In the early days of the pandemic there were lots of shortages, the picture below is from the grocery store in those early days when people began stocking up like we were being invaded by aliens who took all our flour and toilet paper. To this day I don’t get the obsession with toilet paper?! Really? Toilet paper? I can see flour or sugar for baking, but toilet paper?
I’m sure some families have enough toilet paper to last them until next Christmas. You’ll know what families loaded up on the toilet paper when see what they wrap their Christmas presents in.
From that point on it has been hard to get brown sugar cubes – my favourite when it comes to a good cup of coffee – and for a while I couldn’t find them anywhere. On our journey to Alberta there were a few things we thought we would pick up if we saw them. Turns out we both found brown sugar cubes and decided to pick up a couple of extra boxes! So here we are, now hoarding brown sugar cubes like others did with toilet paper!
So there’s my confession of hoarding!
Hybrid Thoughts 
Fred,
Thereâs a walk down memory laneâ¦.a recent memory with those empty store shelves. Some supermarkets still donât keep TP or paper towels in stock like they used to. Others are loaded to the hilt. Go figure, eh?
Brown sugar cubes?? Youâve introduced me to something I donât recall seeing even when I still lived in Hamilton (mid-90s) and that produce never has (to my knowledge) been spotted in Virginia, nor any other state where Iâve gone grocery shopping. Iâll have to keep an eye out just in case. Sometimes I miss Hortons coffee, but itâs available at our local Wegmanâs. The nearest Hortons is in WV.
Americans are catching up on Canadian food items that I couldnât find when I first moved here, such as creamed honey, Ruffles âAll Dressedâ potato chips; Coffee Crisp, Aero and the good Kit Kat chocolate bars (I get orders from one lady when I go to visit family up north). On the other hand, there are some things that only Canada hasâ¦such as Canadian Bacon â REAL peameal bacon. I stock up when I visit the fam. On the flip side, Canadians are missing Sweet Tea, Red Velvet Cake with cream cheese frosting, Cracker Barrelâs store and restaurant, Olive Garden, amazing breakfast skillets and biscuits (with or without gravy), Target, Kohls, Tuesday Morning, TJ Maxx and low grocery prices.
After years of living here I say âsodaâ instead of âpopâ because only the people from the northern states know what I mean; restroom instead of washroom and my rare âehâ usually elicits comments that âitâs so cute when you say that, do it again.â In general Americans like Canadians and think weâre very trustworthy people. Those whoâve never crossed the border have no clue about Canada. They know Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver and thatâs about it.
It is the resilient American spirit that I so enjoy here â people who love and guard their freedom, cherish their faith in God and love their country. They believe they can succeed at anything they put their hand to because thatâs the optimistic American way. The âcan doâ spirit is often mistaken by my family as American ego, but itâs more than that. They are taught a fierce love of country, strong work ethic and reliance on God from childhood â especially in the more conservative states. Most of VA is quite conservative with the exception of Northern VA where I live. NoVA is a melting pot of people from CA, northern states and other nations to work in the nationâs capital â mostly in the federal govât, World Bank or for govât contractors. My town is only 30 minutes from DC so itâs a bedroom community of sorts for people who commute and work âdowntown.â Liberal values accompany many of those who move here and their sheer concentration in numbers out-votes the rest of the state â which is a sore point. Those who consider themselves the ârealâ Virginians moved west and south long ago to get away from the âYankees.â The true locals have that gentle southern accent and live a slower paced life.
Speaking of the pace of life, I need to make a quick run to Target before it closes so Iâd better wrap this up.
Have a blessed evening and I hope you enjoyed a terrific Labor Day! J
Best Regards,
Copy (3) of Sue – Digital 5×7 crop (1050×750).jpg Susan Mayhew
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