#heb plus

[texassuggest]

H-E-B

[texassuggest]

hay

[davestonetx]

Ketchup and Anderklondikes...

I just have a few quick notes to post before we dive head first into must-see Sunday night TV - you know, Mad Men and The Borgias among others that will have to wait on the DVR.

First off, you won't care if you are living in a non-HEB or non-What-a-Burger state, but as we wandered the aisles of our HEB Plus this morning, I noticed an entire section of the condiment shelves cleared out. 

That can only mean one thing!  Yes, fast food ketchup that you usually steal from your favorite burger place are now (or soon to be) available for sale.  This means I won't have to carry a purse with me to the What-a-Burger anymore.

Okay, you recall a while back when I purchased plans to build an Adirondack chair, right?  It was a big fail because I just didn't have the right tools.  Well screw that!  Harbor Freight had a scroll saw for $67.00 and I had a nice 15% coupon on my phone, so after tax, this baby was $62.00 (plus the cost of several new blades I had to buy right away, but we'll save that story for another day).

And after lunch, I got the boards I had already marked for cutting out and commenced to cut.

I still have several more boards worth to cut, but it was so nice to see every thing starting to come together.  Of course, I'll need to do a lot of sanding and I may even bust out the router and put a nice rounded edge on the pieces before assembling it.

Eva still says this is the most expensive Anderklondike chair in the history of the world.  Anderklondike is our new term since we heard Shelby on AxMen refer to a chair he saw with that fun pronunciation. This was a great weekend for us.  Lots of fun with family and friends.  More posts when I can...

[davestonetx]

Friday Fish, Bluebonnets, and Movies...

Is it Easter yet?  Eva can't wait since she gave up Facebook for Lent and feels completely disconnected from the world.  Oh, and there is more.  She won't eat meat on Friday's and by extrapolation, neither can I.  I'll make up for it today, I'm sure. With my mom visiting, it has given us an opportunity to consider different fish options for Friday's - you know, instead of Fred's Fish Fry or the fish sandwich at What-a-Burger.  My mom actually knows how to fry fish without us whipping out the Fry-Daddy and getting grease all over the place.

 First up, a quick dunk in an egg mixture and some Italian bread crumbs.  The fish is called Basa or Vietnamese catfish.  HEB Plus sales these things in individually wrapped packages for a dollar a piece.  I like regular catfish but Eva just can't deal.  This Basa has zero fish taste, cat or otherwise.

We set-up the little electric skillets outside on the patio since it was so nice out, plus, no need to take a chance on the small of fish, shrimp or onion rings lingering in the kitchen an hour or two later.

Eva had a second little skillet going with onion rings and shrimp.  We made way more food than we could eat but I assure you, it won't go to waste!

------<<<>>>------

 I've noticed the height of the Bluebonnets in the yard is increasing.  When this is all over, I suspect it is going to be quite a chore to mow all this stuff down.  I've already installed new blades on the mower.  Anyway, while they are still here, I offer up a few more shots randomly taken with the camera (Canon PowerShot A2200 HD) set on Auto.

 Imagine what it would look like if we broke down and watered our yard.

------<<<>>>------

Our DVR is working overtime during my mom's visit.  There are several shows we watch that just aren't her cup of tea - like Shameless and Archer.  So, as time allows we have been watching some of the movies that stack up on our DVD shelves.  As an aside, are you like us when it comes to movies?  First, I do not go in movie theaters, and haven't for years.  For the same price, we just buy the DVD and they sit watched once on a shelf, perfectly alphabetized in case someone needs to borrow one, but other than that, collecting dust.  On the top of the shelf are the movies we have purchased but haven't watched.  It's at least 10 deep right now.  And the first two seasons of Game of Thrones is patiently waiting there, too. Anyway, this week we knocked out a few. Argo was fantastic.  You already knew that though, since we are the last ones in the world to have seen it.  Thanks for letting us know.  And any time we can see Walter White with hair on his head, you know it is a good movie. Zero Dark Thirty was touted as this must see masterpiece.  The topic certainly interests me.  But seriously, this was the longest, mostly boring snoozer I think I have seen in a while.  Can someone explain to me why this movie was so long?  Even the exciting action at the end, you know, the part where they kill UBL, was so slow and agonizingly drawn out.   I would have rather seen a documentary. I will say that James Gandolfini really stood out as Leon Pannetta, but I like him in most shows. Flight with Denzel Washington just reminds me of what a great actor he is.  What an utterly depressing movie, but what a powerful story.  Don Cheadle also delivers another powerful performance.  He is a lawyer just trying to help Denzel's alcoholic, drug addicted character to get through the situation.  So even if you are not a pilot, this story has an important message:  Don't drink and fly (or drive).  No matter what the cause of what goes bad, if you are drunk, it is your fault.  Also, if you were a fan of the show, My Name is Earl and you always wondered what Nadine Velazquez looks like nekkid, now you'll know.  She plays Denzel's partner in crime for the first few minutes of the movie, but I won't spoil it for you.  That's it in the movie department for now. 

