City and the Country

Being home for Thanksgiving last week in the beautiful Hudson Valley reminded me of how important it is for me to have beautiful scenery around. Something about being up there (mom's home cooking, seeing my oldest friends, the lovely Catskill and Shawangunk mountains?) at this time of year always makes me feel refreshed and ready to tackle the craziness that is December as a freelance singer. However, the equation of Christmas Craziness = Cash is always a nice booster...

I was reminded the other day why I really like living in a large city. A lot of people have heard me whine about the scarcity of British goods (tea, chocolate, those British baked beans) in the U.S. As luck would have it, I randomly came upon a small convenience store that advertised "Irish Goods". Curosity piqued, I went into this seemingly run-of-the-mill convenience store only to discover PG Tips tea, Galaxy chocolate bars, McVitie's biscuits and Batchelor beans! (somewhat overpriced, of course) It's nice to know that when I get a midnight craving for some HobNobs, I now have got somewhere to go.