groceries

Second stock up shop: this is what $364 in total looks like

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$364.05, to be exact. Plus the stuff I didn’t get photos of.

My daughter did the morning routine again. This morning, she found all six kittens – plus the older singleton! – playing together near the shrine feeding station. She startled them and they ran off, but when she came back with cat soup, she said all seven of them were eating out of the same bowl!

More progress on that later…

We headed for the city around 10am or so, crossing over towards town and stopping at a gas station to pick up drinks for the road, first. We chose this route because the highway goes straight into the city and turns into the street that all our stops are on.

That was a mistake.

While no construction workers were on the highway, there were still limits in places that required reduced speeds. Mostly because of the drop off at least a foot deep where the shoulder used to be! Then we got into the city itself and there was even more construction, with the first intersection we needed blocked to turns, so we had to pass it then turn around.

By the time we got to where the Canadian Tire is, it was lunch time, so we popped into the mall to eat, first. We ended up both going to A&W for some double mozza burgers – it’s been ages since I’ve had one. My daughter had poutine with hers and I chose sweet potato fries, plus we both had medium fountain drinks. It ended up costing just over $42.

*sigh*

This mall has a Dollarama, and I wanted to go there before we headed to the Canadian Tire. I was looking for the 10% acid vinegar in gallon jugs. We didn’t find any; just in smaller spray bottles. So we skipped that, but we did get a few other things. We’ve somehow lost track of a couple of spray bottles we use for water – mostly to use on the cats! – so we got two more. I also picked up two more pet odor remover pucks to keep near litter boxes. I also spotted some absolutely adorable little sauce dipping bowls in a set of four. My love of tiny bowls is a bit of a running joke, but we do actually use them a lot. My daughter noted that they were a very good size and shape, too, so I got a set. While going past the hats display, my daughter went digging and found a hat with the front and visor in rainbow glitter.

I now have a new hat in my sparkly hat collection.

The grand total came to $21.28

From there, we headed to the Canadian Tire. The main thing to get there is the litter pellets, however we also went looking for some other things and found stuff to pick up that we normally would not.

We got two 40 pound bags of pellets for litter. They also had a whole bunch of gallon jugs of 10% acid cleaning vinegar! We got two. Then we headed to the paint department. While there, I found a display of 30% acid vinegar! That one had all sorts of corrosion warnings on the label. 😄 A 4L/1gallon jug of 10% acid cost $4.99 each. The 30% acid vinegar cost almost $30 for a gallon. !!

I also found a new SeptoBac product to try. We have the powder that gets flushed down the toilet to add bacteria to the septic tank. This stuff is meant to be used monthly to help clear and maintain the pipes. We plan to use it from the kitchen sink, as it’s the length of pipe that runs from there to the corner under the bathroom that is of primary concern.

I found and picked up a roll of Tucktape outdoor repair tape, because the one I’d picked up before has simply disappeared, after a single use. I am a complete loss as to what happened to it, as I’d made a point of putting it somewhere in the open, with plans to use it again soon. When I came to get it, it was gone. It hasn’t shown up again in a few months, so I just bought another one.

Then we got a couple of wood conditioners. For myself, I picked up some Butcher’s Block finishing oil, designed for food handling surfaces. Aside from conditioning our wooden cutting boards, I have some elm rounds from the tree that was in front of the kitchen window that I plan to chainsaw into thinner rounds. They’ll be made into live edge, round cutting “boards” to be used with our outdoor cooking. Once the rounds are cut, cleaned and sanded smooth, they will get treated with this oil.

My daughter, meanwhile, wanted something to use on our tools and other outdoor items, and chose a teak oil. The blend has linseed oil in it, but she can work with that. We had been talking about various products during the drive in and she mentioned the warnings about linseed oil they got when she worked at a Home Depot and was paint trained. Be extremely careful with the rags when you’re done, because they have a tendency to spontaneously combust!!!

The oils were both pretty expensive, and they brought the total bill up to $123.48 (it would have been so funny if that 8 had been a 5…)

That done, our next stop was a Walmart, and I managed to get a photo of that cart. 😄

This is what $191.35 looks like.

Not a lot of stuff, really, but there are things I plan to pick up tomorrow after my doctor’s appointment that we didn’t want to bother picking up today.

I picked up some XXL puppy pads to go with the XL size we got at Costco. I usually get a pack of 50 but find I need to get a second one before the end of the month, so I went ahead and got a box of 100.

We have messy cats.

I also remembered to pick up wet wipes. The receipt says “baby wipes” but the packages say “all purpose wipes”. One will be for the truck, and the others are handy to have on hand around the house.

I remembered to grab a two pack of extra strength Pepto-bismol, as we were running low. My daughter remembered that we needed some hair conditioner, too. We also got a two pack of air freshener, plus a couple of spray bottles of all purpose cleaner. Also, a carpet powder odor eliminator and stain remover.

The cats like to be messy on my horrible, horrible bedroom carpet.

We got four 4L jugs of distilled water for my husband’s CPAP humidifier.

My daughter then picked a couple of boxes of teas and a couple of bottles of coffee creamer.

Finally, my one real splurge; a box of moon cakes we grabbed on the way to the check outs.

That done, we headed to our next stop at the international grocery store.

Which took a lot longer than it should have, since we were driving back through that construction zone again.

This trip was not quite as planned, but that’s okay.

This is what $172.69 looks like.

There was one thing I was hoping to pick up, but we never found it. The big blocks of frozen ahi tuna were on sale, but it looks like they were completely sold out of the frozen ones.

I made up for it with a brisket.

The brisket was on sale for $4.99 a pound, which made it cheaper than any of the “cheap” cuts of beef out there. There were only three left and I picked the middle sized one that came to $83.27 by weight. Which pretty much took up the meat budget! Worth it, though.

They also had a significant sale on the locally made, smoked and peppered bacon, so I got two. I also got a dry sausage as a snacking item for my husband.

We found a couple of cheeses on sale that we decided to pick up. One was an ages Havarti, while the other was something we’ve never seen before; Iberico.

The only fruit we got was some bananas; we should be able to get fresh fruit at decent sale prices locally. My daughter also found an instant milk tea mix that was also on sale, so we got one.

My daughter picked up an Arizona green tea for the drive home, then we picked up supper from the restaurant area of the store. I got a hot two item combo of Chinese food and picked a Lumber Jack sandwich for my husband. My daughter picked a chef sampler of sushi for herself and a Poke bowl for her sister.

Last of all was a package of cheesy bread to snack on during the drive home, as we were starting to get pretty hungry again. Once done, we popped over to a gas station next to the grocery store and added $40, which just barely filled the tank. Gas in town when we stopped for drinks on the way in was $159.9 In the city, it was $154.9

Thankfully, on the way out of the city, there wasn’t as much construction. We did cut across to take another highway home, though, so avoid all the construction that slowed us down on the way in.

Which meant we drove through the town my mother used to live in, and saw gas prices at $147.9 !!! It is very unusual for the smaller towns to have better prices than the city.

Ah, well.

