Tommy Amuses Me--Grocery Shopping

 Tommy has never been a coupon or ad user. But, he has changed. 

When I got the pink plastic bag of ads I would go through the coupons and cut them all out. One day, I asked him if he minded doing the cutting. He leapt at the chance. Then, after that he eagerly sought the bag of coupons after I had taken them out, giving them a cursory glance. He knew we were mailing them to my friend who is in charge of the food bank at her church. 

Well, those pink bags never come anymore. 

One day several months ago, I was not feeling well. I asked him if he look for a certain ad I thought I had seen. At some point I asked him to look in the ads and circle what was there that I always bought or looked like something I wanted and just anything he might want me to buy. He never circled anything he wanted. 

That all changed. 

I was going to the store on Saturday and had him look for items, same ones--things I bought, things he thought I might want, and anything he saw that he might want. Later, I looked at the ad. He had circled Brownie Bites from the deli/bakery, packages of Doritos/Fritos. He had circled an ad for Fritos Party Sized Snacks, Pepsi cartons, Cheerios. I never eat any of those except for chocolate! I thought this was highly unusual. It turns out he wanted something for the Auburn game on Saturday. I always ask and he never wants anything for the game! 

On Saturday, I did not want to go in Publix. 

He was very accommodating as he usually is and went in. When he came out, he had lots of stuff. I noted a huge bag of popcorn and commented that he still had microwave popcorn. He said he wanted it for the Auburn game that evening. Of course, I don't care. I always tell him exactly what to buy and anything he sees that looks good. Well, for once he added something! Oh, yes, he got the bogo Cheerios. I had gotten the b2g1 Pepsi the day before.

He has become very invested in coupons and bogo ads at Publix. I have never fussed about what he buys. And, since March 2020 he has not gone into a store until this last two months. I always asked him what he wanted me to get and to call me in the store if he thought of anything. 

Do you have someone who really gets into coupons or shopping or buying things not on a list? 

I smile inwardly just thinking about this.

Things That Are Different This Week and Easter

The pink plastic bag with store ads and the coupon inserts was not thrown in the driveway this week. Bummer. I wonder if the inserts are still in the newspaper. I will call the paper to see. Anne, did you get your pink plastic bag?

Publix publishes three paper items with deals and coupons. Only the large newsprint ad is in the store now. This is the paper with BOGOs. That's good. So, there are no other deals or coupons.

A small store in Cullman has no more ads and no deals. Bummer again! They had good buys.

I received an email from Belk's for buy one men's item and get three free. (B1G3) What?! I waited until the next day and it was gone. For $28 I could get four pair of pants for Tommy.  I think they were $60 pants, maybe $58. But, the deal is gone. $7 men's pants are a great buy. A customer service person said the deal might come back.

While shopping for Campbell's soup, I came across something that stymied me and sort of still does. I found Cream of Mushroom Soup and Campbell's Mushroom Cooking Soup. Well, I cook with some of the "Cream of" soups. I read the labels. It seems that there are more actual vegetable in the "cooking soup."  Mushroom Cooking Soup has 1 1/2 cups of vegetables--mushroom and broccoli. Plus, there are many more spices in it.

Did you know there is a Cream of Bacon Soup? That's news to me.

Northern toilet paper is back at Publix. They seem to have a tp delivered every day, just a different brand. The brand de jour is abundant with the other brands down to one or two packs or not at all.  I did not buy more. Monday, even more Northern tp showed up at Publix.

Tommy has quit his outbursts right before bedtime. This has helped me to sleep well each night. I had a calm talk with him. I did not say goodnight for two nights in a row. He changed.

I no longer fear the test for my heart, the cath. I did some research on Saturday. I found a minimally invasive procedure--Siemens multipoint 64 slice CT Scanner--Super Scanner with non-invasive 3-D images of the heart and blood vessels. Have you heard of this? Had experience? My stress level has dropped significantly!

With people dying, especially old people with other health problems like us, Tommy will not take it seriously. He got out to pump gas and handled car handle, steering wheel, keys and credit card, yelled about the Lysol Wipe I handed him, dibbled it on his hands and threw it with attitude on the dashboard and told me, "You worry too much." Okay, I worry about him, but he cannot worry about me. great. I may kill him yet.  So, this week, he has given up being cautious. Great, just great!!!

Easter was low-key and lazy. I had plans for the dinner, but they were changed. Possibilities included spiral-cut ham, slaw, green bean casserole, field peas and snaps, potato salad. I could not find the French fries in kitchen, so none of that. The potato salad was just too labor intensive, and Tommy cannot stand potato salad.

So, I ended up heating the ham, green beans, and the peas and snaps. That ended up being two of the same bean! I found the French fries package just at dinnertime but did not make it. I had made vanilla pudding with pineapple in it because Tommy does not like bananas. Then, we had his chocolate bunny later that night.

I have potato salad on my mind, ingredients for green bean casserole, and a fruit salad for me. But, the day after Easter, Monday, we had the ham, and cole slaw. Plus, I put green beans in with the field peas and snaps and heated that for us. It was a replay of Easter, but we certainly do not care.

How have things changed in your life from last week to this week?

Sunday in Bed and Plans for the Next Week

When Tommy woke me at 8 am as I asked, I was in no condition to get up. I told him i was sick and not going to church. That was the last i heard of anything until noon. I got up to go to bathroom and take a pill. I got back in bed and woke again after 1 pm.

I ate banana and milk and gave myself an injection. Later, I ate a piece of bread and a little cheese. About 4 pm, I went back to bed and asked him to wake me at 7:30. Then, I  heated our dinner, leftovers from Saturday night--baked chicken, green beans, sweet potato, and a halo. I just had chicken and a halo.

