Hard times

It’s been my observation that chiropractors are the most venal of healthcare professionals—they always have something to sell you, from supplements to pillows—to add on to their adjustment services.

However, I’ve noticed that the dentist who took over the practice from the man I saw for thirty years after he retired seems to have kicked up the heat on “extras” that start adding up.

And—this is a first—when I was in the new ophthalmologist’s office a couple of weeks ago, they had these posters all over the place:

(I did not take them up on it.) 

©2026 Bas Bleu

 

Still available

Even though Costco moved on from Halloween yard décor right quick to Christmas, I noticed that they added to the former (now moved from close to the entrance (now Christmas-land) to over by the chiller cases) with a motion-activated monster.

My question—my eternal question for these things, whatever the holiday—is: where do people store this stuff? 

 

©2026 Bas Bleu

 

The road rushing under my wheels

Considering the state of fossil fuels this past week, courtesy of the War to Entertain the Narcissistic Kleptocrat that’s been over-in-two-weeks since it started in February (and now predicted by his sphincter to be ending “after the elections”), I’ve been thinking about a song from my college years.

There was a video on the socials of a trucker not filling the tank of his semi with diesel, but stopping the flow when the total hit $1000. “That’s a first for me,” he commented.

(I topped up the tank of my Saab at Costco yesterday. For the first time not-in-California, regular was $4.10/gallon. I paid $42 for half a tank.)

So here’s Jackson Browne singing the newly apt “Running on Empty”.

 

©2026 Bas Bleu

 

Coffee break

A couple of weeks ago I was helping a local food pantry by sorting through donations—checking for expiration dates, package damage, etc. I’m not entirely sure where the donations came from, but it was a wild variety of canned goods, staples, snacks and outright junk food. (We don’t, apparently judge.)

WRT expiration dates, if they were prior to the next distribution (which was last Thursday), they were shelved. If on the cusp or slightly beyond (depending on the type of food), they were passed on to the local shelter for our unhoused neighbors. If beyond the beyond, they were tossed.

(The most out-of-date was something with an expiration year of 2014.)

The most interesting thing that passed through my hands was this packet of instant hazelnut mocha latte. Interesting because it’s apparently infused with collagen and protein, and that kind of scares me.

It was out-of-date, so I binned it.

 

 

©2026 Bas Bleu

 

 

Sigh

Okay, well—if Costco is going to put up its Halloween décor at the beginning of August, I suppose it makes sense for them to roll out the Christmas stuff before we’ve even hit the Ides of September.

It’s really quite terrifying, because I know there’ll be more every time I make a butter and bread flour run.

 

©2026 Bas Bleu

 

 

Creeping up

Well, Wegmans is anticipating the season.

I mean, kinda? They’re chimineas, but they look distinctly Halloweeny.

(And it's interesting that you can get whoever set up the display arranged the lids symmetrically.)

Still, they’re not a patch on Costco, which has had Halloween yard décor out for three weeks.

 

 

©2026 Bas Bleu

Picking peppers

I went to the local farmers market last Saturday specifically to buy a tomato that was somewhat in the environs of being ripe so I could make tomato-basil mayonnaise. While I was there, I came across this pepper:

I’ve never seen anything like it, so I bought it.

Here’s what it looks like in the interior:

The taste was muted and it didn’t have the crisp “snap” of a green bell pepper, so I’ll probably not buy it again (unless I’m doing something that requires a variety of colors). But it was worth a shot.

 

 

©2026 Bas Bleu

 

 

Not aroma therapy

Some months ago—don’t know when, precisely, but apparently it was pre-Christmas (as will become clear)—I saw a four-pack of Meyer hand soap on sale at Costco. I like their product, although I’d only ever had the lemon-scented stuff, so—without really looking at the package—I popped it in my cart.

When, some time in April or May, I pulled one of the bottles out and started using it in my kitchen, it smelled to me like celery. I thought celery was an odd take on hand soap, and when I actually looked at the label, it said it was pine.

Well, I’m here to tell you that only by stretching my imagination to its outer limits could I connect that scent to pine. It actually smelled manufactured and chemical and it was weird the entire life of its contents.