Both my daughter and I took our time about the whole thing, but were starting to struggle by the end of it. I brought my walker along and am glad I did, as it allowed me to sit down any time the pain levels started to creep up. My daughter was caning it by the time we hit Canadian Tire. I absolutely credit my daughter’s help for my feeling as well as I did when we got home!

In the time we were gone, I was getting messages from my brother and SIL. Their grandchildren went back home yesterday, as they start school tomorrow. Today, my brother was able to stop to visit my mother and take care of a few things for her before they headed here, just long enough to drop something off. By then, my younger daughter and I were on the road home, and my older daughter took care of feeding the outside cats. I’d let the family know my brother and SIL would be popping by, but she hadn’t noticed they were already their. Totally startled her while she was feeding the kittens in the catio!!

After we got home, put everything away and had supper, I cut the brisket into four chunks, then processed those further. One chunk got cut into stewing meat, another into “steaks”, and the last two into roasts. Three of the packages went into the freezer. These will be something to use the Instant Pot for!

Then I headed outside to check on the kittens. I had started getting messages asking how trapping the kittens was going. I know they are officially closed to intakes right now, but they really want those kittens! I updated them a bit, but they were pushing to trap them right away. Which I can understand, but they don’t seem to be quite understanding how it can’t really be done that way.

The food bowl in the catio was completely empty again, so I put out some distraction cat food in other bowls, then added more kibble with cat milk in the catio.

No sign of kittens.

I then went around the yard to check on things before coming back.

I found three kittens playing around the junk pile area. No kittens at the branch pile.

Time to move the catio!

I took the items on and in the catio and set them in the wagon, then walked the catio over until it was close to the junk pile, then set everything back up again. I kept seeing the three kittens playing around, with one of them even going all the way to the main door on the house! As I was finishing up and checking one last time before going in, I saw a little black kitten at the food bowl. I went over and, instead of running away, it ran into the huge cat carrier in the corner, which its cat bed inside.

Where there were already two other kittens.

!!

At that point, I could have just closed the door, but that would have left them without food an water overnight. I could have closed the catio door, but that would have prevented other kittens from coming in and having access to the food and water bowls near the carrier. So I left things be.

Once inside and at my keyboard, I started answering messages from the rescue group. I explained to them that the catio is our trap, and how we’d used it before to get Pinky’s two kittens closer to the house and socialized to the point we could just put them in carriers and bring them in, with no fight and no trauma. These kittens are much younger, so that will make things a bit easier. Especially with Slick gone, so they rely completely on use for food and water. Normally, they would be too young for weaning, I think. I don’t think they are 6 weeks old yet.

After explaining the progress made, I asked for instructions on what to do for the next time I can just close up the carrier door with kittens inside. I now have some available days and times. On any of those days (including, potentially, tomorrow after my doctor’s appointment) I will close up the carrier on any kittens inside, then contact the rescue group and one of them will be able to meet us to take in the kittens. One of them is making space in her house for them now.

I don’t expect to be able to get more than three kittens at once, and it’s three kittens that are braver and more playful. Once they have been taken in, we’ll have a better chance of getting the shier ones and – hopefully – the older white and grey singleton.

So, that’s where we stand now. Second stock up shop is done. All of it together, with lunch, gas and three different stores, came to $467.33

Those are some of the emptiest shopping carts for a stock up shop we’ve had for a while, but we did get some unusually expensive items on this shop that we likely won’t need to do again for some time.

The Re-Farmer

Costco stock up shop: this is what $900

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$900.72 to be exact.

Ouch.

I had a much interrupted night last night, so I was quite thankful that my younger daughter is still insisting on doing the morning routine so I can sleep in. When I got up, I was feeling quite good, overall.

Which made me very suspicious.

As we were getting ready to head out, I checked on the catio and found this adorableness looking back at me.

They still run off when we come by, but not as far, and they tend to stop and watch. When this one started looking like it was going to run out of the catio, I backed off and continued on my way, rather than give it a reason to feel more nervous.

I felt well enough to be doing the driving on the way out. We stopped at a gas station in the town along the way to get some road drinks and a snack to tide us over. My daughter had eaten breakfast, though, while I hadn’t, so the fresh potato wedges I got for both of us ended up just for me. Which meant we didn’t need to stop for lunch while at Costco.

When we got there, our first stop was filling the tank. Regular gas was at $1.489 and it cost me $68.99 to fill the tank from a little over half.

I did make sure we brought my walker while my daughter pushed the flat cart and loaded it for me.

I am so glad I had that walker.

By the time we reached Costco, the pain was starting to return. The more time went by, the more often I had to stop and just sit for a while, keeping an eye on the cart as my daughter ran around getting things. When we got to the line to pay, I gave her my cards and settled at the other end of the cash desk until things were being loaded onto the belt and the cashiers were scanning things on the cart. With a long drive ahead of us, I let my daughter know before dashing to the washroom. By the time I came out, she was done and heading in the direction of the exit. Once I caught up with her, we squished ourselves to the side and paused. My alarm was about to go off, so I took my pain meds then my daughter dashed off to refill my water bottle from the fountain. Which gave me time to get my usual photos.

Does this look like $900 to you?

Yes, we have a birthday coming up! This time, my husband’s. It’s early to get a cake, but we have never been ones to celebrate on the actual day, and a cake that size will last us several days!

So, what did we get for our $900 and change?

Let’s start with the cat stuff.

We got two 9kg bags and two 11kg bags of dry kibble, a case of wet cat food and a box of XL puppy pads.

For non-food items, we got our usual toilet paper, plus a case of facial tissues, all purpose cleaner, and a 2 pack of the Head and Shoulders that we use as an anti-fungal body wash.

In beverages, we got a case of Monster, a case of Vanilla Coke Zero, a 3 pk of oat milk and two 2L of kefir. We also got a large box of Earl Grey tea.

For dairy, we got 5 pounds of butter, a block of Old Cheddar and of Mozzarella cheese, plus a shaker of Parmesan that was on sale.

We did not get a lot of meats. Two panini packs of sandwich meats, a 6 pack of canned chicken, and two packages of loose mild Italian sausage meat.

In breads, we got two 2 packs of rye and two packages of tortilla wraps.

In case lot foods, we got an instant oats variety pack, a case of tomato soup, spaghetti, Ramen noodles. In fresh/frozen stuff we got a case of Pizza Pops, rainbow tortellini and our usual double flat of 5 dozen eggs.

Then there was a large jar of mayonnaise, another of peanut butter, a box of Sweet and Salty mix granola bars that was on sale, a bag of Basmati rice, and a jar of strawberry jam that comes in a jar my daughters like to reuse for their tea.

For my husband, there’s the birthday cake, plus a giant bag of nachos and a large Caesar Salad kit. My daughter chose two nigiri platters for herself and her sister (which I have been reimbursed for), plus I chose a sushi platter for myself.

That’s everything. That all came out to $900.72 While there were a few things on there that we don’t get every month, the only thing that was completely not usual was the birthday cake.

*sigh*

My daughter took care of bagging our stuff (we did remember to bring ice packs) and load up the truck, and she drove home. We made a rest stop at a gas station just outside the city where we got a couple of drinks and small snacks to pay for our toilet paper 😉 and then it was straight home.

