Grocery Shopping

[Spock]

Spock, I imagine your dog would be happy and healthy with a serving of whatever you are eating.

Where was this?

I'm not eating. Thats why I need a new belt and smaller jeans.
Metro area of about 1M people

 

[Dawg52]

Went to the grocery store this afternoon just for a few items. I didn't need any but this was the first time in over 2 months that towels and toilet paper were in stock. I've had to buy those products either online or out of town. Maybe some of the hoarding is over.

 

[mpeirce]

Another weekly trip to the local Kroger north of Columbus Ohio.

All employees wore masks, but a few of the guys who bring their products into the store to stock (like the soda bottlers and the beer guys) had them pulled down. Most customers had on masks. A couple didn't.

The store was fully stocked. The only thing I noticed that wasn't normal was the bulk food area is gone and there are other items there to fill the space. Lots of meat - ribs were buy one get one free. I really like that the non-local strawberries are better this year - bigger and tastier. I figure the ones that went to restaurants are making there way to my store.

A note: I see absolutely no reason to keep my mask on when I leave the store and get outside. Plenty of space and fresh air. Unless you are in some dense city, I don't really understand the need to wear one outside.

 

[Amethyst]

Spock, I may have missed something. Why aren't you eating? Did you lose your appetite? I've been having a spot of that, but not enough to need new clothes, thank goodness.

I wouldn't call a store being out of a brand of soap, being "unable to provide" for my spouse.

I'm not eating. Thats why I need a new belt and smaller jeans.
Metro area of about 1M people

 

[Amethyst]

I don't wear a mask just to go outside, except standing in line with others outside the store. I don't wear one in the car, either. Didn't wear one at the gas station (would have, if I'd gone inside the station to buy something).

A note: I see absolutely no reason to keep my mask on when I leave the store and get outside. Plenty of space and fresh air. Unless you are in some dense city, I don't really understand the need to wear one outside.

 

[harllee]

I don't wear a mask just to go outside, except standing in line with others outside the store. I don't wear one in the car, either. Didn't wear one at the gas station (would have, if I'd gone inside the station to buy something).

I am not wearing my mask outside as long as I can stay 6 feet away from people. But I keep my mask in my pocket and quickly put it on if people invade my space. If people really invade my space I put on my mask and start loudly coughing and they quickly back off.

 

[RetiredAtThirty-eight]

Lo and behold, there was some Lysol spray cleaner, though not the kind I wanted (Power and Free with hydrogen peroxide). I don't use cleaners containing hypochlorite bleach because it's bad for our shower doors, and not great for tile, either. So I put the Lysol spray back, searched and found a spray bottle of Kaboom! which is H2O2 based.

I would be careful using Kaboom if your tile has natural cementitious-based grout because Kaboom Bathroom Cleaner is highly caustic. The Internet is full of bad tile-cleaning advice and vinegar, bleach and H2O2 are often recommended, you will ruin your grout if you use these products regularly/incorrectly. For regular cleaning you want a pH neutral cleaner.

Grout that hasn't been abused with acidic or caustic cleaners can easily last essentially indefinitely without re-grouting. Abused grout (or poorly installed grout) can fail very quickly. You won't notice anything amiss until it is too late (after the grout has started to fail).

If you like your tile and want to keep it nice you should clean it well (judicious use of a stronger, alkaline cleaner could be used here if necessary) then seal it well with one of the modern grout sealers on the market. After that a periodic cleaning with the pH neutral cleaner should keep it looking great until it's time to re-seal it again. Strong cleaners will ruin the grout sealing. A well-sealed grout job can last 10 years before re-sealing is necessary but only if strong cleaners are avoided. Re-sealing is pretty easy but not something you want to do too often unless necessary (because it takes time).

 

[Sunset]

Totally depressing day shopping this morning.
Fry's, Super Walmart, and TSC:
* nobody has the dog food our 7lb mutant will eat.
* no medicated soap for my wife.
* hamburger prices are going to beat SpaceX to the ISS, and only mix available was 73% lean/23% fat @ $6/lb. No roasts of any kind.
* bulk rice is up to $1/lb... $20 for 20lb bulk bag. Thats 3=4x above a couple of weeks ago, but I guess on the plus side there were 3 bags left.
* no tomatoes. apples had all been used for batting practice.
* potatoes I bought the bag with the fewest soft ones that I could see.
* I needed a shorter belt and replacement jeans due to all the weight loss, Walmart was picked clean of both.
I damn near started choking up in the walmart when I realized I couldn't provide for my wife and dog.