Then this week, it finally ran out, so I went to the package. The remaining choices were “Gingerbread”, “Peppermint” and “Snowdrop”. Obviously some kind of holiday promotion, and I don't know what I was thinking when I bought it.

With some trepidation, I pulled out the gingerbread.

I cannot describe to you how nasty this is, and how awful it smells on your hands. Because I use it in the kitchen, it stays on my hands while I’m prepping meals and still befouls them when I sit down to eat. I’ve taken to finishing off a hand wash with a swipe of dish washing liquid.

I may end up sending this wholesale down the drain and hope that it doesn’t form some kind of clog.

And I’m really afraid of the “Snowdrop”.

 

 

©2026 Bas Bleu

 

 

Coming up short

An interesting thing occurred while I was making peach ice cream. The recipe called for 2.5 cups of heavy cream. So I emptied a full pint carton of cream into my liquid two-cup measuring cup.

All my life I’ve understood that two cups equals a pint, so I expected the cream to come to the top measure of the container. It did not.

Interestingly, it didn’t even come to the milliliters stated on the carton (473). I reckon it measured less than 450ml.

Wegmans—you got some ‘splaining to do.

  

©2026 Bas Bleu

 

Boooo

Okay, for the record, as of 3 August, the Fairfax Costco already has its Halloween yard décor merch out in the aisles.

Christmas: I’ve got my eyes on you.

  

©2026 Bas Bleu

 

One for the books

I had occasion to desire a geographical dictionary for reasons. And I wanted an older one, pre-90s, because I like chancing on the names that existed during the 70 years of the USSR, but changed back to the tsarist times.

So I went to ABE books, which I’ve patronized for 25 years at least. Found one at a place called Gulf Coast books, in Texas, and ordered it.

But I was really annoyed to find that someone put one on of those inventory stickers that doesn’t peel off easily or cleanly. On a book. And that there was a price tag of $3.00 for it.

Gulf Coast listed the book on ABE at $5.22.

You’d think they’d at least have removed that sucker before shipping the book.

 

 

©2026 Bas Bleu

 

Suck it up

As you can see, there’s been a changing of the guard for vacuum cleaning chez moi. 

My Kenmore cannister vac, which I bought about 25 years ago when the previous, 30-year-old Kenmore vac died, finally gave up the ghost.

I took it to the local vacuum repair and sales shop, where the proprietor told me that while it was manufactured in the US, its heirs are made in China, as are all parts. He said that replacing the motor wouldn’t be a good investment. I went home to do some research.

Turns out a whole lot of vacuum cleaners are manufactured in China, with somewhat middling reviews. The best ones come from Germany, but they are also pricey.

Well, after mulling it over, I bit the bullet and bought the SEBO from the local guy. With an extra box of bags, it was over $1000.

It’s smaller than the old one, and lighter. But it better outlast me.

 

 

©2026 Bas Bleu

 

Family issues

I have to say that I don’t normally pay any attention to the notifications I get from Paris Baguette. I just scan the app to accumulate points whenever I go in for a latte and then redeem the points when they are enough to get something free.

But this one kind of surprised me a couple of weeks ago:

Yes, I suppose that some percentage of people might not be celebrating Father’s Day, for any number of reasons. So, okay.

But I don’t recall a similar notification for Mother’s Day last month, when I’d imagine there are at least as many people who ditto.

Maybe I just didn’t notice it.

 

©2026 Bas Bleu

 

Milk money

Back in the Before Times, it didn’t matter where I bought milk for my lattes; it was $1.99 per half gallon. So I bought it wherever I happened to be shopping when I ran low—mostly either Trader Joe or Wegmans.

Then, maybe two years ago, I noticed that Wegmans had raised the price to $2.69—okay, but TJ was $2.49. Why was that, I wondered. I checked Giant (a regional biggie); they were charging $2.79. What the hell? The milk basically comes from the same cows.

So I limited my milk purchases to TJ. Annoying because it meant in some weeks going to multiple stores to complete my grocery shopping, but I found this discrepancy annoying.

Then, in the past couple of months, I went to a Lidl for the first time. Just for ducks, I checked their milk price: $1.63. This made me feel like the other concerns—especially Giant—were just taking the piss. (It may be a loss leader for Lidl, but more than a dollar delta between them and the next cheapest price seems pretty bold.)

