Tried going shopping

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Went grocery shopping earlier in the week for a few items. Was going to buy a package of fajita meat and the price was $18.00. I set it back down and decided to fix a big pot of spaghetti. I can't believe the prices of meats, and some dairy. This week I'll fix a pot of red & pinto beans with cubed ham and a skillet of cornbread.

It's ridiculous!!!!

Barry
 
It took three different tries at five different stores over the period of one week before I finally got the bottle of Lysol Antibacterial cleaner that I, myself, wanted.

Barry: I'm guessing that your meat woes were at H-E-B? Guess in spite of their TV ads touting local sourcing of most of their foods *including beef* even they are having trouble. The missus wanted beef ribs for Mother's Day; not a rack to be had (shopped at the Schertz location). That was when the amazing sale on Atlantic salmon was happening, and she loves a good chunk of salmon. So, I got that and did not drop in any other locations.
 
 
At HEB 8am yesterday morn.  Seemed good stock of meats.  I was seeking lemon-pepper seasoned chicken breast, of which there was plenty.  Sign advised limit 5 of a list of items incl chicken.  I bought three, one for self (already had one pkg and two pkgs regular in freezer), two for RJ.

At WM 8pm (30 mins before closing) Fri, specifically for A/C filters but fetched a few other items.  They had some meat-market choices, although also some empty space.  Plenty ground beef both 90/10 and 85/15.
 
Latest Shopping;

Was in Costco in Burnsville MN yesterday.  Most Items in stock and plentiful.  Plenty of beef but fewer cuts to choose from and the price was up.  Decent amount of pork roasts and ribs.  There was some Lamb and Chicken to be had but variety was limited.  I was able to score a 3 slab pack of fresh all natural St. Louis ribs to smoke on Memorial day.  Fresh and frozen fish/seafood was plentiful.  

All other areas well stocked. 

 

Today at Hy-Vee in Savage MN much the same although ground beef was a bit short and all the meats were expensive although much more poultry than Costco.  Thank God I have a lot of meat in the freezer that I vacuum sealed.  Some canned goods were still a bit light and the Campbells soup section was pretty wiped out.  They had no bleach and very little Tide (Costco had pallets of both).  Otherwise plenty of everything including TP at both stores. 

WK78
 
Re: 119

Sorry, I didn't see this until today.

My local Acme store was an A&P until they collapsed. I LOVED that store. It was open 24/7, had a full liquor license, had two kinds of shopping carts: the regular and a larger one designed for full-sized adults. It had everything I wanted.

Acme took over: 24/7 was dropped, liquor licence was dropped, & the adult sized carts vanished within a week. Mother's quick cook barley was gone two. It really doesn't matter much what you're looking for; there's half the variety A&P had.

The one thing the changed that I liked was that they added self checkout. The only problem was that, like the shopping carts, they were designed for people of much smaller stature. So I always went to a cashier (still do).
One time I had a full cart and went to check out only to find there was so cashier, just self checkout. So I left the cart and started to walk out. The front end manager asked me what's wrong and I just said I have vertebrae fusing and discs dissolving and I'm not a masochist. That's why I always go to a cashier. I told him I understood he was not involved in the process, but there really should be at least one self checkout at an appropriate height for an adult. He said no problem and checked out my order himself.

What really pisses me off is that I'm only 6'1", and that's only if I'm doing a lot of yoga. So if something is too low or I don't fit into it, there's a design problem. Period.

That's my position and I am unanimous in that :-)

Jim
 
 

 

Jim, Rinde + in this case means that it lasts longer. It may be because the rolls contain more sheets, or the sheets are 2ply or both. I have been noticing all these "new" brands at the supermarkets. Seems they are scrambling to get anything to fill the void (no pun intended).
 
I was in my local Lowes Foods on Thursday and was wandering down the various isles. The rice and pasta areas were sparse, but low and behold in the rice section were boxes of Sysco rice! Sysco! Desperate to fill space, I guess!
G
 
Chris,
Yes, the H-E-B in LaVernia. Have been shopping there, away from the I-35 corridor, less people and small town atmosphere. It's a little further for me to drive but I don't mind it.

I'm seeing new brands as well on the shelves. Brands that I'm not familiar with. They are trying to fill space.

Barry
 
I was very pleasantly surprised this Monday morning shortly after 9 am when I got to our local Costco. Plenty of parking, and NO LINE of carts outside the front door. Sure, there were plenty of meandering geezers inside, but I should talk. Altogether a refreshing change from the jammed parking lot and blocks-long lines of seniors with carts waiting their turn to enter the warehouse of a few weeks ago.

Now, it may be that not all the geezers have caught onto the fact that Costco expanded the geezer hour days from Tues-Thurs to Mon-Fri. Shhh. Don't tell them!

Baby steps.

Oh, and plenty of TP and paper towels inside. I didn't get any, I'm already full up. I did notice the produce section was a bit light. No garlic, for example. But I get most of my veggies at local Mexican or Chinese markets anyway. And I grow my own oranges and avocados.
 
WTH .....