Once at home, I left everything to my daughters to unload and put away so I could lie down for a while. I actually did feel better by the time we got home (the drive is about an hour and 15 minutes, give or take), but I definitely could not have made this trip on my own without leaving myself in really bad shape.

I think this worked out. We should be able to do our second stop up shop in the weekend like this, before I see the doctor on Monday afternoon.

I am so tired.

The Re-Farmer

The luring begins! Also, a pre-op top up shop

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This morning, after feeding the outside cats, I went to check on the wood pile, and spotted a bunch of squirmy wormies moving about.

One of them paused and posed for a photo.

They are so frigging cute.

I was doing well this morning, while doing my morning rounds and harvesting the cabbage, etc. I had a brief visit with my brother and SIL and their friends just before they headed out for breakfast. I was invited to come along, but had stuff to get done and declined.

It’s a good thing I did.

Once inside, before I even started making my breakfast, the pain started to hit. I ended up having to lie down for several hours.

Two more days, and this should no longer be happening!

So it was later in the afternoon that my younger daughter and I set up our “trap” to lure the babies.

I took stuff out from inside the catio, removed the weights on the roof (to keep it from being blown over) and cleaned off accumulated debris. The weights, food and water bowls and scrap pieces of insulation that were under the self warming shelter that kept getting smushed flat, went into the wheel barrow. Then my daughter went inside the catio, picked it up by the wire “ceiling” under the roof panels and walked it over to the branch pile for me. Awkward, but much easier than us trying to carry it from the outside. I had to take off the rope handles I’d set into the corners when it was winterized with clear vinyl (which never came off in the summer), so there is nothing to grab on to.

The big donated cat carrier – so big, I have to turn it sideways and squeeze it through the door – was set up inside with the pieces of insulation under it, and the cleaned out cat bed was set up inside again. The food and water bowls were set up, and I grabbed a couple of cat toys from out of the isolation shelter. My daughter got some kibble for the food bowl while I dragged out the hose to fill the water bowl, then added some to the kibble to soften it for little baby teeth. The kittens are probably just getting old enough to eat solid food now, but dry kibble would be a bit much for them.

Slick was in there in no time at all, so I expect the kittens will have already explored it by now, and maybe tried some softened kibble.

Tomorrow morning, they will get to try cat soup.

We set the catio up based on how the door swings open, and the prevailing wind direction, so it sticks out a bit far. There is enough room to drive around it, though, so it’ll just be a slight inconvenience.

Not long after that was done, my daughter and I got ready to head out for the shopping I meant to do yesterday. I knew my brother, SIL and their friends would be gone before we came back, so we headed over to say hello and goodbye before we left. I’m glad we did, because they were packing up to leave soon after we were gone.

As my daughter and I headed for the garage, we walked past the catio and saw the squirmy wormies with Mom, not far from the catio. Hopefully, this will work out and we’ll be able to get these babies to the rescue for adoption, and Slick for spay!

Once my daughter and I reached our destination, our first stop was the Canadian Tire. Thankfully, they had replacement handles in stock, so I was able to get that. We also looked at the spray paint and found an enamel paint that can be sprayed over rusted metal; I forget which brand we ended up getting, but it wasn’t Rustoleum this time. We will scrub out the inside of the old bathtub I dug out of the junk pile and paint the inside. The outside well eventually get done, too, but not with an enamel paint. I also found a flat sink stopped that should cover the drain hole, which does not have a drain assembly anymore. I did look for a drain assembly but couldn’t find one for a bathtub, so I hope this will be enough. I want to be able to soak the cat beds and blankets for a while before washing them, as they are pretty messy right now!

Then, oddly, we saw and grabbed a case of KD. Why Canadian Tire would have mac n cheese at all, I have no idea, but the sale price was good, so we got one for the pantry.

From there, we headed across the street to the Walmart. The first thing I did was feed my daughter, who hadn’t eaten at all yet (!!!). Then we took our time with the actual shopping.

I don’t know that I quite found what I was after. I was thinking of things that are quick and easy, in case I end up with a longer recover time after my surgery. I’ve had laparoscopic abdominal surgery in the past and, while it was as non invasive as possible, I found myself feeling shockingly week for a whole month. I am not expected to have anything as major done this time, but it depends on what they find once they get the camera in me.

I got some cat supplies and paper products first, then went very slowly through the grocery aisles, seeing what was available. I did get some basics, like butter and eggs. I ended up getting some hoagies and breakfast sausages, which should be good for quick eating. I found a few other things that I would normally expect to pick up later in the month to right away instead. I even got some bananas – it’s been ages since I’ve seen bananas that weren’t all bright green!

My daughter, meanwhile, has slipped off to the restroom, but took quite a while before rejoining me. As she was heading to the section I was in, she ran into my sister, who works in this store. I never saw her at all – she works in the back, not on the floor.

She didn’t recognize my daughter. 😄 It’s been a while since she’s seen either of them! They had a chance to catch up a bit before she had to get back to work.

My daughter had her own shopping list as well, so she did some running around and returning to drop things off in the cart. As always, before we left, we stopped to think if there was anything we missed, since we have no idea when we’ll be back next. We happened to stop near the Corelle display. My daughters had asked about getting more, as they are much lighter than our other dishes. What we have now is what my late father had been using, and there are quite a few pieces missing from the set. We won’t be able to find the same design anymore, as it’s discontinued (and I’m not willing to hunt online for it). There was a design sold as individual pieces that I’ve been eyeballing for a while, and today I finally saw it available as a boxed set.

They were on the self in two different places, with two different prices.

My daughter was able to see the bar code numbers well enough to figure out which was the correct price. It was the lower price, though not a sale price. I wasn’t going to get it, but my daughter put a box in the cart, and bought it herself!

So sweet of her.

After that, we headed to the checkouts. When we left home, I was still dealing with residual pain from earlier, but that went away completely while we were out.

Instead, my back and hips started giving out.

*sigh*

I was more than eager to head out. We paid for our stuff, then my daughter took the cart to the truck while I went to the customer service. I remembered that, last time we were hear, two bags of cat food hadn’t been scanned and paid for my mistake. I had taken pictures of the bar codes so I dug those up, then went to customer service to explain what happened, so I could pay for them.

She was shocked and kept asking me “are you sure?” I said I was, and she was able to scan the bar codes from my photos, and I paid for them.

I think I made her day. She had the biggest smile! I just feel better taking care of that, and I’m glad I didn’t forget. It might be a while before we’re back again. We shall see.

After loading the truck (my daughter got stung by a wasp!), we headed out. We stopped in town on the way home to get gas and I was tired enough and in enough pain that I got my daughter to drive the rest of the way home for me.

We were got quite a while, so my older daughter took care of the outside cat feeding today, and made sure to add more kibble to the catio lure. After we unloaded the truck and put everything away, I did my last walkabout for the evening. I saw Slick going towards the house, but didn’t see any kittens anywhere this time.

I do hope they learn to trust going in there, and enjoy a soft cat bed enough to move into that cat carrier, at least during the day.

I really, really want to get those kittens, and Slick!!!

