Home (Away from Home)

And we're in.

JL sent a worker back Wednesday to finish assembling the beds (with the proper tools.) So we spent our first night in our new home, finally. Thursday, it was off to Waitrose for Kyle & I. Waitrose is the grocery store where you can either shop online and have your order delivered, or shop in the store and tell them you'd like it delivered. All for free of course. There are plenty of other grocery stores that do the same thing but we hear that Waitrose is the Wegman's of England.

After a grey, rainy day on Wednesday, Thursday was absolutely beautiful. Blue skies and in the 60's. So we happily took the 20 minute walk to Waitrose and enjoyed the scenery. And then we shopped for groceries in Britain. Of course all the weights are in grams, kg's, etc. and there was no way I was going to attempt to make conversions while shopping. They don't refrigerate their eggs! (But it still says on the carton "keep refrigerated". What to make of that?) The produce and meat sections were quite good. Lots and lots of prepared foods which we hear are good. Kyle found Oreo cookies and I found Ritz crackers. A lot of the UK stuff has palm oil in it as opposed to vegetable oil... going to have to look into that. Was happy to find Activia yogurt, but get this - the 8-pack of mixed flavors included fig, rhubarb, & cranberry! I found a 4-pack of strawberry. I need to wade in these things slowly.

Anyway, after filling our cart, including a case of Stella and 2 6-packs of coke, we went to the check-out. I first asked if, since this was our first time shopping here, I should get a shopper's card. Blank stare. I'm so American! A shopper's card! No, I could apply for a Waitrose credit card to earn points when I shop but no shopper's card. Sigh. So... next I said, "Ok, then. Well anyway, I'd like to have this delivered." You know her reply without me even having to relay it. "We don't deliver here." I really & truly thought she was joking. You know - she had me at a disadvantage with the whole shopper's card thing. But no, she was not joking. We'd been duped when we were told that all of the grocery stores deliver. Apparently some do, but some, including this one, do not. I thought I would simply sit down in front of this cashier in Waitrose in London in England far, far away from Wegmans and weep.

But I rallied. Kyle was great. He bagged as I pondered our options. No way could we walk it. (Pushing a full to the brim grocery cart up the hill through Hampstead would not create a good first impression.) Take a bus? Lots of them around but again, no way could Kyle & I manage all the bags plus the Stella & Coke. So... we took a cab. Very, very nice London taxi driver who even had an extra bag for us when one of ours ripped open. (All the plastic bags here are not recyclable but rather made from recycled material and are really really flimsy.)

So on Thursday night, the three of us had a lovely dinner of pork roast, potatoes and green beans and toasted the landmark event - our first home-cooked meal in a foreign country. Photo of kitchen attached, where hopefully many more great meals will be cooked and consumed.