Shoutout to Nebraska

Fifteen years ago this year, I moved from rural Nebraska to suburban New Jersey.      It was a welcome change, though I learned some things in those years on the plains.  For the 8 years that I lived in Nebraska, I especially learned to plan ahead.  I lived in a town of 5,000 and it had few retail options, none of them very good.  The nearest Target and decent grocery store were one stoplight and 35 miles away.  Items could be had in town, but typically at prices 20% more than I wished to pay.  I quickly learned to plan ahead and keep a pantry full of the staple items I wanted to have on hand.  

Fifteen years later, the habit has never left me and I was grateful on Monday night.  That evening, I came home and while supper was cooking I made an assortment of homemade gifts that I will give away during the holidays.  I mixed up a batch of salsa and filled Mason jars; I gave a stir to the homemade Irish cream I set up on Sunday; and I set the mixer to work to make the cheese mixture I will turn into homemade cheese balls.  Once whipped together, the ingredients are scooped into a sheet of plastic wrap and then shaped into a ball.  I got ready for this last step only to realize that I was out of plastic wrap.  Hopeful, I headed to my basement pantry.  There I found a brand new package of plastic wrap.  Hallelujah! I brought my plastic wrap upstairs, wrapped the cheese balls, and offered a thank you to those years I spent in Nebraska, where planning ahead was second nature.