Whose brilliant idea was it to go to Costco on Thanksgiving week?
Ugh, the crowds.
We buy our dog food from Costco. I keep the enormous bag in the garage and a smaller bin inside the house. Yesterday, when I went to refill the bin, the garage supply was empty. Not a kibble in sight.
If I owned any other dog, I might’ve skipped Costco and grabbed a backup brand until the holiday madness died down. But Blue isn’t just any dog.
Blue has a very sensitive stomach. Her nickname is The Pukolator. When we first got her, we went through a nearly endless dog-food trial before we finally found the one brand, the blessed Costco bag, that keeps her digestive system from launching.
So off to Costco I went.
I grabbed the giant bag and lugged it to the registers… only to see the lines snaking all the way to the back of the store. At noon. On a Tuesday.
Yes, it was Thanksgiving week, but still, this was next-level chaos.
Then I learned why: Costco’s registers were down. They were only accepting cash.
Seriously? I never carry cash. I don’t even carry coins. Except for one quarter that I keep stashed in my car console for Aldi runs. That’s it.
I considered driving to another Costco, but I was already in too deep. A woman behind me sighed grumpily, “Good thing I wore my patient pants today.”
I informed her I had not worn mine. We bonded instantly. Misery loves company, especially in bulk quantities.
Finally, the line started moving. Maybe the system was repaired. Or maybe people had simply given up and fled to Trader Joe’s.
Luckily, Costco worked a miracle. Registers came back online, the staff opened extra lanes, and because I had only one item, they shuttled me to an express checkout line where all forms of payment were welcome. Bless them.
They handled the chaos beautifully.
But next year? I’m checking my dog-food supply on November 1st. I will not be caught up in Costco’s Thanksgiving shopping chaos again.
And Blue? She greeted me with ecstasy when I got home, as if she hadn’t seen me in weeks. Of course, she always greets me that way, so maybe it had nothing to do with the fact that she appreciates the lengths I had just gone to for her.
Now if I can get that kind of enthusiasm to rub off on my family, I’ll have a great Thanksgiving!
I have this rogue tomato plant that decided to bloom at the end of summer.
Before I left for vacation, I enjoyed plenty of delicious, sun-warmed produce and figured the rest would ripen and die off from neglect before I got back.
But I was wrong.
Apparently, late-season tomatoes take their sweet time to ripen.
When I returned home after more than a week of neglect, that scrappy little plant had gone wild.
I had a massive harvest waiting for me.
Oh my gosh – what am I supposed to do with all of these tomatoes?
I decided to try oven-drying a small batch, just to see what would happen.
It worked.
Oh. My. Gosh.
They were incredible – savory, tangy, chewy little bursts of joy.
I was going to freeze the extras, but they’re so delicious that there might not be any extra left to freeze.
And the best part? I still have a ton of green ones waiting to ripen.
I am in tomato heaven.
I didn’t plan to become a tomato farmer, but here we are.
What about you?
Have you ever had a plant surprise you like that?
Share your garden success (or disaster) stories in the comments.
