I am having a really difficult time adjusting to:
- Not being able to find a lot of certain foods here in Basel or, at best, having to look at 4-5 stores to find them. When I do find something that is similar to what I am used to, it is in smaller packaging, priced too high, and often times not as good as what we have in the states.
- Having grocery stores close at 8 p.m., Monday-Friday and close at 6 p.m. on Saturday. Doesn't mix well with my "last-minute", "fly by the seat of my pants" way of life. I mean if I have forgotten something on Friday, and want to play on Saturday, I don't want to worry about getting back before 6:00 p.m to go grocery shopping. I don't shop on Sundays, so....it's a problem.
- Having grocery stores open at 7:30 a.m. If I could count how many times I've shopped Wal-Mart between 4 and 5 a.m. or have been in Kroger or Randall's parking lots ready for them to open at 6 a.m....I'd still be counting
- Not being able to just hop in my car and drive anywhere I want to find food to buy, order fast food, or eat in a variety of restaurants serving tasty, high quality food at a reasonable price. I miss Olive Garden, Pei Wei, Los Cucos, Macaroni Grill, Chuy's, Chili's, Pappasito's (are you noticing a lot of Mexican food places?)---you get what I mean. They just don't exist here. Even if they did, there would be the driving issue. I haven't ventured out in the car alone; even if I did, there's still a problem with the parking, which is almost non-existant.
Number One. In the past I hated to go grocery shopping. I couldn't stand figuring out the menus so I could come up with a list (there was something about trying to keep NINE people happy all the time). Then there was the thought of actually buying it all and putting it away(there again, that may have had something to do with the quantities of food that I had to purchase). Have you ever stopped to think that you handle your grocery items up to six times from grocery shelf to pantry? You put it in the cart (1), take it out and put it on the belt at the check-out(2). Depending on where you shop and how much help you have, you may have to put it in bags or at best, put it back in the cart(3); only to remove it a few minutes later into your car in the parking lot(4). Then there's unloading the car and carrying it all to the kitchen (5)---which I really didn't like in the summertime in Houston with 95 degree temps and 95 percent humidity. Next, there's putting it away(6), just not stuffing it wherever, but making sure older things get rotated to the front of what you just bought, that older produce didn't get buried in the bottom of the crisper, etc. Can't say that grocery shopping was my favorite activity.
I have a really good friend, who years ago was a single mom with two young children to provide for, with little money to spend for food. Now she has a much more affluent lifestyle, and LOVES to grocery shop because she can. She can get all the wonderful things that she chooses to prepare for her family and not have to agonize over every little purchase. I'm thinking I might share more in that LOVE when I move back to America! To be able to drive to the store when I feel like it, to find a parking place (even it's a few hundred feet from the store's door), and then walk in and be able to choose from so much and so many wonderful things that are made available to us from all over the world, will be truly amazing. Hopefully, I will never forget what a blessing it is (even if I have to handle the food six times)! I'm hoping that I can learn the ropes here, learn where to shop to find my much needed staples. You can bet that the suitcases will be stuffed with treasures when we come back this way next time---little things I took for granted.
