Grocery run

I was hesitant to go to HEB this afternoon but I ran out of my high blood pressure medication on Tuesday as well as batteries to power my high blood pressure monitor.  I knew I could not postpone it for another day...as starting tomorrow until Thanksgiving...the crowds only become more massive with each passing day.

Last week before I threw my back out I had gone grocery shopping but did not buy fruits, vegetables or paper goods because I was going to take Paquito (my cat) to Ciudad Acuña to be neutered. Obviously, that did not happen thus was not able to make a grocery run while there. So like it or not I also paid a visit to Walmart as I have NO intention of setting foot in another store until after Thanksgiving.

Decided to treat myself and purchased a bottle of wine as well as some Egg Nog...which I will spike with Kahlua...that I bought on my last trip to Mexico.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Del Rio wins recycling award for fifth year in a row

Found out through "The Zocalo" online portal that Del Rio Recycling Center won an award for the fifth year in a row.  Kimberly Del Castillo, director at the Center is credited for this honor. Stopped by to drop off my recyclables and congratulated her as did all the people that came in. Told her where I read it and she said "El Zocalo" (Mexican Newspaper from Acuna, Coahuila) was the first media to come by with a copy of their newspaper where the article first appeared. http://www.zocalo.com.mx/seccion/articulo/premian-a-del-rio-por-su-programa-de-reciclaje-1394942370

Who knew back in the 80's and 90's that all these CRT's and old computers would end up here...at least they are not in the city dump taking up valuable space.

We went by the hospital Radiology Department to pick up some of my mother's records.  The hospital does not have the best reputation in the city (in particular the ER) but I must say that their Radiology Department is excellent and they have always treated my mother well. The gentlemen that gave us copies of the records personally came into the waiting room and hand delivered the package to her.  He treated her like she was an old friend and wished her well.  For that I am extremely appreciative.

More errand running took place before we went home to eat dinner.  Afterward decided to swing by the laundromat and do towels and blankets.  Slowly but surely hope to make a dent in all the chores I put off while I was ill.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

An exhausting day

Got up early to take care of all the errands and chores I did not get to yesterday.  I am pretty beat from all the research I have been doing on mother's chronic back pain, the heat and just plain physical fatigue.

Drove dad's old car into town and rolled both windows down...actually the heat was not so bad using this arrangement but then again it was only 98 degrees at the time.

True to my procrastinating ways...I usually put off buying my license plate tags to the last minute.  Was expecting a big crowd but there was only one person in front of me.  Living in a small town does have its advantages.

Went by the hospital to pick up a copy of mother's MRI for her upcoming appointment in San Angelo, Texas.  It paid to call ahead of time or I would have had to make two trips.  Was told I had to take a letter signed by her authorizing me to pick this up on her behalf along with her picture I.D. as well as mine.  It is good to see they have measures in place to protect patients records.

I went to HEB to pick up a couple of items, was going to use their free phone to call Mom.  It appears that either it was not working or they disconnected it :-(   Oh well...I am still not going to buy a cell phone!

For my European readers who ask that I keep posting the gasoline prices in the States...here are the going prices in Del Rio, Texas today.  I apologize for the poor quality...I took them through a dirty windshield! Click on the pictures to enlarge.

Late this afternoon I took a two hour nap, got up at 9:00 p.m. and had to go water the trees and plants that are looking pathetic with the three digit temperatures we have been experiencing lately.  It took me two hours to water them and I could have probably stayed out there a little longer.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Rebates/ Dad’s Car/ Irvin’s Twin

I think I am just a lost cause.  Why do I say that?  Because I always leave to the last possible minute everything I am supposed to do.  Back when I was in school, term papers and assignments were done just prior to, would put off studying for a test and would end up cramming all night for it and the list goes on and on.

Remember when I bought the Staple notebooks for .01 cent as well as printing paper?  True to form waited until today (the last day) to fill out the rebate form for the printing paper and of course I forgot my password so now I am going to have to wait six weeks for my rebate to arrive since it will have to be mailed instead. At this point in my life if I have not changed, I guess I never will (sigh).

We took dad’s old car for a spin to HEB.  Was loading up the groceries when a man started honking at me (we park in the handicap section).  I walked up to him and told him I had not finished putting my groceries in the car but that there was another parking space and pointed it out to him.  He said, “I do not want to park…I want to buy your car!”.  I told him the car was not for sale.

