Gary - "Ignorance is bliss?" Really? on this blog? Out with it! I LOVE information, that's why I've been living on this blog for two weeks, even though I left a family behind somewhere. And yes, the Electrolux Icon IS beautiful, but they only come in 30" wall ovens, not 27". Why did they have to change the styling on the Wave Touch? I love everything about it, the blue interior, the glide out racks, the door that closes like a Mercedes, but the styling is too much for me, like an Escalade, maybe. I can't get the 30" because of layout restraints in the kitchen, I like the idea of two smaller ovens for when I'm just baking a pie, and I don't want to buy two single ovens because it's too expensive. Thusly decisions get made. Eventually. I hope. I'm going back to the showroom today with DH (funny - those happen to be my DH's real initials), and will look at the Bosch one more time. Some people on GW say "Never!" about Bosch ovens. I have their washer and dryer. Don't love them. They look boss, but the rubber seal on the front loader gets black mold no matter how much I wipe it down and the dryer, if I dry a bed sheet with clothes, wraps everything into a parcel with damp clothes inside. Rob - I love the styling on the KA ovens, but like the Bosch, they don't get great reviews. The new ones, that is. Thanks to all for posting! Will let you know, I'm making my decisions and moving on to the Kitchen blog for countertops... Anyone here want to weigh in before I go? I'm not a granite girl, but I do like slate... And recycled glass...

When I leave my house I usually announce to my renter that I am going to (name of store). If I say market it means the farmer's market. I say the name of the store because if I go to Byerly's there are things he wants from there - like green tea sushi rice. Or if I go to the Wedge there are certain things I can only get there - like black, green or lavander quinoa. In general, I think most Minnesotans use the term grocery store more often than supermarket.

I totally get it about turning around and leaving TJ's. I used to as well. It takes awhile to learn what they have and don't have and to coordinate it with other shopping. There isn't one go to everything I need in one place store here (or maybe because there's so much variety, including the Persian market, etc., which I forgot to mention before (and I was only including full sized markets with carts, not mom and pop grocers) that my perception of what one might need at the store is skewed), so it's a matter of timing which store I need to go to when. (That sentence is somewhat ungrammatical and I refuse to fix it.) Yeah, two buck chuck isn't two bucks anymore. It's amazing how long they held it down. It also comes in some varietal names now, too. The quality varies because it's made from wine lake (i.e, surplus juice), but they try to keep it palatable, which many wineries do not. :) I use it for cooking. :) Trader Joe's was always meant to be something between a specialty/gourmet store and a convenience store. It's not a place for staples, though you can get a roll of TP, and while they generally have good quality produce, the selection is limited and often only available in packages. The prices for the quality on what they do have, however, are fabulous. If you want a whole box of Persian cucumbers and a bag of roma tomatoes, as well as a packet of shucked English peas, they're the place. If you want several varieties of kale and chard, and rutabagas, turnips and tamarinds, go to Whole Foods. I'm not big on packaged food either, but I buy a few quickie type things when my freezer isn't full of my good cooking. The quality is also excellent and affordable. Real food, not like I see in the chains from national brands. The meats are kind of middling, but they're hermetically sealed or something, so I'll sometimes buy some ground beef or chicken tenders that can hang in the fridge for awhile without going bad. That's free range but packaged. No pink slime. Extruded, though. I work hard at hacking through the grinder ribbons so the ground beef doesn't look funny. :) Bellsmom, I get baking your own. ;) The breads at TJ's might be different by region, but one of the things I love about TJ's is the bread. They have a lot of selections that are 100% whole wheat (not mixed with white) and good. Not cardboard. My brother is an expert milk taster and says that TJ's is okay. They have good, fresh juice. Free range eggs. The best nuts and dried fruits. So it depends on the list. I can often do a moderate shopping at TJ's. I buy papergoods at the big chains and most meats at Whole Foods or one of the local independents, but milk, eggs, yoghurt, cheese, tomatoes, cucumbers, green beans, melon, berries, eggplant, apples, ground beef, orange juice, bread, tortillas (they're non-traditional, but I love the wheat and corn ones), etc., I can get through a basic list.

Hi Marie (oh, to be 26 again!), The manufacturers pay the supermarkets to help cover the cost of printing the fliers. They also often pay the supermarkets for space on their shelves - rent, so to speak. Read carefully what's said - if it's on sale, it may well be identified as such. I think that some of the items at least are at regular price - filling up space on the flier and getting the picture in front of your eyes. Sometimes local ones just say that you'll get so many "Air Miles" if you buy one (or two, maybe three) ... but there's no price given. I pass over items like that rather quickly. Nothing beats comparison shopping. If we're thinkig of non-perishables, I often buy more than current needs when they're on sale. Guess I'll have to store them in my old 1980 van that may well have gone over 400,000 km. (250,000 mi.) that's about had the biscuit - and which I'm worried about putting on the road, for fear they'll pull me over for ventilated body. I just moved - and have boxes all over the house. Can't find anything. Enjoy your week. ole joyful