I was very surprised to find some Bur (also called Burr) Oaks already dropping ripe acorns here. This is a month earlier than they would drop them when I was in West Texas. My eyes were as big as these acorns, to see them by the dozens on the ground! And more coming!
I bet squirrels could live the entire winter with just a few of these hidden!
I did have a long post with some sad Depression stories about acorns, but I think I won't bring extra gloom into the post today!
No, today I'll just enjoy these acorns. Champie sneakily took one for his very own, and is still guarding it a day later.
Ain't he an ugly little thang? But well-loved!
I had to go shopping today and get some supplies. My husband is very concerned that there will be shortages of food, and wanted me to stock up on some of his important items (like Little Debbie powdered donuts, ha ha). So I went to Walmart, and didn't see any shortages, except of some frozen dinners and also of bottled water (the small bottles, not the jugs). But I was so surprised to see ALL the Christmas stuff already up in the garden center area. It looks terrific! I have been hearing that all of the things are stuck offshore in the big container ships! But our Walmarts are full, at the mo'.
The Hallowe'en stuff is in the middle of the store, and it also looks great. I saw a lot of the "Farmhouse Style" autumn decor items and a lot of pretty wreaths and signs. They even have pretty lap throws, and the things for the kids are so cute.
Nothing is "sold out" yet. Is that good or bad, I wonder? Are people not buying, or is there enough to restock each day?
I really enjoyed wandering around the aisles. On one of the Christmas aisles, there are interesting tableau encased in glass, and filled with water. If you press a button, swirls of glitter come up and the scene lights up! These are not shaped like snowglobes. I thought that if only they plugged in, they'd be a great addition to most homes. But they have batteries, and I don't buy things that only run on batteries, especially weird button batteries that are so expensive.
The Olde Dame is on the prowl for cute items!
I drove over to Albertson's Grocery to try to find the frozen dinners hubby likes, and they have begun putting out Christmas foods and decor, too! The Albertson's here are much smaller than the ones in Midland and the ones in Tucson. But I did notice that along with the rotisserie chickens, they now have roasted turkey breasts, too, ready to eat!
They do have a really big deli and their food is very good. Expensive in a way, but good. Have you noticed? You used to be able to save a lot of money by "copycatting" deli and restaurant foods at home. Now, ingredients are so expensive that you don't save any money! I find that very strange!
How can the Village Inn sell a big pecan pie for $14? The ingredients cost me $14, and that's not including the energy to bake it! I just don't understand this modern world.
Are the stores where you are already decorating for Christmas? And have you noticed how expensive just plain food is anymore?
Kind regards,
Holly, The Olde Dame (and gettin' older)
First of all I enjoyed seeing a photo of you. Yes, things are getting costly. And it "ain't gonna get better". We are in for a rough ride. I am stocking up for different Christmas tree decorations. Here, they said that Christmas, there will be shortages. :⁶::Sigh:::
ReplyDeleteAnd no, your doggie is cute!!!
I fear that rough ride! Wow, Corpus is a huge port, and yet that doesn't protect the area against shortages. It makes no sense except that's the way the infrastructure is. Like when I lived near a huge refinery, gas was in short supply and expensive. It makes no sense!
DeleteThe cost of everything has gon eup. Food, gas and we even have to pay more for the shipping of our inventory. Its crazy. Janice
ReplyDeleteI notice the shipping went up dramatically just this week. I ship a little from my tiny Etsy shop. It's crazy!
DeleteI have indeed noticed. And my time is worth something too. Homemade food tastes better and there is satisfaction from having made it. It is too often just not worth it.
ReplyDeleteI know, home cooked is healthier, you know exactly what was put in the meals, but the prices are just awful, especially the produce, where I am.
DeleteWell, your "prowling" for "cute things" can stop here and now: Just look in the mirror Silly!! You are stinking cute!! I went to pick up some groceries today thatI couldn't find last time I went shopping and was a bit shocked at our shelves...and the things I couldn't find (some not for weeks....like PINT freezer (or even storage) bags...of any brand...frozen squash (yes, sometimes I cheat...), grapefruit water, etc. And the cost was crazy. For $150, I actually came home with very little...absolutely NO meat, frozen goods, pet food/supplies, or "spirits." Yikes. Those be some BIG burrs!! And, yes...methinks that means brrrr.... ;-) ~Robin~
ReplyDeleteAw, thank you. That is a fuzzy picture (accidentally fuzzy ha ha), I tell ya, I look haggard! I know what you mean about spending $150 and walking out with very little. I tell my husband that it's the cleaning supplies, the stuff to make modern living possible (baggies, tinfoil, etc), and the drinks like coffee and tea that run up the bill, and then it's like, "There is nothing for dinner!" Ugh!
