Costco Friday

Today is a double whammy. Bill's going to Costco, and the Schwan's man is coming to deliver frozen goodies this afternoon. With these two events coinciding, our cupboards, freezer and frig should be full for the onslaught of kiddies coming home for Thanksgiving next week.

We have our standard purchases with occasional runs to Costco in Hayden, while Bill's Schwan's orders can vary, especially in the ice cream department. I'm sure he's taken into consideration that "Big Man" will be home during this two-week run. So, the ice cream order of drumsticks and specialty bars will probably double this time.

As for Costco, there's always the mixed nuts, the chocolate-covered almond clusters, the giant bag of paper towels, the huge block of Tillamook cheese, the sour dough bagette bread and two sacks of Atta Boy dogfood. Some runs also include meat items like tri-tip steaks and unbreaded boneless chicken breasts. Usually, we bring home one of those hot rotissierie chickens too. For sure, this time the list includes one of those large pumpkin pies and a new package of glasses---225 strength.

I have glasses of varying strengths, colors and condition all over this house and scattered around my car. I've decided, since a purchase earlier this year, that I prefer the Costco brand over Wal-Mart's. Because I'm kinda rough on glasses, it's already time for a new triple pack.

I wear my glasses on a chain because they're just for reading. Invariably, though, during my daily travels, I seem to be picking up cumbersome, heavy things---bales of hay, sacks of grain and groceries, even a few tree branches. All too often when that happens, the glasses get squashed, and vital parts fall off.

If only my eyes were good enough to do some refined repair work, I wouldn't have to buy so many pairs of glasses. But when you consider three pair for $17 that's not too bad. I did get a package of three for $7 at Wal-Mart a couple of weeks ago, but a step-up in quality to the $17 variety seems appropriate.

There's something exciting about Costco runs. They remind me of the good ol' days when my mother did her "Pay Day" shopping. That always happened once a month when my dad brought home his monthly paycheck from the City of Sandpoint. In our minds, this day was a great occasion because with Mother's payday shopping came bigger bags filled with more food and some items we never usually had during the month----an extra bag of potato chips or my dad's "payday" candy.

Ironically, his payday candy is exactly what Bill now buys as Costco. He loved his chocolates with nuts. The sack was usually hidden somewhere in the house so that grimy little mits couldn't pilfer pieces when no one was looking. I think it often ended up in the top drawer of my folks' bedroom dresser. Since we knew where it was hidden, Mother's efforts to stop the grimy little mits didn't always work.

Grocery shopping habits have changed dramatically since those days. Chips and candies have become staples instead of the rare treats of yesteryear. Trips to the grocery store seem to happen more frequently because of more money to spend and less planning ahead. These days, the concept of one big day set aside for payday shopping is rarely mentioned. In my adult life, we've also have never resorted to locks on fruit room doors and freezers to save the food from disappearing too fast.

One thing that never seems to change about these special shopping runs is the excitement within the house whenever those cupboards and shelves are stocked to the brim with a whole new assortment of good stuff---even brand-new cheap glasses.