Hydrocolloid Bandages

Even using a nice pair of leather gloves, I wore off a few layers of skin on the palm of my right hand, and it hurt just to touch it.  I knew a regular Band-Aid would not stay on, so I went to AI to find a solution.  I had never heard of the hydrocolloid bandages, but from its description, I thought I'd try it.  I found the bandages you see below at our local Meijer, a box of six for less than $3.  You can see the bandage on my hand, and it stayed put for a couple of days, and I only replaced it because nine holes of golf wore the edges down.  I was amazed that I could grip and swing a golf club, which would have been too painful without this bandage.  You can read more about them at the link below.

https://www.healthline.com/health/what-is-in-hydrocolloid-bandages

 

Three Different Prices

We decided to replace the headboard on our bed and headed to Morris Furniture, where we bought our dresser, chest of drawers, and nightstands.  Working with the salesman to get the right price was a real head-scratcher.  Using the exact same ashleyfurniture.com link to the headboard you see below, we came up with three different prices.  I had $499 on my phone, Elaine had $549 on her phone, and the salesman had $599 on his computer.  How could the same link get us this result?

It took a good 10-15 minutes of puzzled looks before the sales manager saw she had the wrong zip code on her computer.  Same on my phone.  When we all changed it to 45429, we all got the same $549 price.  Wish it would have been $499; $549 is still way better than the $1,299 non-sale price, which we would have never paid.

https://www.ashleyfurniture.com

Philly Philly!

We did not expect to find a great pizza at the Gatlinburg Brewing Company, but the "Philly Philly!" you see below blew us away.  It's the perfect size, at ten inches, for the two of us to share, and it costs only $14.99.  It's a combination of white American cheese sauce, shredded steak, green peppers, red onions, and mushrooms, and it truly tasted like a Philly cheesesteak sandwich. 

Their pizza oven was nothing like we've seen before, featuring a brick turntable that rotated, with a large gas flame at the back.  I presume that design allows pizzas to be added or removed from the front and eliminates a lot of moving things around to get things cooked properly.  Pretty cool.

And the beer was tasty too.

https://gatlinburgbrewing.com

Where's The Candy

Our local Meijer grocery store recently went through a makeover, changing the location of certain products.  We absolutely hate it when they do that, but we adapt after a few bouts of cursing.  The change that upsets me most is trying to find the candy aisle.  I'm not a big sweets eater, but I do like having some Hershey Kisses in a bowl in our living room.  Twice now, I've wandered up and down multiple aisles trying to find their large candy selection because "candy" does not appear on the large aisle signs, like the one below.  Aisle 9 is where the candy is, and why "granola" is listed instead of "candy" must be some dodo bird's idea of being health-conscious by reducing an impulse buy or two, or maybe helping people get in a few more steps.  

https://www.meijer.com

Wigglebutts Spa

While heading to a golf course in Tennessee, I noticed a roadside ad for "Wigglebutts Spa."  I thought the name was very strange and wondered what kind of clientele they drew.  A short search revealed it was a spa for dogs and cats.  They offer services like "Face, Feet & Fannie", "Quick Wash Only", and "Full Spa Treatment".  You can find some really cute pictures at the link below.

https://www.wigglebuttsspa.com/fun-photos

Wamsutta Sheets

We fought for years with fitted bedsheets that would not stay on.  Part of that was having a pillowtop mattress, and part was that we couldn't find deep enough pockets.  Gourmet Chef Elaine solved the problem when she found the Wamsutta sheets you see below.  The pockets on these sheets are 16 inches deep, more than enough to fold under our mattress and stay put.  A much-appreciated tag that says "TOP or BOTTOM" allows us to put the sheet on properly, as the king-sized mattress is almost as wide as it is high (~76"x78").  

She ordered the following at the Wamsutta link below.

• Essentials "Original" Percale Sheet Set - $200
• Essentials "Original" Percale Pillowcase Set - $40

https://wamsutta.com

Lodge Factory Store

We visited a Lodge Factory Store in Sevierville, Tennessee, and we went in just to look around and see if there was anything interesting.  Indeed, there was, and we left with the collection of items you see below, plus a pair of plastic cast-iron scraping tools I forgot to include.  We didn't need the grill pan, but it was on sale for $19.99, so we couldn't pass it up.  The cast-iron melting pot will be used for melting butter, and the red sleigh will be filled with candy at Christmas.  Impulse buying at its best!

https://www.lodgecastiron.com

Cheesesteak Perfection

Gourmet Chef Elaine made up the over-the-top delicious cheesesteak you see below.  She started with Trader Joe's shaved beef cooked on a griddle and topped it with slices of provolone cheese.  In a pan, she cooked pre-sliced mushrooms, thinly sliced green peppers, and onions.  This all went on a Trader Joe's baguette, to which I added some Duke's mayo.  It was huge, but I couldn't stop eating it until it was all gone.  Philadelphia has nothing on her!

Caramel Apple Martini

On the Walnut Grove Country Club fall drink menu was the Caramel Apple Martini you see below.  It's made with caramel vodka, apple vodka, and Apple Pucker, with a caramel rim.  A caramel sucker is used as a stirrer.  There are a variety of different recipes for a Caramel Apple Martini that you can find using the search link below.

https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Caramel+Apple+Martini+recipe

Cleaning Wiper Blades

On our trip back from Tennessee, the first few hours were in the rain, and the windshield wipers were very noisy as they did not slide well.  That noise was so annoying that when we got home, I asked AI what caused it and what I could do about it, short of buying new blades.  The surprising answer was to clean the blades with isopropyl alcohol.  That did the trick, so I also cleaned the blades on our other car, which you can see in the picture below.  With all that black gunk removed, the blades are like new.