Thank you Eliana. Lucky indeed! I hope you enjoy your weekend.

Nothing beats those old childhood memories. What was your first job?

Thanks and enjoy the weekend!

Hello! All is well here. Thank you and I can't wait to read your entry next week. Enjoy your weekend, my friend.

They are really good memories. As I was writing this I was stricken by how different the world has become. I used to really like Radio Shack. So this was the genesis of your I.T. career! We had one at

The big corps try to hide the fact that they've bought the smaller, mostly organic, brands here in the US. They don't change any of the packaging but do begin to use cheaper ingredients and shrink the

I share your disdain for souvenirs. Most of it is just cheap crap made in China anyway. It astonishes me people are willing to bring this stuff home when it isn't even made in the place they're visiting.

That's so sad to hear, Eliana. I hope you've had a great week, my friend!

I don't believe in coincidences either, @janaveda. I'm rarely disappointed in what I get from small businesses. I usually try to do my homework about them before I buy. Thanks and I hope all is well with

Farmer's markets are the best! We learned here that you have to be careful of the vendors you buy from. Some veg vendors were just buying commercially grown produce from distributers and selling it at

This balm works extremely well. I just heard that archeologists found a Roman-era jar in the ground that had almost this same formulation in it. You have to be so careful with honey. Quite a bit of what

Nothing beats fresh honey!

They can be expensive here too. Dutch Meadows is around 2x what you'd pay in a grocery store but they sell raw, unpasteurized dairy like they do in Europe. This has all of the beneficial enzymes and nutrients

Oh, @lizelle, America is the worst when it comes to harmful ingredients. Our FDA also allows companies to hide things behind deceptive labeling which makes it even tougher to eat healthy. I have this app

You're lucky to have access to local seafood! I would love that. It really makes you feel like you're contributing to the community and the betterment of the world when you vote with your dollars. It's

I agree! The business owners' love of what they're doing really is apparent when you deal with them and try the products. I'm always sad when smaller brands are gobbled up by corporations because the products

There's a growing movement here in America to support small businesses. People are beginning to see the true value in it, even if they have to pay more. Unfortunately, with the economy the way it is now

There really are. I think it's one of the only ways the small US farmer can still survive and compete with the large corporate farming operations. We probably have tons of local farmers we could buy from

Thank you! Our food supply is so toxic here in the States. I'm glad we still have choices. Unfortunately it's expensive but getting sick is even more expensive. Hope you're well @mammasitta!

It's strange but I even feel that melancholy when I look at pictures of my trips. I think some of us are just meant to travel and start feeling antsy when we're stationary too long. Thank you! I hope you're