Whatcha Stocking?

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Jeff V
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by Jeff V »

LawBeefaroni wrote: Fri May 29, 2020 9:19 pm I make a decent amount of bread so I usually have a stash. Down to maybe 8 packs of yeast. I'll probably just run those out and if I see more in the store I'll get it. If not, no homemade bread. I used to buy jars but it was just a bit too much and it would be weak by the time I got to the bottom.


Also have to restock on ammo. Sold out everywhere again. Will have to pay panic pricing or F5 sites for new stock.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by Jeff V »

Notable outages this week:

Still no Clorox (or comparable brand) wipes.
No liquid hand soap. Not necessarily anti-bac or otherwise extra sanitizing, the shit that sold for $1 per pump bottle and the large refills are nowhere.
Dirt. That's right, dirt. Went to Menards, and where there's always been pallets of dirt, there was empty. Cheap dirt, expensive dirt (I was looking for Miracle Gro dirt), didn't matter, they had nothing.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by Isgrimnur »

People all of a sudden have time for that garden.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by Jeff V »

Isgrimnur wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 9:06 pm People all of a sudden have time for that garden.
But stocks still seemed plentiful 2 weeks ago when I last shopped for it.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by Blackhawk »

Possibly just a supply problem.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by LordMortis »

Costco'd today. Everyone was wearing a mask, though I am guessing this is by store enforcement damned near 10% of the people wore masks over their mouths and not their noses. I guess it's better than nothing. Also 5%+ didn't care about the arrows or spacing having any courtesy that others were trying to keep spacing.

I guess it could have been worse but it sure could have been better. I didn't do the full on shop at three places and 2+ months were of supplies. Also they didn't have the sweet chili sauce I went there explicitly for (it goes good on white rice, essentially making white rice into a small meal) I hate their rotating stock but ah well. I did get two frozen pizzas and ice cream. Aside from that, nothing snacky. The first month+ of isolation I ran out of snacks in a week and lost 15+ pounds between then and Easter. I way overdid the snacks on my next grocery shop and like magic all 15+ pounds came back. So now I'm going to try an limit keeping snacks in the house. We'll see how it works out.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

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Jeff V wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 10:03 pm
Isgrimnur wrote: Sun May 31, 2020 9:06 pm People all of a sudden have time for that garden.
But stocks still seemed plentiful 2 weeks ago when I last shopped for it.
Around here it seems like the time of day you shop makes a big difference.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by Daehawk »

I dont know when stuff is stocked. I just go when I have to, when I have money, and early in the morning while its cool and Im hoping less people.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by dbt1949 »

I noticed a pretty good price increase in meat here locally today.
All my wife will eat now a days is meat and sugar.
If I find my self all alone one of these days I may go mostly meatless.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by gilraen »

There was a noticeable shortage of chicken yesterday at Costco. The entire meat cooler that usually has chicken and fish was filled with pre-packaged cheeses. But they had pork chops this time around (there wasn't any last time we went, which was either 3 or 4 weeks ago, can't remember).
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

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gilraen wrote: Wed Jun 03, 2020 4:38 pm There was a noticeable shortage of chicken yesterday at Costco. The entire meat cooler that usually has chicken and fish was filled with pre-packaged cheeses. But they had pork chops this time around (there wasn't any last time we went, which was either 3 or 4 weeks ago, can't remember).
Chicken is the only meat I have seen limited here. At least two local chicken packing plants in the area have suffered closures due to employee illnesses. But there has been no problem with beef, pork or lamb.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by ImLawBoy »

We have plenty of chicken here in Chicago! While the store hasn't been out of pork or beef, there are often signs limiting people to one package of each.

