Discovering new comfort foods

November is upon us and we have had more grey, damp days, making it the season of comfort foods.  Admittedly the days here have a better daylight/darkness balance (to the tune of 1 & 3/4 hours more daylight on Dec 21st!) and though so far it is mostly mild, the heart still yearns for tasty warm snacks and filling meals.  I fear that the chilly weather is not far away now. (I actually started writing this entry mid-week and by the weekend the nights had indeed turned frosty.)

My younger son's desire for UK style Heinz tomato soup has been fulfilled (just) by a similar tasting offering from Trader Joe's, which is also where our breakfast cereal is now sourced as they have a good choice of products which are neither sugar-laden nor garishly coloured.

Bread is almost exclusively homemade, thanks to our bread machine and the following recipe from Steve's grandmother:

Lily's Bread Rolls

1.5 lb / 680g / 5 cups strong bread flour

15 fl oz / 425ml / 1 3/4 cups mixed milk & water  

2 oz / 56g / 1/4 cup vegetable shortening or lard

1 dessertspoon / 10ml / 2  tsp of salt

2 teaspoons / 7g / 2 tsp of dried yeast

(or one packet of bread machine yeast)

 [UK/metric/US measures]

Put all the ingedients in the machine and set it going on the dough cycle or knead by hand in the traditional manner, cover and allow to rise in a warm place.

Just before the dough cycle is complete set oven to 425F/220C/Gas Mark 7

Once the dough cycle is complete shape the dough into 12 rolls, 

place on 2 baking sheets and cover with oiled cling film or a clean tea towel. 

Leave to rise in a warm place for 20 to 30 minutes or until doubled in size.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, turning the trays half way through if necessary.

Place on a cooling tray and try not to eat them while they are still too hot.

Best eaten within 2 days of baking - if they last that long! 

Here is a batch made by my elder son: 

One of the few things I do buy bread for is grilled cheese sandwiches, a newly discovered snack, which are neither grilled under a grill/broiler nor on a BBQ/grill (more vocab with opportunity for confusion), but are actually fried in a heavy based frying pan or skillet. This week was the first time since April that I felt the urge to make them.

Method: Sandwich one slice of "cheese food" (like a slice of plastic "cheese" for putting on a burger) and one slice of American Munster (a very melty cheese  - could maybe substitute Port Salut?) between 2 slices of bread. Butter the outside of the sandwich on both sides or brush with melted butter. Fry on each side in non-stick pan or skillet until the outsides are golden brown and the filling is all gooey.  A slice of ham can be included in the filling, if desired.

On the quilting side of things I have continued mining my scrap tub (yes I packed it up and brought it with me!) and have made some more 6.5" crumb blocks to add to the hundred that made it safely across the Atlantic Ocean.

 

I also made two crazy pot holders in autumnal colours as a little gift for the friend who has invited us over for Thanksgiving.

This week I am linking up with Quilting is more fun than housework

Small things that make life easier

Visiting Philadelphia last month we checked in at the hotel using my American issued debit card and the receptionist asked for photo ID. I duly handed over my UK passport and I saw the panic enter into her eyes. After I assured her it did have photos of yours truly within its battered maroon covers, and she conferred with her more experienced colleague, she accepted it as valid proof of my existence. Only as we collected the receipt as we left did I see that my address had been entered as Northern Ireland, United States - no street address, no town/city, just two completely geographically separated countries! Such events should now be in the past as I now have my Pennsylvania Driver's License in its full Technicolor glory. I swear I was more nervous for this relatively straightforward test than I was over 20 years ago on a foggy day in the UK. This time the test route was flat, short and simple as opposed to the one taking in the steepest street in the town specially to do the dreaded hill start, as many junction types as possible and a quiet housing estate (subdivision) for the 3 point turn and reversing around a corner. Back then I was disappointed to fail the first attempt (I passed second time around), this time I would have been terminally embarrassed.

Learning to use the correct vocabulary helps make life smoother too - there are the well known examples pavement/sidewalk, tap/faucet, boot/trunk, holiday/vacation, petrol/gas(oline) but less familiar terms crop up too, sometimes to the gentle amusement of one or both sides, this week I discovered that my shake-proof washer is an American's toothed washer and a grub screw is a set screw. Cooking ingredients need care too - all purpose flour is plain flour, self-rising is self raising, golden raisins are sultanas, American granulated sugar is nearer in crystal size to UK caster sugar than UK granulated sugar. For some recipes only the exact ingredient will do, calling for a trip to the international aisle in the supermarket to find a run of the mill UK item, usually at extra cost, for example golden syrup or, for a special occasion, a can of Heinz baked beans, which are not the same the world over as we have discovered. Some surprising things such as Lea & Perrin's Worcestershire Sauce are easily available as standard products. Also I heard "copacetic" (satisfactory, tickety-boo) used in speech for the first time ever - it just doesn't seem to exist in UK English.

