Cooking Wine and Grocery Shopping

We live about a 10 minute walk from Shop Rite which is where we get most of our groceries. I went there today in old baggy (too big) pants feeling a bit of pride for looking a little sloppy. (Since the moving truck still hasn't arrived I have to spare my nicer clothes for when I actually need them.) So except for my hair being covered by a Greek sailor's cap, there was probably not much way to guess that I was Jewish. I was shopping for ingredients for pasta and a nice marinara sauce in which I usually include (trade secret... don't tell!) red cooking wine. So I decided to have a little fun and started approaching random (obvious by dress) Jews in the store and asking if it is ok to cook with wine during the nine days. (These are nine days of mourning before a holiday called Tisha B'Av in which we commemorate a whole series of tragedies that have affected the Jewish people on that day. One of the restrictions during this mourning period is to not drink wine except on Shabbat.) I actually couldn't find anyone who knew, but found it enormously satisfying to have so many frum Jews around to ask so casually. Also kind of fun to know that I was observant without necessarily looking that way. I got a nice wink from one of them who wished me a Good Shabbos 3 days early.

At the Shop Rite they have these TV monitors by the checkout which blast at you while you are checking out. Although they make a terrible racket (I'm surprised the employees can't take out worker's comp. on dealing with that noise pollution) I so far have managed to ignore everything they've advertised except for something about taking care of dogs. See, I don't even remember HOW they were suggesting taking care of their dogs.