Here's something you might be interested in.
The 99 Cent Store in National City had some good deals in the food section yesterday. I had gone down there to buy water, but when I have the time and money, I look around to see what they have that’s new or interesting. A few weeks ago they had small Sara Lee peach pies for 99 cents! I thought I had died and gone to heaven! They also had Ben and Jerry’s ice cream for 99 cents which wasn’t that great. It’s definitely hit and miss when you shop there, but hey for 99 cents, you can’t go wrong. The worst that happens is you throw out something you paid a buck for that you would have been mad about throwing out if you paid five bucks for it.
Yesterday I found HungryMan XXL buffalo fried chicken sandwiches that surely would have cost five bucks at Vons. Bought one to try it out. Not great, but not terrible. Bread was good, meat was moist. Just not a lot of flavor to it. When the box says Buffalo, I expect a little fiery flavor. This sandwich was bland.
Deals today, at random:
Toblerone chocolate bar, with honey and almond nougat, 99 cents
Nestle Toll House ready to bake cookies, oatmeal raisin, 99 cents
Hershey’s Goodnight Kisses instant hot cocoa mix, 4 envelopes, 99 cents
Libby’s canned peach slices, in juice or light syrup, 99 cents
Crystal Geyser water, gallon or six pack, 99 cents
Lean Cuisine Chophouse Steak Paninis, 99 cents
Farmer John ham slice, maple-flavored, 99 cents
Mrs. Field’s giant snickerdoodle cookie, 59 cents
I also buy paper plates, plastic bags, foil, plants, party stuff, and plastic bins there; where I can, I look for brand names, but with a lot of those kinds of items, I will try an off brand. At the holidays, I look for bargains and curiosities. If I am on the way to the Laundromat and realize I forgot one of my laundry products at home, I run in there and grab what I need. With laundry products, I definitely look for brand name, even in a pinch; for 99 cents, I may not get a lot but better to get a little of a good thing, than a big sized thing of worthless.
With some things, I’m pretty careful to buy brand name products. I have tried generic or odd name brand items, but they are generally disappointing. A few weeks back, they had these big cans of peaches, Mrs. SomebodyOrOther, and I love peaches so I bought a can to try them out. They were oddly sliced, some hunks were mushy, some were too hard, and they had a slightly bitter taste. There’s a reason you pay more for Del Monte and their perfectly perfect peaches.
When my kids were small, we lived in a neighborhood where the local grocery store stocked a lot of Springfield products, Springfield being the cheap rate stuff. There was another off brand name, think the name was Gingham, anyway, the children’s father started calling all generic products “Cunningham” for some reason. If I would send him off to buy something at that store, I would make sure to say, “No Cunningham.” He has never cared about brand names and would rather buy cheap and save the difference. I remember once he came home with some Cunningham bleach and I used up a whole bottle trying to get my son’s socks clean. Nothing like Clorox. Even when we were, and we often were, dirt-poor, I hated to use generic brand. When I was growing up I believed the commercials. Certain products were brands I could trust, and they still are today. That’s why I look for brand names even in the 99 cent store.
So I paid for my bargains and wheeled my cart out along the verandah styled entrance, all the way to the end of the pavement where I nudged the cart down alongside my car, stepping into the mild warm sunshine, happy that I had bought things I needed and things I wanted to try out and things I knew from past experience that I would like, seventeen items for $17 and change.
It wasn’t extremely busy at the store, people were coming in and out of the entrance with no sense of hurry or irritation like when the store is crowded; the nice weather and slow pace had everybody in a good mood. As I loaded my car, I could hear a man talking to another man, their voices bouncing cheerily along the front of the store, one man ribbing another about his physique, “Hey, where you get them guns?” That caught my attention; I turned to get a look at these guns.
The men were American of Mexican descent, middle-aged, obviously from the hood, apparently friends who hadn’t seen each other in a while; one fellow in a sleeveless teeshirt and shorts, longish curling black hair and a heavy face and mustache was the guy being teased, and indeed his arms were muscular in that pumping iron sort of way, but the elbow skin was folded, revealing the truth of his years. He was average height, broad shoulders and barrel chest, long arms, the other man was tall, trim and dressed neatly, with a toothy smile; standing close to them and slightly in front and aside was a woman, she was with Muscles and looking on politely as her man talked with his friend who was obviously a stranger to her, her eyes appraising him through the bantering. She was trim and attractive in pants and blouse, her hair loose around her friendly face.
I turned my cart to push it back onto the verandah; from inside the store came a clerk in the purple and green 99 Cent Store apron, pushing a few carts to store inside the corral near the door. The muscular man saw the clerk coming their way and saw that his lady, listening to the other man who was still doing all the talking, had her back to the clerk. He stepped behind his woman and put his hands on her hips and with proprietary love and care drew her back out of the way of the clerk and his carts. She stepped back with the man like a dancer with her partner, without any hesitation or resistance at all; she couldn’t see where she was going, where he was taking her, but she was utterly trusting and without fear.
That, too, warmed the cockles of my heart.
