I have confessed to my Dollar Tree idolatry at length and to all within earshot. I buy a lot of petty supplies there, but today, the day before Thanksgiving, I was there on a mission. I needed an oven pan for my turkey breast. I always buy two of those cheap aluminum foil pans, because one by itself will buckle under the weight of a bowling ball of dead fowl flesh. I grabbed three pans by accident and didn’t care, because I figured that they'd hold up all the better.

Anyway, I’m standing in the aisle of the little twenty-first century general store, and I’m wearing my newsboy cap and sunglasses. My outdoors and errand running character is Buddy. I suppose I do look a little like an aged Buddy Hackett. Especially after he just got rolled in an alley. So I’m Buddy and I’m standing there in the snack aisle like I’ve been transferred to a new mission zone. My job now is to grab munchies. They’ve got a generic frito chip that looks good (and is). And there’s two kinds of cheese dip. They both come in eight ounce containers. One is in plastic and the other is canned. I look them both over and choose one.

When I get the stuff home, I notice that I’d grabbed both kinds of cheese dip. So I tried both with the faux fritos (which are good), and I found the dip in the plastic container hideous. It looks orange and it tastes more like a color than a flavor. A title like cheese food product is too good for it, and that label implies the absence of cheese as an ingredient. I throw it out as soon as I taste its competitor. This one is in a can the size of a tuna can. It tastes like it was made from Velveeta, which is not an actual cheese itself. But it does represent a kind of a minimum standard for ballpark nacho sauce.

So happy Thanksgiving, everyone. May your hearts and hearths be warm and bright.

And to you, Don.
One thing about canned cheese dip...you never have to cut the cheese!

Yaay for Dollar Tree raids!! I like to go on youtube and see "Hitler Rants" thete is one about Hitler working at and getting fired from the dollar store. If I had sense enough to, I'D send you the link.

I'll have to look for canned cheese sauce next time at Dollar Tree.

One thing you might want to try is putting your foil pan on a baking sheet. I do this whenever I make a turkey. Not one of those teflon pans, though, just a regular cookie sheet works fine and keeps it from sagging.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/2015 08:11PM by KiNeverMo.

It's also good to prevent pies from boiling over onto the oven bottom.

This sounds like me when I get two bottles of shampoo instead of 1 of conditioner and 1 of shampoo. :) I'm raiding the dollar stores lately for baskets to feed this need that comes from wherever to organize. It's very soothing.

I, also, was in a Dollar Tree today and noticed that they were well-supplied with many brightly-colored storage containers, both square- and oval-shaped. I think you could purchase the whole rainbow in containers.

BTW, Don, what is the brand on those Frito-replicants?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/2015 09:32PM by desertwoman.

I organized my kitchen drawers last week and they still look great. There's some very slender and long rectangle baskets at my local Dollar Tree that are fabulous for storing chopsticks (we have plenty of nice ones as I cook a lot of various Asian dishes) and spice bottles.

My spice cabinet is now glorious to behold. Tome to move on to the pantry, I suppose.

Oh, I wanna eat at your house...:)
I'll bring my own chopsticks...?

Naw, I'll let you use my fave purple set. And of course you want to come eat at my house, because I use a secret ingredient while cooking; Sometimes it's booze, but usually joy and love.

Don, you are a braver person than me who will eat food from the dollar store! I buy lots of other things there, but nothing marked as edible. I question that label. It is the best place to get things like foil pans and those stupid fancy bags to put gifts in that should never cost more than a dollar.

You have a shopping persona! So do I, and I think she's met you, "Buddy"!

My change of character began as a sort of disguise, in order to avoid confrontations with snarky Mormon neighbors, who were shunning me. It was "Margaret", the busy career woman, in work clothes, in a hurry, and too focused to notice anyone else. (I was always friendly to the checkers and baggers, though)

At Nordstrom's and the high-end stores, the fancier I look, the better the service. Tip: hide any returns in a bag, otherwise, no one will come near you.

My favorite character so far is the nameless "little old lady." I could be YOUR grandma! She's a widow, not a divorcee, like me. Her hair is prematurely white. She wears bright colors, a lot of pink and red, and she smile at everyone. People tell her their life stories! They open doors, offer to wheel the cart back, and little things like that. For several years, I was not liking Utahans very much, but all that has changed!

As for the dip--if I don't know what's in it, I don't eat it--but the chips are great!

I love your posts, Donbagley!

It's weird that I have to be a different me when I go outside. Believe me, it's not voluntary behavior. I have an avoidant personality, and the result is a kind of compromise between sending someone else out and venturing out in a beekeeper's suit.

I put on a shirt and trousers to go out, and my personality puts on a hat and sunglasses. Better dressed than distressed, I suppose.

An alternative persona! Intriguing.

I don't like *me* very much, so the idea of someone else to hang out with sounds good...

And who's Buddy Hackett? :-D

The newsboy cap is flat on the top. There are photos on line, but I can't figure out how to link anything with my google chrome.

Buddy Hackett was a chubby comedian who was in many sixties movies, notably "It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World," and "The Love Bug." I think he wears a newsboy cap in both movies, if I remember correctly. But then Grandpa's memory is kind of yes and no these days.

And Scuttle!

My wife went to Costco today for pies and dips. The lineup to get into the parking lot started about a half mile from the store.

Determined to get that huge pumpkin pie, she waited patiently in the long line of cars.

two hours later she returned with pies and dips.

DH works at Costco in the morning. He came home with stories about how huge this morning was. They had 350 people waiting when the door opened. (This is at one of the grandest CostCo's in the country.)

I have to/get to pass two 7-11's before I get to Safeway about a km away from home (NO dollar stores); In good weather, it's a nice bike ride away. I've only shopped once in the last year + at 7-11.
btw, there are practically NO Circle-Ks up here.


and Now, back to Jeopardy!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/25/2015 10:41PM by GNPE.

Buddy Hackett is head and shoulders above any who ply the trade nowadays.

Dude was hysterical.