… and maybe Sprout’s lonely white and grey kitten. That one has taken to meowing, and when I come to put food in the bowls under the shrine, it now watches me, meows at me and runs back and forth, but doesn’t quite run away.

Of course, we need to get Sprout and Sprig (the white and grey’s older sister), too! That is going to be more difficult.

I’m happy with any progress at all at this point, no matter how tiny.

So that is now done.

Tomorrow, I want to head to the general store in our little hamlet in the afternoon. We’ve got a couple of packages that are expected Wednesday, but tracking says they’re already in the city, which means they should be here by tomorrow morning, though the local postmaster might not be able to finish processing all the packages until the afternoon.

Which reminds me. The manual blower I got for my daughter’s forge is hung up. I knew it had passed customs, but then my husband got an email. The email itself was just the invoice information for the blower, but the subject offered either a refund or a replacement. ??? I went online to check and it says “held for pickup at carrier locations” – but it’s still at customs. It may not even ben in Canada. I suggested to my husband to respond by requesting a replacement. Maybe with our physical address, instead of our box number. I talked to my daughter about it later and she suggested that if this happened again, to take the refund. Hopefully, we’ll be able to get it. As far as I can tell, there is no one locally (meaning, all of our province) that carries them, so online ordering is all we can do.

We’ll figure it out. I really want my daughter to be able to get her forge going. After the blower, the next thing to get her is some coal or charcoal and she can finally try doing blacksmithing at home.

Little by little, it’s getting done.

The Re-Farmer

Costco stock up shop: this is what almost $790 looks like

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Yes! Finally! I felt well enough to go the Costco stock up trip!

In fact, I was up quite early and feeling rested. Did the morning routine and prepped the truck. We even remembered to grab the ice packs from the freezer before we left.

We postponed leaving long enough to go to the post office, first, to pick up a couple of parcels. There turned out to be three, with one of them being fairly large, so we headed back home to drop two of them off. One of them was a new phone case for me, as my old one was getting warn out, and my daughter switched my phone to the new one on the way out. It’s the thinnest “wallet” style I can get, so it fits in my pocket without being bulky, and keeps the screen from being activated by accident.

On the way to the city, we stopped at a gas station at the one town along the route, for some drinks and a food for my daughter, who hadn’t had breakfast yet. I also picked up some extra beef jerky to keep in the console of the truck as part of our usual stock of food and drinks we try to keep in the truck. Which came in very handy when I was in the ER and finally told I could have something to eat after fasting for well over 12 hours, and would NOT be going for any sort of emergency surgery. That totaled $50.04 Then it was off to the city again.

The first stop at Costco was to fill the gas tank. Gas prices had actually gone down to $1.669/L in most places, but at Costco, regular cost $1.619/L

It still cost me $89.61 to fill the tank

*sigh*

Once inside, we were not in any hurry and went through some aisles we hadn’t bothers to for some time. We haven’t had any major break downs or sudden bills, so the budget was a bit more relaxed, allowing us to get a few things that we might not have, or would have had to wait on.

When we were done and one of the staff directed us into a line, I went to get my membership card out of my pocket.

It was gone.

Checking that I hadn’t put it in my new phone case’s card slots and wallet, I was ready to have my daughter pull aside while I went back to look. My new phone case is not as smooth as my old one. It has a slight texture to it that feels slightly “sticky” with friction. I had pulled my phone out a few times while shopping. The card must have stuck to the new phone case and been pulled out. Which means it was on the floor, somewhere. I was going to backtrack.

The guy that had directed us into the line was still nearby and heard us. He asked me my name, then said he would see what they could do and went to the customer service.

He came back and handed me my card! Someone had found it an already turned it in!

God bless whoever did that!

While shopping, I keep a running count in my head and always round prices up. If something as a price that’s discounted at the till, I still count at the full price. This way, the final tally will always be at least a bit lower than what I kept as a running tally while shopping. That can lead to some nice surprises.

This time, that nice surprise was a final bill over $100 less than I was expecting.

This is what $789.86 looks like.

There’s quite a bit hidden from view. Here is the breakdown.

We tried to do all the frozen and refrigerator stuff first, as well as the heavier jars and such. A lot of refrigerator stuff was in a box and my daughter put the whole thing on the belt so the big stuff on the flat cart could be reached with the scanning gun.

So, from the top…

There is a case of frozen perogies and another of Pizza Pops (which mostly became our supper when we got home). There’s a 3 pack of oat milk for the girls. Two packages of chicken drumsticks that were discounted at the till. Two packs of loose sausage meat in mild Italian. A wheel of brie and a 4 pack of cream cheese. Two Panini packs of sandwich meats. Five pounds of butter. A liter of whipping cream. A 2L of Kefir for a treat. A shaker of grated Parmesan. Two blocks of cooking cheese; Mozzarella and Old Cheddar. A big bottle of oyster sauce.

On the cart was a case of Monster energy drinks, a case of Coke Zero and a case of water. There were two bags of Kirkland brand cat kibble, plus two larger bags of Whiskas. The Whiskas was on sale, at least. There was also a box of XL puppy pads and a cast of wet cat food.

One of the extras we got was a two pack of “cooling” pillows for my husband and I. Another was a three piece set of nesting ceramic “baskets”, designed to look like the cardboard baskets that fruit sometimes comes in.

We also got a case of large black garbage bags and another of clear bags for recycling.

Also scanned on the cart were two 2pks of rye bread and a bag of ciabatta buns.

Back to the stuff on the belt, there’s a large jar of mayo and another of peanut butter. There’s a big container of popping corn. I also grabbed a container of iced tea mix that was on sale.

We got some of the Dawn Platinum dish detergent; it’s better for keeping the plumbing clear. There’s also a case of toothbrushes; something we had been well stocked up on and were finally starting to run out of. There’s a package of seaweed for the girls, and a double flat of eggs. I got a sack of the Kirkland brand of Basmati rice. I’d bought another brand last time, and it sucked. Definitely don’t want to run out of the Kirkland brand again. Last of all are two packs of tortilla wraps and a package of Medjool dates from Israel. The last couple of times I picked up dates, they were from other countries, and they turned out to be pretty gross. These ones cost more, but are delicious. That is a “me” snack. I’m the only one in the family that likes dates!

And there we have it. $789.86 with several items that are not bought on a monthly basis, which actually put me right on budget!

On the way out, we made one stop at a gas station just outside the city to pick up some drinks and snacks for the ride home. That was another $17.08

Total damage for the day: $946.59

Ouch.

Still, there was stuff on there that we don’t normally get. The only thing that was truly a splurge was the set of ceramic fruit baskets, and that cost under $10.

I’m also just glad we finally made it in, a week later than it normally would have been done.

I am so looking forward to surgery.

The Re-Farmer

First stock up shop: This is what $253 looks like

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$253.11, to be exact, but the total stock up shop was more. I just didn’t get a picture of the rest.

After my doctor’s appointment was done, I needed to have lunch somewhere. I decided to go to a Subway near the Walmart, which decided the order of the rest of the shopping.