Number Two. I have been one that thinks of cooking as a chore---it isn't relaxing to me, despite my dreams for it to be different (see former post on cooking). Yes, folks, this former winner of the 1971 Betty Crocker Homemaker of Tomorrow Award at Uintah High School admits that even though she enjoys it once in awhile, most of the time she thinks of cooking as genuine hard labor! I think part of the problem was that I did it alone and in a hurry---no Harriet Nelson moments for me in my frilly apron and pearls. After-school activities were many at our house (piano, clarinet, and horn lessons; Brownies; soccer, track, golf, football, baseball, and cross country practices, meets, and games during daylight hours; dance lessons, Girl Scouts, sewing lessons, and marching band rehearsals to name a few). I wanted my kids to have opportunities so I made sure they had them, which meant I had to drive a lot of places. On top of all this, there were almost seven years of 3-4 evening paper routes which meant the papers needed to be on the doorstep or in the "paper" box on the porch before 6:00 p.m. in between all the lessons and activities. It was a real juggling act to get dinner on the table in the middle of all that (which is why some nights we ate from Wendy's 99 cent menu!). Perhaps the rush and the jockeying of schedules took some of the joy away from cooking, but the kids had some awesome experiences so what do you do? I look back now and wonder why I didn't make my crock pot my best friend, but as I analyze our life for most of at least 25 years, there was virtually no downtime from 6:00 a.m to midnight! Now I have lots of downtime if I choose it to be; maybe I can learn to love cooking! Maybe. I still hope and dream that I can learn to become a better cook while I am here; learning to cook European delights and learning to adapt American recipes to work here. I came across a new favorite blog a few weeks ago. Most of you are probably familiar with it. It looks like a really fun place to visit when in the mood to try something new: http://www.ourbestbites.com/
Number 3. My next hang-up with food was the clean-up. If you survived the menu planning, the shopping, putting the groceries away, the cooking, and the preditable complaint from at least one child, there was the clean-up! I have to admit that I wasn't one to insist on my children's help often enough. Once in awhile we would try the schedule thing, but we were still running. Often times there were night time activities as well (Jr. Jazz and church basketball games, concerts and recitals of all types, plays, church activities, Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts, musical rehearsals, homestudy seminary, etc.). A lot of nights I would resort to making sure the leftovers were put away, the table cleared off, and the dishes in the sink. That was an accomplishment in the middle of more chauffering, attending some of the activities, homework, reading to and taking care of little ones. I used to feel guilty until I read in Sister Hinckley's book about one of her daughters who chose to do the dishes the next morning so she could spend time with her children when they were home. For me, it was almost a necessity, as DJ worked really long hours most of our child-rearing years or had church responsibilities some evenings. Can this "old dog" learn new tricks? There are few nights that I still feel like doing the dishes right after dinner. DJ is only home and awake for a few hours a day! I do love a clean kitchen though. The jury is still out on this one.
Number 4. You were probably thinking (or hoping) I was through, but there was still more I disliked about food. I hated all the money that I would see disappear at the supermarket. I tried buying in bulk at times; I tried gardening; I tried bottling and freezing from time to time; once in awhile I shopped the ads and couponed, but I never got it fully together for long periods of time. Therefore, double guilt---once for the amount of money that was rung up on the register and then again because I thought I should have done things better to save our money! I think I've given up on being the thrifty shopper for now. I can't read the coupons nor the ads which are printed in German; though, I have to admit, I'm getting better, slowly.
Number 5. And then there was the dislike of all dislikes. I hated the fact that for a number of years, I had very little discipline when it came to food. I was an emotional eater. Mainly a negative emotional eater---when I was worried, I ate. When I was afraid, I ate. When I was sad, I ate. When I was bored, I ate. We also celebrated with food. You know, the dinner at Ninfa's to celebrate good grades, pizza at Pizza Hut when the kids made their Book It goals, birthday dinners at the Pagoda, ice cream after the dance recitals, candy at the drugstore after good behavior at the doctor's office, trips to Parson's bakery or Pace's for treats after we accomplished some big project on a summer day....the list goes on. I'm trying to overcome that one, too. I've done really well when it comes to sweets, but bread and salty munchies of all sorts still tempt me in a moment of frustration, sadness, or boredom.
All my dirty laundry out on the line, I have to say that I am grateful to my Father in Heaven and his son, Jesus Christ for the wonderful things that were created on this earth for us to eat and enjoy. Like many things given to us, we have to use wisdom and discretion in how we use that blessing; we can abuse something that is meant to keep us healthy and happy. I am also grateful for hard-working farmers, for plantation and orchard growers, for those that work long, hard hours in processing plants (I've done this one, it's not easy), for those that spend days away from their families to transport our food, and those who own, work, and staff wonderful stores so that we can have food on our tables. I am thankful for DJ's hard work for the past 36 1/2 years to "bring home the bacon". Often as I pray at mealtime, I include many of these people in my prayer because I realize that my life could be drastically affected by the lack of work on any of their parts.
So, I am thankful food, good food everywhere.
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