Deals & Steals

Since Hubby got home after 8pm last night, and there was no "Costco Shopping in Lieu of Anniversary Date" (um, there was nothing in lieu of anniversary date.  Maybe someday we'll change our anniversary to February when he's not working at all?), I had to go to town today with all four lovelies.  And I'm a little bit worn out.

Last time I took them in the late afternoon to their Grandma's (when she was off work) while I shopped and picked them up to come home.  But as the weather is COLD and WET and DREARY I couldn't do anything in the garden, and was compelled to do something productive with the bulk of my day (watching 2 vats of beans soak doesn't count).

I found a gem at Costco.  Perfect for Little Artist (the bird lover) and in good time, as we've gotten very close to some swallows who think they might like to build their muddy nest above our front door (Hubby strongly disagrees with them, which is probably why they choose this time of year to try).

It's a good-sized book, and nearly 2 inches thick.  It's softcover, but with the full-color pages common in the DK books.  I've been thinking of getting a field guide or something for birds, since we have a nice collection of them around here.  The best part?  It was $22 at Costco.  Even cheaper than Amazon, and way cheaper than the $35 retail price tag.

Another blessing I ran across inadvertently was some of this salami:

I've grabbed this on clearance before, and it did okay on pizza.  The retail price for this 4 oz package?  $7.49.  Not part of my regular grocery list, ya think?  However, they were nearing their expiration date, and were marked down.  To ninety-nine cents.  So, yeah, I bought a few.  Like, ten.  What a blessing.

Also, I got a free, locally grown (if not organically...  knowing the grower, he probably feeds them the spent grain from his bathtub moonshine operation) ham.  Well, I've been helping out some friends, and they're helping us out by sharing their abundance.  So nice!!

I also ran across a bunch of baby formula in the formulation some friends use.. It was also nearing it's expiration date (I'm just loving expiration dates), and the $14 cans were marked down to just under $6.  I called her up, and picked up several for her.  [I know, *me* buy formula?  Trust me, Mama is doing all she can, and hasn't given up on nursing yet!]  I'm not sure how well the "raw liver baby formula" recipe in Nourishing Traditions would be received, but I suppose I could offer that too.  ;)  [okay, there are other homemade versions too...  less freaky ones.  Do you know anyone who has made their own baby formula?]

All in all, though it was a fairly taxing day, it was obviously not without its blessings.