I got a 12″ teriyaki chicken sub and a bottled flavoured water to drink, which came to $20.81

The next place I remembered I wanted to go was the Dollarama. I was looking for some sort of cheap garden fencing to use around the bed with the Arikara squash and bush beans. There wasn’t much left in gardening supplies, though, so the only thing I got in that section was some soft ties for my tomatoes. I remembered to grab a new spatula to replace a broken one, and I also grabbed a small memory foam bath mat, as the ones we have just don’t work out for the space. I also grabbed four of their larger storage bins (which are large for a dollar store, but small for other stores). I need to get more of these, little by little. I’ve decided I need to pack away most of what I have in my room. It is a large room that serves as my bedroom, office and craft room combined, but with the cats taking things over, and particularly with Butterscotch still refusing to leave the room, I haven’t been able to use my craft table as a craft table in ages – and no matter what barricades I set up, some of the cats still keep trying to get to the top of the wall shelf. I’ve got stuff stored up there specifically to keep it safe from cats, but a couple of them still manage to get up there, usually causing quite a mess in the process. When I came home from the shopping today, I found all sorts of things knocked out of shelves and scattered about.

Plus, I need to get rid of the carpet in this room. It’s a sort of felted carpet, and I’ve never seen anything like it, anywhere else. It is a dirt and fur magnet. I’ve talked to my brother and he remembers that the original floor under it is just painted wood – and it was painted about 70 years ago.

So, I need to pack everything away and eventually empty my room. Since the things I’m packing are things I actually want to use, I want to pack them in clear plastic storage bins. I only got four today, but it’s a start. Around Christmas time, places like Walmart get huge inventories of storage bins, and I can wait until the go on clearance after Christmas. The most difficult thing about getting rid of the carpet will be moving my king size bed frame, and the wall shelf.

In total, what I got at Dollarama cost $41.72

My next stop was Walmart, and I got things on two separate bills for two different budgets.

The first one was personal items, which included a new pair of work shoes. My boots finally gave up the ghost and are toast, and I wanted to get steel toed shoes to replace them. This store is still under renovation, so it took me a while to find the men’s work boots, which weren’t moved to the new shoes section yet. I found two styles available in size 9s. The first ones I tried had several boxes on a mostly empty shelf, and there were two price stickers right next to each other, below them. One for $74 and change, the other for $3.

That detail turns out to be important.

Whatever the $3 item was, I figured it was completely out of stock, or moved to the new shoe section. The other pair I tried on were about $10 cheaper. After trying both, I found the more expensive pair to fit better and were more comfortable, so those are the ones I grabbed.

Along with those, I got myself another night down and some personal hygiene items, to go together with the shoe budget, then I got the rest of the stuff.

Since I had other places to go, I was not going to get anything that require refrigeration here. I got two big bags of cat kibble and a 9 pack of facial tissues. My husband requested nacho fixings, so I got round tortilla chips and a giant jar of green olives for that. I remembered to grab some peanut butter as well. Then I got a total of 9 cans of Monster for myself and my daughters.

Total cost, $76.76

Oh, my gosh.

I just realized something.

I didn’t get charged for the two bags of kibble!!!! She forgot to scan them!

I’m going to have to go back and take care of that. I just took pictures of the bar codes. They should be able to scan the photos, or manually input the code, and I can pay for them.

I do remember thinking the total was a bit low, but I had already paid for my personal items, and that threw my count off and distracted both of us.

This is why.

Check out my $3 shoes.

Yes. $3.

When she opened the box to scan the bar code on the shoes, she paused, looked at me and said “Three dollars?”

I had no context for what she was saying and must have looked confused when I asked her to repeat herself. She told me, they scanned as $3.

???

I was rather shocked. I told her, I’d seen a tag on the shelf saying $3, but I assumed that was for something else.

She called the cash supervisor over. They compared the number under the bar code with what was on the screen.

They matched.

They compared the number under the bar code on the box with what was on the shoes.

They matched.

Eventually, the cashier was told, if that’s what it scans as, that’s the price!

So I got what I thought was a $75 pair of shoes for $3. My total on that receipt, which I was expecting to be about $120 in total, came out to $45.77

!!!

That cashier asked me if there were more, and I told her there were two more on the shelf. A size 9 and a size 11. Oh, she says… I need a size 11!

I hope she was able to go and take advantage of this. I’m guessing someone made a mistake at head office somewhere and input the wrong price. These weren’t marked as being on any sort of sale.

Once these items were packed into the truck, I drove across the street to the Canadian Tire. The main thing I wanted to get there were litter pellets, but I had a few other things I wanted to look for as well.

I did find the sort of garden fencing I hoped to find at the Dollarama, but wasn’t filling to pay their price for them.

I did grab some more bug spray, plus a couple of Quick Connect hose attachments, one for each end of the hose. The one at had on the metal construction grade hose burst in a heat wave not long ago, and I wanted to replace that, plus I have an extra for the other end. I also got a replacement end for the soaker hose that is the right size; I had managed to fit a larger one on, but the soaker hose has started to leak badly at the connection, so I will try again. I then went looking for a small fan to replace one we’ve got set up in the bathroom window. The ceiling fan in the bathroom stopped working some time ago, then started again, then stopped again… We can’t find a reason why it’s doing that, so we’ve set up a fan to blow the heat and moisture out the window, instead. The fan we’re using was already here when we moved in, and it’s starting to sound like it’s wearing out, so I wanted to replace it. Fans the same size, though, are now USB or battery operated. I found a nice little 7″ fan – slightly larger, but it will still fit in the window quite nicely. Last of all, I got myself a cold drink to have while heading to my next stop.

Total bill at Canadian Tire was $88.59

From there, I went to the Safeway. Not somewhere we normally go; particularly since this location is in the downtown area of this city, though the city is so small, “downtown” is nowhere near as crowded or difficult to drive around as the larger city. The main reason I went to shop there instead of just shopping at Walmart is that they give out gas coupons.

This is what $253.11 looks like – and what got me a 10¢ off per liter coupon to use.

There really wasn’t a lot to get here, since I plan to do Costco tomorrow – or Saturday, if I find I’m not up to it after getting my blook work and EKG done.

Under “grocery”, I got some ketchup, bouillon cubes in three different flavours, a jug of distilled water (I forgot to get that at Walmart, where I usually buy packages of 4), and house brand Mac & Cheese, four boxes each in two flavours. I got mozzarella and smoked cheddar cheese for my husband’s nacho request. There was a deal on little tubs of ice cream, with both a sale price and a points bonus, so I got one for each of us, in different flavours, including a lactose free one for my husband. Last of all in that category was a large watermelon and a bag of 5 avocados.

Under the “meat” category, I got slab of pork belly that was on sale, plus had a point bonus, as did the ground chuck. I also got ribs and two packages of bacon, all on sale.

Under “deli”, I got a cheese for us to experiment with – Amber Mist, which is made with aged whiskey. For my husband and I to share for supper, I got a massive Dagwood sandwich, while for the girls, I got a fresh sushi tray and, finally, some garlic hummus to go with the nacho fixings.

Lastly, under the “bakery” category, I got a large package of croissants as a treat, two packs of Texas Toast, two packages of bagels and two loaves of Irish bread.

