I suffered 2 huge shocks yesterday at the grocery store.
I wanted to surprise David with a nice steak dinner to celebrate the construction of our kitchen table. So, I waltzed into the meat isle to get some nice steak. To my absolute horror steak costs $12 per pound!! It is cheaper to buy a live cow!
Then I asked a shop assistant which isle pectin is on (David loves my home-made strawberry jam). I felt discouraged to see her bewildered expression that screamed “What the heck is pectin?!” So, I pressed on that I needed it to make home-made jam. She looked at me in disgust as if I asked where I can buy used dental floss and then she declared that “people in this area don’t make home-made jam.” The image of the Rolls Royce dealership by our house flashed before my eyes and I began apologizing for taking up her valuable time.
1. We have a home! I cannot even begin to describe how amazing it is to mop, iron, scrub the toilet, and assemble Ikea furniture.
2. I discovered Costco about 1 hr away!!!!!!!!! And they accept our American membership card!!!!!!!!!!!!! After a week that crushed my sanity, I just dashed through the aisles crying with happiness and throwing anything within reach into the cart. You will be comforted to know that David patiently took nearly everything out of the cart. I was never as happy as when I saw those sexy packages of 12 paper towel rolls. (In regular grocery stores they sell 2 rolls for ₤ 2! Insane.) Life finally makes sense again.
3. Ikea is about 1 hr away and we got a kitchen table and a desk. We are also exploring some charity shops to see if we could get a cheap couch. The bed the landlord ordered should arrive some time this week. For now we are on a futon mattress but at least we finally got a blanket and some bedding yesterday after spending 2 nights fighting over an airplane blanket.
4. On Thursday we are leaving for a mini break to Paris to celebrate David’s 30th bday. We are coming back Monday night.
5. We went to Farnborough Airshow–the biggest airshow in the world. We saw F16, F18, Chinook, Spitfires, etc.–all nearly within our reach. It was pretty awesome. The Chinook dropped off a Land Rover and a trailer that were hanging from it plus a small reconnaissance unit and then another Land Rover that was inside it. It was doing all these cool maneuvers. It is very acrobatic. Then the army guys fired a flare and it came back and they staged pick up of a wounded comrade. It was AWESOME.
7. Church. The branch meets in a school very close to the office. There are about 50 members and they are all bound on making us stay forever. They are desperate to increase the membership. I think they would give me a medal if I had a baby. There are about 4 kids total. We are speaking in 2 weeks. With a branch that size I can only assume that everyone gets to talk several times a year! Again, everyone has been extremely welcoming. We had a great activity this week–virtual tour of London while eating fish and chips. Union Jacks everywhere. It was so British! I have also noticed that it is impossible for anyone to give a lesson or teach without mentioning Hitler or Churchill. Last Sunday school lesson was on bad/good leaders and that was a real WWII trivia extravaganza. I was laughing so hard–in my head of course. (And yes, I still talk to myself.) David is finally starting to realize that what I have been telling him about all the European nations hating each other is absolutely true.
8. Our address:
CENSORED!
9. We live in an extremely quaint village…with a Rolls Royce dealership. Yeah, we live in a ridiculously posh area with only 2 pounds in our pocket. It is rather funny.
I am in the UK and David is back in Germany till the end of the week.
In no particular order…
1. It is cloudy and rainy. Shocker. Brought none of our 7 umbrellas. Dont know what happened to my brain.
2. Everything is ridiculously expensive. I have been to the UK 25+ times and never picked up on it thanks to my beloved Daddy who bankrolled all my shopping spree adventures so far. It was a rude awakening I must admit. I think I will sell a kidney. David’s.
3. Driving on the left side of the road is CRAZY and it seems I have no spacial awareness on my left side. I talk myself through every move. That has taken a toll on me because now I talk to myself all the time even when I am not driving. The lanes are so narrow–maybe 5 inches on each side of the car. Parking is impossible–particualarly for me because the only time I paralleled park was during my driving test and never since. Yesteday, I had to walk everywhere because I did not manage to get the car out of the parking spot after somebody parked behind me. They probably thought they gave me enough space but after several attempts and a decimated ego, I gave up and decided to walk. This automotive feat caused a traffic jam as five cars lined up to take my spot. I turned off the car and pretended to be parking instead of pulling out. I prented this three times. Finally when in true Hollywood style I stormed out of the car pretending to talk to my cell phone which really was my calculator yelling at an imaginary boyfriend who could not decide if who was picking up who for the movies. I know I know. Pathetic.
4. Guildford is beautiful. There are flowers absolutely everywhere. The downtown is particularly picturesque. The countryside is also beyond words.
5. We still don’t have an apartment. I am going to look on Thrusday.
6. Work is good. I like the office and all the guys. I am the only girl so they are all super nice to me.
7. David is in Dusseldorf working long hours. I miss him terribly.
