Terlingua Dreams

Terlingua Dreams
Governors Landing Campground - Lake Amistad - Del Rio, Texas

Thursday, January 20, 2022

Surge in Covid cases / Cold Front / Grocery Run

The Covid numbers keep on going up in Del Rio as well as in Ciudad Acuña, Coahuila - México. The cases are so out of control they had to open a third testing kiosk. It is so discouraging that after two years of this pandemic we still have not learned to avoid family gatherings during holidays or to mask up.

Yesterday Wednesday, January 19th it was 84 degrees, as I am typing this it is 42 with a feel like of 31 degrees with wind gusts of 27 mph. I knew it was going to be cold for the next couple of days so I made the decision to go to the post office as well as HEB.

I had so many things to do outside that time got away from me so I waited until after 6:00 p.m. when in my estimation there would be fewer people...I was wrong!  I have never seen the line at the pharmacy drive-thru be so long. It has two lanes but one must have been out of service as there were no cars in it and the other lane had at least 14 cars...you know me and lines...I avoid them!

I went inside and while there were only two people in front of me one lady took forever due to problems with her insurance carrier. By the time I knew the line in the back of me had grown considerably. I wore two good-quality masks and a face shield.  I was glad to see more people masked it was 75/25 in favor of masks.

Since by the time I began grocery shopping it was 6:45 p.m. I do not know if some of the shelves that were empty had to do with people stocking up for the upcoming bad weather, supply chain issues, or worker shortages.

As usual toilet paper was scarce.


How do prices in your area compare?


They did have plenty of paper towels in stock...



Soups...


Pasta aisle...


Who knew there was organic ravioli?


Cold cuts were in low supply but I still managed to score my Turkey Jumbo Franks for $1.28 a package.


I have not bought turkey bacon in at least three years, that changed today as I could not believe the price of only $1.49



HEB brand cookies have gone up very little in price so I bought a few...



Abel in Austin - I was able to find cans of menudo but I almost did not see them as they were in the bottom shelf way in the back.  Picked up four because I was afraid to kneel down and then have to ask for assistance to get up.


I do not think I have tried this brand before (CRS) but when you don't cook you take what you can get.


There was no shortage of hot sauce...




They had reasonable prices on eggs...a dozen large eggs for $1.42 a carton


I read that there was a shortage of mayonnaise but I found my favorite brand Kraft Mayo with Olive Oil on sale for $2.98.


What did go up was Olive Oil...


My buggy at checkout...



I only went to pick up one prescription and to purchase milk, bread, eggs, and bananas but you all know how that goes...I ended up spending $122.90.

By the time I left the store, it was dark. While I had my night vision glasses I was able to drive home just using my new regular ones.


I got home just before the cold front hit Del Rio so I only got down the important things and left most of my can goods in the car.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams and bundle up!


Aunty Acid



16 comments:

  1. I am very very surprised to see HEB so low on stuff, not that we have one, but I hear they are really good at keeping things stocked up. Same story here re Covid. I just lay low. Glad you are too.
    Supposed to be 14 tonight, 230 miles to the northeast of you. Brrr. Hope you don't get any wet stuff to mess up the power lines.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was surprised as well but I can not say if it was due to the fact that it was already evening, people cleared the shelves fearing another freeze like last Feb 2021, or another reason.

      I did not walk the whole store only went down aisles where I usually pick up my staples. Now wish I had gone down the meat aisle.

      I missed the 5:00 p.m. news but per AccuWeather, it will get down to 33 degrees this evening which is better than your 14 degrees. It was reported that there was sleet in the northern part of the county this morning. I am just thankful the winds subsided.