[davestonetx]

Getting Caught Up...

When last I wrote, we had spent the day in Fredericksburg.  That has been a few weeks at least and the truth is, I've been busy doing other things that have kept me from providing important news, so here we go with an effort to catch up on things.  Let's start things off with a few interesting deer pictures.

This one guy has a fascinating scar, or perhaps it is just some paint on his coat.  I haven't gotten to where I can look at their faces and recognize each deer yet, but this one is pretty obvious.  I suppose maybe he got scraped on a tree or a fence, or maybe there was a fight of some sort.

And this one stopped by for a daytime snack.    We had some weird weather action that caused all sorts of butterflies to swarm all over the place.  I thought we were experiencing some sort of horror-film invasion, though, technically, butterflies just aren't that scary.  They have somewhat dissipated, but the other night, Eva alerted me to this.

 So just to give you some size perspective, this moth is posing for us on the wood trim of the kitchen window.

And this is what he looks like up close.  He didn't flinch a bit at my close up inspection or the flash of the camera.  I thought maybe he was dead.  But the next morning when I walked outside, he was gone. 

We pulled into the driveway one afternoon and Eva spotted her friend "Nutsy"  enjoying a little bath time in our bird bath.  Modesty prevailed and he took off once we tried to get better pictures.

I'm not even sure how to explain this.  We were doing some shopping in the HEB Plus when we happened upon this visual.  Is it just me or does it look like a huge hand covered in mud smacked this guy in the ass?  Now I get what it is like to be in the middle of doing some yard work or maybe turning a wrench on the old Chevy when the wife says, take me to the store.  You don't want to put on your Sunday best, just to do a little shopping only to have to return to your project an hour later when you get home.  And let's also be equally honest about HEB.  As much as I love HEB Plus, it isn't one of those important fancy dress-up places like the Super Target.  But I do know this.  Eva will not allow me to bee seen outside in socks with sandals, or huge greasy hand marks on my ass.  This is a known line drawn in the sand at our house.

She does not, however, stop me from mowing in shorts while wearing extremely goofy looking headphones. Follow-up to my DirecTV situation.  So back in mid July, we experienced a problem with the DirecTV receiver in our bedroom.  As I wrote back then, I was pleased with the customer support I got from the 800 number and I even wrote DirecTV to tell them as much.  Not long after, probably a week later, we got the same error on the same box so I went through the steps the nice phone tech had me go through before and no luck.  Long story short, I called DirecTV on a Thursday or Friday and another fine help desk person walked me through the steps and this time, no luck.  I told her I was convinced it was a problem with the box and she agreed to send a service call out to the house for $49.  No problem. I took a half day off from work on Monday the 30th of July so I could meet the techs.  When I got home from work, I turned on the TV in that room only to find that it was working fine!  Of course, that is how it always goes, right?  Not to worry.  These guys spent close to an hour and a half refitting all the cable connectors, they re-zeroed in the dish on the roof and honestly, the picture on all the TVs was improved.  I did ask about the possibility of just replacing the box but they said it was fine.  So, the techs leave, and within an hour I get an automated phone call from DirecTV asking us to rate the service call.  As you might expect from my happiness to give kudos to those that deserve them, I gave all top ratings for these guys, because they were quick, polite, courteous, efficient, and any other good things you would want in someone who makes a service call to your house. At about 10 that night, we are getting ready for bed and turn on the TV in that room.  Of course, no freakin' TV and the same error we had before. The next day, I call DirecTV and I get a very nice and calm gentleman who starts to take me through the same routine.  At this point, I could be working the help desk.  When he began to walk me through the steps (and of course, I have done all this several times before I make the call), I very calmly but firmly walked him through the entire history (not unlike I am doing for you kind readers who are so polite to bare with me).  He gets that I am a little exercised at this point and of course, just the type of person I am, I apologize repeatedly telling him I just want to make sure he understands that this isn't my first rodeo with resetting all the boxes. An hour later, I get a call from India wanting to arrange a service call.  On Monday the 13th of August. Keep in mind, it is Tuesday the 31st of July, and we have to wait until the 13th of August?  Holy Hell!  How am I supposed to watch Sarah Lucero before bed?  I asked for an earlier appointment but I got the Indian (not Native American) version of "Yea, I'll get right on that". So of course, periodically over these two weeks, I have been doing the whole routine of resetting the boxes to see if it will magically come back on.  No such luck. 