The 99 Cent Store in National City had some good deals in the food section yesterday. I had gone down there to buy water, but when I have the time and money, I look around to see what they have that’s new or interesting. A few weeks ago they had small Sara Lee peach pies for 99 cents! I thought I had died and gone to heaven! They also had Ben and Jerry’s ice cream for 99 cents which wasn’t that great. It’s definitely hit and miss when you shop there, but hey for 99 cents, you can’t go wrong. The worst that happens is you throw out something you paid a buck for that you would have been mad about throwing out if you paid five bucks for it.
Yesterday I found HungryMan XXL buffalo fried chicken sandwiches that surely would have cost five bucks at Vons. Bought one to try it out. Not great, but not terrible. Bread was good, meat was moist. Just not a lot of flavor to it. When the box says Buffalo, I expect a little fiery flavor. This sandwich was bland.
Deals today, at random:
Toblerone chocolate bar, with honey and almond nougat, 99 cents
Nestle Toll House ready to bake cookies, oatmeal raisin, 99 cents
Hershey’s Goodnight Kisses instant hot cocoa mix, 4 envelopes, 99 cents
Libby’s canned peach slices, in juice or light syrup, 99 cents
Crystal Geyser water, gallon or six pack, 99 cents
Lean Cuisine Chophouse Steak Paninis, 99 cents
Farmer John ham slice, maple-flavored, 99 cents
Mrs. Field’s giant snickerdoodle cookie, 59 cents
I also buy paper plates, plastic bags, foil, plants, party stuff, and plastic bins there; where I can, I look for brand names, but with a lot of those kinds of items, I will try an off brand. At the holidays, I look for bargains and curiosities. If I am on the way to the Laundromat and realize I forgot one of my laundry products at home, I run in there and grab what I need. With laundry products, I definitely look for brand name, even in a pinch; for 99 cents, I may not get a lot but better to get a little of a good thing, than a big sized thing of worthless.
With some things, I’m pretty careful to buy brand name products. I have tried generic or odd name brand items, but they are generally disappointing. A few weeks back, they had these big cans of peaches, Mrs. SomebodyOrOther, and I love peaches so I bought a can to try them out. They were oddly sliced, some hunks were mushy, some were too hard, and they had a slightly bitter taste. There’s a reason you pay more for Del Monte and their perfectly perfect peaches.
When my kids were small, we lived in a neighborhood where the local grocery store stocked a lot of Springfield products, Springfield being the cheap rate stuff. There was another off brand name, think the name was Gingham, anyway, the children’s father started calling all generic products “Cunningham” for some reason. If I would send him off to buy something at that store, I would make sure to say, “No Cunningham.” He has never cared about brand names and would rather buy cheap and save the difference. I remember once he came home with some Cunningham bleach and I used up a whole bottle trying to get my son’s socks clean. Nothing like Clorox. Even when we were, and we often were, dirt-poor, I hated to use generic brand. When I was growing up I believed the commercials. Certain products were brands I could trust, and they still are today. That’s why I look for brand names even in the 99 cent store.
So I paid for my bargains and wheeled my cart out along the verandah styled entrance, all the way to the end of the pavement where I nudged the cart down alongside my car, stepping into the mild warm sunshine, happy that I had bought things I needed and things I wanted to try out and things I knew from past experience that I would like, seventeen items for $17 and change.
It wasn’t extremely busy at the store, people were coming in and out of the entrance with no sense of hurry or irritation like when the store is crowded; the nice weather and slow pace had everybody in a good mood. As I loaded my car, I could hear a man talking to another man, their voices bouncing cheerily along the front of the store, one man ribbing another about his physique, “Hey, where you get them guns?” That caught my attention; I turned to get a look at these guns.
The men were American of Mexican descent, middle-aged, obviously from the hood, apparently friends who hadn’t seen each other in a while; one fellow in a sleeveless teeshirt and shorts, longish curling black hair and a heavy face and mustache was the guy being teased, and indeed his arms were muscular in that pumping iron sort of way, but the elbow skin was folded, revealing the truth of his years. He was average height, broad shoulders and barrel chest, long arms, the other man was tall, trim and dressed neatly, with a toothy smile; standing close to them and slightly in front and aside was a woman, she was with Muscles and looking on politely as her man talked with his friend who was obviously a stranger to her, her eyes appraising him through the bantering. She was trim and attractive in pants and blouse, her hair loose around her friendly face.
I turned my cart to push it back onto the verandah; from inside the store came a clerk in the purple and green 99 Cent Store apron, pushing a few carts to store inside the corral near the door. The muscular man saw the clerk coming their way and saw that his lady, listening to the other man who was still doing all the talking, had her back to the clerk. He stepped behind his woman and put his hands on her hips and with proprietary love and care drew her back out of the way of the clerk and his carts. She stepped back with the man like a dancer with her partner, without any hesitation or resistance at all; she couldn’t see where she was going, where he was taking her, but she was utterly trusting and without fear.
That, too, warmed the cockles of my heart.