers/bag your own groceries. Each lane has two sides and the cashier puts purchases down one conveyer belt or the other, so they can be ringing up another purchase while you are still in your lane bagging your items Winco does not accept credit cards - Cash, debit, or "food stamps" only. Not having to pay the "discount fee" for accepting CC helps to keep the costs down. They do not advertise. You can check their website for digital coupons, but they do not print a circular to be mailed or even to have available in-store. They have a "Wall of Values" which is the first aisle you go down once you enter the store. Most of their "sale" items are located here. (Sale = temporary price reduction), although you will still find marked down items throughout the store. They have a "bulk" section where you can purchase just what you need of an item instead of commercially pre-packaged varieties that come in sizes that you don't want or need. This is especially helpful if you want to try a "new" (to you) spice or other ingredient. You can purchase some of the bulk items they carry by the larger unit they come in (which are used to fill the bulk area dispensors). There are generally no limits on how much of a single item you can purchase; although sometime the first 2 items are the "sale" price but any additional items are sold at the normal price. This has been mostly true for the eggs. However, there are ways to get around that too. You can purchase 2 doz eggs for the sale price and also purchase two 18 count eggs also at the sale price!` You can shop for "reduced" priced meats as they get marked down due to close dating/expiration dates. Also, the only taxes on food in CA are for soda, and liquor or prepared/ready to eat foods like "fast food," fountain drinks, and restaurant meals. Plus there is a "recycling" fee added to most beverages sold in plastic bottles or cans. Garden seeds (food items only) are tax free and can be purchased with food stamps. But, if I remember correctly, if you purcase plant "starts" you pay a tax (perhaps because of them being potted (dirt + container).

Our 99c Store and CVS pharmacy were divesting themselves of these types of products last year for pennies on the dollar. I think I have enough for a small army. But I'm sure you would have stocked up too at 25c/bottle! Even if you don't wind up using it for its intended purpose, it makes a good fire starter!

I put up 12 quarts of "unstuffed pepper soup!" Check out the size of these peppers - they were only 59c each!

Stress test was "normal" and echo showed my "ejection fraction ratio" to be unchanged from the last one. And, like LittleSister, I wasn't tired out from it at all.

I have cans of kraut. They are very salty and very strong, not at all suitable for eating straight out of the can or on a salad. This is the kind of kraut that I use when making pork and sauerkraut, or other long cooking recipes. However, I have come to really like the mild flavor and the crunch of fermented kraut. I just don't have enough room in my fridge to keep it all once it is done fermenting, and I don't want to do a "pickled" version using vinegar.

I had to cook it in two different batches, but I put up 12 quarts of "Unstuffed Pepper Soup!" I remember someone remarking (was it you @Littlesister ) that when they made it they didn't like the oregano/Italian herbs that Leisa used in her recipe. I looked up the original recipe that inspired Leisa's version and discovered that the herbs she used was basil and parsley. That sounded much better to me, so that is what I used. It is awesome with those herbs! I did not have a freezer full of peppers that needed to be used up so I bought some at the store. Can you believe the size of these things!!! And, they were only 68c each!

Apparently you can can fermented sauerkraut w/o losing all of the benefits of the fermentation! Sutton's Daze is currently doing "Canuary" where multiple YTers are posting a video a day. There is a video by Fermented Homestead on canning fermented sauerkraut! Here's the title of the vid if you want to look it up and give it a try: Canning Sauerkraut | CANUARY | Fermented Homestead I am going to give this a try the next time I make up a batch of kraut. Now I need to know if you can do the same thing with Giardiniera.

I was in town and had to rebook my appt instead of keeping it so I wandered into Big Lots. It's not one of my "normal" stops and I had plenty of time on my hands so I wandered here and there. The front half of the store still had Christmas stuff on clearance and I found some liquid soap that I had purchased elsewhere last year called, "Peppermint Swirl." I'd seen it prior to Christmas in the other store, but the bottle was half the size as it was last year (shrinkflation) and it was more expensive, so I passed it up. Needless to say, I was ecstatic to see the same size as I got last year at 50% off of last years' price too - 49c@. I bought all eight bottles for a grand total of $4.00!!! That was pretty much all I got, except for a few empty spice bottles for 99c each, but boy, was I a happy camper!!!

Sorry I missed the party. I hope you had a wonderful day with friends and family.

Are you familiar with Carolyn Ketchum? Her website is "All Day I Dream About Food" and she has a wide variety of recipes from soup and nuts to desserts (and everything in between).