 This morning, as I was writing this blog, I decided to take a picture of the error just to emphasize the problem when, of course, I turned on the TV and it was working fine.  So, Monday morning, someone from DirecTV will be here and I will be leaving it to Eva to convince them to replace the box in that room.  It is clearly possessed by some demon with an ugly sense of humor.

------<<<>>>------

And if you've stayed reading long enough to get here, I might as well mention Dallas, or the remake of the original Dallas with many of the main characters having aged to current day.  I watched the season opener with only mild enthusiasm just assuming that it would be horrible. By the end of the first episode, I was willing to give the second episode a watch.  And by the end of that episode, I was on for the season. Even if you did watch the original series back when I was in high school, how could you remember all the details of who did what?  The writers had to make it interesting enough to get people who may have no idea who shot JR.  I think they did. All I can say is, Larry Hagman is exactly now how I expected JR would be at this age.  And those eyebrows!  This season went well beyond the idea of JR and Bobby and the interactions of their sons, John Ross and Christopher, but wove in story lines including Sue Ellen running for governor of Texas, Cliff Barnes trying to horn in on South Fork and a host of exciting backstabbing goodness.  If you didn't watch because you just assumed it would be a dud, give it a shot when they show the reruns.

------<<<>>>------

We are watching the final run of Breaking Bad as we sit patiently waiting for Sons of Anarchy to begin.  If you have not yet taken the time to see Breaking Bad, this is your reason to get the free 30 day trial of NetFlix.  You can lock yourself indoors and watch the first 4 seasons, then catch the season five reruns on AMC.   We are just now going back and watching the first season of Hell on Wheels so we can pick up with the beginning of season 2.  We'd better hurry since it starts tomorrow!

------<<<>>>------ 

Okay, enough jibber jabber. I have some work to do in the yard, some vittles to eat and some blogs to catch up on.  Thanks for taking the time to catch-up with what's going on out here.  I leave with a random photo.

 As you know, I have an ongoing project of scanning in the hard copy photographs that fill boxes of photo albums throughout the house. As I was going through yet another shoebox full of pictures taken over the years, tossed in no particular order, I stumbled upon a picture of me posing near a downed communications tower on Mt Velez near the town of Mostar in Bosnia-Herzagovina.

A good time was had by all.

[davestonetx]

The Bluebonnet Pitcher...

If you have spent any amount of time on the Internet, you know that your friend Mr. Google can assist you in finding pretty much anything you want.  Shockingly, I have been trying to track down a simple plastic pitcher and I even know the name of the company that makes it, but I cannot find hide nor hair of this little item. A few years ago, we were at (naturally) HEB when we found this plastic pitcher that had colorful bluebonnets on it.  We also got some matching bluebonnet tumblers and together it made a festive little set for serving iced tea and such.  We gave the set to my mom, since after all, Eva never keeps anything for more than 6 months, lest a film crew from A&E show up as we get a visit from Dr. Robin Zasio.  My mom has been asking me about the possibility of getting another one of these pitchers since a friend is quite fond of hers.  No problem, I thought, we would just go back to HEB and get another one.  Problem is, it seems to be a seasonal item, and they don't have any in stock. 

They do have one a different pitcher on sale now.  Pretty much same design, just not bluebonnets. I even flipped the pitcher over and took a picture of the label.

The funny thing is, with all this information - the name of the company and the fact that the company seems to be from San Antonio, Google has failed me (or maybe I have failed at Google) and I can't even find a picture of the bluebonnet pitcher. This Parkway Manufacturing & Trading Company does not seem to have a web page, and there is no E-Bay site for DiningStyle plastic ware on my personal Internet.  We did ask the manager at our Lytle HEB Plus and she made a few calls and basically suggested we start calling around to other HEB's, and we will, but I just thought, what a huge Internet let down. What about you - do you have any secret shopping places on the Internet that will help me track down a bluebonnet pitcher, preferably this same style?

[davestonetx]

The HEB Gas Station is Open...

