There are many reasons to love living in the country. When I hear a phone ring, I know it is MY phone. OK. Well, that dates me. I have a house phone! (When we lived in Laguna Niguel I would run in from the garden only to discover the ringing phone was not mine.)
I love the fact that neighbors are far away and I can't hear them and they can't hear me. The views go as far as the eye can see and it is green and beautiful. We have deer and turkey roaming freely and I don't have to follow my dog with a plastic bag and pick up behind him.
On the other hand, it takes 30 minutes to get into a decent sized city and trying to find certain items is an exercise in futility.
My brother, Roland, and sister-in-law, Jane, live in Alexandria. That is the definition of big city. My daughter lives in Tyson's Corner and it is a shopping and business mecca. There are massive stores of every variety. And the massive traffic jams and crowds to go with that. I love to visit family and I love to find any kind of store, but I am so grateful to leave all that congestion and come home.
While visiting, we made a side trip to an international market and Trader Joe's. Trader Joe's is a favorite and they are everywhere. Everywhere but HERE. I need to start a letter writing campaign to get them to open a store in Roanoke. I can't make trips two and three hours away JUST to shop there, but I can shop when I am in a "Trader City".
It all started when Jane asked if I would like an almond croissant for breakfast. Why, yes I would! She got something out of the freezer, set it out and in the morning we had fresh baked croissants. Who knew! I feel like some yokel. But now I have to have some. Imagine fresh croissants any day you want.
There are some other things I can't find in Roanoke and we decided to go to an international market
AND Trader Joe's and stock up.
Dragon fruit. I have no idea what it is and I didn't know if it would survive a trip home, so it will have to wait for another trip.
What is that? I don't know, so let's buy it and see.
Look at all these things I got.
I hope I don't fall in love with them, because I can't get them again for a while.
Maybe that's a good thing. I'm sure they are all fattening, so rare treats are probably for the best.
I also hit a Home Goods store and didn't buy any food. But I did get some things I needed and for not a lot of money. Remember that letter writing campaign? Add them to the list.
RJ loved his giant sized beef pizzle. And it was 1/3 the price at Trader Joe's of the pizzles at Petsmart. You've never seen one? Well, let's just say they are from steers and probably used to be something meat producers discarded, until they realized dogs love them. They are an USA made treat and every dog I know loves them while their owners cringe just a wee bit.
Many benefits to living in the country, I agree, and our town may be smaller than yours. Trader Joe's is a fun place to browse, but there sure ain't none in these parts either...can you include us on that letter writing campaign, please.
ReplyDeleteYes, there are things I miss about having big city stores. There is a Trader Joe's in Charlottesville now, and they have good cocoa powder for baking. A couple weeks back when we dropped off my daughter at Dulles we drove to Tyson's Corner and the traffic is even worse than it used to be. I may never go back there.
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