<p>Have been stocking up on lots of great cheeses. My DS loves cheese and simply devours it. So I bought several different cheddars (NY state, British, aged different yers, etc) as well as several other cheeses (I love the light Jarlsberg and the cranberry cinnamom goat cheese) and let him have a field day. He also loves prochuitto (sp?) and I can get it there as well without breaking the bank.</p>
<p>Back to the Costco online recipes-
Am going to try the Onion Potato Casserole page 81
really neat feature you can email the recipe–and print one side of pages, or sections. Cool site.
[Costco</a> Connection - Smart Cooking: The Costco Way](<a href=“http://www.costcoconnection.com/connection/2010cb?pg=7&search_term=entree&search_term=entree#pg80]Costco”>http://www.costcoconnection.com/connection/2010cb?pg=7&search_term=entree&search_term=entree#pg80)</p>
<p>An exciting find for our family today at Costco! Arnold Palmer Lite 24 pk of 11.5 ounce cans - only $7.99 - that’s .33 cents a can!!! Great for son heading back for school - and better I hope than drinking pop and such…</p>
<p>I wish I had bought two packs - I don’t ever remember seeing that at Costco before.</p>
<p>HImom - imagine my dismay when we arrived in Maui last month only to find that the Costco there by the airport does NOT sell gas. We were counting on it when we returned our rental car since it’s about a mile from the airport.</p>
<p>H and some colleagues like to do Aloha Fridays at work and wear Hawaiian shirts. A couple of the guys gave him some money and asked him to pick up shirts for him while we were there. So what did we do? Stopped at Costco on our way to the airport our last day to get them!</p>
<p>We got our Hawaiian shirts there too! And they were nicer than any of the ones that we saw in other places (in more tourist-y shops), not to mention much less expensive. And made in Hawaii, too 
Also got S a cool pair of U of Hawaii board shorts there. Plus lots of goodies to bring back home (kona coffee, macadamia nuts, etc). Loved that Costco!</p>
<p>Just went today - purchased coffee, bread, ciabatta rolls, the BEST chicken salad ever, gala apples, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries, ciobani yogurt, beans/rice/cheese frozen burritos (my kids love to snack on them) vine tomatoes, goat cheese, feta cheese, turkey breast, bone in pork roast, brownie mix (best ever), chocolate covered almonds, detergent, and ink for my printer.</p>
<p>I also did some Christmas shopping there before the holidays and purchased a table top rotisserie, camera, coffee maker, a small tv, movie tickets, king size pillows and sheets, and a glass carafe.</p>
<p>I am slways finding something new there - I have always had great luck with Costco, in particular their berries, apples, tomatoes, and cut-up squash, rotisserie chix…</p>
<p>I miss the jar of Macadamia blossom honey that we bought in HI, but had to leave behind half of it, because the lid could not be sealed tightly for transporting it in the checked luggage. Next time I’m bringing appropriate containers from home!!!</p>
<p>[Organic</a> Macadamia Nut Blossom Honey (44oz. plastic tub)](<a href=“http://shop.royalhawaiianhoney.com/Macadamia-Nut-Blossom-Honey-44oz-Macadamia-Nut-Blossom-44oz.htm]Organic”>http://shop.royalhawaiianhoney.com/Macadamia-Nut-Blossom-Honey-44oz-Macadamia-Nut-Blossom-44oz.htm)</p>
<p>Best honey I had in a while - I will have to order it online (was about 40% cheaper at Costco in Waipio :().</p>
<p>Just went to Costco two times in two days (different branches). Yesterday, returned D’s eyeglasses & sunglasses because of incorrect order (first time this happened after the many dozens of glasses we’ve gotten there). Today, bought a wonderful STURDY shelf set with wheels for storing all my materials for my non-profit (matching the shelf set I had purchased there previously). S helped me haul it–VERY HEAVY!</p>
<p>^^</p>
<p>Speaking of shelves, it’s kind of weird that we have Costco shelves in our garage loaded up with Costco items. I was a bit irked with Costco today. When I got in line I realized the baguette I was buying had a hole in the bag. I asked them to replace it. When I got home and took it out (they had boxed stuff or I’d have noticed loading it in the car), there was still a giant tear in the bag.</p>
