Things we take for granted….

Guinness at the beer store…or somewhere in town
Knowing what day to put out the garbage…
Knowing what day to put out the recycling, and what can be recycled…and having an appropriate container to put it out in…
Pine nuts for our favourite recipe, at something less than $4.99 for 2/3 cup…
Knowing where the local post office is, and how to retrieve one’s mail…
Our regular bank, nearby… (2 hours away?)
Hymn books with music in them…
A Canadian Tire Store at the top of the street ;)
A good Greek or vegetarian restaurant…
Hi-speed internet…(yes, we got it eventually: we ARE the end of the wire!)

This little litany was prompted by a trip to town during which we tried to guess, by what we saw along the road, whether today or tomorrow is recycling day…and where we might go to find out what this community recycles… and where might we get one of those great big rolly blue bins that everyone except us seems to have.

Moving rates 20 points on the stress scale: but what about moving twice in two months, to two different provinces? Vehicle licensing, driver’s licensing, home insurance, banking, medicare, phone, internet…the list of changes and peculiarities seems endless. And we are constantly forgetting which town we are in and where the such-and-such is in today’s town! Yeah for staying flexible – it’s all worth it in the end!