My quilting achievement for this week was completing a pair of cushions started in the spring of 2014 - as you can see I had help!

Truly a Quilter in a Strange Land

Firstly, my apologies that there has been a ten month hiatus in this very intermittent blog.

Secondly, I have finally moved properly to the USA together with my sewing machines, fabrics, notions, patterns, magazines, books etc.!!!  I arrived on 6th August 2015 and the (second) container with all the (rest of the) stuff arrived exactly one week later and was unloaded (note, not unpacked) in 2 hours.  Since then we have been doing a lot of that unpacking and I have been hunting out the essentials so that I can use my sewing machines for the first time in well over a year!  During that year and a bit I have not been idle on the crafting front as I have been knitting for myself, my children, my grandchildren and friends.

The last fifteen months have been a long hard slog and the final 3 month stint in the UK was especially difficult as I frequently felt I was in the wrong place when family occasions and other events happened in Pennsylvania and elsewhere without me.  However, that is now over and I can move forward with our new life across the pond.  Being back together again as a family is a wonderful feeling.

During my stay in the US between mid-February and the end of April I was welcomed by the local quilters and spent some very pleasant Tuesday mornings knitting and chatting with them, I also found an evening drop-in knitting group at the local library and I am looking forward to rejoining both these groups as time permits.

Since my most recent arrival the weather was initially warm and sunny and a real treat for an Englishwoman I can assure you.  The fresh vegetables from the local farmers' markets were an eye-opener too, especially the sweetcorn, which was the best I have ever tasted. The last few weeks have been cooler with a few frosty nights, the leaves have largely fallen from our trees and autumn is well under way.

A sad note is that Rocky, our black cat, started to suffer from pancreatitis and despite the most valiant efforts of our new veterinarian we had to say farewell to him at the end of September.  Smokey continues to enjoy his new world, though he was not so confident when we stayed in a friend's place for a couple of days and decided that the highest place in the kitchen was the best vantage point!

Now I have got my sewing machine plugged in and running I can share the first quilted thing I have completed since I arrived here in the USA.

The pattern is available at http://lilysquilts.blogspot.com/2013/05/pam-kitty-tea-cosy-tutorial.html

Mostly moved....

Life got pretty busy after my last posting - both on a business & personal front but the container shipped in late September and I then managed a 10 day trip over to Pennsylvania in October and took the cats with me.  This is the story of how that trip went.

After booking my flight from Manchester to JFK I called customer services and made reservations for the 2 cats, to be paid at the airport on the day of travel. It is worth insisting and speaking to a supervisor if the first person you speak to claims they don't take animals.  In preparation the cats visited the vet a month in advance for microchips and rabies vaccinations, and then not more than 10 days before the flight another visit for the health and fitness to fly letter/certificate.

The morning of travel I woke up earlier than usual for our flight and let the cats out to do whatever cats do at 5am, then fed them a small breakfast and got them into their carriers. The carriers were labelled with the cats' names, chip numbers, flight number, ultimate destination address and our cell phone numbers.  I arrived at the airport 3 1/2 hours before the flight time and went to check in as normal with a trolley laden with suitcase and 2 cat carriers. The check in agent called down the pet check in agent who confirmed that the temperatures were fine for the cats and went through all the paperwork, I paid the fees for the cats and then weighed in the suitcase as normal baggage. The pet agent then escorted me and the cats through security, where I did have to open the carriers so they could be swabbed for testing! After security the cats and I went our separate ways and I was assured that their water bowls would be refreshed before loading.

I didn't actually see the cats being loaded onto the aircraft, but was assured they were on and "tied down" before I boarded. The flight was just as I like - blissfully uneventful.  On arrival at JFK I cleared immigration about 30 minutes after touchdown and then went to baggage claim, waited a few minutes for my suitcase and then a few more at oversize baggage for the cats. They were both fine and seemed quiet but awake and not at all distressed. Clearing customs was also straightforward, as usual. Some of the other passengers came over to see the cats before leaving, having seen them in the check in queue back in Manchester.

Then I met up with my husband for the first time in 2 months and drove home to PA via a route where I was able to see the Statue of Liberty. We stopped and rewatered the cats when we had a coffee and on arrival at our new home they came out of their carriers and explored every room, under every piece of furniture, inside every cupboard for the next couple of hours. I'm not sure whether my sons were more pleased to see their mum or their cats!

