I drove from one end of Tucson all the way to Marana then back to a grocery store by the house doing errands today. Then it was lunch time and nap time.
The biggest news of the day is that I folded socks today. The first time since my hand surgery in January. It is definitely baby steps. But I will take them all in hopes of running in 6 months to a year.
Today did not go as planned. A wardrobe malfunction caused a change in plans. So I went shopping. The bad news was the mall was a bust. The good news is that with less product in the stores almost all the stores I went to were ADA compliant with a minimum of 36” between racks. I am not sure why it took almost 30 years and a pandemic to make it happen.
Even better news. The internet still works and I was able to order what I needed in a couple of hours. Most everything should be here by Thursday.
I did 12,074 steps today. Which is 5.05 miles. John had to walk further to get less steps. That is the penalty for being taller and having longer legs.
I am really beginning to hate post pandemic shopping. Big retailers say come to our stores to buy what you need. So I went to the stores only to be told that item that they used to stock in stores is only available on line. However they will order what they think I want or that they are over stocked with and not what I want.
So now I try calling the store ahead of time when it literally across town. I land up at an out of country call center where I repeat my question a minimum of 5 times and the person just wants to data harvest. If we land up getting through to the store, they don’t carry it in the store. Then we get a callback from the out of country call center saying head on over they have them in stock.
A Hint to Big Companies. Customers don’t like or need the run around that you are handing out. We don’t have to shop at your stores. Customer service is job one, yes I said job one. Without customers buying whatever you are selling you are out of business. We deserve and demand good customer service.
I am going down through sizes at a good clip right now. When I lose a size, I really need to try on what I want to buy instead of just guessing. Please try to do better. Running companies has always been hard work. Companies that are not well run fail. Poor customer service can cause problems to your bottom lines. Which leads to Chapter 11 or 13. Both you may want to avoid if at all possible, it’s really bad for you if you depend on quarterly bonuses to pay you personal bills.
Please try to make shopping like it was 2019. When shopping was easier for all involved. We need a reason to get off the computer and head to the malls. The extra walking is good for us. The selection should be awesome.
Last night it started snowing at our house. Since we live in the Sonoran desert. This is a rare occurrence. I stayed up past midnight to watch the snow and get pictures.
Four hours later the Santa Catalina Mountains looked like this.
While I was cleaning yesterday I found 3 years worth of so last century day planners. My feeling on the subject is that if I have not needed the information since 1993, 1994 or 1995, I really don’t need to keep it. I also managed to empty 4 inches of shelf space. They are now in the recycling bin.
It is currently snowing at our house. The only place it has not melted is on the barbecue. The only question is will there be any left by the time I wake up tomorrow morning. All I have to say about this winter is that the weather has been very weird. We are fluctuating between the mid 70’s to snow to lows in the teens.
Part of the backyard covered in snow. Not enough for a snowman. This is a big deal in Tucson.
Some people wonder why I am such a big fan of Le Creuset Cookware. It all started after we got married and moved into our first house in the mid 1980’s. I really wanted a great pan that would last for at least 10 years. I knew that Le Creuset was very expensive. A very good quality pan from a good company. But there was away that I could get at least one piece as a newlywed. My dad and I pooled our Betty Crocker Catalog points. With at least a 6 x 9 inch envelope full of points bundled up and a check for $35.00, I got my first piece. The money was from rebates and using coupons when I went grocery shopping. The Betty Crocker Company use to put point’s coupons on everything that they sold. I used those points for everything in my kitchen including my Oneida silverware, white Corelle dinnerware set which is also still in use, I bought this before I got married.
Fast forward to February 28, 2023. The pan I bought in the mid 1980’s, is the pan I am using to cook dinner in tonight. It is a simple Salsa Verde Chicken.
1 double chicken breast
1/2 cup Salsa Verde and water
Spray the pan with nonstick olive oil. Place the chicken in the casserole dish. Wash your hands with hot soapy water. Cover with the Sals Verde Sauce. Pour the water around the edges of the chicken.
Bake at 350f for 35 to 45 minutes. It is done when it reaches an internal temperature of 165f. The extra water makes the chicken more tender.
This is dinner for 2 nights for us. When we were younger we would eat this as 1 meal for 2.
Over the years I would get more pieces for myself and my daughter. I even passed down 1 pan that I could no longer lift do to arthritis. My daughter now uses it for holidays. In the long run the pan has cost less than $1.00 per year. Over the years I have gotten a few more pieces, but the heart shaped pan is still my favorite. It ranks right up there with my Kitchen Aid K-5A mixer bought in 1978 for a whole paycheck and still in use today.