.....https://www.npr.org/2020/05/07/8517...n-most-without-treating-any-covid-19-patients

Tomorrow will be interesting when I pick up our Walmart curbside order.
Our hamburger is supposed to be $3.78/lb for the same grade, a big price difference from what you saw.

 

[6miths]

No line up outside Costco today at 1 pm and none at checkout. All sections well stocked. Beef prices up 40% but lots of selection. Except still no Lysol wipes. I don't know who runs that company but they seem to be missing out. Also no line at Lowe's and not many people either.

 

[audreyh1]

I am not wearing my mask outside as long as I can stay 6 feet away from people. But I keep my mask in my pocket and quickly put it on if people invade my space. If people really invade my space I put on my mask and start loudly coughing and they quickly back off.

I definitely wear it for waiting in line outside which I have only had to do at the meat market. People don’t maintain distance in line. And they are often busy talking. Fortunately the older ladies behind me yacking it up were wearing masks. They came from a couple of hours drive away which is typical with this meat market.

 

[harllee]

No line up outside Costco today at 1 pm and none at checkout. All sections well stocked. Beef prices up 40% but lots of selection. Except still no Lysol wipes. I don't know who runs that company but they seem to be missing out. Also no line at Lowe's and not many people either.

I read somewhere that Lysol is shipping their products only to hospitals and other medical facilities and that they are running at full capacity 24/7.

 

[becca]

I lucked out at Costco last week. While I was shopping they brought out a pallet of lysol wipes (5 containers in 1 package). They went fast but I got one. Gave each of my two children a container, one to keep in each of our cars and one for home. I felt like I had won the lottery.

 

[Chuckanut]

I lucked out at Costco last week. While I was shopping they brought out a pallet of lysol wipes (5 containers in 1 package). They went fast but I got one. Gave each of my two children a container, one to keep in each of our cars and one for home. I felt like I had won the lottery.

I managed to get a 5 pack of the wipes from Costco yesterday. I had to fight my way to my car to keep them from being taken from me. Thank goodness I kept that Hai Karate instruction sheet all these years. I got a bit bruised, but I managed to send two old ladies and five Hell's Angels to the hospital while keeping my wipes. To keep others from pursuing me, I threw $20 bills out the car window which clogged the streets with people and prevented me from being followed. I separated the wipes into plastic bags of 20 each. I sold them individually on the black market site located in a dirty alley in back of the local Yoga school. Two undercover policemen approached me but a few bags of wipes convinced them to look the other way. Several of the shapely young Yoga instructors promised me a fun one-on-one class if I paid for it with a bag of wipes. I deposited the profits in my index funds and now my investments are up for the year!!!!

I'm starting to feel like I have to much time on my hands.

 

[Spock]

Spock, I may have missed something. Why aren't you eating? Did you lose your appetite? I've been having a spot of that, but not enough to need new clothes, thank goodness.

I wouldn't call a store being out of a brand of soap, being "unable to provide" for my spouse.

No cereal, no bread, restricted milk and eggs (until recently), no flour, rice is back but at 3x-4x the price, now meat is going short. Yesterday I bought my first potatoes since March (and they're a little soft... I've started planting potatoes in buckets in the yard but so far yield is not worth the water).
That all added up to skipping breakfast completely, a drastically smaller lunch (an apple), and then try for a normal dinner.

The "no soap" was just the last straw. This weekend my wife shared she wasn't eating the last blueberry muffin in the freezer because she didn't know when we'd be able to replace it. After she went to bed I dug it out of the freezer and set it on the counter so it would be thawed for her the next morning. Now I have to plot an expedition to Costco and hope they have muffins in stock this time.