This week was the first time that my regular grocery store had a line out front and was limiting how many people were in at the same time. Fortunately the line moved pretty quickly.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by Isgrimnur »

If there’s ever a meat shortage in Chicago, I imagine it will be the End of Days.
It's almost as if people are the problem.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

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Isgrimnur wrote: Thu Jun 04, 2020 12:11 am If there’s ever a meat shortage in Chicago, I imagine it will be the End of Days.
:lol:
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by LordMortis »

gilraen wrote: Wed Jun 03, 2020 4:38 pm There was a noticeable shortage of chicken yesterday at Costco. The entire meat cooler that usually has chicken and fish was filled with pre-packaged cheeses. But they had pork chops this time around (there wasn't any last time we went, which was either 3 or 4 weeks ago, can't remember).
Our Costco had more turkey than chicken in the pre-packaged area the rotisseries were very few (but I assumed that was by design). I walked by the fresh ground and I was surprised to see the huge packs of fresh ground beef 80/20 for "only" $3.39 after reading here how expensive beef is.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

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Update on things not found:

1. Kiddie pools. Mine thoughtfully burst their inflatable last week just before the longest heatwave in more than a decade. When I finally found one for sale online, I later noticed that the Paypal account is all Chinese characters, so I imagine I'll get it by Xmas.

2. Still no trampolines. WTF Intex and trampoline makers, your shit is selling and you are not producing more to fill demand? It's not like there is periodic stock on the shelves like it was with asswipes, There is like nothing expected until end of summer!

3. Corn. It's the middle of summer -- did COVID wipe out the corn crop some how? Usually they're a dime apiece this time of year. Supermarket was selling them for $1 each until 3 weeks ago, and now they just have none.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by Kasey Chang »

The trampolines were probably made in China too.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by Kraken »

Corn is spotty here, too. The local crop is just coming in; if you want to pay farmers market prices you can get expensive little ears with tiny hard kernels. Local corn isn't edible until August.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

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Weird. I've seen plenty of corn and it's been surprisingly good. Just head into the city, Jeff!
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by Jeff V »

ImLawBoy wrote: Sat Jul 04, 2020 1:49 am Weird. I've seen plenty of corn and it's been surprisingly good. Just head into the city, Jeff!
Of all places, Walmart had some so I'm set for Monday's crab boil. Maybe I should have brought more to bring to a it's-not-a-party BBQ at a friend's house later today.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by Kasey Chang »

Found a somewhat odd way to save money on Amazon when buying... ramen.

Ramen prices on Amazon fluctuate greatly. a 24 pack can be as little as $6, or as high as 30. Given that a 5-pack or a 6-pack can sometimes be found locally for $1 at a discount place or even DollarTree, ordering off Amazon does have the advantage of having them delivered to your door, but not at double or triple the price. On the other hand, my local Asian ramen is about $2.50 to $3.50 per 5 or 6.

Those of you who eat ramen knows that the only difference is in the soup base packet. The ramen itself is the same (mostly). So it doesn't really matter what flavor you buy, unless you can't stand a particular flavor. So when you're given a choice for $6 for 24 pack of "creamy chicken" vs. $14 for 24 pack of beef, you know which one you should order. And on Amazon, the more "exotic" flavors (green chile, lime shrimp, etc.) of ramen are actually more heavily discounted than the "plain" flavors like "beef" or "chicken".

Oh, and prep tip: a hot water dispenser really help. Put ramen in microwave bowl (one of the square ones from Dollar Tree is perfect) and add the soup base to taste (if you want to go light, don't put in the whole packet) Add hot water to cover the noodle and a little more. Put the whole thing in microwave for 6 minutes. Add additional stuff as needed upon done. I recommend sliced Spam or other meat, deli sliced meat is also good. Boiled egg, shelled, and sliced in half length wise is also good. A handful of spinach goes well in the "broth". Add a dash of sriracha and maybe a dash hoisin sauce, and even some beans sprouts, and you have a decent ramen in minutes. (the meat can from the fridge, the hot "soup" will reheat it quickly)

(DO NOT crack an egg into the bowl or or drop in a boiled egg into the bowl and microwave for 6 minutes. It will likely EXPLODE when you poke a fork in it, even if it's a boiled egg)
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by hitbyambulance »

