Thanksgiving pickup at Fred's...

This will be a short blog.  I am getting ready for Thanksgiving at my house next week.  Rob and Kate will be joining me and we will be doing the turkey, dressing, mashed potatoes, veggie, cranberry sauce, two kinds of pie with a blue cheese ball to snack on before and/or after.

I had, somewhere towards the middle of this year, actually ventured into the grocery stores to do my own shopping.  I would go into Fred Meyer (a part of the Kroger family) or Safeway or Costco to wander the aisles.  I reveled in being able to select the exact can or apple or package of chicken rather than wondering what might be in the bags when I either picked them up or had them delivered.  Fred Meyer offers both.  It is free for pickup over $35 ordered and that is an easy mark to hit when buying groceries here in Fairbanks.  They charge $9.95 to deliver the food to my door, or in my case my garage.  It is easier for me to have things put in my garage where I can sort the things that go up to the kitchen or stay on my living level on the ground floor.

I usually just pick them up.  It is less expensive, I am about 10 to 15 minutes from the store and it normally takes less than 2 minutes in my car until the groceries are loaded and I am back at home, so around 30 minutes total and I would have spent longer than that wandering around the store to pick up everything.

I have been slowly but surely been buying a little extra here and there until I pretty much have what I need on hand so my purchasing list can only be the things that are fresh, main items.  My Thanksgiving list was shortish.  Turkey, bread for dressing, potatoes for being mashed, blue cheese for the cheese ball, and a variety of fresh veggies to be used in the dishes planned.

I put the order in last Sunday evening and set it up for pick up on Wednesday afternoon.  Wednesday morning I had a very short list of two items that they did not have with alternatives, should I want them.  I accepted them and a little after 11:15 AM, I headed off to the Fred Meyer on Airport Way.  

The pickup area is behind the grocery store off University Avenue.  Because there is a bridge closed on University Avenue on the way I used to travel, I have to come in from a different direction.  The roads here are still a tad slippery following the 14-inch snowstorm followed by some freezing rain and another minor snowfall.  So I take my time, arriving at Freds around 11:30 AM.

I am assuming that most stores work in a similar way, but I will detail it anyway, just in case there are subtle differences.  If not, then you will know that we are very civilized here in the interior of Alaska.

Fred Meyer has a phone app.  I get a text message when my order is ready.  The link in the text takes me to a page in the app where I can click to let them know that I am 15 minutes away and on the road.  I can do that from the driveway of my house and it works out fine.

You can see that my time slot is from 11am to 12 pm for pickup.  You not only select the day but your preferred time slot.  Once notified the "I'm Here" button activates.

I pulled into, as you can see, slot number 2, hit the "I'm Here" button, and prepared for my delivery after the app told me that they know I was here and was now properly checked in.  Today there were already about 7 cars waiting for delivery.

I reached down beside me in the car, pulled out a mask (I usually carry several that I have made and one disposable mask plus hand sanitizer), and put it on.  When it is not holiday prep time, there are usually only one or two cars ahead of me and my stuff is generally out the door within a couple of minutes of arriving... sometimes even before I have totally secured my mask.  But that was not today.

I waited patiently as one by one the other cars had their groceries delivered.  As each one left, another pulled in.  I was thinking that ordering my stuff this week instead of waiting until next week was a good idea.

But soon, all of the cars that arrived before me had gone and groceries were going to cars that had arrived after me.  I still waited patiently.  After a few more care were served, I called the number on the wall.

My phone call was answered by what sounded like a very frazzled young woman.  I explained my issue and she apologized, indicating my order would be out in about 5 minutes.  I waited 10 minutes before I called again.  Another apology and the promise that my paperwork was printing out.  

This is my view from my car when slot 1 is open.  I have no idea where the steps go, but they are not used as the amount of snow still on them shows.  The groceries come out under the covered area and down the ramp.

This is a closeup of the ramp and the covered area.  It is such a nice sight to see the folks in their safety vests coming down the ramp with your order.

Sure enough, my groceries arrived at the car, along with another apology.  As long as I got the right order and everything on my list, I was fine.  It is bound to get a bit crazy over the holidays in this already bizarre year.

This is what my cargo area looked like in the garage when I got home.  I was able to put my very odd-looking turkey (it is not the short, fat butterball but rather long and skinny) directly into the freezer, along with the frozen whipped topping.  My freezer is right near the front of the garage, therefore close to the back of my car.  The perfect space.

The rest of the bags made their way to my steps upstairs.  I had to take the time to let Miles out and then reward him for being such a good boy while I was gone.  This is how I do all of my groceries.  Sometimes they sit here for several minutes before going to the kitchen.

So, I am set for our celebration.  I am grateful that Rob and Kate feel confident enough to spend time here.  But they know how careful I am and I know how careful they are to not have any contacts that we do not need.  I would hate to be spending Thanksgiving alone.  I know, however, that many people are doing just that.

We just found out that good friends of Rob and Kate's have just tested positive for COVID.  They also thought they were being careful while trying to be as normal as one can be in their world.  They think it may have been from the ballet practice that their teenaged daughter was attending.  So now, their college-age daughter is unable to come home for the holidays.

But I am ready for a lovely time with Rob and Kate.  Now, if only Brian were able to join us...