I was at the grocery store picking up ingredients for a recipe I wanted to try (a "Pepsi" chuck roast in the slow cooker--gotta find a new one; the smell of the onion soup mix and cream of mushroom soup was a little sickening to me, but the roast tasted fine; and some roasted vegetables the simple way: i'd never done it! slice the veggies, mix w/olive oil, fresh ground pepper, fresh ground salt, put in the oven--it was incredibly delish! who knew?)
anyway...
I put some meat in the cart, park it, go back to the meat counter to check out the roasts. Of course it takes me a minute or two to figure out the different cuts of roast. I pick one, turn back to the cart, the cart is GONE! Now, the store was not crowded. It's not like the day before T-Giving and it's jammed and it's easy to grab someone else's cart by mistake.
I said aloud, "What the h-ll?' and looked around, looked in a few nearby carts, but they didn't have mine. Whoever the person was, he/she probably didn't want to pay for the little Yukon gold potatoes and parsnips and ground beef, too, when he/she got to the register!
Have you ever?!?!
(ps: my first time eating parsnips--they tasted yummy roasted this way!)
"AuntiePam," Had to laugh when I read about your experience. The same thing has happened to me but, in my case, it was over-diligent store employees clearing the aisles.
Glad the recipe worked out anyway - have never tried parsnips so might have to give them a try! What are they, anyway? I've always heard about them; just never had any reason to cook them!
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Idaho Resident,
Never lost my cart in the store, but once they loaded the wrong grocery order into my vehicle and I got home with all this convenience & junk food. Imagine the poor bum who got home with all my staple ingredients and no knowledge of how to put a meal on the table.
"Lurah," How very funny! Bet they didn't have a clue what to do with your food!
Reminded me of one of those "most embarrassing" moments that aren't funny at the time but become hilarious later on.
Had a HUGE grocery list one day and saw that a new Albertsons had just opened. Pulled in, filled my cart to the very top (this was a number of years ago when the economy was better) and went to the shortest check-out line.
Clerk asked for my employee number and I said "Huh?" She repeated, what is your E-#? I said that I didn't have one. She then asked, what I was doing there? By now, I am thinking that this lady has serious problems....
So, speaking very slowly, I explained that I was buying groceries at which point she explained that the store WASN'T open!
I said BUT there are people everywhere shopping, clerks, box boys and the lot is full. She explained that they were simply having a "practice" day before opening and didn't understand how I had even gotten inside the store! (BTW, just walked in, grabbed a cart and started shopping).
Anyway, bottom line, when I realized that the store wasn't open yet and everyone was just making "pretend," I offered to put everything back on the shelves to which she cheerfully replied, "No need, we need practice re-stocking as well."
Dinner that night was left-overs....
This message has been edited. Last edited by: Idaho Resident,
I've loved the stories. I don't have one to tell except for out in the parking lot. I was pushing my buggy (I'm from Texas) to my DHs brand new pickup. A woman loaded her groceries into the trunk of her car. Closed the trunk and PUSHED the buggy out of her way. It was rolling down the parking lot headed to...you guessed it...DHs brand new pickup. I am so thankful that it hit the bumper but still, I was seeing RED. I stopped my buggy right behind her car so that she couldn't back out...walked up to her window and rapped on it. She actually opened her door! If I'd been looking at my face I'm not sure I would've rolled the window down half an inch. I set into her about being lazy to put the buggy in the buggy receptacle (couldn't think of buggy corral) and just pushing her buggy away and it hit my husband's brand new.... You got the idea. I never uttered a vulgar word (not that kind of person) but I bet my face was red and steam was coming out of my ears. She did apologize and quickly closed her car door. Next time she pulled that I'm sure she looked around to see if anyone was watching.
Gosh, I have so many responses that I've forgotten the earlier ones and will have to reread them.
The first one that comes to mind is the ambitious clerks who move your grocery cart. I discovered that Wal-Mart has actually got red lines marked on their aisles. Do NOT leave your cart there. It will be totally safe if it is within the line though.
I find lazy people who can't walk the couple of feet to put their carts in the corral totally offensive. They are usually overweight and could use the extra excercise.
Auntie Pam, I am not a fan of the Pepsi crockpot roast either. As for the veggies, I think it was the Simply Homemade show with Sara whatshername who made cauliflower in the oven. She said she also does the same thing with broccoli. She broke up the florets, sprayed a cookie sheet with Pam, and spread the florets over the sheet, topping them with Parmesan cheese (can't remember, but she probably salt & peppered them, too). She put them in a 400 oven, uncovered, for 20 minutes. I'm going to try this. I've never roasted any veggies either.
