Settling in

So, now that we’ve been here for a month, here’s a little recap of adjusting to Life In England:

Federdecken: We arrived to a completely furnished home, but one thing that was lacking was our bedding of choice–federdecken. We tried for a week using the spreads that were here, but finally broke down and ordered new federdecken from Debenham’s in Bury St. Edmunds. Heavenly! It’s not really cold enough to use them at the moment, (but we still do) but I know they will be absolutely wonderful come winter.

Ventilation: We keep the windows open every day (and some at night) to help with ventilation. If not, we come home to a stuffy/musty house. Don’t know how long we can do this, as we have been warned that winter is bitter cold, and we also as a result battle flies, mosquitoes and wasps daily, but for the moment we prefer the fresh air flowing. Our predecessors  left us an ample supply (about 50…) fly-swatters, so we are all set.

Diffuser: Also to help with the air quality, one of my first purchases was a UK voltage diffuser for my essential oils. (The bag of oils constituted about 1/3 of the weight allowance of Rich’s checked bag…) We keep it in our bedroom at night, diffusing lovely lavender to help us sleep and Purify to clean the air.

Compost: that is, the lack thereof. I sadly deconstructed my wonderfully rich compost bin in Washington before I left, piling the compost, worms and all, around every bush and plant in my backyard. I’ve been a composter everywhere I’ve lived since 1993 and it physically pains me to have to throw food waste in the trash bin. I’m seriously thinking of asking the landlord if I can set up a compost pile here. Two years is plenty of time to get some nice rich loam from it.

Fentiman’s Ginger Beer– Botanical Ginger Drink with Herbal Extracts: (see photo) We just found this at Sainsbury’s! It is the best Ginger Beer I’ve ever tasted–a rich, sharp ginger taste and not too sweet; no artificial stuff  and lots of good stuff. I thought of my son-in-law, Ben and know he’d love it.

Driving: I think we are finally getting the hang of this driving on the left side (I’ve actually stopped calling it the “wrong side.”) I saw an American car on base the other day, and seeing the steering wheel on the left side seemed very strange to me. Rich is so focused on the road, staying in his lane and avoiding hedgerows, curbs, bicyclists, pedestrians and oncoming cars, that his sense of direction overall has greatly diminished. I, on the other hand, being in the role of navigator, have a greater awareness of our location and the surrounding geography. We are an effective team….

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