Total at Safeway: $253.11

With the total being over $200, that got me the maximum discount available for a gas coupon at Shell, and there’s a Shell station right next to the grocery store, so that was my next stop. They have pre-pay only, which needs to be done to use the coupon anyhow. I also have my CAA card, which gave me another 3¢ off per liter, so I got $60 of gas at $1.689 instead of $1.819

I was down to a quarter tank at the time, so that still only got me to 3/4 full. I’ll do a complete fill and reset my trip counter at Costco tomorrow.

So… today’s total, including lunch and a few extra items, came to $586.76 A total that is missing the two bags of kibble which, after taxes, should have added another $70 or so.

Oh, I almost forgot. On the way home, I stopped at the general store and picked up a 40 pound bag of kibble. After taxes, that came to $50.40 That came out of a different budget, but brings the total for the day to $637.16

Ouch.

And that’s after some major unexpected savings, like the $3 shoes, along with the missed bags of kibble, too.

*sigh*

The Re-Farmer

Stock up shop: This is what $190 looks like

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Today’s stock up shop was very strange, and quite small. Doing the Costco trip first made a big difference.

I had picked up a 40 pound bag of kibble after going to the post office, to activate my replacement debit card, so that was just over $50

Once in the city, my first stop was Canadian Tire. I looked around a bit, but only got two 40 pound bags of litter pellets. That totaled $18.88 after taxes. After that, I hit a gas station on the way to the Walmart and got $40 in fuel.

I had decided to go to Superstore after the Walmart, so there really wasn’t much to get there. I was only after one thing, specifically. I had decided it was worthwhile to get the straight sided 10’x10′ gazebo tent to use for the market days I’ll be doing in July, instead of using the splay legged tent we have now. I couldn’t find any in the nearer Walmart, which is still under renovation, but I’ve been seeing displays of these for months. I didn’t think I’d have trouble finding one in the city.

I was wrong.

Normally, I see them in aisle displays, but there was nothing. I did find the shelf section it would have been in, in the camping tent section, but there wasn’t even any empty shelves with price labels for it.

I finally found a staff member. I started off saying that I knew this was not her department, but was there someone that could help me? She asked what I was looking for and I told her.

She seemed very confused by it. She thought I was talking about one of the gazebos in the seasonal section. I told her, it’s the kind you can fold up. Still very confused. Did I want he to page someone to seasonal? This is an evergreen item, not seasonal, but I said yes. I figured someone in seasonal would have some idea.

I waited.

And waited.

And waited some more.

Finally, I picked up some distilled water and sugar pills for my husband, which was right next to the seasonal section. Still no one.

So I found another staff member and, when she was no longer up a ladder, asked if there was someone in the camping section that could help me. She asked, and I told her want I was looking for.

She was confused. Not her area, but as she started walking with me, she saw someone else and called her over.

They went to the tent section I’d already gone through, looking confused. I kept describing what I was looking for, in detail. When I realized they thought I was talking about a “tent” tent, I described it as a market tent.

They both looked confused.

Once thought I had seen it online and started telling me that they don’t have everything that’s on the website, and I said no. I’ve been seeing them for months. Usually in an aisle display.

She then started saying that the aisle displays are not things they order, but what the company just sends them. She repeated that a few times and I let it slide. In the end, neither of them could remember ever seeing what I was describing and acted as though this was something they had never carried. Ever.

We’ve gone through three of these over the decades, all bought at Walmart. I have never seen them NOT carry this style of tent.

I finally gave up, thanked them, and bought my husband’s stuff. It cost a whole $33.38 in total.

Then I went to the Superstore.

This is what $190.82 looks like.

This has got to be one of my smallest “stock up” trips. ever.

This is what I got – the receipt is very hard to read!

From the top, under “grocery”, there is a small jar of whole grain dijon mustard. Then a 6 pack of facial tissues. I got a case of 24 small water bottles, as something to keep in the truck.

Next is a large jar of stuffed olives, then a cold Monster for the road home. I was excited to see they stocked Beaver Buzz again, so I got 6 cans in two flavours – Citrus and Saskatoon – for my daughters and I.

Under Dairy, Frozen and Produce are a couple of pounds of no-name salted butter, a bag of frozen mixed vegetables, a 5 lb bag of carrots, a bag of yellow onions, bananas and finally a 20 pound bag of russet potatoes.

Under meats, there is a bag of chicken nuggets for a quick heat and eat, and a frozen pork roast. Under seafood is a bag of seafood mix for my daughters, and a fresh, whole steelhead trout for the girls.

Bakery is next. I got a caramel apple pie and a rhubarb strawberry pie. Those are our contributions to the Canada Day BBQ we hare having at my BIL’s cottage tomorrow. I also got two big bags of torpedo buns.

I love those torpedo buns! I got one for fresh eating and one for the freezer.

Under deli is a pack with green and red grapes along with cubed cheddar and mozzarella cheese. I was feeling pretty hungry by then, not realizing it was past 3pm by then, and I’d forgotten to eat lunch! I chose it as something that would be easy to eat while driving.

So, that was my shop today. The gas and litter pellets went under a different budget from the Walmart and Superstore purchases. All of it together totaled $202.80

Not much of a stock up trip at all, but enough to make it worth the trip to the city.

I do wish I’d gotten that tent, though! I have the splay legged one that will be fine, but market spots are usually 10’x10′ for a basic spot, and I don’t want to crowd out other people with the splay legged design.

I do hope the market works out. Not only because every little bit I can bring in is going to help pay down all those vehicle and plumbing repairs we had to put on credit card, but for the large animal rescue that is hosting it. They are not charging for spaces or anything, but the more people who come for the market, the more will be willing to pay for a tour of the rescue, and those admission fees help pay for the care of the animals a lot.

Every little bit helps.

The Re-Farmer

Costco stock up shop: this is what $790 looks like

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$789.74, to be exact.

Plus, the deer screamer is in.

First up, the stock up shopping.

My younger daughter and I headed out at about 10am for the city. We made a stop at a gas station in the town along the highway for some drinks and some sort of snack. It was too early for their hot food, so we just got a couple of small pastries to tide us over. I was thrilled, however, to discover they now carry Beaver Buzz energy drinks! I haven’t seen these in years! I made sure to tell the staff how happy I was to see them. I got a couple of cans of Citrus – one for the road and one for home. We’ll have to go back specifically to stock up on more, in all the flavours. My daughter paid for this stuff, though, so it’s not part of today’s spending for me.

We went to the new Costco this time (I’m happy to say, Damocles behaved the whole way. No break downs), with our first stop at their gas station. I remembered to grab our 20L jerry can to fill with Premium for the lawn mowers. Premium at Costco was $1.699/L When the can was filled, we filled the truck with regular at $1.449/L Regular gas at the stations we saw along the way were $1.649 and $1.639 The can cost $35.02 for a tiny bit over 20L, and filling the truck cost $73.20, so we spent $108.22 before we even walked in the doors.

Before we started shopping, we had brunch so we wouldn’t be shopping while hungry. I got the Montreal Smoked Meat sandwich and my daughter had the chicken strips and fries. Those, plus drinks, were another $20.12

Then it was time to grab a flat cart do the shopping. This is what $789.74 looks like.

