This afternoon we went to a family picnic at Peggy's school. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet the parents of Peggy's schoolmates. Quite an interesting group of people -- they work for the embassies, Peace Corps, Unicef. Today was an introduction, and I look forward to getting to know the families at QSI over the coming months. In fact, we were invited to a BBQ tomorrow afternoon, and Peggy is looking forward to a playdate with her new friend (and so am I!)
The school - while a great new facility - is no longer in the city center. (You've already read all about this, I know.) We've just been walking around - or hailing a cab - when we need to go somewhere. At the end of the picnic, I called the only phone number I had for a driver - but all of the cars were in use at the airport. Oooops. I should have arranged a ride back in advance. In any case, one of our new friends graciously dropped us off on their way back home. Next time I'll plan ahead.
Even better was that they dropped us off at the Number One 2 blocks from our house, which is MUCH bigger than the 24-hour store that is in our building. Wow! I had heard of this store, had walked by that corner at least 2 or 3 times, but had not seen the entrance to the store. It is tucked away behind a parking lot, though I am not sure how I missed it. In any case, it was fabulous! I am sure we can find everything we need here.
In the short-term, I bought the hangers I so desperately needed. (And I have unpacked and stored the last suitcase!!) And the spatula. (Maybe I will bore you with my pancake story from this morning??) And a measuring cup. I had Peggy and Gracie in tow, and I could tell Peggy was tired. So I was conscious not to buy too much stuff to lug back to the apt, and up 4 flights of stairs. But we found soy milk! So I bought chocolate and vanilla. And real paper towels. Some vegetables. And a few other things. What a difference!
The first day or two the store in our building was sufficient - but - this morning - I was so frustrated that we did not have basic supplies for cooking and a mostly empty fridge and pantry - and no way to contribute meaningfully to the School Picnic. (Did I mention the picnic was a potluck??) We have no oven. (A new one should be coming soon) We have burners, but only one small frying pan and one small saucepan. (I brought a package of cookies from the Number One Bakery... Groan)
The trip to the bigger Number One was just what I needed! They have all of the kitchen supplies I will need -- and the groceries. It will probably take a few days to build up our supplies. But we'll get there.
If you're still reading, I'll tell you the pancake episode. So, we have no mixing bowl. Fine. I used the small saucepan. We have no measuring cup or measuring spoons. Fine. I've made these pancakes dozens of times. I estimate. The mixture doesn't look quite the same. (But neither did the egg or the vegetable oil) Whatever. I don't have a mixing spoon (and I don't want to damage the saucepan with a metal spoon), so I use a small wooden spatula. A little lumpy, but it will do. Could not find the Pam cooking spray (or any cooking spray) at the store. I lightly coat the frying pan with some of the oil. OK. I spoon the batter into the pan. I tell Peggy these will be baby pancakes. Because I have only a wooden spatula, and I know it won't be easy (possible?) to flip them. They came out either slightly burned or mushy in the middle. Surprisingly, they tasted pretty good. Peggy was disappointed. I was really frustrated that we did not have what we needed to make our pancakes -- especially since we were primarily using the mix that we brought with us! Sigh. I used the nice new hood and light while making (attempting) the pancakes, so we did have ventilation, but as I flipped (or, tried to flip) the pancakes -- I thought -- I hope I don't set the smoke detector off! Then I looked around and realized, we don't have any smoke detectors. If we had a microwave (and microwave popcorn), I guess this means I could burn it with reckless abandon and not worry about waking Peggy with the alarm
On a completely different note. We drove by at least 3 brides/weddings today.
No comments:
Post a Comment