Kasey Chang wrote: Sat Jul 04, 2020 5:33 pm (DO NOT crack an egg into the bowl or or drop in a boiled egg into the bowl and microwave for 6 minutes. It will likely EXPLODE when you poke a fork in it, even if it's a boiled egg)
i have a hot water dispenser, but i still prefer to prepare instant ramen on the stove, so i can drop the raw egg into it. i used to be a ramen fiend, but the steatohepatitis diagnosis put an end to that. (also instant ramen - or any highly processed 'white' carbohydrate - is _not good_ if you have diabetes, or at risk of developing Type 2)
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

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I have never had ramen.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

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Red State Shopping Report 7/20. Haven't done one of these in a while. I think with the last one mask usage was at around 25-30%. That probably dropped to 20% over the past month.

Today, though, the Walmart mask requirement went in, as did Meier's. I was in both stores. I'm happy to say that mask usage with at 100%, and I'd say maybe 85% were wearing them correctly. Most of the remaining were mouth breathers (masks under the nose), and there was one neck mask (a Walmart employee :roll: .) There were no mustache masks this time. It made the whole trip more pleasant, as I spend significantly less time fuming.

It was like shopping in a civilized nation where people care about each other. I know that they're just being ordered to act like they care, but it was still nice to pretend.

There was one incident where some guy made a snide comment about our autistic son's humming in front of Michelle and she nearly murdered him, but that's not virus related.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

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I wonder if there's a sizable group of people out there who are secretly relieved that masks are mandated in many places so that they can wear them and blame it on the rules. "Yeah, these masks are infringing my Constitutional rights, but whatareyagonnado?" (Thank God we're all wearing masks so I don't get or spread the illness.)

Did my shopping today and things were typical for around here. Mask compliance at 100% and fewer below the nose maskers than usual. Plenty of TP and hand sanitizer, but very limited paper towels (don't need any right now, so not a big deal). Lots of Goya products in stock, oddly. ;)
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by LawBeefaroni »

I did some shopping over the weekend. Standard 100% masked except there was one woman with a giant face shield with no mask. She had on a white MAGA hat. She had this angry look of "I dare you to say something about my non-mask mask..."



(By "white MAGA hat," I mean it was colored white instead of the usual red.)
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

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LawBeefaroni wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 4:25 pm I did some shopping over the weekend. Standard 100% masked except there was one woman with a giant face shield with no mask. She had on a white MAGA hat. She had this angry look of "I dare you to say something about my non-mask mask..."



(By "white MAGA hat," I mean it was colored white instead of the usual red.)
If the point of mask wearing is to reduce spatter then I don't see face shields as a horrible alternative for those who simply can't bear to wear a mask. I'd imagine it has the bonus of protecting the wearer's eyes from other's spatter, aka reason: don't touch your face. I'd rather see her wear the face shield than see he walking around with a mask below her nose.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

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Face shields have the same function, they are just 10x more dorky. My former company started producing them in one of plants, some were given to me to distribute to staff. I did a video call with my kids and my daughter exclaimed, "daddy, you're an astronaut! Looks like you are going to the moon!"

Nobody wanted to use the damn things so I tossed a couple in my box of shit when I turned in my laptop. That kept the kids entertained for all of 5 minutes.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

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I sent Wife to the grocery store tonight -- alien territory for her. Because she didn't use self-checkout, she had to interact with humans, one of whom was a maskhole. The guy ahead of her, with his mask around his chin, was challenged at paying for his order by card. Cashier wouldn't handle it for him because that's prohibited, so Wife helped. Card rejected. Guy digs out some cash and doesn't have enough, so Wife ponies up $1 and change to get him out of her way. Having purchased the high ground, she lit into him for not wearing his mask; he offered up the lame "I'm feeble and I can't breathe" excuse, pleading old age (he was actually two years younger than Wife.)

In the end he got his groceries, pwned the cashier, and didn't comply with the mask policy, so victory is his, I guess. Wife felt good about confronting him, but uncomfortable about having him spewing his spittle in her personal space. "If I get covid," she said, "you'll know where it came from." And of course if she gets it I will, too, so thanks for that, anonymous maskhole.

