[GypsySoul22]

Look around...where am I supposed to shop in Vermont? Ted's Hemp Store?
There is absolutely no shopping here unless you are a tourist and want to buy maple syrup.

Maybe I better go to Cumberland Farms and buy my week's worth of groceries?

Why doesn't this state wake up and get some income by offering some real stores?? It would mean INCOME for the state. Most people cannot afford to shop at the Co-op for every item.

Sigh, I actually saw some real shopping today...went to a real mall (don't miss the mall...didn't buy anything except lunch)..

I like the support local idea but unless someone is buying my groceries or clothes for my kid they need to MYOB. Let the rich entitlement people shop at the corner store.
Please note, maybe your part of Vermont has stores/whatever but ours doesn't...

[AstarothCY]

Have you been to Burlington? Just asking.

[Lilybeans]

Gypsy, where you live has shopping in NH. That's pretty close. Small towns cannot support a large supermarket. The nearest town, which is pretty huge , is West Leb, and it has everything you could possible want.

Burlington and the suburbs have plenty of shopping. It's just a population thing.

What do you mean by real stores?

[GypsySoul22]

Yes, I have been to Burlington, but it's kind of far for shopping casually.

Lilly, we do shop in Lebanon, Claremont and today we went to Concord.

By real stores, I kind of mean stuff like we had in NY...I am not a shopping addict but sometimes I miss places like 711, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Old Navy..

I just get annoyed by 'busy bodies' who lecture 'by local' all the time.

[Lilybeans]

Originally Posted by GypsySoul22

Yes, I have been to Burlington, but it's kind of far for shopping casually.

Lilly, we do shop in Lebanon, Claremont and today we went to Concord.

By real stores, I kind of mean stuff like we had in NY...I am not a shopping addict but sometimes I miss places like 711, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Old Navy..

I just get annoyed by 'busy bodies' who lecture 'by local' all the time.

Well, that's why they have the internet. Personally, I would be happy if I never heard of those stores again.

You could go down to the Holyoke Mall. All that stuff is there. It doesn't take that long.

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by GypsySoul22

By real stores, I kind of mean stuff like we had in NY...I am not a shopping addict but sometimes I miss places like 711, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Old Navy..

I believe we have BBB & ON in Rutland. By 711 do you mean the convenience store?

[looking4home]

why demonize BB & B??? I like it! they have a lot of stuff in every price range, and they are things you actually need (sheets,towels, dinnerware, utensils,etc.) this isn't frou-frou mall stuff. Let's face it -at a small, local shop, you won't get the same selection, or the prices. The buy local crowd (in every state, not just Vermont) are elitists - they have the luxury of being able to make statements with their shopping habits. Others don't.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by GypsySoul22

Yes, I have been to Burlington, but it's kind of far for shopping casually.

Lilly, we do shop in Lebanon, Claremont and today we went to Concord.

By real stores, I kind of mean stuff like we had in NY...I am not a shopping addict but sometimes I miss places like 711, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Old Navy..

I just get annoyed by 'busy bodies' who lecture 'by local' all the time.

Not knocking you, because I fully understand your sentiment. Sometimes when I am in Chester, I want to run out for something and realize I am either driving into Walpole, Rutland or Claremont. Ran out of vacuum bags and the hardware store in town didn't carry them..older Kenmore model. It's small things like that which coming from LI, we take for granted.

We are lucky to have a Jiffy Mart in Chester if you have to run out for milk, ice cream, lottery tix or a slush puppy. Only problem is that they close by 10pm. I have a 7-11 1 mile from my house on LI; I can't tell you how often someone in this house makes a run for whatever...grab a coffee, run into a neighbor and chew the fat for a while.

Now to make some of you laugh: It's a scene out of Seinfeld -- George Costanza style. Remember that I am from LI and we are known for our accent and for dropping "R" at the end of words like water, butter.

I drove up and arrived at Jiffy Mart to buy milk before heading to the house. Behind the counter is this young, African American man who works the late afternoon evening shift. He is always smiling; a friendly face who always asks me how the ride was, asks if I found what I needed. On occasions when he is off I truly miss him. He is the type of person who can make a bad day brighter. More people should be like him.

This particular night the kids were jabbering about egg creams. (recipe to follow) I walked in, my friend's smile greeted me, and I made my rounds of the Jiffy Mart. At the counter, he asked if I found everything I needed. This night I said, "No, I couldn't find the seltza."

He glanced toward the refrigerated cases and told me that he thought he had two varieties. He headed over, I followed and as I turned the corner he said, "There's Green Mountain and there's this spicy one," as he lifts up a jar of salsa.

I started giggling and said, "Now you know I am from LI -- I was saying Seltzerrr, not salsa -- I am sooo sorry! This is like Seinfeld!" He laughed hard, I was laughing and two other people in Jiffy Mart were cracking up.

Egg cream:
Tall glass
pour 1/2" Fox's u-bet chocolate syrup
3/4" whole milk
seltzER
stir briskly

You'll get a good creamy head on the top.

[OhBeeHave]

Originally Posted by Lilybeans

Well, that's why they have the internet. Personally, I would be happy if I never heard of those stores again.

You could go down to the Holyoke Mall. All that stuff is there. It doesn't take that long.

The one off of 91 north of Springfield, MA?

[Sherylcatmom]

Originally Posted by looking4home

The buy local crowd (in every state, not just Vermont) are elitists - they have the luxury of being able to make statements with their shopping habits. Others don't.

I don't "demonize" Bed Bath and Beyond. Why demonize folks who prefer to buy local? If it's available from a local source, that's where we buy it. If we can't afford it, we don't buy it. We don't have much money and we carefully choose where to use every penny. I don't think of it as a statement as much as voting with my dollars and supporting the local economy.