The Re-entry series: Ugh! All the plastic bags!

Apologies in advance for the rant, but the plastic bag problem in the US really irritates me. When we left 10 years ago, I was seeing some glimmers of hope in the 'bring your own' bag campaign. In fact, I still have and use the cloth grocery bags I got as a promotion from Cub Foods in 2009! They've come with me to Bristol and I've used them consistently for about 6 years (they were in storage when we were in Abu Dhabi). They're in our shipment from the UK which should arrive in a couple of months and I'll probably be able to use them for another 5 years! 

So, you can appreciate my disappointment to see almost zero progress in the fight to get customers to bring their own bags. And I know it's possible. In the UK, the large majority is now in the habit of bringing their own bags when shopping - and not just for groceries, but for most anything. The UK instituted a 5p charge per bag which I'm sure has helped get people started. The fact is, once you get in the habit, you'll not want to go back to the flimsy paper or ever multiplying plastic bags. The cloth ones are easier to pack, hold more, easier to carry and permit you to feel superior, hahaha. Seriously though, give it a try. I can get a week's worth of groceries for two people in four cloth bags and carry them all into the house at once because they're so sturdy and the handles are long enough.

Rant over - thanks for listening.

The Re-entry series: Ah, frozen custard

The ice cream situation in England is appalling. There are these Mr. Whippy ice cream trucks that patrol the neighborhoods and park at every festival, family attraction and town squares that serve up soft serve ice milk kind of stuff. Okay if you're desperate, but a far cry from the decadent frozen custard of Wisconsin. 

Yes, there is gelato, but for a dairy farm girl like me, that's still not ice cream. It's good, don't misunderstand, but it's not ice cream. 

In the grocery stores, you can find Hagen Daz and a few other brands which also do in a pinch, but when I'm craving a nice turtle sundae, there are simply no options.

And so, our first stop on most trips home is to Culver's for some frozen custard. 

The Re-entry series: A Drive -Through on every corner

Yesterday we ran errands.

First, the drive thru at Starbucks . . . gotta start the day with some java.

Then Walgreen's drive thru to pick up some prescriptions for the parents.

Then pay at the pump gas station (I know, not technically a drive thru, but close)

A curbside pick up at Best Buy.

Finally, some lunch through Culver's drive thru.

I know some of it's due to the pandemic, but found it really funny that we could do all our errands from our car. And yes, there are drive thrus in England, but not nearly as many. I probably should have titled this entry "no need to walk anywhere" as that's the real difference we notice. In Bristol, we lived in the equivalent of a suburb, but could still walk to the grocery store, pharmacy, pet supply store, a few different pubs and our health clinic in 20 min or less. I'm going to miss that option.