Masks are uncomfortable when it's 95 degrees and humid, and people are getting sick of wearing them. MA has the virus under control for the moment, so we are getting careless.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

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Wore a mask for the first time this morning. Spent half the time pulling it back over my nose. So much for not touching your face in the store.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

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Kraken wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 9:37 pm MA has the virus under control for the moment, so we are getting careless.
And that's how it comes back. We were doing better, now closures are resuming.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by Sudy »

My nextdoor grocery store hasn't stocked my favourite lentil & bacon canned soup since Covid began. :cry: Walmart still has it, but I can't get there as often.

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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by Isgrimnur »

Sudy wrote: Tue Jul 21, 2020 9:44 am My nextdoor grocery store hasn't stocked my favourite lentil & bacon canned soup since Covid began. :cry: Walmart still has it, but I can't get there as often.
$35 order will have them ship if 2-day via FedEx, no shipping charge.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by Sudy »

That's actually a good idea. I should take advantage of online ordering for heavier grocery items more often. Though now I'm panicking because their site has it clearance for some reason. :(

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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by Isgrimnur »

Hopefully, they're just changing packaging. Albertson's did that when Gold Peak tea changed trade dress.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

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Sudy wrote: Tue Jul 21, 2020 10:40 am Though now I'm panicking because their site has it clearance for some reason. :(
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by Kasey Chang »

I tried to order chicken through Amazon Prime Now, but apparently nothing's available. Weird, eh?
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

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Kraken wrote: Mon Jul 20, 2020 9:37 pm I sent Wife to the grocery store tonight -- alien territory for her. Because she didn't use self-checkout, she had to interact with humans, one of whom was a maskhole. The guy ahead of her, with his mask around his chin, was challenged at paying for his order by card. Cashier wouldn't handle it for him because that's prohibited, so Wife helped. Card rejected. Guy digs out some cash and doesn't have enough, so Wife ponies up $1 and change to get him out of her way. Having purchased the high ground, she lit into him for not wearing his mask; he offered up the lame "I'm feeble and I can't breathe" excuse, pleading old age (he was actually two years younger than Wife.)

In the end he got his groceries, pwned the cashier, and didn't comply with the mask policy, so victory is his, I guess. Wife felt good about confronting him, but uncomfortable about having him spewing his spittle in her personal space. "If I get covid," she said, "you'll know where it came from." And of course if she gets it I will, too, so thanks for that, anonymous maskhole.

Masks are uncomfortable when it's 95 degrees and humid, and people are getting sick of wearing them. MA has the virus under control for the moment, so we are getting careless.
Maybe it was some poor slob who was doing his wife a favor and rarely shops otherwise.
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

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A couple wineries I was once a member of keep sending me discounts on wine. Buy a case and you get free shipping. So I have purchased two cases of wine so far from two different places. I have also refused to buy from several that haven't really offered much of a discount or free shipping. If I can buy your wine cheaper at BevMo why should I buy it straight from you via the mails?
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Re: Whatcha Stocking?

Post by LordMortis »

So I'm up to a monthly Costco run and what seems like a bi(every other)weekly Aldi supplemental run. And my observations from Costco, I was a bit taken aback at how complaint people are to mask wearing. There was only one below the nose mask wearer, but following the arrows and social distancing and considerations for fellow shoppers is pretty much pre-Covid. Other observations. Coffee was on sale. In the before times, I'd go through about 4 huge "400 cup" Folgers containers are year. I bought three of them as I am using more than one a month now. Which I guess makes sense. I make them probably twice as strong as you would if you followed the directions and 200 cups a month = 6.6 cups a day (which is actually a bit high, think. Maybe I'm drinking a lot more and haven't noticed. I thought I was 4ish or 1 24 oz Yeti a day on most days) Also observed, they have a whole Halloween/Costume section open... at the beginning of June... during a pandemic.... I'm... Well, let's just say this year is likely to suck for kids and cosplay fans...
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