The Ties that Bind

It’s the little things. I should have remembered from previous stays in the UK that there are no twisty ties in the grocery stores for fastening one’s bags of produce. There are no twisty ties or fasteners that come with the rubbish bin liners either. Had I remembered, I would have popped a few into our luggage. But alas, I did not.

Living in a foreign country is one thing when you know it’s just for a short stay. You can put up with a lot. You can make do. It’s all charming differences or little annoyances. But when you move to a foreign country and that place is now home, it’s another thing. It’s crazy, but this time around, we’re missing specific things: things like spicy salsa, goldfish crackers, children’s flossers, our former iPhone service, ground flax seed, and twisty ties.

When I realized that there were no twisty ties in the flat after I’d opened a bag of Chantenay carrots, I was seized by a sudden panic. The panic sounded like this in my head:

_There are no twisty ties. And there never will be. This is a land without fasteners. How do people close up opened containers in this country? When will I pick up this bit of cultural knowledge?

How long will this bag of carrots gape at me?

And

Why did I have to open the bag of carrots now? Why couldn’t I have waited until I at least had a rubber band or a roll of tape?!

Then in a bizarre fit of homesickness and longing I posted to Twitter that I was desperately missing twisty ties. I wrote, “Wanna make my day? Send me some!”

Today my day was made. A mysterious package arrived in the post: one with no return address. Inside was this:

It took me a second to understand what it was, and then another second to wonder if I’d told AC that I’d been wishing for twisty ties, and THEN I remembered my Twitter post.

Someone who follows me on Twitter had sent me twisty ties! Sorry, “Twist and Ties.” This is a pretty fancy device. It’s actually just one long tie all coiled up:

At the bottom is a cutting device. You pull out the length of tie you desire and then press to cut it. Voilà:

It even has a loop at the top so you can hang it up.

The lessons here? 1) Ask and you shall receive; 2) Amazon probably carries it; 3) England is not a land without twisty ties. It’s a land without FREE twisty ties; 4) Homesickness addles my brain (why didn’t I think of looking online?); 5) Friends are the best ties in the world.

Thanks, bk. My bag of carrots is now properly closed.