<p>Yea, I think the staff at Costco has been a bit harried with the last few weeks of heavy shopping–the holidays & then folks trying to use up their flexible spending accounts & now people restocking from after the holidays. Normally, I find their service exemplary but yes, it would be irksome that they didn’t change your torn bag after you pointed it out to them. Seems like it went under your & the cashier’s radar during the sometimes frenzied checkout process; I’m sure s/he would have tried to do it (or have a runner do it) otherwise.</p>
<p>HIMom, my DH’s DO mistyped his prescription, which DH realized only after getting two new pairs of glasses from Costco. When DH called his doctor’s office and straightened things out, Costco Optical did not charge him a penny for putting new lenses into the frames, although DH told them that it was not their error. DH will not take his prescription anywhere else after that :)</p>
<p>When I stopped by my local Costco, I chatted with a couple of their employees that I’ve seen there for ages - they all seem to be enjoying the relative quiet time after the holiday shopping madness.</p>
<p>Mimk6, I have noticed in the past that the fresh bread bags - especially the cello on top rips or comes apart easy. So maybe it was a case of them changing, but another bag ripping.</p>
<p>I had a problem with the fresh bread bags too. I think it was because the bread was still warm from the oven & the condensation caused the plastic to separate from the paper.</p>
<p>OK, confession time: I am a serial COSTCO shopper. I’ve thought about writing a memoir called “Traveling the World through COSTCO.” It’s kinda scary. I did a lot of shopping for our HS concession stand, so I would sometimes go to COSTCO multiple times in a week during Fall & Spring sports seasons (football, track, soccer/LAX). For an invitational track meet (~1500+ athletes & spectators), I once ended up with 2 flatbed carts of muffins & bagels, Power bars, hamburgers/hotdogs + buns, cases of soda, Gatorade & water, cups & napkins, etc.</p>
<p>It might have been a different bag, the tear was bigger. I did see the cashier instruct someone to replace the bag and saw the bag taken, so it then fell off my radar as I was paying, etc. I’ll check the bags more carefully myself from now on now that I see others have had the same problem.</p>
<p>Loved the Dubliner cheddar that was ther over the holidays. I wonder if it is still in stock.</p>
<p>I have bought Dubliner there for the past couple of years (one chunk lasts a long time!) so at my Costco, it’s a regular item. Yummy SHARP cheese!</p>
<p>(how did you use it? Eating as is or in cooking???)</p>
<p>I served it with crackers and fruit. What do you do? Now, the enormous chunk of Gruyere was mostly used for cooking.</p>
<p>Yes, Costco has amazingly GOOD customer service, especially their optical department. When the anti-glare coating comes off of frame breaks within the 1st year after your purchase, they replace it at no charge. They are also willing to update the lenses, as they did for your H, BB. In our case, D noticed an uneven/broken edge on her dark glasses & when it was pointed out, they agreed they would polish the edge so that it would all be smooth (at no charge to us, though they usually charge $9.99 for polishing the edge. Also, we asked for NO reflective coating and high index lenses for her regular glasses–they apologized & will replace the lenses, only charging the $6.91 higher price for the new lenses. All in all, we have been VERY satisfied and have purchased glasses every year from them since they started their optical shop near our home.</p>
<p>I enjoyed the dubliner sliced thin on a sandwich (with the sandwich thin buns) or diced small in a salad. I enjoy making a “garbage” type salad and the sharpness of the dubliner was just the right bite.</p>
<p>The fabulous lilac cashmere cowl-neck sweater I’m wearing today, and my new favorite jeans that I wore with it yesterday. (DKNY for $17!) I don’t think I could find a more elegant sweater at Barneys.</p>