Tag Archives: shopping

Discontinued

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This is a screen shot from Amazon. Tone soap was what we have used since we got married. I used to buy it at the grocery store and then it disappeared. Then I ordered it from Amazon, but now there are only a couple listings and it’s WAY overpriced. It must be discontinued.

Now, we can no longer find Strawberry Yogurt Zone Perfect Bars. Can’t find them anywhere. I used to get them at the grocery store, too. Trader Joe’s had the best prices. I was able to order them on Amazon a few years ago. Now they are nowhere. There are a few other flavors still out there. But not the flavor we like.

The latest discontinued product that I use is my face cream. When I went to the website, I couldn’t find it. I got a chat bot box and asked if it was discontinued and the bot said yes, but there was inventory available at Amazon. Here we go again. At least it’s the same price on Amazon as it was on the manufacturer’s website.

I wrote about brand loyalty HERE.

We get used to certain brands and stick with them for decades. My mom was a loyal brand lover and believed that what she bought was THE BEST. Like Life cereal, Crest toothpaste and Best Foods mayo. I followed her example and brands. Until I got married. My husband and I discovered conflicts with our brands.

I googled why Zone bars and Tone were discontinued. It has to do with changing market preferences. In the case of Zone bars, not only was it discontinued in 2024 — a layoff of close to 200 employees happened. Tone was sold to Proctor Gamble from Colgate-Palmolive. There are many options in skin care and bar soaps aren’t as popular as they once were. People are also looking for natural products without chemicals. So good-bye Tone — after six decades.

I think there are many more choices today for all categories of household items compared to my childhood. It’s a tougher market for brands to survive. Plus, we have tons of “off-brand” items that are more affordable.

What brands are you loyal to?

What products have you used that were discontinued?

Somebody was in a bad mood!

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View from my morning walk before sunrise.

“Don’t you use dividers anymore?” the cashier said to me with a grunt while I was waiting to check out at our local big brand grocery store.

The woman in front of me had just pointed out two items rung up on her tab that were not hers. My Tater Tots and loaf of bread.

The cashier looked agitated as she had to remove my two items off the other woman’s bill.

“You’re the one who removed the divider,” the woman in front of me told the cashier as she plunked her credit card on the reader.

Now it was my turn to check out.

The cashier, who I usually chat with and has only been pleasant, starting throwing my items into plastic bags. It was sloppy and filled with anger. The metal rack that held up her plastic bags fell down to the floor.

Angrily she slammed the bag holder repeatedly into the rack to hook it into place. She muttered to the employee who was helping her bag, “Take this or I’m going to throw it!”

The woman calmly replaced the bag holder and returned to placing my grocery bags into my cart.

“Can you believe this?” an elderly woman behind me said with her eyes.

When my groceries were rung up and I was paying, the cashier took the plastic divider and threw it down the conveyer belt where it slammed into two other dividers.

“Just because you’re in a bad mood doesn’t mean you have to take it out on us!” the woman behind me said.

“I didn’t say nothing to you!”

I pushed my cart away and the older woman who was behind said “Wait. I’m reporting this to the manager, please come with me.” We were out of hearing distance of our disgruntled cashier.

I hesitated because I knew the cashier’s attitude and actions were unacceptable, but for the past two years, she had been professional and friendly. I didn’t want to get her in trouble.

Another employee mopping the floor overheard the word complaint and said loudly with fear, “Complaint?”

The employee who was bagging in our lane ran over and said, “I’m the manager and I witnessed what happened to both of you. I have no idea what is going on, but I’ll pull her aside and talk to her.”

If you were in my shoes would you complain to the manager? What would it take for you to complain if you were at a restaurant or store?

P.S. I’ve changed my blogging schedule to Monday, Wednesday and Friday as of this week.

Great weekend fun

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Desert Trails
Sonoran McDowell Preserve

We had many beautiful walks this weekend. Mainly because it warmed up. I was able to walk without being bundled up in a ski parka and wool cap. I wore a sweatshirt instead.

My dishwasher quit a week ago Friday right before guests came over for appetizers. Saturday we had friends over for Oxtail soup complete with salad, vegetables and a rice dish. That meant a ton of dishes. Lucky me, we have dishwasher in our casita. I had to traipse back and forth with dishes on a tray for the past week.

Finally, this past Friday (a week after it broke down) the repairman came. He did diagnostics and said it would cost $1,000 to fix the dishwasher. I looked at the paperwork the prior owners left us. The dishwasher is around nine years old. Easy decision.

