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Maddie and I usually work through the Optimum portal when preparing the list each week. We can see the flyers, the offers and by clicking on "more info" you flow through to the Zehr's site with search parameter already queued up. Zehr's has been quietly making little improvement to their home screen. Here's four things you may not have picked up on ...
1) If you have a PC Mastercard linked to your Optimum card, consider upgrading to Insiders? Annual cost is $120 and you get 40 points per dollar at Zehr's and 50 points per dollar at Shoppers. That's an easy one for us. It includes the Express Pass (see 2) but pays for itself in extra point quickly.
2) If you don't want to put out the $120, right now, you can now sign up for the $99 PC Express Pass and get 75,000 points back. See the fine print across the very top of your screen. So for $24, you get mostly free pickup and mostly $3 delivery. I use digital shopping for sales, bulk items, and continuity offers. Save money and impulse buys for only $2/month.
3) Your points total and PC Optimum link are now on the top right. Just below that, under My Account, you can go to the dropdown, click on Orders and print any receipt you might need for a return.
4) Below the search bar in the dropdown is a tab call My Shop. It magically knows all about you, just like Amazon. It shows a curated list of your favorite shopping items, easily accessible for express orders or shopping lists. Pretty slick.
My Optimum Week
I seldom go to FreshCo even though it's only three klicks from our front door. I have my Zehr's, a Food Basics and Shoppers all within walking distance. I was up at my used book store and needed carrots for cole slaw so, in I went. Carrots were "born in the U.S.A." as Springstein would say. Alright, I'll use red cabbage ... same thing. Iceberg lettuce is on sale, U.S. OK, flat cabbage. U.S. Celery. U.S. The entire produce department?? Forget that, I will just pick up a loaf of that Portuguese bakery round loaf that SWMBO loves. Thank goodness there was one left! It had been there for a while and was rock hard. So, out I go.
We only spent $110 this week and picked up about 29K in points. The new Zehr's flyer is really pretty unassuming. It had some excellent top line deals on three or four items. Big points on a shrimp ring, $8 prime rib, $10 fresh haddock & $6 Balderson cheese. I can probably spend a hundred right there, but they also have a deal on cooked lobster, so that's going to cost another $25. SWMBO's favourite. Same with the offers. I guess last week was the expected blowout. Here is what I would recommend: Hit the big topline deals, take the easy points. Do a little stocking up for entertaining and BBQ season. Don't forget to take the ribs off the bone, freeze separately and cut the remaining roast into steaks. Here is your list ...
The Second Best Rice You Can Make At Home
I was out for wings the other day and they arrived barely warm to the touch. Usually, I'm a dick when I don't like the service, but Nicki is usually perfect, and the place was rocking. I suggested she not worry. I would heat and eat later, which brings us to rice. Any chance I get to take three or four suicide chicken wings home results in my favourite way to make it. First, forget measuring out the water when making rice. Rinse the rice first, then boil it in a big pot of water like pasta. Drain when fully cooked. It lowers the starch count and is foolproof. For brown rice, that's about twice as long as it says on the package, otherwise you get that chewy crap. Butter and oil in your frypan with minced garlic, finely chopped ginger, chopped onion and your chicken taken off the bone and cut into medium chucks. Fry until the onions until they just start to brown, then add your rice back in. Cook on medium low for 15 minutes to steam off some of the liquid. Make a hole and drop a beaten egg in the centre. After it sets, chop and combine. Add a vegetable of your choice, salt, and pepper to taste. Hints of spice in its orange-saffron tone!
Now, if you do not want to make the 2nd best rice, you can make at home, throw that brown rice down the toilet. Use real rice. I have to eat that chewy garbage to control my blood sugar. You do not.
What I'm Reading
Michael Connelly
We Are Watching
The Last Full Measure - Powerhouse cast in a feel good drama. They tasked an ambitious, rising political operative with investigating why a Vietnam medic never received the Medal of Honor. Uplifting! ****
G20 on Netflix - Homelander (Anthony Starr) is the deranged terrorist who kidnaps world leaders to make billions in crypto. Far-fetched, but they spent some money for the WOW factor. Make popcorn, suspend disbelief, take it for what it is. ***
The Order on Amazon Prime - Well it's not Gene Hackman in Mississippi Burning but a close approximation. Jude Law is pretty great as a burnt out FBI agent pursuing a violent branch of white supremacists. It's worth your time and based on a true story. ****
Bill Burr (Drop Dead Years) - His new special. Not his funniest stuff as he has become somewhat more retrospective, but worth a watch. ***
Back in Action on Netflix: Retired superspies Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx raise their two pre-teen children in the suburbs. Really predictable , terrible script and unbelievable stunts. No, I mean it. Unbelievable. True Lies with big Arnie is the standard for this type of movie. Go back and watch that. **
IBAT
So, I bought a thing. As a parent, you always hope that some purchase for your children will trigger an interest that provides years of stimulation. I was probably 12, and there, under the Christmas tree, was the ubiquitous white 60 mm telescope. My fascination with spaceflight already existed. These were the John Glenn years. Mercury, Gemini, Apollo! The moon landings! This just threw fuel on the fire and I have spent a lifetime, with slowly improving optics, staring at the night sky. Now that I seem to be up in the wee hours of the morning (whether or not I want to be), I have been watching Kajiji for that last upgrade. It happened a couple of weeks ago.
... and finally
Following an extensive search of qualified candidates, the Trump administration swore in the United States Secretary of Education on March 3rd. For those who don't follow the highest echelons of academia, she was appointed from the hallowed halls of the World Wrestling Federation. No, really. Last Friday, she gave this quote in an interview: "I mean, how can we educate at the speed of light if we don’t have the best technology? We will ensure that they are making A1 education available starting in the first grade! That’s a wonderful thing!” Linda McMahon April 11, 2025
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Mitch & Maddie