 

[W2R]

No cereal, no bread, restricted milk and eggs (until recently), no flour, rice is back but at 3x-4x the price, now meat is going short. Yesterday I bought my first potatoes since March (and they're a little soft... I've started planting potatoes in buckets in the yard but so far yield is not worth the water).
That all added up to skipping breakfast completely, a drastically smaller lunch (an apple), and then try for a normal dinner.

The "no soap" was just the last straw. This weekend my wife shared she wasn't eating the last blueberry muffin in the freezer because she didn't know when we'd be able to replace it. After she went to bed I dug it out of the freezer and set it on the counter so it would be thawed for her the next morning. Now I have to plot an expedition to Costco and hope they have muffins in stock this time.

Since you have problems finding so many things at Costco, I'd strongly suggest skipping your planned trip to Costco and instead trying a different store. Maybe the availability problems you are experiencing are just at your Costco? They have such a large customer base that apparently during this crisis many Costco stores have understandably had considerable difficulty in getting enough of everything put out on the shelves regularly. I have heard similar reports about shortages at our local Costco.

Our store is not a Costco, but a moderately priced local chain supermarket similar to Kroger or Safeway. It hasn't been out of anything (other than paper towels for a day or two) in recent weeks and has never had any restrictions on anything or exorbitant prices. Their produce has been terrific, very fresh and unbruised. Since you live in a city of about a million (somewhere in the US, I assume?) I am sure there are other stores there that might be better stocked than Costco.

Now, Amazon Prime Pantry is another matter.... They seem to be out of nearly everything most of the time.

 

[gwraigty]

I walked into Walmart this morning at 9 AM. What I read here is making me more observant. Several people walked in at the same time I did, yet I was the only one wearing a mask. Inside, only half of the customers were wearing masks, down from about 90% when I was last there 3 weeks ago. It surprised me to see so many elderly people not wearing masks. Maybe they're feeling rebellious and defying our latest Ohio order that specifically says people 65+ should wear a mask when out in public. Walmart didn't have the big sign at the entrance that asked customers to wear a mask like they did last time. I don't know if that's influencing some people.

Prices are definitely going up on some things, 50 cents here, $1 there. I think some beef roasts used to be $5.48 lb. and they're now $6.99 lb. 73% lean ground beef was just over $4 lb. Meats were well stocked. I still have plenty, so I only bought some boneless chicken thighs at $1.99 lb. I stocked up on some produce items and snacks. Shelves were well stocked in most things, including paper products. Canned vegetables, canned soups, pasta, pasta sauce, were still under stocked. Milk jumped from $1.89 gal. to $2.71. I haven't seen milk over $2 gal. in years around here. Today's my birthday so I bought a couple of treats for myself for dessert.

On my way out, everyone who was entering the store at that moment was wearing a mask.

 

[bluelight]

Shopped at a local garden center late last week for some Geraniums and was surprised to find hand sanitizer, Lysol wipes and masks for sale at the checkout. Picked up 2 containers of the Lysol wipes for $4.99 each. I'm sure that was more than I would pay for them during normal times, but now I have them. All good.

Yesterday we received our bi-weekly Peapod order from Stop & Shop. Only thing out of stock was the $3.99 store brand chicken breast. If I had ordered the $7.99 organic chicken breast it would have most likely been available. The same pork loin roast that I used to buy at Costco for $1.79 per pound was $4.39 per pound. Our food bill has definitely increased using delivery but we're on Long Island, NY and even with the numbers decreasing, we're still a hot spot. We won't need another food order for about 3 weeks, I hope at that point I can start going back to stores.

 

[gayl]

I'm not hoarding BUT it's going to look like it today. Picking up 2 mass packs of chicken (10 lbs for $4.99 ×2) to add to the 2 boxes I'm making for 2 households that are unemployed. Then DGD2 and I will deliver. 1 still cannot get thru to unemployment. Seems someone else applied on his SSN and didn't have the right info so they froze him out. Assemblyman's office got him a phone appointment date TBD.

Oh .... wine at 40% off so I'll get 6 bottles for me [emoji1635][emoji485]

 

[Sunset]

No cereal, no bread, restricted milk and eggs (until recently), no flour, rice is back but at 3x-4x the price, now meat is going short. Yesterday I bought my first potatoes since March (and they're a little soft... I've started planting potatoes in buckets in the yard but so far yield is not worth the water).
That all added up to skipping breakfast completely, a drastically smaller lunch (an apple), and then try for a normal dinner.

