Pondering
by marilyn on Dec.12, 2009, under Moving
Things I miss about Canada:
Our family
Our friends
Nabob Full City Dark Roast for Dwayne, Espresso for me (don’t try sending some. I think they’ll take it at the border. Coffee has been known to harbor drugs).
Long sunsets
Snow (believe it or not)
Sidewalks (businesses have them, but not housing areas) (perhaps only in Abilene)
Smooth dry wall
Smarties and Mars bars (no Mars Rice Crispy Squares this year), Snickers don’t cut it.
Celsius and Kilometers
Watching the Calgary Flames
Chocolate Advent Calendars
Coat racks in churches or businesses
Mandarin Oranges
Our neighborhood in Lethbridge
Loonies, Toonies and colored money
The Old Man Coulee
Lloyd Robertson, Dave Rutherford, Bob Layton, The CHED’s Jerry Forbes “a creature was stirring” (no, I don’t miss Brian Hall),
Clareview Bible Church (collectively) and UDAC
Superstore, Costco, Chapters, 360, Sugar Bowl, Chianti‘s,
All the babies being born to my family and friends
Holding Avilene
Things I like about Abilene:
NO Timmy’s and the line ups
Gas prices
Milk prices
Butter prices
Egg prices
Art Walk on 2nd Thursday of every month, even in the cold December evening (3C)
People saying “all ya’ll” with out a hint of a grin (they don’t know how cute they sound)
People saying Mam and Sir even if they’re older than you
The art teacher, Jan, at the Grace Museum
Not having to take off your shoes in your house
Postal service on Saturday
Abilene Christian University
Abilene Christian University’s Director of Faculty Enrichment – he’s a pretty cool guy 
December 14th, 2009 on 9:45 am
Hi, Marilyn,
Thanks for the list. It is cool to see both the good and the missed. I am looking forward to seeing some of the good in person soon.
One thing which may help cross one of the missed things off the list, though. Canadian Mars bars are packaged as Milky Way bars in the United States. They aren’t always easy to find, but they can be found. (I’m pretty sure I’ve bought them in the Houston airport once before.) You’ll have to check the wrapper, but I think they’re actually made in a factory in Canada and just wrapped with a different wrapper for sending south.
Is it the Nabob variety that Dwayne likes or the dark roast? I have a feeling whole beans could likely be mailed easier. (I’ve actually subscribed to a coffee subscription for Charissa’s dad where they mail 1 lb of freshly roasted beans to people’s house every month, which has been fun.)
December 15th, 2009 on 1:07 pm
I enjoyed reading your list, Marilyn. Wish we would have made a list when we lived in Slovakia and Morocco. It was nice to read the things you like, too!
December 16th, 2009 on 8:29 am
HHmmm… “long sunsets”… winter ones?
starts at noon and down by 3:30
with -45 and flat tires…
“snow”… AND shovels???
and sun Rize start at 8:30 and up by noon…
(summer ones ok – ok…)they are nice…
missing the other people and things ok i can see it
but most of all………………..
You miss Us… We miss all of Youz!!!