It's a berry nice day, cold, but nice.

Someone asked about the train. The first picture is looking into a sleeper compartment. It's a tad larger than it looks, but not much. The seats that you can see slide down and meet, making a pretty comfortable bed base. When the upper bed is lowered a mattress with linen is already made and ready to put on the top of the lower base. The attendant will do this for you. Once that mattress is off, the upper is ready, with a pre made mattress and linen. Sorry, I don't have a picture of the larger sleeper.

The second picture is the passageway between compartments.

I know how much everyone likes the "Safeway Tales" and I have a new one. I need to say that whenever we have a pricing problem it's always taken care of. 

Safeway, as you may or may not know, has several price options. Most of the items have a price tag showing what the price was and what it now is. This is the stores way of letting shoppers think we are getting a good deal. I never look at the was price because I don't care. I only look at the is price because that's what I'm going to pay. If it was up to me I would have them take all of the was tags down, now.

The store also has what's called "Just 4 U" this is not text speak it's a Safeway trademark. I hope I'm not violating copyright laws using it. I've written about this before. Each week the store lists products we've purchased in the past or items new to us that someone thinks we may like. Wanda adds items, on line, to our personnel list and we get special sale prices.

The store also has a weekly flyer which runs from Wednesday to Tuesday. All the featured items on the flyer have special prices. Sometimes the "Just 4 U" prices are less than the special flyer prices, but not always. The flyer also has some items that are on sale Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. There are also things on sale Friday only, or Saturday only, or Sunday only. I haven't run across anything that's on sale two of the three days, yet.

I had to pick up a prescription at the Safeway pharmacy this morning and we needed a few things. I made a list and took off.

Last Friday Wanda and I did some shopping and needed apples, we usually buy Fuji's. "Developed in Japan, but an all-American cross of Red Delicious and Ralls Janet. A very attractive modern apple, crisp, sweet-flavoured, and keeps well." Sounds great but at $1.99 a pound I thought I could live with a different variety. The produce clerk suggested Jazz apples at .99 cents a pound. "Proof that supermarket apples are no longer bland and boring, Jazz has crisp flesh with a superb rich peardrop flavor."

I'm getting these descriptions from an on line directory of apples. I have no idea what a SUPERMARKET apple is? I love this one for Jester apples, "An attractive unpretentious apple, crisp and refreshing, nice flavour but rather bland."

There are lots of apple types, the store has about a dozen. This morning I couldn't remember when the sale ended for Jazz at .99 cents. By the way, I thought the Jazz were delicious. Not delicious like the Delicious apple "One of the most famous and important American apple varieties. The original Delicious has a flavor that many find superior to the numerous sports such as Red Delicious that have been developed from it." Wow, I never knew there was a Delicious and also a Red Delicious. Whatever, the Jazz were very good.

I walked around, and around, and around the display of apples. Fuji, Red Delicious, Granny Smith and several more. Every variety on display had a price except, of course, the one I wanted, the Jazz. After looking and looking and looking again I went to hunt down a produce person. I found flower people, cashiers, stock people, even a Starbucks person but no produce people. I finally decided I would pay what I paid. I picked out some Jazz and on to the berries.

Is it me? Do they think we're stupid? Are they stupid? Does anyone even care? I had blueberries on my list. Today was the last day of the $3.99 for 18 oz. sale. Blueberries are full of antioxidants and they taste great on or in pancakes. Blackberries were on sale as well. On display, one next to the other, 18 oz. pack for $5.99 or a 6 oz. pack, 2 for $3.00. Come On Man! Shopping should not require advanced math. So, you can pay $5.99 for the 18 oz. pack OR $6.00 for 4 6 oz. packs. Let me think.......18 ounces $5.99.....24 ounces $6.00 ?????

I had my blue and black berries and my bananas. I had my apples and yogurt. I walked by the display of cherries, $1.99 a pound. I know it's late or early in the season and these probably came from an island in the Aegean Sea but I wanted some. Last Friday we picked up a bag and they were pretty good. I got a small bag then picked up milk and went to the check out line and, checked out.

Safeway has a Starbucks and there was no one in line. I had an empty cup with me so I wheeled the cart to the counter and ordered a drink. My cup is a Grande' and that's what I ordered but before I could get the "non fat latte" out the Batista said, "Don't you want a Venti? That's what your wife orders. Isn't this for her?" Like Rodney Dangerfield said, "I get no respect."

While I was waiting for my latte' I scanned the grocery receipt. Everything looked OK until I got to Sweet Red Cherries 1.12 lb @ $4.99/ lb = $5.99.

I got my drink and went back to check out person Miriam. The sale on the cherries was over Sunday. When I got mine the sale sign was up. Between the time I picked them up and got to the checkout stand someone alerted them to it and they removed the sign. Mariam gave me a $4.49 refund. I don't think she had to do that and I appreciated the gesture. Truth be told, at 5 bucks a pound I wouldn't have bought the things.

The same thing happened to us at another local store. We picked up some things on sale but before we got to the check out stand the price went up."Sorry there is nothing I can do. You would pay the lower price if it went down." Thanks for nothing, JERK.

Wanda and I both like shopping at Safeway. It's nice to get some personnel service, it keeps us coming back. We had a problem and they took care of it.

Unless something as exciting as this comes up tomorrow I'll be back in Los Angeles, again.

This is the link that will give you enough apple information to last a lifetime.