If you look in the fruit section of the freezer aisles you may be able to find a bag of diced avocados. It is just chunks of avo's so you can use only as much as you need at a time and not have to worry about the unused part of one going bad/getting brown in the fridge. They are very handy for making small batches of guacamole, or even larger portions then freezing it in individual serving sizes. They are also a pretty fair substitute for "Potatoes O'Brian" or just salted and roasted and served on the side as a "potato."

Jeeps - I know don't know if you were aware of a "mystery disease" that was affecting dogs this past summer, but it put pooches into respiratory distress and some of them had to be put on oxygen. A lot of dogs were lost prior to discovering that oxygen tanks helped the dogs through the infection. My point is, this vid explains some OTC and herbal remedies to help calm those respiratory episodes and I think the solutions would probably work on human "animals" as well. The tricky part would be figuring out the dosage! I have time-stamped the vid to start at the into to the various treatment options. Maybe it will be helpful: maybe ti won't.

Please consider that those are very low to the ground and might be difficult to get up from - unless you have grab bars - and even then it still might be difficult.

I guess I'm pretty forunate to live in a "small" town. The shop I take my car to will give me a ride home if they have to keep the car, then pick me up when it's ready. If they need to keep it for a few days and I know I will be needing to get myself somewhere, they have free loaner cars! And their labor prices are very reasonable, too.

Isn't a "smart phone" and an "Android" the same thing? Isn't "Android" the platform a "smart phone" uses??? Radiant Max 5G from AT&T

My cell phone is mostly a camera, then a few store apps, and sometimes use the text feature to "talk" to my son. But, the main reason I got a "smart" phone to replace the little flip-phone that I had was because a game I used to be able to play on my computer through FB's gaming platform, left the FB platform because there were too many bugs and glitches happening and the players were pounding on the game's developers to fix what was actually FB's responsibilty to fix but they weren't! Anyway, since I don't use it as a "phone" (most of the time) I do not have the ringer turned on so I would not be able to find a "lost" phone that way. But I did have to replace that phone back in Aug/Sept because the charging port wasn't working, and the model of phone I had could not be charged by placing it on a charging platform instead of using the cable. However, it was that time of the year when everything was on sale for "back to school" needs - including cell phones. I went on the AT&T site and found a slightly newer model of the phone I had and got it on sale for a very reasonable price! I took it to the local AT&T store and they helped by moving the sim card over, but, unfortunately we were not able to transfer the info on the old/broken phone over to the new one. Soooooooooooooooo.................... I am right in there with you ladies who have recently had to re-enter all kinds of data - phone numbers, etc - into a new phone. What a PITA it is having to do that! But, it is done! However, I keep finding that I have to add contacts and phone numbers that I had forgotten were in the old phone. I think we may be all caught up now, but I wouldn't put a bet on it as a sure thing!

Good eye! Once I put the blue trucks out everything looked "off balance." So (and Jeepers will appreciate this) I "restored" the color balance by putting the red and green candy canes with the red and green Christmas trees, and all was right with the world again.

I was innocently sitting at my computer a week or so ago when I heard a chirp/tone that I wasn't familiar with. I thought it was my cell phone trying to get my attention to deliver an alert of some kind, but I could not find and indication of it, so I did what any normal person (whoever said I was "normal") would do, I called the phone company and asked what setting(s) need to be changed/adjusted. As I was talking to the rep, the tone sounded again and I asked him if he could hear it. "Yes," he said, he could, BUT it did not sound like a telephone alert. It sounded more like a smoke detector or a carbon monoxide alarm. He was correct! But, the thing is, this apt is all electric! I notified maintenance and found out that there had been a rash of the batteries in these devices going bad. They replaced all of the units in all of the apts - not because any appliances are gas, but because the apts are federally subsidized and they had to meet requirements. Anyway, that is my little misadventure with safety alarms.

Round Three What are the differences between Garden3 and Garden4? #3 #4

I've been "brewing" vanilla since June of 2023. Just funneled it into the bottles tonight - two 2oz bottles and all the "used" beans are now cozy together in a larger bottle to make a second round. I'm not really sure WHY I did this as I don't do a whole lot of baking, but now I have it as a back-up to the store bought brands (which are NOT artificial vanilla or vanilla flavoring!) I know it's past Christmas, but I might just bake up some "sugar cookies" anyway just so I can use the vanilla! George Strait and Phil Robertson

It is officially midnight here on the left coast. Goodbye 2023........................................ hello 2024.