Guess he did not believe me, he parked and went to talk to my mother and asked her if she remember that he had tried to buy her car twelve years ago.  Why does everyone want to buy the car but never tender an offer?  Even though my mother would sell me first before selling her old cars jajajajaja :D

Turned on the TV to watch the news and fell asleep, took an almost two hour nap.  I guess I really needed the rest.  Oh yeah, I almost forgot…when we were inside the store I spotted a gentlemen that could have been Irvin’s double.  Who is Irvin you might ask?  He and his wife Betty are well known Terlingua residents.  I asked him if he was from Terlingua and he said “No, but I wish I was”.  He told me he was heading out that way soon.  I inquired if he was going to the cook-off; he said, “No, he had business to tend to in the area.”  I so wanted to take his picture but was embarrassed to ask!

This is Irvin and Betty

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Bargain Hunting

One of the things that I miss most about not living in Houston is the great deals that can be had here as opposed to where I currently reside.  The reason being that there is so much competition here be it from grocery stores, sporting good stores, clothing stores, etc. etc. you name it and it can be had at a much lower price and usually in just as good or better craftsmanship.

Yesterday I went back to .99 Cents Only Store and today I hit CVS Pharmacy and Walgreen’s who had great deals on Revlon lipstick (for Mom and I).   Walgreen’s was cheaper by almost a dollar but CVS had the shades I was looking for, so I won’t complain.

Then I hit Joe V’s…you might be asking yourself…what the heck is Joe V’s?  It is owned by HEB and it is their discount grocery store in Houston.  By now it is probably in other big cities but Houston was the first city in Texas to have them and the store by my house was the first store to be opened here.

They have daily specials located as soon as you walk into the store that is kind of warehouse looking and they only take cash or debit cards…no credit cards in order to keep their prices low.  They carry the HEB label Hill Country Fare.  For example you can buy a can of HCF green beans, corn, peas or mixed vegetables at their regular HEB store for .59 cents a can but at Joe V’s they can be had at 3 cans for $1.00 every day.

All these items can be had at 3 for $1.00 at Joe V's

You can buy bacon for $1.47 but if they happen to have it as a daily special you can purchase it for $1.00.  As you know when I was born the “cooking fairy” skipped me so I only do very simply dishes.  I purchased a 16 hotdog bun package for .98 cents where as in Del Rio they sell the 8 bun package for $1.00…they don’t even carry the 16 bun one or if they do, I have never seen it.

Remember I did a post on Nopales (cactus) when I last went to Mexico?  This vegetable is one of the best you could possibly eat especially if you have diabetes, high cholesterol, osteoporosis or digestive problems just to name a few.  Last month when I was here they had a Lent special on 15.5 oz jars at 3/ 1.00 guess they bought a lot and I was able to purchase more at the same low price.  Call me “crazy” if you may but I purchased $20.00 dollars worth…yes that is 60 jars worth, which is a bargain when you have high cholesterol and regular medication (Crestor) sells for close to $200.00 for a 30-day supply.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Grocery Wars

I love going grocery shopping in Houston because in comparison to Del Rio everything here is reasonably priced specially if you know where to shop.  The long time discount grocery store has been Food Town and in their home delivered flyer they always offer a special priced coupon, be it for $1.00 off a select item or a free item altogether.

About a year and half ago HEB decided to join the grocery wars and opened up a discount store called Joe V’s.  It has all the in-house labels carried by their regular HEB stores as well as national brands but at a great discount.  I should know the prices at HEB, as they are the only grocery store we have in Del Rio.

As I have mentioned previously my culinary skills are nil to non-existent so I buy quite a lot of can goods.  I found a great bargain on ravioli (my favorite can product) a 40 oz can for .88 cents this is what you would typically pay for just one can.  I bought 8 cans, so I am set for next year’s chili cook-off :D 

For size comparison a 15 oz can of peas and my 40 oz can of ravioli

I would have bought more but I forgot that Joe V’s only takes cash or debit cards. No credit cards, no checks in order to keep their prices low.  For my safety and because I plain do not like to carry cash this is all I was able to buy.

