I miss...

Today, I miss America. Very much.

It started with a trip to our grocery store. I knew it was going to be a big shopping trip because I hadn't shopped in a week. So even though the store is walking distance to our house (a HUGE blessing!), I took the car. When I arrived in the parking lot, it looked full, but still I asked the guard at the gate who was handing out tickets, Is it full? He shook his head no and handed me a ticket to proceed.

As it turns out, not only was it full, there was a line of five cars, just waiting for an open space. In America, when a parking lot that you pay to use is full, they stop letting cars in. And certainly, if you can't find a parking place and you go to leave, you don't have to pay. It's just logical. But not here. Not only was I unsuccessful in finding a parking spot, when I went to leave, they made me pay.

So I drove back home, enlisted the help of Meya and Leasie. And we walked back to the store.

I had some very simple items on my list. Flour, powdered sugar, chocolate chips, wild rice, and lemons. Back in the good 'ol USA, I would have had multiple choices of brands for each of these items (except maybe the lemons). But take chocolate chips - not only would I have had a choice of brands, but I would have to decide which flavor? White chocolate, butterscotch, peanut butter swirl, milk chocolate, semi-sweet, mint.

Grocery stores here can be hit and miss. And on this particular day, none (yes, none) of the items I listed above were in the store.

So today, I miss America. I miss the choices. I miss the bounty. I miss the plenty. Something that, until living here, I took for granted.

I have, however, learned to be flexible. So, here's what I did find:

And after an hour of washing, soaking, debugging, and cutting, we have veggies and fruit for the next few days.

Which reminds me - I also REALLY miss my bag of frozen broccoli from Costco. From freezer to stove top. Done.