A Friday Afternoon

I took the afternoon off and went to the grocery store(s). I wrote all morning and having determined I would meet and exceed deadlines, I decided I had to go shopping.

Mostly this was because we were out of toilet paper. There are many things I can be out of, but this particular item is not one of them. Usually my cabinet runneth over but the price at Kroger has been high in recent weeks, so I'd been holding off, waiting to see if the cost would go down on Angel Soft brand.

It has not. I stopped in Kroger in Daleville and checked. It was $5.99 for a 12-pack double rolled of Angel Soft. It had been $4.59 for that. I bought nothing, having found out what I wished to know.

Then I was off to CVS, to spend more of my cash on out-of-pocket drug expenses ($63.12, thank you very much, ma'am, have a nice day, enjoy your two bottles of pills).

Next stop, Food Lion on Williamson Road. I suppose I should have gone to WalMart but I grit my teeth when I have to go there. So I thought I would try something different.

I was not at all impressed with this Food Lion. I hadn't been in it in about year; I go to the one in Blue Ridge sometimes and it is a nice store. This one leaves a lot to be desired. It is dirty, not well organized, and the produce looked unpurchasable.

The toilet tisse was $2.00 higher, too, for the very same thing Kroger was selling.

So I did not buy toilet paper there.

Next, Nature's Outlet, also on Williamson Road. Again, not my favorite of this chain but servicable. I don't get over to Electric Road much and I like that store better.

I spent quite a bit of time in Nature's Outlet. I decided earlier this week to stop taking all of my acid reflux medicine and try natural remedies. I have been reading and the books indicate it is lack of acid, not too much, that causes the problem. It made sense when I read it, anyway.

To increase the acid, you need to take a number of enzymes. I went to see how much all of this would be.

The answer: very expensive. I opted for pancreatic enzymes, DGL (a licorice that is supposed to help with reflux; I tried some just moments ago and it is pretty nasty tasting, unfortunately), aloe vera juice, which I have been drinking and found helpful, and a "gastric" mixture that includes fennel seed, ginger, slippery elm, and wild yams.

The last mixture I did not go with the intention of buying, but a number of those items are things my acupuncturist has said I need to be eating, so I thought it probably wouldn't hurt me.

All of that was rather expensive ($40.63) and I hope it helps.

Then it was off to Sam's Club, which was crowded even though it has rained all afternoon. I thought that might keep the crowd down, but no. Apparently everyone wanted to get rained on, like me. And everywhere I went, people where hacking and coughing and looking generally run down.

When did we all get so old, I wondered.

In Sam's, I found Quilted Northern Tissue for $1 less than the Angel Soft at Kroger, and that is what I bought. I also bought my husband his chewing tobacco, which I find disgusting but it is his habit. He's a lot healthier than I have ever been so I can't really say a whole lot.

Then it was back to Kroger in Daleville to buy some cheap meat, soy yogurt, and gluten-free waffles. Yum.

The waffles kind of taste like paper mache. Fortunately the pure maple syrup hides that.

By the time I got that stuff home and put away, it was 4:30 p.m.

Day is done.