Some of this, my older daughter sent funds for, and my younger daughter will be covering a couple of impromptu purchases later.

That’s still a pretty empty flat cart.

At least we got more meat this time.

This is what we managed to get today.

We try to make a point of putting the refrigerator and freezer stuff on the belt first, but the staff scanned a lot of stuff right on the cart that normally wouldn’t be, so that was nice.

Starting from the top, we have two panini packs for sandwiches, mild Italian loose sausage meat, tilapia filets for the girls, pork belly, pork blade and pork loin. There’s a three pack of oat milk for the girls and two nigiri platters that my older daughter covered, then a case of frozen perogies and frozen Pizza Pops.

On the cart, they scanned a shaker of slow release fertilizer that my daughter said she would cover for me, a case of Coke Zero for my husband and I, a large jar of mayo, a shaker of Parmesan cheese, a 6 pack of canned chicken and a case of Monster energy drinks for my daughters and I, which my older daughter helped cover the cost of as well.

Then there’s a large jar of peanut butter, a large container of peppercorns, some AAA batteries, and a case of XL puppy pads. There’s a container of ice tea mix that was on sale. I also picked up some higher quality olive oil, as we will be making chive blossom oil again soon. The chive blossoms are getting into their peak right now.

The cat bed is an unplanned purchase that my younger daughter will also be covering. It’s a combination of a tunnel that runs in a circle around a bed in the centre, and the outside wall is a scratch pad. I have it set up on the cat bed side of my bed right now. A few cats have explored it already. Hopefully, none of the bigger cats will try getting into the bed from the outside, rather than from the openings, because it will definitely get crushed! 😄

There are two ll.6kg bags of kibble, one for the inside cats and one for the outside cats. We did not get more wet cat food because of the generous donations we got.

Next on the list are two 2 packs of rye bread, a case of ramen noodles, two 2 packs of tortilla wraps and a bag of flour.

Back to what went onto the belt, there’s a 2 pack of lemon juice, a block of Old Cheddar cheese and another of Mozzarella. We got a container of popcorn, a 9 pack of variety noodles, and two rotisserie chickens.

What we didn’t get were things like eggs, butter and the cream cheese I was looking for but never found. We can get those elsewhere. We still have another stock up shop to do when the main disability pay comes in on the last business day of the month, but my daughter has her blacksmithing workshop tomorrow, and that’s just a short drive to a Walmart, so we might pick up a few things earlier.

By the time we were done, my lower back was giving out and I was really needing to use that cart as a walker. We were both more than happy to be heading home. I did remember to stop at the post office on the way, though, to pick up this.

I have it pre-charging as I write this. I’ll need to figure out how to get it set up and how to use the remote. The last thing I want is for it to go off while I’m working in the garden. It has the hardware to install it against a building or post, but I’ll be using the ground stake. I’ll set it up beside the pea trellis to test it out, since that’s where deer have already been going in and munching.

So… there we have it. $789.74 If I take off the cat supplies and batteries, $584.17 of that was human food and drinks, before any taxes or enviro fees.

The stock up shop, plus gas and lunch, totaled $918.08

Ouch.

The Re-Farmer

Not-Costco stock up trip: This is what $334 looks like

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Okay, I did not have the stomach to do a Costco trip today so, instead, I went to the nearest Walmart. This was a bit of a test run on the truck, as I haven’t driven this far since I took the yard cats to the vet and started getting weird readings on my battery gauge.

Since I expected to have frozen and refrigerator items, I picked up gas, first. Costco gas prices are the one thing that had me second guessing going in, as they tend to be dramatically cheaper. While in town to visit my mother, I passed three gas stations. One was at $1.799, one at $1.719 and one at $1699/L for regular. In this small city, at the time I dropped the cats off at the vet, their prices were $1.559/L So I made a small side trip to a gas station nearest the Walmart that I knew of.

Their sign said $1.559/L, however they also had a rather alarming looking mannequin holding a sign saying 5¢ off/L, which means I was able to get gas at $1.509/L

Scary that this is now considered a “low” gas price.

From there, it was straight to the Walmart and a stock up shop. Not a full shop, since I wasn’t doing any flat cart shopping, but I will be in the area again early next week, to get my ultrasound at the hospital a short distance away.

This is what $334.16 in total looks like.

I ended up with two receipts, though, because I tucked my bread at the end so they weren’t on the belt, as I wanted the softested things run in last, only to forget them there. The cashier noticed them, though, and the customer behind me was a sweetheart and let them get rung in ahead of him.

The bread alone totaled $12.30 At Costco, I would have gotten wraps as well, but I completely forgot to look for any.

Here’s the rest of it.

From the top, there is a 10 pound bag of potatoes for less than a 5 pound bag costs locally. Some oat milk and coffee creamer for the girls. There’s couple of blocks of cheese; Old cheddar and mozzarella. I got an 8lb bag of Basmati rice; not the usual brand we get at Costco, so I hope my husband likes it.

I got two 18s of eggs instead of a flat of 30. Some frozen tater tots for my husband. I spotted dark roast coffee on sale and got that for my daughters. Peanut butter. Mayonnaise. A case of 24 chicken Mr. Noodles.

The Chunky soup has dropped in price quite a bit. Locally, those are in the $5 rants, so I picked up 6 cans, along with a couple of cans of baby clams to add to them. These are an uncommon treat for us, these days.

I also got packs of beef, vegetable and chicken bouillon cubes.

There’s toilet paper, tissues, a case of wet cat food and two bags of kibble. I got their last bag of 8kg Whiskas. They were sold out! I grabbed another brand in a 7kg bag as well. Hopefully, they were have more in stock by the time I’m back next week.

I got a couple of packages of popcorn and a bag of pearl couscous (a rare treat), and the only meat product; a package of breakfast sausages. I’ve been finding better meat prices locally.

For my husband, I grabbed a can of Gatorade mix, which seems to have gone over well when I got one last time. Then I got a total of 10 cans of Monster energy drinks for my daughters and I. At Costco, we get the big case, which has three flavours. I got 10 different flavours today. Their price per can is a lot cheaper than most places.

And that’s it. That’s what I got for stocking up today.

Whether this was better than driving all the way to a Costco, I’m not entirely sure. It’s definitely worth having a shorter drive to make sure the truck is behaving, at least!

The Re-Farmer

A semi-stock up shop: this is what $212 looks like

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This is not the shop I intended to make.

With Damocles living up to its name while I took the cats to the vet yesterday, and the heat wave hitting us, I was going to skip another trip to the city.

I did, however, need to go into town. My husband’s prescriptions were delivered yesterday, minus one – his primary pain killer, that he can’t order in advance, because it’s a “controlled substance”. He was down to one pill. They did have it ready while I was still in the city, but there was no way I’d be picking it up with cats in the truck and, by the time I got home, the pharmacy was going to close before I could get to town.

Same with my trees that arrived in the mail.

So early this morning, before things got insanely hot, though it was getting there real fast, I headed into town. Since I was there anyhow, I decided to stop at a local grocery store. If nothing else, I wanted to get more eggs.

I ended up taking advantage of sales and got more.

