Martha's Backyard

We live roughly 6,518 miles from Los Angeles. The flight time to cover that distance averages, depending on the high-altitude winds, about 12 hours. We're a long way from home. Things are different here. We happily accept the differences but still sometimes find ourselves missing the way things are in the States. And we adults have a responsibility to the boys to teach them about America. They need to know as many of the things that American kids know as possible. We have done lots of teaching and will continue to. And we are fortunate to have a store in the city that helps us do that. 

Today's post is going to introduce you to a place that is a little bit of Americana. It's Martha's Backyard and it sells nothing but American brands. 

Now, it seems to me that nothing is more American than the peanut butter and jelly sandwich and the brand that I've been smearing between two slabs of bread for decades is Jiff. Each time that I've made the journey from the States to Auckland, I have brought serious quantities of both smooth and extra-crunchy. When Dianne, who has visited twice, asks if she can bring anything along that we especially miss, I immediately go on record as wanting as much Jiff as she's willing to haul through NZ Customs. 

Martha's carries Jiff. 

The only problem is that Auckland is a big, spread-out city and we don't get over to the south side in the car very often. In the past therefore, we have sometimes run out of Jiff and have had to subsist on local brands. Now, I do think that the Kiwis try really hard to make a good peanut butter, but they just don't quite do it the way Jiff does it. The color isn't quite right and it spreads...funny. So, these periods of Jiff deprivation have been hard on all of us. Just the other day I heard Arram ask Allie if he could have a pb&j. He paused for a second and then asked, "Wait a minute, do we have Jiff?" When she assured him that we did, he settled back again in his chair with a relieved and satisfied, "Okay then."  The kid knows his stuff. 

Recently, I got to thinking about whether I could reach Martha's on public transport. I did the research and found that I can. The trip to Martha's takes about 90 minutes, but shoot, I've got the time and the traveling is free. 

I didn't take many pictures during my trip down there, but here are a few. 

 That's Mt. Wellington, one of Auckland's 48 volcanic cones. It's practically in the backyard of Martha's Backyard.

 "The American Store...it's just different." And I'm glad it is!

 Look, there it is, bottom shelf, left side, both kinds, smooth and extra-crunchy.

 This represents security. Looking at this stash is like opening my safe deposit box and seeing a stack of $100's. (well, sort of)

 Here is a little history of my appreciation of Bull's-Eye BBQ Sauce.

I was working for Robinison Furniture at the time and was in Dallas at a furniture show. We had gone out to dinner and I had eaten a rack of the best ribs I had ever tasted.*  I commented after dinner to the waiter how much I had enjoyed the chef's BBQ sauce. The waiter looked to both sides dramatically, as if to make sure he wouldn't be overheard, and then whispered to me, "It's really just Bulls-Eye."

One of the first things I did when I got home was to look for Bull's-Eye at Elmer's. 

*Note: I had not tasted Fred's ribs or sauce yet. 

 How long has it been since you're had a PAYDAY? 

The boys Love Flamin' Hot Cheetos. Actually, we all do.    -djf