Saw this homemade trailer on the road bet he saved a lot money doing that

I am happy to report that yesterday morning I was able to find my keys, they were in my car the whole time.  I barely slept Friday night worrying about them.  Yesterday I was watching the six o’clock news and fell asleep.  Woke up at 8:00 p.m. and decided to go to bed until the evening news.  Unfortunately did not wake up till 11:15 p.m. so I just said the heck with it and turned around and went back to sleep until this morning.  Guess I was really tired.

My neighbor is going to call me as soon as she gets back from Christmas shopping so I can go take her my spare set of keys, hope she comes home early.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Beautiful Tuesday

These past two days I have been busy doing laundry, a chore I have really never liked to do until I had to take up doing yard work.  In comparison doing laundry is a breeze.  Speaking of breezes the strong winds of days past are long gone.  While it has been a little cold in the morning, the sun has been abundant and the temperatures perked right up by mid morning.

Can you believe we still have mosquitoes?  I do not know how they did not freeze to death on Sunday night.  They are alive and well and have an affinity for my blood.

Drove into town to pick up the mail from the P.O. Box, went to the bank, and picked up a couple of items at HEB.  I was pleasantly surprised that there were hardly any people out and about.  Took advantage of that and decided to buy stamps as there were only two people in line and I know in December this place will be very busy.

While I don’t get to go online daily, on those days that I can, I am going to be changing the header picture to show some of the shots that I took this year at the Chili Cook-off.

Have a good night and may you all have Terlingua Dreams.

Thanksgiving 2011

I have never in my life gone to the grocery store on Thanksgiving day but since I was going to prepare my first turkey dinner wanted to do it right and decided to go to HEB to pick up crescent rolls and egg nog.

Was surprised at the number of people there at 1:00 p.m. considering they were closing the store at 2:00 p.m.  Some had cart fulls of stuff while others I suspect dinner guests had beer, wine, pies and flower arrangements in their carts.

As you can see I survived cooking my first Thanksgiving turkey and did not kill my mom or myself in the process.  Hope everyone had a wonderful day as well.

Is everyone ready to go take advantage of Black Friday deals at midnight?  I must admit that I only went once and that was like eleven years ago when the offers began at 6:00 a.m. at Wal-Mart.  Not being a morning person I showed up at 8:00 a.m. and by that time the TV/VCR I wanted was long gone.

The one thing I miss about Houston is the wide variety of stores all within ten minutes drive of my house.  Here in Del Rio the only big retail store is Super Wal-Mart.  I am a fan of Target and now that stores open up at midnight and me being a night owl I think I would go there and to Academy.  But alas the nearest Target and Academy are in San Antonio a whole three hours away.

Would like to welcome WeArePennyandCJ as followers.  Thank you for reading my blog.

Good night.  May you all have Terlingua Dreams..

Monday November 21, 2011

The day started out a little dreary and I almost believed the weatherman when he said today would be cloudy and rainy.  Should of known better, the sun came out and it was a beautiful and warm day.

We still have tons of mosquitoes and the worst part is that they are in the house.  I do not know how to get rid of them.  Does anyone know of a homemade remedy?  I cannot spray any chemicals because of mother’s allergies.

The day after I got back from Terlingua I started dad’s old car, and you guessed it…it does not want to start.  I take that back it has a new battery, it turns but it does not want to catch no matter how much I floor the accelerator.  Oh well, it will just have to wait until next year when I can find another mechanic.  It is shame since it was running so well but it does have to be started everyday or at least every other day.

Decided to brave the crowds and go to HEB (our only grocery store besides Super Wal-Mart) and try to pick up a couple of groceries to hold us over to next week.  Totally slipped my mind that today was a Mexican holiday so everyone was there shopping for turkeys. Turkeys are very expensive in Mexico and both HEB and Wal-Mart know this and advertise heavily in the mexican media to lure the mexican shoppers  during pre-Thanksgiving sales when they are on special here. They buy them for the traditional Christmas as well as New Year’s dinner.

The majority of people that  "know me" from the blogging world are aware that my culinary skills are non-existent.  If it does not come out of a can or a fast food joint, well then it is obviously not going to be served at my house.  But since I am at my mom’s house she does the cooking ( I know it’s shameful) so I decided to buy a small turkey this year and see how it goes.  YES, I am actually going to prepare it myself.  I may end up in the emergency room but at least I gave it a swirl :-)

Good night and may you all have Terlingua Dreams.