      Delete
  2. I think I mentioned the toilet paper in a couple blogs back how the shelves were pretty empty. I grabbed a 12pk and it was under $12. and they only had a couple pkgs I couldn't make out the price of the Charmin in your photo, no smaller sizes but the store brand and I think it was Scott they had but I don't care for those brands at all.
    I don't use canned veggies so I haven't checked the prices on them lately. I happened to be in Safeway last week and they had 18pks of eggs for 1.47 limit 2 so I grabbed 2. Walmart eggs are very expensive. But winter is not a good time for eggs as chickens go on strike LOL they claim it's the shorter days so less natural light. As for the weather we will be in the 30's for out night highs and low to mid 60's for days.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unfortunately, with this new phone, I am not able to upload the pictures to my computer because the transfer cable is not compatible with my PC so I have to email them to myself and it makes them small. The prices for Charmin range from $9.97 to $30.21 but some might be out of place.

      You got a very good price for eggs at Safeway...I had no idea chickens did not lay as many eggs during winter :D

      We are going to be in the lower 30's this evening too. Stay safe and bundle up.

      Delete
  3. I was at HEB today and toilet paper and paper towels were completely out, pasta shelves were empty, fideo i have not been able to find nor menudo, oatmeal was empty and some items that i found the price went up. I was in the HEB bakery and i could not believe the price of empanadas 4.98 for 4 they used to be 3.98.
    I went to 2 HEB's with the same results. I did see more people are now wearing masks but, not many. It was very cold here in Austin today. Stay safe and warm.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are lucky that you live in a big city and have other HEB's you can shop at. We only have HEB and a Walmart...we need more grocery stores!

      I did buy 4 muffins for $3.98 in the HEB bakery and I am surprised they have not gone up in price. It was very cold here too. Thank you for sharing your shopping experience I am always interested to know what readers pay in their respective cities.

      Delete
    2. I went to a different HEB this morning and i was able to score 2 cans of menudo. They were in the front of the shelf and i thought there would be more in the way back but no luck. Bought 2 donuts at .68 each. Turkey franks same price as in Del Rio. I did notice that the jumbo buttery biscuits went up to 1.59 from 1.07. Very few people wearing masks. Pedro's tamales went up to 5.24 from 4.98.

      Delete
    3. Glad you were able to score some cans of menudo. There is a little restaurant close to the house that makes excellent menudo but it's pricey a 30 oz cup sold for close to ten dollars pre-pandemic so who knows how much it sells for now.

      It has been almost two years since I have bought tamales a lady made them it was a family affair, she would sell them down Veterans Memorial (the main drag in Del Rio) but they built a tiny Walgreens there so I have no idea where she might be selling them now.

      Another cold night awaits the State of Texas...stay warm!

      Delete
  4. About two years ago I heard rumblings of shortages to come, and I stocked up on so much toilet paper that I was the laughingstock of my entire family. Nobody is laughing now!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I remember reading on your blog that your family even had to borrow from your personal stash when the supply ran low. It feels good to prove people wrong!

      Delete
  5. I went to HEB today and found some menudo. I bought 12 cans of Juanita's Menudo 25oz for 3.18 a can. I also found some fideo and Turkey Jumbo Franks. I'm sitting in tall cotton tonight. Stay safe and stay warm.It's still cold out there at night.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Good score! Of all the brands of menudo that I have tried, I think Juanita's Menudo has been the best.

      You made me smile this evening..." I'm sitting in tall cotton"...was a phrase among many that we learned from our elderly neighbor when we lived in Austin, Texas many moons ago.

      Delete
    2. Ha. I am so old I remember it as "high cotton." Also, living "high on the hog." I suppose the latter refers to having ham, but I dunno.

      Delete
    3. Our neighbor was raised on a farm in Gonzalez, Texas and she would say things that we just did not understand but thanks to her we learned many sayings.

      Her saying was "sitting in tall cotton" have never heard it be "high cotton" but it could be both? I have heard "living high on the hog" but I think I learned that when I watched "Dallas" the famous TV series.

      Delete
  6. Gonna be cold and wet (maybe) again. Hope all is well with you.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unlike San Antonio and Houston we missed out on the rain today and though we really need it I am glad we did not get any.

      I am not looking forward to Wednesday night and the cold temperatures it will bring. Hopefully, it will be the last of our 2022 Texas winter or not.

      Delete

I sincerely appreciate you taking the time to comment. Thank you for your readership.