As for parsnips, they're a favorite at our house. We parboil them, slit them lengthwise and remove the woody cores. Then we put some oil in a cast iron skillet (which works the best) and saute them, adding some S&P, til browned. They're heavenly! The tedious part is removing the cores, but they are well worth the trouble.
I laughed out loud reading the stories on here. here's what happened to me at the grocery store. I finished marketing and walked to my car when all of a sudden I noticed a long scratch like chalky line in my side door. I was very upset and all I could think of 'oh oh..its our new car!! sigh' then I noticed that when I wiped the scratch a bit..it started to come off. SOOO I spit on my fingers and kept rubbing it off the sides. When all of a sudden..this couple comes up to me, gives me a weird look then thanks me for trying to get the scratch off their car!!' thats when i realized my car was two cars down from theirs!! DUH.
lol hope it wasn't already paid for. last summer i went to the store meat market got a few things walked next store to family dollar gave my bag to the cashier (u know that no bag in store policy)well when she gave the guy his bag he bought she gave him mine 2. so i went over re bought what i had to have for dinner and cashed out and the girl goes didn't u just buy all this i go yep and it was given a way buy the next store.
Posts: 687 | Location: WNY | Registered: Nov 19, 2006
A few years ago I changed grocery stores. Many of the other shoppers in my old store had taken to playing a version of "rob thy neighbor". If they saw something in your cart that looked good, they would just help themselves right out of the cart! More than once I got home and discovered that I was missing stuff that I knew I had put in the cart. The final straw came one day when I was in the self-bagging area. A couple of guys were staring at me, and I was trying to ignore them. As they walked away I heard one of them say "We should get some ice to drink with this soda". They were out of sight before I discovered that the soda was gone from my cart. I reported it to the store manager, but his response was "It's not considered shoplifting if you have already paid for it."
funny stories, y'all! kind of takes the doldrums out of shopping, right?
your story, tea, reminded me of when i was a teenager. i was with my parents on their saturday morning shopping trip. in those days, we didn't lock our cars and my parents gave me the meat from the butcher shop to put in the car while they went on to the produce store. i did so, putting the meat in the back window ledge. i came up to the car a few minutes later and there was no meat in the window. (how dumb was i to put it where the sun shines!) i started to panic then noticed our car was too parking spots away. thank goodness the other driver had not left, and the meat was still in their car window. if he/she had, i probably would not be able to sit down to this day! my guardian angel was looking out for me that day.
i call my 100 year old father, who lives in missouri, every morning. do you think he is finally ready to hear that story? at least i can't get a wuppin long distance!
Originally posted by bana: funny stories, y'all! kind of takes the doldrums out of shopping, right?
i call my 100 year old father, who lives in missouri, every morning. do you think he is finally ready to hear that story? at least i can't get a wuppin long distance!
I think you should receive the award for the cutest story. I love the "at least I can't get a wuppin long distance" admission.
And another story I heard at the meat counter the other day - a Mom with a youngster along strolled back up to her child who was waiting at the meat counter while Mom went and grabbed another item from an aisle. When mom got back to her child she said "oh, there you are, I yelled at the wrong kid over there, I thought it was you tearing through the aisle and then I realized I was yelling at somebody else's kid".
I am simply loving this thread and all of the great stories being shared. We all need a smile or two these days; thank you everyone for providing them!
I have had somone try to walk away with my cart (with things in the basket as well) I walked up to them and put my hand on it and said "May I please have MY cart back?)
----------------------------- "Children are the message we send to a time we will not see."
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Posts: 2037 | Location: Grand Rapids, MI | Registered: Jun 08, 2007
CA lori. Please don't be so quick to judge heavy people. After a serious car accident in 1999 I spent in the riding cart at the store. Since then I can shop but if it's a full grocery day I have to sit on a bench at least once. I put weight on because of inactivity, Eventually I developed diabetes and it is more difficult to lose weight when your diabetic. Before that I would look at and judge diabetics."If they just lost weight they wouldn't be diabetic". By the time I returned to the car I would actually have trouble keeping steady pressure on the gas peddle. I've developed COPD and the family history of Congestive Heart Failure and have a Handicap placard. Please don't assume everyone that doesn't return a cart is lazy. At least I can do my own shopping but after bringing to cold stuff it may take me a day to bring in the things that don't go right into the fridge.
Posts: 127 | Location: westfield,ma,usa | Registered: Mar 11, 2004