I know, I probably sound like Steve Martin in The Jerk proclaiming that the new phone books are here when I mention with great glee that the new HEB gas station and convenience store has opened in Lytle, but this is a big thing for us out in these parts!

The What-a-burger connected to the store was supposed to also be open on Friday, but sadly, it is still a few weeks away.  I had to be the one to break the news to Eva since she had been eagerly counting down the hours to dinner.  In the end, she settled for a Mighty Kids Meal from the McDonald's in Lytle and then was hugely disappointed and pissed that they shortchanged us on the fries.  Here's the deal, we don't even eat at McDonald's these days, but when we do break from tradition and go there, we do expect the consistent quality that that company has made a worldwide name on.  And, both Eva and I worked at McDonald's - she was a manager for 17 years.  We can look at an order of fries and  tell you if they meet the standard, and this little bag was more than a few fries short of a Happy Meal. I have a policy - never send anything back to the cook, because you know what will happen; it starts with Puh and ends with Tooey.  I have no interest in eating fries with some 16 year-old's loogey mixed in them.  Eva, on the other hand, felt like she owes it to the corporate name to hold under performing restaurants accountable.  They parked us and within a minute or so, the smiling manager handed us a new bag of adequately filled fries.  I didn't bother to taste for spit. Good news:  The HEB convenience store sells coffee like you might find at a good Exxon Tigermart.  Things are looking up, I say.

[davestonetx]

Miscellaneous Photos And Random Commentary...

I'm afraid I haven't had much time to provide updates as often as I would like, but that doesn't mean we put our cameras down and stop capturing the evidence of our daily lives out here.  So, as a way of playing catch up, I offer a few random photos taken over the last few weeks.

First off, who doesn't like puppies?  We still haven't figured out the exact type of dog Maggie is, but one thing is for sure, she is a hand full! But isn't she cute?

Did I mention that the HEB Plus in Lytle is getting a new gas station with an attached convenience store?  If you have ever been to the one in Floresville, you'll know what I mean.  We won't have to actually go inside the HEB Plus every time we need an item or two.  Plus, they have doubled up on the pumps.  The current gas station is always, and I mean always packed with people trying to fill up.  Things should be at least somewhat smoother once they open.  And the best part of all this is, they will have a What-a-burger right there!  We are so happy. 

Eva has been doing a lot of little odds & ends in the yard.  Here are just a few favorites she snapped pictures of.  That lantana in the back is something I dug up from the street in front of our house.  Yes, it was growing through the edge of the asphalt.  I can't tolerate an unmaintained street, so I picked it and we replanted it in the yard.

Our hibiscus plants are doing very well in the beds along the front of the house.  We are going for all the colors we can find. I think there is a yellow one out there somewhere.

We had one of our bird baths toward the front of the house that was being under utilized by birds, so Eva used it as a planter.  I don't know what these plants are called but they look nice.  And that little statue in the back is St. Francis.  He was one of the pieces of yard art that our daughter Roxanne gave a good painting to while she visited last week.

The sun really takes it toll on these things and it was nice to have Roxanne get everything spiffed back up.  This is also proof that if you visit us, Eva will put you to work.

Eva's garden has produced some broccoli that we ate, some peppers that we turned into pico de gallo, a bell pepper that we used in some yellow rice, and a whole bunch of tomatoes.  The problem is, the tomatoes refuse to turn red.  We picked a really huge one and have it sitting in the front window, but so far, still green.  We never have tried fried green tomatoes (though I enjoyed the movie), so maybe we will give that a shot if it doesn't turn. 

On Saturday morning we went to the little flea market in Devine to stop in and see a lady who sells plants.  As we were leaving, Eva spotted this old platform rocker and just had to have it.  Why?  Who knows?

She is going to reupholster it once she finds a pattern she likes and we are contemplating refinishing the wood too. Of course, we also need to figure out where the heck to put it.  We have a spare room (our old office) that is filled with furniture.  I suspect the people from Hoarders might have us on their radar.

I don't recall if I mentioned this or not, but somebody puked in the parking lot at HEB.  Either that or they emptied a bowl of oatmeal.  I didn't bother to do a taste test.

Finally, to wrap things up (as if oatmeal/puke wasn't a solid finale), we went to the county office in Devine and did our civic duty of early voting.  While there, we got a glimpse of the Medina County courthouse for this part of the county.  Eva just thought it was the cutest little thing, like something you would see on a TV show about a small town.   Yes, proof that our cameras are always with us (as if oatmeal/puke wasn't a solid reminder).