In the afternoon, I looked out the door and saw glorious sunshine. So, I went out and got some food out of the car. That one trip wore me out.  For a while, i realized that i was just sitting here on the sofa and moaning and sighing.  Yes, i feel that awful.

Hopefully, tomorrow, I will feel much better. We will see.

This week, we will mostly stay in due to weather and really not having much reason to get out. Since the pink bag with grocery ads did not come, i will have to look up ads online to see if there is anything on sale that i need or is so low i can stock up.

It is almost 9 pm and I hear the bed calling me.

Hard to cook with no victuals!

I end up spending more of my money on food when I have to go out and buy food. Or, Tommy spends more of his. I cannot just look in the cabinets and find food. It is not there. I had plenty at my house.

So, we have to go out too often and buy something I had bought dirt cheap and pay more for it now. I try not to go too often. But, it is frustrating to have to pay so much! When you only buy on sale/clearance or use a coupon, after a while there is just always food. I then buy fresh fruit at a good price and milk. I cannot force myself to stock up at full price!

There was a plastic bag in the end of all the driveways in the neighborhood. I asked what it was and Tommy dismissed them with, "Oh, only ads that I throw away." So, I just dismissed them, too. Finally, after weeks I told him I was going to get the bag. There were grocery ads. There were drugstore ads. There were inserts like in the paper. I could not believe what he dismissed. So, out of the gutter, I got a $3 coupon, amongst other goodies.

Okay, frustration reigns in the food department.

Since I got the gastroparesis diagnosis, I am also frustrated by what I cannot eat! White bread, pasta, and cooked and peeled fruits and vegetables are a disappointment. The doctor said people usually lose weight with this condition and noted I had not.

For the last three nights, I have not been able to sleep because of the severe stomach pain, reflux pain. AND, I still have vertigo every time I turn over, sit up, stand up, or lie down. Tommy begs me to go to the doctor every day. Actually, he says, "Let me take you to the doctor in the morning." At least I have not fallen down again.

Someone, please bring me chocolate ice cream! I really, really want it.

Squash Blossoms, Grocery Deals, Pesticide You Can Drink

Today, it was 93 F at 5:30 pm. I have no idea how hot it was earlier. However, it was nice. I was sitting/lying in front of ac.

The free lunch we pick up was today. Both of us forgot it, so Tommy did not come up, opting to go to some Baptist event on another day where there is music and food. We have to bring a side. Cole slaw seems like a cheap, nutritious, and easy thing to take. I was going to take a pasta salad, but I will have to boil and stir. With cole slaw, I only have to stir. What do you think? There will be ample refrigeration for either one.

Suddenly Salad was $1/box. The usual price if $2.29. So, actually that is cheaper than slaw since it needs 1/2 cup of mayo. I use 1/4 and some milk.

I did get my free sandwich at Chic-Fil-A. I had not had one in at least 4 months, maybe longer. Tommy and I usually go there about noon and the place is packed. Kids and babies outnumber adults. Today, I went about 3 pm and there were very few people and only about 6 little ones.

I did dress like a cow. I cup four spots from and envelope, taped them on the front of a black tshirt. VOILA! I was a cow.

My cayenne pepper plant has one little nub of a pepper. The squash plant has a couple of blossoms. Everything is still in the nursery pots. I need to repot.

The basil plant is getting eaten by something. One plant died and then revived itself. It is all a mystery to me. because I have never grown this herb before. I even forgot what it was.

I caught the sales before they go off tonight. Cool Whip, 8 oz. was $1. I got 2 of those. I believe that is about half price. Suddenly Salad was $1 and the Ranch was gone. So, I have a Rain Check or five. I do have a couple of SS here, so I have enough for the church dinner.

Since I will not use commercial pesticide on my food plants, I got the stuff from the produce department to make pesticide tonight---jalapeno pepper. I have the rest--onion, garlic, Dawn, cooking oil. That will show the bugs. In aa blender put two cloves of garlic (not two bulbs), half an onion, a couple of jalapenos, in about  a cup of very hot water, blend. let sit. Pour into jar and leave in the refrigerator all night. In the morning, strain well through cloth,  Then pour about 1/4 cup in a sprayer and a pint of cold water, Tbsp. Dawn , 1/8 cup cooking oil, NOT olive oil. Shake. Now spray your plants. Keep it in the refrigerator. Remember, this must be strained through cloth so it won' t clog the sprayer.

Notes on this recipe: I don't remember the exact recipe, so if you use more of less of any item, it will be okay. The first  time I made this, I sprayed the plants about 6 times each day. About 4 days later, everything was dying. I sprayed them too much. So, beware. they recovered once I quit applying so much homemade pesticide.

The good thing about this pesticide is that you can put this in your home blender, wash the blender and use it for smoothies or food. Plus, if this pesticide is drunk, it will not kill you or poison you. Later, you can touch the plants or eat the harvest with no worry about what you are eating.

Tomorrow, I am making eggroll in a bowl. I have ground pork and coleslaw. I did not want to buy large quantities of an ingredient, so I got a sample of rice wine, little pouches from a condiment rack. I bought  nub of ginger. I had gotten a sample of Boar;s Head Horseradish, liked it and bought the bottle.

Also, I must make the squash casserole. It is not what I would chose to eat with eggroll/springroll, but that is the way it is. The squash have been here too long to delay this longer.

Okay, it is about 11 pm and I have items that need to be in refrigerator. ??? Oh, another thing I bought--field peas and snaps.

This post was unorganized. Okay....