I promptly went down with a horrible cough & cold and spent most of my stay feeling pretty grim.  Work issues also reared their ugly head and had to be dealt with as soon as I returned to the UK.

The container was delivered a few days after I returned to the UK so husband and sons had the fun of unpacking it :-)

Saying goodbyes and refreshing memories

Before moving there are goodbyes to be said to family and friends. Some people you are sure you will see again but with others you know it could be the last time you see them. Some friendships exist purely because you live near each other or share an interest and may only be short term, others last for years, even though you see and talk to each other rarely, but when you do meet up your conversation picks up as if you had last seen each other a few days ago, not a decade or more.

One of the things I am trying to do in my last few weeks before leaving are to catch up, in person, with my various friends. This week I had a very pleasant evening in a Peak District pub reminiscing over shared memories and making new ones to take with me into the future.  My feeling is that you carry your friends with you in your head and it is important to refresh your "stored" friends so that they are truer reflections of their real world selves.

In the last few months I have also been acutely aware that I am visiting places for the last time: the house that I was born in, the church in which I was baptised and married (first time around) and where I also sang in the choir for much of my childhood, the schools I went to, the chalk landscape I grew up sheltered by.  Leaving "home" to return to where I currently live has always been a wrench, even if I was only passing through after visiting a client, this time it felt like a final pilgrimage.  Somehow leaving the house where I have spent all the nearly19 years of my (second) marriage has not had the same sense of loss as we are moving onwards together as a family and also I have helped my daughter and her family move into it.  I suspect my feelings would be different if we had sold it to a stranger.

Our house packed into a 20' shipping container

If I never see another packing peanut in my life it will be too soon....

The last few months of my life have been dominated by assessing our "stuff" in preparation for our move, sending some to the charity shop, putting some in the bin, leaving a little for my grandchildren to play with when they move into this house and packing the rest.

During the time I have come to the conclusion that we just have too much stuff (certainly we had too much stuff, we now have less!).  Unlike moving within driving distance there is no option to throw the last, unsorted, oddments into the car.  When packing your life into a 20' shipping container it is necessary to be ruthless and ask questions in the vein of the following:

• Do I really need it?
• Does it fit?
• Will it ever fit again?
• Will I ever wear it again?
• Have I ever worn it?
• Is it cheaper to buy a new one on the other side of the Atlantic?
• Will it even work on the other side of the Atlantic?
• Could someone else have more use/fun with this than me?
• Why have I still got this?

I have become good friends with the volunteers at my local Barnardo's shop - they greet me with a smile as I enter, offer to help me with my boxes and ask me if I am one of their gift aiders.

Some specific items have been donated to my younger son's scout group.  He has gained so much from his time there as a scout, explorer and young leader that I felt it was time to give something back.  This was also the same group where my daughter was a Brownie so they have been part of my life for getting on for 20 years!

Even after all the winnowing there is still enough to fill the container, and almost every box has been packed by yours truly, hence my surfeit of packing peanuts, bubble wrap, tissue paper, sticky tape and cardboard boxes. In particular the (free) banana boxes from my local supermarket.  In a few weeks they will wonder why the banana boxes are still under the checkouts at the end of the day.  I can now tell you what size bananas come from which countries (it is marked on the box) and that a box designed to hold 18kg or 40lb of bananas is also just right for holding 20kg of books.  Any more than that and I can't lift the packed box.

Of course, the only stuff to which the above questions are totally irrelevant are my sewing and quilting supplies.  I need every last thread, scrap and notion of my stash, whatever anybody else says or thinks.  All those boxes contain items vital to my creativity, even if I haven't opened them for years.

My main consolation after all this?  The shipping container should arrive at our new home several weeks before I do, so my husband and sons can do the unpacking!

And a couple more pictures of the cats:

Rocky pretends to be a box file

Smokey likes curling up in the empty boxes

Heading for a new life

Soon I will truly be a quilter in a strange land, but currently the strangeness is that the rest of the family (husband and 2 sons) have already moved to Pennsylvania, USA, leaving me behind in the UK for a few more weeks.  I would like to be able to say I am making the most of this "quiet" time by quilting to my heart's desire, but the reality is that I am doing the final packing up of our belongings both at home and at work. My thanks to John & John for all their help at the factory in moving the big stuff around for me and reducing my workload.

Aiding me at home are my two feline quilt inspectors (QIs), Smokey & Rocky, who think that every box is for them to sit in, every load of laundry for them to sleep in and that the main purpose of my existence is to feed them.

Smokey pretending that none of the chaos exists

Rocky in a rare sociable moment