Holiday Hours?

Well Brad and I have been enjoying an extra long weekend, or a "mini vacay" as I have termed it. Brad took Friday off in an effort to maximize this holiday weekend. He has taken the Friday before Memorial day off the last few years.

I went to the grocery store early this morning. Well it wasn't that early. Should have been earlier but I got delayed getting out of the house. Anyway, I was expecting it to be busy since it's a long weekend, people want to get the shopping done before their Sunday or Monday cookouts. As I'm walking out of the store to leave I happen to notice a sign on the door that reads, "Holiday Hours". This struck me as odd since I don't think of Memorial day as a holiday that stores close for. I had a perplexed look that quickly occupied my face. But apparently that's not the case in this area of town...welcome to Fort Worth! LOL! Perhaps I'm mistaken but the previous area of town we lived in will not have any store closures on Monday. They want to stay open to maximize any potential profit. Not lose out on people trying to have a cookout on Monday but forgot to buy hamburger buns. Perhaps that was too Zonie of me, to say "hamburger buns"?  I mean baked beans or deli coleslaw.

Let me explain that further...Brad and I have compared notes, Texas vs. Arizona. In Arizona, during my growing up years it was about hot dogs, hamburgers, and such for Memorial day. In Texas it's all about barbecue. Barbecue ribs, brisket, chicken, sausages...name a meat! Trust me they'll smoke just about anything here. And they'll slather just about anything in barbecue sauce. :)

An absolute requirement according to my Texas born husband is to enjoy something slathered in barbecue sauce on Memorial day weekend or it doesn't count. My thing is a good hamburger and fries or else there's something wrong and we are not doing Memorial day weekend justice! Slight difference in opinion in our household. We agree on 4th of July food!

I remember my first Memorial day in Texas, I was a little surprised at the food choices. I moved to Texas in early May so Memorial day came quick after our move, ("our" meaning Cody, Simon, and myself). Upon going to the grocery store there were meat smokers set up outside the store and long lines of people waiting to buy barbecued smoked meats. Zonies don't know much about smoking meat.;) Yes, there are barbecue places in Phx, don't get it twisted. My point is that it's not "a way of life" as it is here. Hands down, Mexican food is much more prevalent than barbecuing and meat smoking in AZ. As for here in Texas, it would be hard to find an apartment complex that doesn't have a meat smoker for residents to use. On the flipside meat smokers being featured at an apartment complex in AZ would cause residents to scratch their heads in wonderment. That's the difference!

Huge admission on my part....wait to be floored....I never knew what a meat smoker looked like until I moved to Texas. Nope, sorry folks! Not a clue what one looked like. Big eye opener when I moved here and backyard grills sit right next to big ol' meat smokers at apartment complexes or even at the local Target or Walmart on the sales floor. But hey, I left AZ 8 years ago so maybe smokers are becoming more prevalent. Doubt it though!