Wednesday, December 06, 2006

the miss list, vol.1

Our family moved out here to Marin right around this time in 2005 with the thought that we'd try it for a year and see where it led. All sorts of dramatic events went into the making of that decision to pull up the roots we'd spent more than a decade planting in northern Arizona, but it really boiled down to needing a new perspective. Since my side of the family lives here and the job market is rich with opportunity for my husband's line of work, the Bay Area was a logical choice. For me, anyway. Now that the year's up and we've decided to head back to our home in AZ, life has taken on that bittersweet mixture of excitement (at the thought of being back among our horses and the prairie and the red dirt roads) and premature nostalgia for the things I know I'll miss when we leave. My Better Half's feelings are slightly less ambivalent on the subject. I believe his exact words the other day were, "The best thing about the Bay Area is the fact that there's no toll on the Richmond/San Rafael Bridge on your way OUT." But that's a post for his own blog, should he decide to start one some day. So, it the spirit of mixed emotions, here is the start of my list of the things I will officially miss about California: 1) Trader Joe's. I know I should have started with family, but I just finished my breakfast of toasted TJ's sliced multi-grain sourdough topped with TJ's margarine and TJ's organic apricot preserves, so my heart is still fresh from the ache of realizing that there is nothing remotely resembling such a breakfast ensemble in Flagstaff. Okay, I admit it. I have sourdough issues. I'm not going to use the word "addiction" here, because I can stop eating sourdough any time I want to. I can. But I have been guilty of sourdough stalking at Trader Joe's. It wasn't my fault. They're supposed to have the freshly-baked baguettes out by 10 a.m., so how was I to know that the delivery truck would break down en route from the bakery and I'd have to wait until 11 a.m. to get my hands on one? What else was there to do in my agitated state but pace the aisles for nearly an hour, checking the bread racks every five minutes or so and stopping random TJ's employees to ask, "Is the bread truck here yet?" Perhaps I have shared too much.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous10:48 AM

    So you and "TJ" are on a nickname basis now? Sounds like secret code for "the other man". I can hear Peter now, asking where you've been for that mysterious 2 hour block and why you have that satisfied grin on your face.

    Girl - you've got issues!

    Sourdough is nice, but how about that free babysitting? And a school that's roughly 3 minutes away from your mom's house? And your best pal at your beck & call?

    I got to talk with your mom for a while the other night and we lamented over missing you already.

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  2. Anonymous3:34 PM

    Now I know just what to put in the care package...minus the sourdough, of course, since it won't stay fresh.

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  3. Miss Cheese Girl, I have no doubt you could put together a KILLER TJ's care package. Not that I'm expecting one now or anything. Nope. No way.

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