Been going to multiple stores here in north Atlanta and still no rubbing alcohol. WHY?? What the hell are people doing with all the rubbing alcohol? I can understand not finding clorox wipes, but rubbing alcohol?!
 
Last week I went to Kroger, Menard's, and Meijer. I still couldn't find Citrus Peak soda at Kroger, but got everything else I wanted there. Menard's had everything except the Herr's Baby Back Ribs potato chips, so got Cheddar & Horseradish. Meijer had all I went for except Bush's baked beans in individual size cans, and Velveeta Shells & White Cheese. All of the above had paper towels and toilet paper.
 
What the hell are people doing with all the rubbing alcohol?

They’re making homemade hand sanitizer.  

 

Also, 70% isopropyl or ethyl alcohol kills the COVID-19 virus on contact.  Therefore, its great to use for the sanitizing of anything that may be potentially contaminated, as long as the item won’t be damaged by alcohol  and isn’t an edible food.  

 

I couldn’t buy any hand sanitizer until 2 weeks ago, so I carried a small plastic bottle of 70% alcohol in my pocket at all times.  And I keep a small squeeze bottle of it in my car console to sanitize the steering wheel and gearshift if they may be potentially contaminated. 

 

My sister keeps a spray bottle of 70% alcohol near her front door and sprays any package that is delivered with it and lets it dry before she will touch it.

 

Eddie
 
Errands today.  

Lowes, Aldi's , Walmart among other places.

 

I usually get just a 4 pack of t.p. at Aldis' and it' like $2.19 +/-, but they haven't had it for the last 2 months.  They have had the 12 roll for like the last month but that's a lot of paper so I didn't buy.  I'm gettig down to 1 roll left so I splurged.  It was $6.50 +/-

 

Though Aldi's appeared fully stocked..... no baking soda.  They've never been out of baking soda.  They are still limiting the store occupancy to 20 people at a time, which is great.  

 

I'm seeing more signs on stores that state masks are required.  

 

Walmart- no greeters- YIPPEE.  there usually isn't there.  They do have at least 5 people outside the store at the one and only entrance that is unlocked to control the number of people in the store.

 

Lowes, no controlled entry but mask required.  Also they changed the returns desk when you come in the store so there is more room around it.  Plus they put up a plexiglass shield there and they did at all the cashier stations and for that matter at Aldi's too.  It's a good idea.

 

I don't know why but I was noticing lic. plates today.  Saw Maine, New York, Wisconsin, Illinois, S. Carolina, Georgia, New Jersey, Texas, and Ohio.  Just in going to 5 places. 

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There was plenty TP at WM or HEB, either or both, last Fri eve or Sat morn but I don't need any.  Still have a 12pack not opened, and sister had a 45pack shipped from Sam's in late March or early April when she caught it available.  I'm set for months, maybe a couple years, barring a GI catastrophe.
 
I was fortunate in that I had a small supply of rubbing alcohol before all this pandemic stuff started. I also had a supply of hand sanitizer, but it was past its use by date, so initially I added some rubbing alcohol to it to make sure it would still deactivate the virus.

Then on a chance trip to a local Costco, they had a bunch of one pint hand sanitizers for sale (six for less than $10) so I got those as well.

AFAIK, both ethanol and isopropanol (rubbing alcohol) have similar antiseptic properties, but ethanol is less toxic to humans and perhaps preferable for applying to skin. Both need to be 70% or greater to be effective (but not 100%). '

From my past work in biomed labs, I have some 95% lab ethanol - had it for about 35 years. But it may no longer be at that strength. LOL. Vodka is generally not enough, it's at most about 43% ethanol. Although there may be some liquors that are higher (consume at own risk). Oh, and since 100% lab ethanol is contaminated with toxic benzene, one should never use it to make punch).
 
Report from rural southwest Minnesota: Our HyVee grocery store was fairly well-stocked this morning except for beef--as in there was none--and the usual--no Clorox Disinfecting Wipes, Lysol spray, etc,. All paper product shelves were full. That truck must come in on Monday. Tried shopping on Thursday a couple of weeks ago and there wasn't a roll of toilet paper or box of Kleenex to be found.

Plenty of pork and chicken. Soups were a little picked over, but managed to snag four cans of Campbell's Cream of Mushroom. Pastas and their sauces were getting low. I'm sure it'll all be gone by 8:30 tonight when they close.

A few bags each of all-purpose, bread, whole wheat and rye flours and a couple dozen 1-lb. packages of SAF Instant Yeast on the shelves. Sugars of all kinds were plentiful.

Also managed to grab a lone bottle of hand sanitizer. This is an example in which the packaging and labeling links in the chain are the problem. The bottle has what appears to be a back-of-product label; there is nothing on the front. Have also never seen hand sanitizer in this type of container. But, hey, it's hand sanitizer!

Photo 2: A 1.5 liter water bottle filled with pink lemonade? Nope. It's the only foaming soap refill I could find online last week. Obviously made for a commercial soap dispenser. The top unscrews so I can pour it into my kitchen and bathroom bottles of Dial Foaming Antibacterial Soap. Not concerned that the two odd-looking refills aren't antibacterial. It's the aggressive 20 seconds of rubbing that destroys the coronavirus, not any antibacterial properties.

