Man shall not live by bread alone….

 

Right….it’s all unpacked and either on the shelf or in the fridge… Time for a quick update on this side of the pond…

About three weeks ago I ‘mounted’ my flight back to the UK, leaving wife and daughter behind….and with that their love and skill for cooking and baking. For little over a week I enjoyed the fresh oven baked cinnamon roles, pancakes, rice with beans and mince, meals out and meals in. One last meal would now appear without any effort from this man….the plane meal…. For sure it would not feed him indefinitely for this coming year…

The lady of the house, in her wisdom and because of her love, had made sure that the polar area of the UK house would provide…the freezer! If no one ever erected a statue to celebrate the life and genius of the mind that invented the freezer, now would be a good time! Various surprising meals so far have pleased the taste buds of this man! But nothing could beat a fresh meal of course….one that was created from (almost) scratch and needs pots and pans on a stove to see the light! So, three weeks into this mutually decided ‘solitary’ life, it was time to hit the road armed with several shopping bags. No longer could fridge and freezer please this poor soul…

It felt like a man on a mission….as almost always it used to be the lady instructing this man to come along or buy the listed products. Now having to decide my own menu it almost felt like walking inside this shop was like going to battle with a plan! The easy way would be to go for ready made meals, supported by sweets and crisps, and topped with HD (Häagen Dazs) ice cream … But he was strong (this time…)….and the trolley soon was filled with the multitude of colours of apples, peaches, iceberg salad, peppers, mushrooms, fresh bread, Dutch beschuit, yoghurt, noodles, spaghetti sauce…and for emergencies beans in tomato sauce (baked beans) :-). The wife would have been proud, and what’s more, would have even more loved the flowers that later adorned the living room table…

So, the stomach is calling, and the hour is right….time to cook my noodles in Chinese sauce 🙂 Will try leaving some pics later to colour in the imagination…

DaddyGeert for now signs off!

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Another chapter in…

And so it has begun…..a new chapter in our never-resting lives 🙂 Always something new, somewhere else, somehow different….never boring that’s for sure! For several years it had been mentioned, always lurking in the distance..something that could and most likely would happen eventually…

The lady of the house travelling back and forth, year after year, month by month, weeks at a time…from London to the US, Singapore, Costa Rica, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Panama..and the list goes on. Yes, it gave exciting air miles, hotel points and free car rental days, which in turn provided amazing holidays in the US and elsewhere. But jet legs and suitcase life were taxing at the same time.

No more…for a year at least 🙂 The second ‘home’ is now located in St. Paul, MN. A beautiful apartment, especially from the point of view as compared with our ‘Hobbit’ place in the UK. Situated right outside the first 1/2 of the Twin Cities, cocooned in between the hills surrounding St. Paul, nestled right beside the mighty Mississippi River, with a cooking island (!!!), aircon (with 95+ Fahrenheit really a must!), indoors parking (useful for Minnesotan winters…. -20 to -40C not unusual…), and inviting green parks surrounding this all…

For a week and a bit this ‘daddy’ was able to come along to the US and lend a hand in setting up the new place. Furniture was moved around, Ikea flat packs moved in, picture frames and arts received their specific places, and boxes were unpacked. All in all a place one really could now call ‘home-from-home’ 🙂

It will be quiet in Wooburn Green, even though the cats will demand their attention nonetheless, and my choice of music can now be played none stop for the time being… But ‘only’ 8-9 hours there is a second home I will love to come ‘home’ to, and for sure this ‘daddy’ will count the days….and in the meantime keep you updated on the happenings in ‘hobbit’ town…

DaddyGeert