Christmas shopping

In my youth we would hit the road by 8 a.m. and go until 3 or 4 p.m. to make sure we had hit all the garage sales in the area.  We'd go on Friday (when I was teaching and it was summer) and hit the ones we missed on Saturday.

For a time nearly everything in our house had been purchased at some garage sale or other.  The house filled up with stuff, a lot of things that needed dusting or were kitchen utensils that we used once-in-a-blue-moon.  Family and friends were pretty much in the same predicament.  Looking at other folks left-overs had lost its allure.

We stopped garage saling about eight years ago but every once in a while I'd get the urge and we hit a sale or two before I decided I didn't need anything else, especially something "used." 

This year I suggested to Hubby early one spring Saturday morning that we try a couple of sales for maybe half an hour.  We didn't last that long but we found a fun Christmas item to take to Houston for gifting.  We began to go out to the sales, probably twice a month, usually for less than an hour.  We bought some good used books and made a nice little heap of Christmas presents just for giggles in Houston -- nothing anyone would have to dust but could be put to interesting use. 

On my way to lunch with the Wyandotte retired ladies last Wednesday, I saw a sign for a neighborhood garage sale across the state line -- an area that had been pretty productive in the past.  We headed out about 9 a.m. this morning and managed just over 90 minutes before I was totally pooped from my efforts but we had a trunk full of some really great presents, mostly for the Houston crew.  All for under $10!  I'm probably going to have to spend more on the wrapping that I have on the actual gifts!

PS to my Houston family:  I promise not to bring down anything you will have to take care of or store!  Well, mostly not store, anyway.  So far everything I've acquired seems to be things you are currently using every day (or for entertaining). 

A Shopping Spree

Ever since I had read about the new HyVee Grocery store at 95th street and Antioch (Johnson County, KS -- rich man's territory) I had wanted to visit.  I thought I'd go last Friday but then Hubby brought home some meat and I spent the morning carving and dividing and was too tired to go foraging in a new produce department.

Since I've retired I've not gone grocery shopping on the weekends -- I leave the crowds and long lines for those people who MUST shop on a Saturday.  Yesterday we met friends for lunch at Webster House, a really nice downtown restaurant that once was an elementary school in the early days of the city.  Now the "foodie folks who dine" have turned the building into a variety of posh shopping areas downstairs and upstairs you can sup elegantly in one of the classrooms turned into a dining room. 

 Finally, today, with the sun shining and the temperatures warm enough that a coat was not required over the dog tee-shirt, we ventured across the state line to do some fancy grocery shopping. 

What fun we had!  Hubby went in with me and we purchased a very nice lunch for two (with one soda) for a little under $11.  We even had food leftover to bring home for my supper tonight.  Then Hubby picked out some fruit and found his favorite hard candies before he left to wait for me in the car.

I wandered around, enjoying all the services offered by the store:  catering, a huge bakery, a full kitchen with two chefs in residence, a sandwich island, a huge butcher shop including a seafood island, giant tubs of fresh herbs and rices, aisles filled with organic products, an Italian kitchen, a Chinese kitchen, a downstairs eating area, and upstairs a wine bar with a restaurant.

One of the best features is the "green" plan used to save energy at the store.  The freezer cases are not lighted until you walk down the aisle next to them.  Then the lights turn on until you pass by. It makes you feel special when you realize that cases are being lit just because you're peering inside to check out the ice cream selection. 

After all my groceries had been bagged, I went to leave the check-out stand but was told I had to wait.  My bill was being reconfigured.  I couldn't understand, until the friendly gentleman checker explained that he had realized that he had scanned an item twice and my bill was being deleted and replaced. I waited maybe 30 seconds for the manager to hurry over and punch a key on the register -- and then I was able to leave with my new bill.  I hadn't even realized I'd been overcharged and would have easily paid for the item twice without the honesty of the store. 

The checker also told me all about the Sunday brunch served at the store from 10 to 2 -- with shrimp, prime rib, a "made-while-you-wait" omelet bar, and every kind of pastry one could desire.  We will certainly have to check that option out one Sunday. 

I don't go to malls or department stores anymore but I do enjoy a really nice grocery.  I won't go to this one every time.  My neighborhood HyVee has warm personnel, I know where things are located, and it's small enough that I don't wear out shopping there.  But for a special treat, the HyVee on 95th may need to be a once a month visit.