I Shop Better Than You

I dragged my behind out to do a few chores today (I needed those plastic covers for the ear thermometer so I could keep shoving the beeping thing in my ear and exclaiming, "Oh my god, I have a fever!" Like it was some shocking observation) and I came home with some fantastic deals.

Walgreens had 1,000 tablets of Ibuprofen on a "buy one, get one free" deal. I go through 800 mg. every six hours, so it isn't like they will be left unused. I was pretty pleased with deal until I rounded the corner and saw boxes of Domino icing sugar on sale for .50 cents a box (1 lb.). I bought about ten pounds. The same shelf had Clabber Girl cornstarch for .25 cents a canister-I bought four. Cornstarch is something I never used much of until I became a mother and started making pudding from scratch-no child of mine is eating pudding from a packet. It comes in handy for glazing breads, baking pies, Chinese food, and home remedies.

When I thought my trip to Walgreens couldn't get more exciting (and it is actually kind of a long trip to a Walgreens from where I live) I found the .50 cent tins of pumpkin puree. Then, (I nearly peed myself from the excitement...or maybe it was my fever) I found Danny a beautiful glass/musical snowglobe with his favourite song-Beautiful Dreamer. It was $3.00

So..ask me what I got at Big Lots. Go on, ask!

When I used to travel home to Illinois (which thankfully I don't need to do anymore as nearly everyone is dead) I would stop at the Pharmacy in Deerfield (Lindeman's) to buy vanilla extract they used at the soda fountain. They would bottle it up in a medicine bottle, and stick a prescription label on it telling you how to use your fancy vanilla extract. Oh, it was wonderful stuff. It was years later, after the place had closed that I found out the vanilla came from another local company, Nielsen-Massey. I bought it a few times, but it is an expensive specialty item around here, and eventually I forgot about it. Until today. Today, I found 4 oz. bottles of the stuff at Big Lots for $4.00 ea. I bought them all. I had to. Sure, you can soak your own beans in vodka, you can buy cheaper extracts, there are a million reasons I could have walked past that vanilla except, none of those smell like my High School years. First thing tomorrow morning I'm putting on a pair of Gaucho pants with a matching shirtwaist, robin's egg blue mascara, flavoured lip gloss...and then I'm making a batch of vanilla ice cream. I'll probably sulk and roll my eyes whenever someone tries talking to me, but damnit, I am going to make my rural Nebraska kitchen smell like Lindeman's pharmacy circa 1980.

Also scored at Big Lots-1/2 price cookie tins (I use them all year for sewing materials, storing crackers, etc.) the last of the limited edition grapefruit Tic-Tacs (I bought something like 20 boxes...because I really love grapefruit. In fact, yesterday I happened upon white grapefruit which is rare as hen's teeth these days, and I might have gone a wee bit overboard. I can't help myself-I love bitter citrus. Love it. I would forgo all other food for grapefruit and blood oranges. I ate so damn many grapefruits when I was pregnant with Danny I should have named him, "Texas Sweet".) and blackcurrant tea for Danny (he likes flavoured tea).

I swear I'm not a hoarder, but I do live miles from decent shopping, and sooner or later this 50 degree F. weather is going to turn into winter and I won't be able to get down the access road from the farm. I like to think of it like a squirrel foraging and storing nuts...except this squirrel likes good vanilla and grapefruit Tic Tacs. And herring, of which I purchased several tins as well.

Anyone get any terrific post-holiday sale items?