V-O-D-K-A

I upload this shot because it is of a gigantic bottle of vodka, not just any vodka, but vodka from Costco. You can see the brand at the top, Kirkland Signature.

Yep, Kate and I have a Costco membership now. I guess I have a little soft spot for Costco. My first trips there were with my grandparents in the Valley. I would usually visit them for weeks in the summer and one of the first things we would do when I got there was to go to the local Costco. I remember them buying pretty much anything I said I wanted while we were in the store. Huge jars of pickles. A few years supply of Skittles. And a barrel of my favorite cereal.

When Kate and I walked into a Costco in the north Milwaukee suburbs it was like taking a little trip back in time. I don't think I had been into one since I had gone last with my grandparents in California.

I noticed some things had changed. I was now paying for everything we put in the shopping cart which, by the way, could hold a small family. Because I now have to pay for anything I want, the cart was less full when it came time to check out. I could now take advantage of Costco's luxurious liquor section with a wide selection of vodka, tequila, wine, and spirits in bottles the size of my femur. The vodka bottle pictured is almost two feet tall. And, instead of throwing everything in the cart that I liked I had to police Kate a little. You see, Kate has an affinity for Costco. Her family drives almost three hours to the Costco in Salt Lake City every month or couple of months. When they go they get it done by dropping hundreds of dollars on butter, ground beef, cheese, scallops, shrimp, tubs of garlic, dog food, bacon, a dog tent, good beer for drinking, cheap beer for cooking, and maybe a couple packs of underwear. When they get home, nearly all of it goes into their deep freeze.

We don't have a deep freeze. We have limited storage space. We have limited resources, but I am happy we made it out of there with the first bottle of liquor we've bought since being here.