Teri has her own To-Drink!!

So just what is a to-drink? All of the girls know, of course, and Grammy Nor. Maybe even a few of the grandkids are old enough to know/remember.

Eons ago people used insulated thermoses to carry their drink of choice in their lunch boxes. But there was no bottled water available, or cup holders in vehicles, nothing to make keeping one's drink conveniently available. So Grampy Vic found something that worked for him. Yes, he still had coffee or tea in his thermos. But for something that could be used in the car, or when he was working outside around the house, he looked around and came up with ...a Karo syrup bottle. They still look sort of the same today, except they are plastic. Back in those days, Karo syrup in the quart size had a wide botton and narrow neck, and was made of glass.

Grampy started putting his coffee or tea in a Karo bottle. (Actually someone else usually prepared it for him, but I'm fairly certain he came up with the idea.) The wide part of the bottle held almost a quart, and the 'neck' was the right size to hold in his hand, and he could drink from the bottle without spilling. The long neck also kept liquid from splashing out while he was driving. It could just be parked between his knees while he was driving, or put nearby if he was working outside.

I don't know how long he'd been using this type of drinking vessel, certainly before I was born. I believe it was Nancy, who gave it the name 'To-drink'. Nancy was about 4 or so, and Grammy Nor was fixing Grampy's bottle of ...whatever it was...and little Nancy asked what it was. Grammy said..."It's Daddy's, to drink." Being as young as she was, Nancy thought that was what the container was called, so from then on, it was Daddy's to-drink. We all grew up with that new word.

Recently I was grocery shopping. I'd either been running errands for awhile or stopped to shop on my way home from working. I had no water bottle in the car, and was feeling really thirsty. So I found the bottled tea section and found a 42 oz. bottle of lemon iced tea. Here's the really exciting part - it's shaped kinda like a Karo bottle! Wide base, narrow neck, holds enough water to keep me hydrated. I have my own to-drink!

Washington Idaho Nevada California Oregon - and Utah?

I was “talking” with my nieces Jen and Aubrie, and anyone else who wanted to join in but hadn’t yet, on facebook about the new supermarket in town, WINCO. As I responded to them, I decided it would make an OK Family (and Friends, don’t forget) Blog Post. Hence, what you are reading here.

For those of you who don’t know this store, the letters in the name apparently stand for Washington Idaho Nevada California Oregon. I have visited this store in both Oregon, where my strikingly handsome son Nate Slocombe lives, and in the central San Joaquin valley of California, where my stunningly beautiful daughter Megan Goodwin lives. The store is rather large, with a small cosmetic and household items section, but wonderful produce, meats, dairy, baked goods, general foodstuffs, and coffee sections. Also, good household papergoods (facial tissue, bathroom tissue, paper towels, etc.) and cleaning products sections. And it has a really great bulk section, better than others I have seen in this state.

So, I was very excited for WINCO to come to Utah. I know, it seems weird to be so excited over a silly supermarket. But really – I was excited. I was wondering where they would put the ‘U’ though. They could put it in the middle – make it ‘WINUCO’. Sounds good, huh? But alas, looks like they have no plans to change the name. But I love WINCO! All WINCOs are laid out the same (those that I’ve been to). I love their amazing prices, and I love their bulk section. I bought 4 bay leaves – for the Irish dinner I made for St Patrick’s Day (for more information see previous posts) - and it didn’t even register on the scale, so I think they charged me like 20 cents. I mean, I haven’t used bay leaf for years (since I almost never cook except for Mexican – not much need for bay leaf in Mexican) so buying a whole can of bay leaves seemed stupid. Again – I love WINCO. The first day I shopped there I called Megan from the store, all excited. I said, “This is amazing – it’s just like a WINCO!” Megan is like – “Yeah. Uh, Mom, I would expect that.” She is very patient and tolerent with me.

My mother, Elinor Mecham (Grandma or Grandma Nor to many of you) has expressed interest in visiting this store, which is only a couple of miles from my house but about 15 miles from her house, so there had to be a good reason for the trip. Well, we finally just decided it would be a fun way to spend some time together, so last Wednesday we decided it would be a good day to do that. Two of my nine sisters, Leslie and Roni, also came along. They arrived at my place about 2:15 pm and I hopped in Leslie’s van and away we went. It’s a good thing Leslie knows my neighborhood because I kept forgetting to tell her where to turn or go forward. She was also very patient with me.

In the store we decided to only use two carts – a caravan of four slow-moving carts is no joy to run across if you aren’t part of the caravan. And at 93, my mother does need to move more slowly than some younger persons. Shopping with her has been great for my Life Lessons in Patience. I usually rush around a store and grab what I need and get the heck outta Dodge. We explored the store and it did take almost two hours. My mother was already tired and this made her more tired, I could see it on her face, although she didn’t complain. It made me tired, too – a lot from poking along slowly. I have never, ever – ever since I was a very small child – ever liked shopping with a bunch of other people as a social activity. I always wanted to lie on the floor and nap while everyone else oohhed and ahhed over their discoveries. So when I got home from the WINCO trip I wanted sorely to take a nap. I didn’t, but it was tempting. But I was glad I finally did this with my mother, and glad to have my sisters for the added comraderie. Not a bad way to spend my day.

Love you all.

Victoria J Mecham

Please Note: This Blog Is Not Called 'Victoria's Blog!'

I’m getting sick of seeing just my stuff, my name, and my picture up here. Sure, my ego likes being out there. But it seems like it’s Victoria’s Blog these days. I also know that there are a whole lot of other people out there who are interesting, more interesting than I, who have wonderful, amazing, and brilliant things to share. I’m goin’ huntin’ for something new!

Maybe I’m comin’ after you!

Love you all.
Victoria J Mecham