We went shopping Saturday for a new dishwasher. The one I wanted could be delivered in 25 weeks! I thought we were over supply chain issues. I’m not schlepping dishes to and from the casita for half a year. I looked at other brands and they had one dishwasher in stock! Imagine that! I feel like we lucked out.

Sunday I went with a girlfriend to a driving range to hit balls for the first time in years. I couldn’t believe how nervous and shaky I was. Eventually I settled down and hit a few good shots. We chipped and putted. It felt marvelous to be outside having fun on a bright sunny day. My new golf friend also hasn’t golfed for years and we seem to be a good match as far as our golfing skills go.

Sunday morning I got this video of Canadian geese:

I hear the geese before I see them.

What fun things did you do over the weekend?

The shelves are bare

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empty produce shelves at big name grocery store
Empty shelves at the chain grocery store.

The shelves were bare in our pantry and fridge because I packed up a ton of stuff and hauled it to California for Christmas week. I made a trip this morning to the Farmer’s Market and a grocery store only to be disappointed.

At the Farmer’s Market there were only two stands. One for prickly pear jellies and the other for power greens. I wanted my chips and dips plus the veggie guy who also sells homemade tortillas. I’m sure it was because it’s New Year’s Eve, plus it’s supposed to rain.

On to a locally-owned grocery store where they were out of lots of stuff on my list. I backed out without a purchase and drove down the street to a major chain-owned store. I thought to myself, this store is huge and always has everything in stock.

Nope. Not today. I managed to grab the last spinach. Then I found myself not quite in a panic, but feeling this need to buy more than what I had intended. I think this is what is causing the shelves to be bare.

When you see empty shelves, you think you better buy NOW or you’ll be out of some much needed TP. allergy meds, or milk. Also, with inflation raging, I told myself I had better buy now because it will be more expensive next week.

Happy New Year! That’s my tale for New Year’s Eve. Now I’m ready to watch the Rose Bowl.

GO UTES!!!

What are your New Year’s plans? Have you made resolutions? What are they?

Empty grape case at grocery store
Grapes anyone?

3 Things I Noticed About An Empty Nest

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8119501_fpxTowels

Let’s start with towels. First off, we own too many of them. I gathered our towels into one room and separated the wheat from the chaff. I asked my son Robert if he needed any. I recall sending him off to college four years ago with a small set of matched towels. He’s survived with those two towels all this time? Plus, a beach towel of course — since he goes to UC Santa Barbara.

One of the most beautiful campuses ever. UCSB

One of the most beautiful campuses ever. UCSB

Eighteen towels and two dozen or so hand towels and washcloths sit on his bed, awaiting his return Thanksgiving weekend. These 18 towels didn’t make the cut to remain members of our family — unless they commit to being shredded into rags.

images-3The next thing I noticed about my towels is that I’m no longer washing them every time I turn around. Raising two swimmers as well as overly hygienically-conscious kids, I believe they went through four or five towels daily — each — which never got a second use. I no longer have to hear the thump, thump, thump of my washing machine doing a jig with the over-packed, heavy towel load.

images-5Groceries

Have I mentioned that I raised two swimmers? We joined the Piranha Swim Team around 1999. I honestly believe that having my kids involved in swimming was the single best thing we ever did as parents. Sure, the kids worked hard. Yes, it was a time commitment. But, I will repeat, it was the single best thing we ever did. You can find a lot of my articles about the benefits here and here and here. Read what my friend has to say about swimming here.

Robert and Kat a few years ago on photo day for the Piranha Swim Team.

Robert and Kat a few years ago on photo day for the Piranha Swim Team.

So, what does this fact have to do with groceries? Well, it means I bought a lot of them. All the time. Robert drank a half gallon of milk a day and a box of Cinnamon Life every two days. Kat could eat whatever she wanted and she liked my sole, chicken and dumplings, meatloaf, and brown medley rice. At least I think she did because I was always cooking and buying more groceries.

Life-Cinnamon-Detail.sflbToday, my refrigerator is bare and I rarely cook. There’s no reason to buy more than three items at a time at the grocery store. When I enter the store, I don’t need a cart. I use the little hand-held basket.

images-4Dishes

 I cannot seem to get a load of dishes to wash for the life of me. My sink is empty. My dishwasher sits bare and lonely.

I guess that’s what they make Thanksgiving weekend for.

This is a photo of Kat. She didn't want to be a ballerina. She wanted to swim!

Why Kat joined the swim team. “I don’t want to be a ballerina!”