What with tariffs and war in Iran, this past week, they raised their price to $1.67.

Here’s Trader Joe:

And Wegmans:

But looky here at Giant:

I mean—Whiskey Tango Foxtrot?

 

 

©2026 Bas Bleu

 

 

The importance of use case scenarios

I was in Paris Baguette the other day, waiting for my latte (I don’t know what it is, but their lattes are infinitely better than the ones I make; their milk must be from exceptionally happy cows), when I noticed that I was next to the shop’s thermostat.

Which was encased in a locked plastic box:

I’m thinking that it was an unfortunate and thoughtless placement of a device that controls the space’s temperature; ergo the after-market security feature.

I wonder how long it took after opening to encase it? 

 

©2026 Bas Bleu

 

Working hard

There were three or four of these crates left out for trash pickup on Monday. I thought the slogan was…interesting.

So I found their website. Um.

This is their holiday offering.

©2025 Bas Bleu

 

Boiling water

When my neighbor moved out of his house in June, it was kind of a mad scramble at the end. I’d open my door in the morning and find bags or boxes of things he was jettisoning—foodstuffs, linens, even small appliances.

Yes—one morning there was a box with a toaster and an electric kettle. Well—I have a toaster oven, but I thought I might quite like the kettle. Boy, was I right. That sucker was a game changer—heats water for tea like a champ and then shuts off.

Until a couple of weeks ago when it didn’t any more. Whenever it was on the plate, it was heating. Once I didn’t hear it when it boiled and by the time I got to the kitchen, I had to use a hot pad to take it off.

So, I had a decision—do I buy a new kettle or go back to using the whistling one on the stove? Or continue to use it in its current condition?

Eventually I opted for replacing it, but with a kettle that will heat to different temperatures—for green tea, French press coffee and black tea, amongst other settings. (I make a quart of iced tea about every other day, and starting in October every year I make a pot of hot tea almost daily.) It cost a few bob (although on sale), but once again, my life is changed.

I do have to remember to poke the setting for green tea instead of just “boil”, which will take some training. (Also—I'm not quite sure of the point of "keep warm".) But it is da bomb.

 

 

©2025 Bas Bleu

 

In your cup

My morning walk Monday took me past this recycling bin and I was struck by the Folgers container.

I was unaware that it was still in business.

Back in the last century, Folgers had quite the market share in the States, along with Maxwell House. Since that was also the era of pre-cable TV (much less internet streaming), their commercials were all over the airwaves. People made Folgers coffee in percolators, on their stoves. Yuban was considered upmarket.

(And I only knew this from the TV ads because my parents drank instant coffee and my mom bought whatever was on sale. Sadly, I can still recall the jingles for them.)

It wasn’t until I worked for the Army and was introduced to coffee made by grizzled staff sergeants (guys who didn’t judge java as brewed unless you could stand a spoon straight up in it) in industrial-sized urns that I came to appreciate the concoction. I started out with Mr. Coffee makers, dabbled in cone filters for single servings and then moved on to dual pot-plus-espresso machines.

My current setup is an espresso machine, a burr grinder and a couple of French presses for when I’m not drinking Italiano. I buy whole beans from Costco and they last me a good long while, because I’m happy with one cup per day. (I did stock up early this year in anticipation of the Kleptocrat's whack-job tariffs.)

I haven’t been down a beverages aisle in a supermarket since 2020 when Wegmans took out their bulk tea option, so I have no idea what’s on the shelves. But evidently Folgers is still on them.

 

 

©2025 Bas Bleu

 

 

Twinkling on

Even as Lowe’s is ready to sell you seasonal yard monsters, do not be concerned that they’re going to short change the Christmas opportunity. Because right next to their Halloween display, they have these:

(For some reason, the twinkling Nativity just gets me.)

©2025 Bas Bleu

 

Spookee!

After my recent Costco run, where I discovered Christmas décor had pushed out Halloween stuff (in September), I made a trip on Monday to Lowe’s, because I knew they’d be doing it right.

They did not let me down.

And of course I pushed all the Try Me buttons. All the buttons.

 

©2025 Bas Bleu