DeleteI was at Dollar Tree last week stocking up on essentials, and all they had out were their Halloween items. No Thanksgiving, or Christmas. I was surprised, too. One thing I've noticed about Dollar Tree is, the price doesn't change, but the quantity has, at least on some items. The baby oil I purchased was smaller than the last bottle I purchased there.
ReplyDeleteMy friend Scott buys all my groceries on the weekends. I'm still not brave enough to fight Aldi shoppers who seem to refuse to wear masks, even though it's supposedly required. I've only noticed a few things that are more expensive, but most things are the same cost.
Last Thursday we had a water main break and every Wichita resident had to boil water to drink or use for food preparation. The break happened around noon and by the 5 pm news, every store had sold out of their bottled water.
If ingredients cost you too much to make that pecan pie, you may be shopping at the wrong store. Do you have an Aldi? If not, I can understand why it would cost so much. BTW, we used to have Alberstson's, but they went bankrupt or something and all their stores closed in Wichita.
And you are too beautiful to be an old dame, dear!
I have heard of Aldi. I wish we had one! We got nuthin' but Albertson's and Wally World, and the Mexican groceries and the natural grocers, both of which have horrible prices. We live by the world's largest pecan groves and yet pecans are horribly expensive here. Wow, if people here refused to wear masks (without medical exemption), the police in the stores would throw them out. Since the shooting in El Paso a couple years back, pre-COVID, we have had police in our Walmarts as a precaution. I noticed that same thing at Dollar Tree: It's the same item, but so much smaller, week by week!
DeleteOur stores have lots of empty shelves and I have stocked up mostly on canned goods that we use to make other things such as soups that we put in casseroles etc. Things are more expensive here than they were I am always shocked especially at the meat prices. I am trying not to shop for seasonal things at this point I have more than I will ever need.
ReplyDeleteGreat picture!
Cathy
I am trying to hold the line of the seasonal impulse buys, too. I hope your stores get fuller shelves before Thanksgiving, but I have to wonder if that will happen! Yikes! Meat prices are insane. One of the dogs needs turkey (he's been sick) and the turkey just keeps going up up up.
Deletei am now trying to figure out why you call your self an old dame? you look young enough to be my daughter or maybe my granddaughter.. my 3 grand kids are all 32 to 34, by kids are older than you look, 53 and 55. I am old but not grand or worthy of the word dame. our WM has less on the shelf and some items are gone and have been for weeks. it is almost impossilbe to get pool supplies.
ReplyDeleteOh, I look old. That picture was in low light and it magically took away my wrinkles! I call myself an "olde dame" because I love those old WWII movies with "dames" in them - sassy dames! I'm surprised about the pool supplies! And that's something you need with your pool!
DeleteI can see spending as much on ingredients for a pecan pie, but when I make it I use a LOT more pecans than boughten pies. Like at least double.
ReplyDeleteI see empty spots on shelves, but it seems to rotate. One spot is empty for a couple of weeks, then it's full and a different spot is empty. Sometimes it follows what's on sale, other times not. I'm trying to keep an extra or two of anything I can't do without, and some basics like flour & sugar, dry beans & rice, frozen veggies, canned soup & meats, etc. I *am* glad I don't have small children to shop for.
Those are huge acorns! And yes they are edible if treated properly - need boiled several times and ground into flour IIRC??? Our WM have had their Christmas things out for a couple of weeks now - disgustingly early in my opinion. I understand craft things out this early that need time to be assembled, but things to buy and plop on the shelf - BAH! Late November is early enough for that. :-)
Stocking up on staples is a good idea! I got a LOT of dried beans this past week, because they finally had the 15-bean soup mixes in stock again. I know, my husband also gets very irritated by the early Christmas stuff out, too. Once the Christmas music starts in about a week, he is not allowed in the stores because he gets too grumpy!
DeleteWe have lots of empty shelves here in our neck of the woods. Sad.. so very sad. I really am disappointed in the canning jars and lids. When they do arrive in stock, we have limits on how many we can purchase. As a gardener who harvests this has been very frustrating. I really do wish we made more of our products in America.
ReplyDeleteI love your photo of you! What a beautiful smile.
I noticed the lack of canning supplies, too, this year. I think our Walmart had a sign limiting it to two cases per person, but there was just the sign left -- no cases of jars or lids! Except the tiny size, I think there was one of those. Are you having to freeze your garden produce until the supplies are back in stock?
