Thankful for a great find at Aldi!

I love this soup.

Last year, I bought a case of it, and I ate every last drop.  Sometimes I use it as a base for homemade soup, but often I just pour up a mug, microwave, and enjoy.  It is a huge blessing during a lupus flare.

Unfortunately, this delicious soup is one of Aldi's seasonal items.  This means that they don't stock it regularly or consistently.  However, since the leaves have changed color, the corn has been harvested, and the temperatures have plummeted, I thought soup season might have arrived.

All through October, I combed Aldi in search of this soup.  Fruitlessly.

Yesterday Shawn and I had a long, gray day at home.  He was banging his head on problems he was trying to solve for work.  I was feeling lousy and frustrated with my unproductivity.  After the sun set, we decided, just to escape from the walls of the house, to drive to town and pick up a couple of staples I'd forgotten to get at Aldi the day before.

On our way down the long, dark freeway, I said, "And we can look for squash soup.  I keep looking, and they never have it, but we can look again while we are there."

We arrived at 7:15 p.m.  The parking lot was deserted.  Shawn asked, "How late are they open, anyway?"  They were open, but not busy.

Our cart had two bum front wheels, and was nearly impossible to steer.  Nevertheless, I successfully maneuvered it into the soup aisle, where once yet again, I visually scanned the cartons of beef, chicken and vegetable stock, and broth, and organic broth, hoping against hope to find my beloved soups: squash and roasted red pepper-tomato.

Wedged on the shelf, between large quantities of other soup items, a narrow section darkened to the umber and amber packages of the particular products I sought.

"There!" I gasped, in disbelief, flailing my arm towards the prize.  It took Shawn a moment to see what I saw.  The price was not posted.  No name or label graced the display, if you could call it a display.

We quickly scooped two cases of this soup into our cart, and then added one extra box each of butternut squash and roasted red pepper-tomato soup, for good measure.

Yes, we came home with 26 boxes of this soup.  I had one box of squash soup at home already, a different brand from a different store (with a much higher price).

So, now I have 27 boxes of soup.  I am busy doing math.  Starting Sunday, there are 17 weeks until the end of February.  If I ration the soup at 1.5 boxes per week, it should last until March 1.

I am so thankful that I found this soup.  I could not even believe it.  My delight welled up like bubbles in a tub.  All the way home, I kept vigorously patting Shawn's arm and thanking him for taking me out, after dark, when I had not felt like leaving home.  I grinned like a goose, and Shawn shared my joy.

I am thankful for this soup, for a good supply.

(Confession: I might buy more if I get another chance.  Spring is usually here by March, but I grew up in Minnesota, and I lived in New York for 25 years.  I might still like to have soup in March.  Also, Shawn might want some...)