bank of canada

Back when my paternal grandparents were alive, they lived with thrift as their constant companion and spent little more than necessary, splurging only on others.

Every spring, my grandmother would can a plethora of fruits and vegetables from her Okanagan garden. In anticipation, she saved every plastic bag for use in canning. As a kid, I thought it odd behaviour. But of course, I had no knowledge then of the shortages she, her siblings and parents endured in the Soviet Union in the 1920s before they emigrated to Canada.