DeleteOH, how lovely to see your smiling face!! You have totally surprised me as I was expecting someone much older! But jeepers, I think you may even be younger than me!!! Beautiful lady!! Thank you for giving us a glimpse of your smiling face while "on the prowl". LOL. Hope you found what you wanted. Actually, I was at our Walmart the other day, and our Dollar General store, and they both seem to be waiting for the truck to arrive with the Christmas decorations. They didn't have very much out yet at all, which I was surprised to see, but with the shipping issues going on I guess I shouldn't be surprised. Wow, look at the size of those acorns!! I can see why your doggy wanted to keep one for her own. LOL. My hubby is also concerned about shortages of food, and is looking online at freezers. We don't have any spare room in our house for a freezer, and no, I won't move any of my furniture out to put a freezer in the living room or some other such awful place for a freezer...we don't have a garage, and our shed is full to the brim with stuff we don't ever look at...but well, you understand, don't you? Oh, the Little Debbie shelves here were BARE!!!!! So yes, you'd better look out for them!! Okay, gotta run for now, but I did enjoy meeting you face to face and now I have to readjust my mental picture of you to someone much more lovely than an "Olde Dame!!" You've misrepresented yourself, my dear! LOL. Love seeing you for real. :) God bless you and have a wonderful rest of your week.
ReplyDeleteThat fuzzy picture isn't telling the real story. I look rough, I tell ya. My poor skin and the desert sun equals wrinkles, freckles, "liver spots." But thank you. I'm trying to think where you could put the freezer...we had ours in the carport, up on a riser my dad built, with some wood around it, probably for the rain. But I am not sure that was even safe! You had to wear shoes when it rained, and it rained all the time in New Orleans, or you'd get a lil' shock when you touched the handle. I wonder, can one of the new small freezers go UNDER something in the house, and roll out? Now I'm getting it way too complex and bothersome!
DeleteThere is a burr oak near us that is going on 200 years old. It is in one of the metro parks, and cordoned off to keep people from climbing it.
ReplyDeleteWow! I wonder if it makes a lot of acorns at that age!
DeleteOkay, so I, along with many of your other followers, are totally shocked that you're just a young 'un. I have daughters older than you. But I am glad you posted a picture because it's nice to have a mental pic of you when I read your posts.
ReplyDeleteI love all things Christmas and it doesn't bother me a bit that the stores are putting out Christmas 'stuff'. And surely Christmas music will be better than the screeching women "singing" that I hear now.
I love those big acorns but I hope your pup won't try to eat one and choke. The Lab we used to have tried to eat everything!! Guess some dogs have more sense,
Take care, GM
Thank you, GM, for worrying about Champie trying to eat the acorn. I had to take it away, but I told him it is still "his" acorn. He tries to eat anything and everything, because he is a very silly boy. I am NOT a young 'un. I should have chosen a less fuzzy photo. That photo gave an instant "skin rejuvenation" effect and of course I wanted to put up a photo that does NOT look like me, ha ha. If only it were there in real life! I am retirement age!
DeleteYes, you look like a young and lovely dame in that picture. I love all the long comments you get, a sign that you are touching people with your writings. Me too, but I have a busy day ahead, my fluffy dog is going to the vet and I must catch up on the brushing of his fur.
ReplyDeleteSamson is going to feel better once brushed. I tell my dog Sophie that. She HATES being touched, unless it's belly rubs. But she is very spoiled about being brushed and one of us holds her while the other one brushes. We get about 1/4 done per session! Have a lovely day.
DeleteHolly, it's so good to see a picture of you! You are so pretty! I used to shop at Albertson's and really liked it.
ReplyDeleteHow delightful that you got to browse through Walmart. I bet they have lots of holiday goodies already. They always have cute stuff and everything one needs for the home. How
delightful that you have an acorn tree that drops acorns for you. I have pine trees in the front of my house, and they drop pine needles, and the squirrels scurry about getting the pine nuts lately and I think they bury them and
store what they can for Winter. These are cute photos of your doggy with his acorn. I smiled when you mentioned the powdered doughnuts because I bought some today at the store, and they were raspberry filled. They were called Vampire doughnuts for Halloween time, and they sure were good.
Well, thanks for showing us a picture of yourself, Holly. You have a sweet smile. It's nice to see our blog friends faces once in awhile. I was very young on the picture with
me and my sister, so I will have to show a recent photo soon. ; )
Have a wonderful weekend.
~Sheri
*sorry about my jumbled words lately. For some reason, they are showing up separated from the sentence, and
DeleteI'm not sure why.
Thank you for your comment, Sheri, and your kind words! I was in a terrible auto accident at age 10 and am self-conscious because of the damage it did, lots of broken bones and missing teeth. I was teased a lot. But I hope my smile really is sweet! I am going to look for those Vampire Donuts! Wow! They sound so fun!
DeleteWe have a Bur Oak in our yard. The acorns are huge in comparison to those on other oaks. The wild critters seem to prefer the smaller acorns. Talk of food shortages will undoubtedly help create one. I love your darling picture! Cutest hair style ever!
ReplyDeleteNice to see a photo of you. I like your hairstyle and you look very young!
ReplyDeleteI am cooking homemade food, but I noticed all the prices are going up. Especially gaz, electricity, petrol, coffee and nearly all food.