The "no soap" was just the last straw. This weekend my wife shared she wasn't eating the last blueberry muffin in the freezer because she didn't know when we'd be able to replace it. After she went to bed I dug it out of the freezer and set it on the counter so it would be thawed for her the next morning. Now I have to plot an expedition to Costco and hope they have muffins in stock this time.

I suggest Walmart, you can even do curbside pickup for Walmart Groceries
https://grocery.walmart.com/

You don't say where you are located (State) but here, the Walmart has been great, and previous to Covid-19 I only shopped at Walmart a few times a year.

Potatoes take quite a long time to grow, figure on around 90 days before harvest time. I no longer grow those as they are cheap to buy, compared to Tomatoes.

While rice might be expensive compared to pre-Covid-19 at some places depending upon the variety, at My Walmart it's still cheap:

Great Value Long Grain Enriched Rice, 20 lb

8 dollars and 48 cents$8.48

unit price is 2 dollars and 7 cents per ounce2.7cents/OZ​

​

Especially when you consider 2 people use just a few ounces per meal.

 

[W2R]

Since you live in a city of about a million (somewhere in the US, I assume?) I am sure there other stores there that might be better stocked than Costco.

Ah, bad assumption on my part! According to Wikipedia,

as of December 31, 2019, Costco has a total of 785 warehouses: 546 in the United States and Puerto Rico, 100 in Canada, 39 in Mexico, 29 in the United Kingdom, 26 in Japan, 16 in South Korea, 14 in Taiwan, 11 in Australia, two in Spain, one in Iceland, one in France, and one in China. Costco is scheduled to open a warehouse in New Zealand in 2021.

So, given that info, there is no basis for my prior assumption that you live in the US.

 

[brewer12345]

Spock, look elsewhere. Local grocery stores that do pick up or delivery, online purchases, etc. If you look, it is out there.

 

[Boose]

Did my 2-week shopping at Ralph's (Kroger) this a.m. Weird shortage of the month: tofu. And no dry beans yet again, but we've been buying those from the Mexican grocery. Either there are a lot more vegetarians than I realized, or meat-eaters have switched due to price/demand. Can't picture an avid carnivore switching to tofu, though.

 

[brewer12345]

Did my 2-week shopping at Ralph's (Kroger) this a.m. Weird shortage of the month: tofu. And no dry beans yet again, but we've been buying those from the Mexican grocery. Either there are a lot more vegetarians than I realized, or meat-eaters have switched due to price/demand. Can't picture an avid carnivore switching to tofu, though.

Tofu has been very hard to come by in the last two months. DD1 is a vegetarian. I finally found some of the aseptic packed shelf stable stuff on Amazon, but could only get the soft variety, which is not ideal.

 

[gayl]

Tofu has been very hard to come by in the last two months. DD1 is a vegetarian. I finally found some of the aseptic packed shelf stable stuff on Amazon, but could only get the soft variety, which is not ideal.

If you have a Trader Joe's they still have plenty including the 2 pack 15.5 oz extra firm for $1.90. The single lb pack is less expensive but the 2 pk is easier

 

[bbbamI]

I managed to get a 5 pack of the wipes from Costco yesterday. I had to fight my way to my car to keep them from being taken from me. Thank goodness I kept that Hai Karate instruction sheet all these years. I got a bit bruised, but I managed to send two old ladies and five Hell's Angels to the hospital while keeping my wipes. To keep others from pursuing me, I threw $20 bills out the car window which clogged the streets with people and prevented me from being followed. I separated the wipes into plastic bags of 20 each. I sold them individually on the black market site located in a dirty alley in back of the local Yoga school. Two undercover policemen approached me but a few bags of wipes convinced them to look the other way. Several of the shapely young Yoga instructors promised me a fun one-on-one class if I paid for it with a bag of wipes. I deposited the profits in my index funds and now my investments are up for the year!!!!

I'm starting to feel like I have to much time on my hands.

Ohhhhh...for sure my biggest laugh of the day!