This is what $212.32 looks like.

The big difference here is, I got actual meat. Including beef!

From the top, there’s a 4 pack of Monster drinks that were on sale, that I got for the girls. The Sour Patch kids candy were also on sale, and for my husband. The giant potato chip bags were a rare treat, for all four of us, along with two containers of dip.

I got three types of cheese that were on sale, as were the 18 count packs of eggs, making it cheaper to get two of those than to get the flat of eggs I’d planned to get. Plus, they fit better in our hard sided grocery bags.

The sale on butter was really good, but I only got two, since I already got four, when I was in the city.

There’s a giant bag of frozen tater tots as something my husband can cook himself. The baby spinach was not on sale, but our own spinach is struggling to grow in this heat.

The sale on the sirloin tip roast was good, but I was seriously tempted by the brisket, that was a dollar cheaper per pound. The whole thing cost just over $125. At Costco, the same thing would have cost more than $250. In the end, I knew I wouldn’t be able to process it before it would need to go into the freezer.

The whole chicken was also on sale, so I got two. The sausage ring was not on sale, but the regular price of this locally made product is already quite good. The jumbo pack of wieners were not on sale, but are an okay price for the amount in the package. The croissants on sale are another treat. The hot dog buns were not on sale. It blows me away that a 12 pack of buns now costs more than a 12 pack of wieners, and I got the jumbo pack, which is by weight and more than 24 wieners. The hot dog fixings are for those days when it’s just too hot to spend a lot of time at the stove!

Finally, I got some plain loaves of bread. House brand, so a better price, plus bonus points for buying 2 loaves at a time.

In the end, I did more of a food stock up trip locally, than I did while in the city! The main part is being able to get meat at a decent price. When it comes to beef in particular, Costco is now priced completely out of our budget. Still, there are enough things we need, where the price difference it worth the trip to the city. Cat food, in particular.

Speaking of which, I just realized the time. It’s time to feed the outside cats for the evening!

On the way home from this shopping trip, I stopped to pick up the trees in the mail, and also got a 40 pound bag of kibble for the outside cats, at $45. After taxes, just pennies over $50.

*sigh*

It’s still 30C/86F out there. “Feels like” 33C/91F

I am not looking forward to going out there.

The Re-Farmer

First stock up shop: this is what $258 looks like

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Normally, I would be in the city today, doing our second stock up shop.

I’m going to wait a few more days.

Instead, here is the stock up shop I did a couple of days ago, when I came back too tired and in too much pain to do a post. That and I needed to try and get to bed early, as we had to capture some cats to go to the vet the next morning.

This was day of multiple stops, but I only got pictures of two of them, for a total of $258.88 It was also an unusual shop, as I did not get as much as I normally would have, changing up where I went a bit.

My first stop was the Canadian Tire, not pictured.

I got two bags of hardwood pellets for the litters, some screws and neoprene washers to go with them, as the cat house roof needs a bit of repair, a new headlight bulb for Damocles (our truck), some stronger zip ties I’ll need for the garden, and a clear plastic runner that I’m wanting to set on my bedroom floor, under where some litter boxes are. The headlight alone was $40.

Grand total after taxes was $105.34

Gas prices were cheaper by 20¢/L so I got $50 in gas on the way to my next stop, which was Walmart.

This is what $138.81 looks like.

This is a really small shop for a Walmart trip. I didn’t get any cat food this time, because I expected to go to Costco and stock up there in a couple of days, though I did get the XXL size pee pads.

The paper towels were on sale. The Costco price for paper towels are good, but I get so many large items there, getting their bigger package of paper towels is too much, so I get them at Walmart, instead. Then there are the XXL puppy pads, a cheap watering can because my new one that I got last year cracked over the winter. I finally found the huge bottles of shampoo and conditioner in stock. I would have gotten two conditioners, as we all use more of that than the shampoo, but it was the last one on the shelf. The “baby wipes” are actually “all purpose” wipes. I find having a package in my office/bedroom handy, and the girls were wanting one for their upstairs apartment, so I got a couple. Then there is the personal hygiene product that I’m still using, just in case. Looking forward to that ultrasound I’ve got coming up early next month!

That’s it. One of the smallest Walmart shops I’ve ever done, and certainly the smallest “stock up shop” I’ve ever done! No grocery items – I didn’t think to bring ice packs on this trip – and no cat food really makes a difference.

Normally after this, I would have gone to an international grocery store, but I kept hearing how Fresh Co has better prices, so I decided to try there.

As I parked I saw that it shared a building with a Dollarama, so I went there first. I honestly can’t remember everything I got there, and I think the receipt got tossed. I did get 4 plastic bins, which we used to for the snail roll transplants, making it more stable to move them and have them outside. I got some plant clips and 3′ long plant stakes that my daughter helped me across the bed, with the clips to hold the netting in place, to hopefully hold it up the next time the cats jump on top of the netting.

They really want to be on top of that mosquito netting. It’s so weird.

I’m sure I got something else, but I can’t remember what. Looking at my bank transactions, though, it totaled $35 even.

Then I went into the Fresh Co.

I can’t say that prices were really any better, there. There were big signs all over saying they had the best prices, or they would match competitor prices. Meanwhile, their flats of eggs were $2 more than what I can get locally. There were things I saw at Walmart that were at least a dollar more expensive. Some prices were better, but only because they were on sale.

The store itself was… I don’t know. It’s not that it was laid out badly, but it felt like it was. They had a lot of international foods, but nothing that I was interested in, compared to the international store I normally go to.

In the end, I spent only $120.07, after taxes. This is what that looks like.

That really isn’t much. Not much for a stock up trip, that’s for sure!

As you can see, pretty much everything I got was on some sort of sale. I got three boxes of frozen chicken – even packed in insulated bags, they were partially thawed by the time I got home, so they got eaten pretty much right away. There turned out to not be much in the boxes, either. Definitely not worth paying full price for, but not too bad with the sale price.

The sale price on the butter was pretty good, so I got four pounds. Definitely a good price on the coffee creamer the girls like, so I got a couple of those, even though they still had. The water flavours were also a better price, though only because they were on sale. The price on the strawberries was okay for the size of package, and they were really good looking strawberries.

The bananas were an okay price; I got them more because they were actually decently ripe. Everywhere else I’ve been seeing bananas, they are totally green. I remembered to get onions, and those were a good price.

The sale price on the teas were quite good. I spotted a honey ginger drink mix we’ve tried before and enjoyed, and the price was right on that, too. The ketchup was also a good price. The sale price on the rye bread is about the same as when the rye bread is on sale locally for that brand. Then, finally, I got a cold Monster drink for the drive home, because by then, I really needed it!

Again, not much of a shop, and certainly not much for a stock up shop.

By the time I was done, however, I was heavily using my cart as a walker. My lower back was hurting, my left hip was giving out and, oddly, my left shoulder felt like it was trying to dislocate every time I moved it.

Which certainly made packing the stuff into the truck “fun”.

Counting the Dollarama and Canadian Tire shops, the total for the day was $414.22 Plus whatever my lunch at Walmart cost, which would have been under $20.

So, not much of a stock up trip at all.

The Re-Farmer