Came home, threw clothes in washer, took a Silkwood scrub of a shower and am now settling in to begin reading the diaries of playwright Joe Orton. Gotta love $2.99 used books on Amazon.

Kattywampus Photos: These two wanted to post sideways. Opened them in Preview (on a MacBook Pro), then rotated each completely around 'til they were correctly oriented again. They posted correctly. Don't know why that bit of protocol made a difference, but it worked.[this post was last edited: 5/19/2020-10:08]

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Funny, I see Scott TP pretty much everywhere but most are not buying it, I'd have to be pretty desperate to do so.  I'm on the lookout for Blue Charmin Ultra Mega rolls, very hard to find.
 
It does look like a honey bottle.  I've heard the weak point in our grocery delivery system right now has been the PACKAGING shortage.

 

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MattL-  Scott or its generics work well.   That other multi-layered stuff is so loose it disintegrates when you use it.  I don't know why people would want to use it.

 

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Hand sanitizer- don't over due it. You'll strip needed nutrients from your skin.  Rubbing alcohol is not something you want on your skin continuously.  

 

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I need more of those handi-wipe things in the a single packs.  I had some from Dollartree bud am running out and I haven't seen any there in a while.  

 

I wish retailers would install a simple sink at the door just so people could wash their hands after shopping or even before without having to go seek out the bathroom.   Every time I go to Lowes or Habitat and other stores.... stuff is dusty you need to wash after shopping or wash hands in the car.  At times I've even brought along a pre-moisted sponge in a sandwich bag for this.
 
Matt,

if you haven’t tried Scott 1 ply TP in a while you might want to buy a roll a see if you like it.  I was raised on 2ply, and always bought nothing but 2 ply.  Then 4 years ago when I had my right hip replaced David did the grocery shopping for a few weeks while I recovered. 

 

He came home with a 12 pak of Scott 1 ply.  I said WHY did you but that!  He said, well I thought thats what we used.  Since we had it, we used it.  And wonder of wonders, we both like it better!  

 

It seems to be less harsh, lasts longer and we haven’t had a problem with it being too thin.  You just use a few more sheets than with 2 ply, but even so in the end we use less paper than with 2 ply.  It’s also easier on the plumbing too.

 

 The first week of March I bought at 24 roll pak, even though we still had about 9 rolls left, anticipating the possible shortage.  We just broke into the 24 roll pak last week.  Its much more economical and lasts much longer.  We have two bathrooms and usually only change the roll in each bathroom once a week.

 

We’ll never go back to 2 ply.  

 

Eddie
 
Honey Hand Sanitizer

Plus the label is a little less informative than the law probably allows, as far as I can see.

It lists as the active ingredient "alcohol" without specifying what type of alcohol. Ethanol or Isopropanol? I would want to know that.
 
Just returned from Meijer

and it was way busier than I expected. This location didn't have any small cans of Bush's baked beans either. I needed some more WetOnes, and looked in both the grocery and seasonal areas, but none to be found. I was also hoping they had Mountain Dew made with sugar, but didn't see any; got some Stewart's Cream Soda instead.

 

I got food and tea from McAlister's for lunch, and ate in my truck. Outside seating was open, but it was raining hard. Inside seating scheduled to open on Thursday. I may go back over in mid afternoon in a couple weeks.
 
Eddie-

Scott 1-ply fan here (1000 sheets/roll) as well. In fact, I just saw the Wegman's version at Weg's today for the first time. Walmart has had it on and off throughout. Rich grabbed a couple of 2-ply 4-packs of something or other when the shortage started, just in case, but we've never broken into them. They'll be used for the guest baths.

The 1-ply is certainly strong enough for the "business at hand" and definitely much easier on the septic system.

Chuck
 
Reply #137: I just opened the honey bottle of hand sanitizer that doesn’t specify the type of alcohol used in the product. It smells like nail polish remover; not at all like rubbing alcohol (which is isopropyl, right?). I’m not even sure I should use it.

Thoughts, anyone?
 
Eugene,

nail polish remover is made with acetone, so it probably won’t hurt you with occasional use.  But I’d have passed on this product just because of the disclaimer that its a non sterile solution?  WTF, its supposed to be a hand sanitizer, so one would expect that it would be sterile, and not potentially contaminated.  

 

Whether its made with isopropyl alcohol or ethanol is immaterial as long as its at least 70%.  Occasional use of 70% alcohol as a sanitizer isn’t harmful.  Its meant to be an alternative to hand washing when soap and water aren’t available.  

 

Constant use would be drying and potentially cause skin cracks that could be an avenue for infection, but it won’t kill you if used on the skin occasionally.  After all, what do they use in doctors office, hospitals and labs when they are going to give an injection?  Cotton balls and isopropyl alcohol, or now wipes that use alcohol as the active ingredient.

 

 

Eddie
 

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