White Coffee, please

We fell in love with coffee in Seattle.  I started drinking it for the first time in Milwaukee in 2006 after Greyson was born and what I loved about it then, and still do, is the ritual of it. I love a cup early in the morning before the day starts, the smell of it and the temperature, but I didn't truly start appreciating great coffee until we moved to Seattle. Seattle knows coffee. Not just because Starbucks was born there. If you've spent any time in and around the city you know that it's appreciated as much for Starbucks as it is for the eccentric mom and pop shops, the one-man espresso stands and the aficionados who can tell the difference in blends, origins and bitterness by sight.  I'm not one of those but I do love a great cup of coffee with cream just like my parents drank when I was growing up.

What's my point? This is a challenge in London. Most places serve weak, watered down versions and the beans available in stores are average. Even a cappuccino from a great breakfast cafe is bland. I have found a few good cups of coffee in the area though (there is a Starbucks if I'm craving it, though it's a only a treat due to location and prices) and in fact this once Keurig-hating girl now owns a UK version by Bosch called "Tassimo" and the single-serve coffee is actually really good.  The challenge now is finding cream!  You can't get "half and half" here.  I can buy "single cream" or "pouring cream" which are similar but they come in little sour-cream-like plastic tubs and expire 2 days after they're purchased.  I can buy mini plastic cartons of whole or part-skim milk but the flavour isn't right.  Powdered Coffeemate is available- eww.

So, I shared this dilemma with a German colleague and she kindly sent me 3 little glass bottles of this:

Jackpot. It's perfect. I don't know what it is but the flavour is perfect and they don't even have to be refrigerated until they're opened (I would have been geeked out by this concept a few months ago- all dairy should be refrigerated right- but I've gotten over that). Problem is, I'm about to run out and it’s not available here either so unless I take a trip to Germany once/month I either ask my colleague to be my dealer or I continue my search.  For kicks, I popped the text from the bottle into Google translate.  "Creamy Dream".  I'm glad I waited to do that until after I tried it.  Creamy dreams conjure images of a different sort and I wouldn't put it in my coffee.

So, if you've got any ideas, I'm listening. A great cup of coffee is a wonderful treat for me and having been on my own these past weeks, the most enjoyable part of the day before the silence sets in.  The boys will be home in 2 days.  If half and half could survive a 12 hour journey, I would add it to the list of groceries that are coming with them.  The good news is we'll be in Italy in 9 days and I know I can count on a great cup of coffee from there. It was, after all, the "true" birthplace of Starbucks.

Bonjour and Bonsoir

I had meetings in Paris earlier this week so I decided to leave a day early to take advantage of the city and sights on Sunday. I intended to spend my day in the museums but circumstances had other plans.  On the first Sunday of each month, every national museum in Paris is free of charge. This is probably a really great thing for a lot of people but for someone like me*, it means a change of plans. So, I took the Metro from my hotel to the Louvre and walked around the grand entrance (the very famous triangular structure in the centre of the grounds) and then hopped on an Open Tour bus which offers 3 different tour lines and the ability to get on an off at your leisure.

Paris is a beautiful city- no surprise there- but I have my favourite spots so I rode the bus to Notre Dame and along the Seine and then hopped off in Trocadero and had lunch outside and read a book then walked to the Eiffel Tower (the queues to go up the tower were outrageous!) and soaked up the sun for a bit.  I grabbed another bus and rode some more and then jumped off near Place de la Concorde and shopped the little stalls selling art and trinkets. I’m framing some of my favourite scenes for the kitchen. 5 Euro for 3 prints but I regret not buying a watercolour from a nice toothless man who I think may have painted it himself.

I probably walked 5 miles (in flip flops) so after 9 hours of walking and riding, I sat on a cafe sidewalk with a glass of Bordeaux and the Tour de France on TV. I finished the day with a colleague and his boyfriend and a traditional 4 hour French meal that began with charcuterie, Foie gras and escargot and ended with profiteroles and creme brulee.  We had canard (duck) as a main course, of course.

It was a beautiful day in Paris. I just wish Mike had been there to share it with me. 13 days and counting until the boys come back to London. Work is keeping my mind occupied or I would be going mad with missing them. The Olympic torch is coming through our little town in a few days so I might take a break for that. The sun is shining in Wisconsin (I know it’s flat-out hot). I’m thankful the sun was plentiful in Paris; in London it’s a bit elusive.

Happy 4th of July weekend!

*Someone like me = zero patience. Seriously. Zero.

Me and Them

Their week in pictures

Boys at play on vacation VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

My week in pictures

Jess at work in London VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

This is going to be the longest 3 weeks of my life…

Father’s Day 2012

Greyson: “I wanna get Dad a totem pole necklace for Father’s Day”

The boys are sleeping and Mike and I are enjoying the quiet that  parents with small children know all too well.  The 3rd round of the US Open just started (10pm local time) so we will record it for the morning.  We’re considering waking up early on Monday morning to watch the finish.  Call it a bit pathetic, but I can’t wait for the British Open in July- that I can take the train to Scotland to watch it live is tempting.  Last night, we let the boys stay up until Tiger and Phil teed off.  If you think we’re trying to brainwash the boys into rounding out a family 4-some, you’re right.

We took our first family bike ride today in Windsor’s Great Park. Mike bought me a new mountain bike a few weeks ago so we’re now fully equipped to take long rides. Greyson on his 2-wheeler and Graham in the Burley. We stopped for lunch at one of the food carts in the park and the boys ran around the 100ft totem pole after eating ice cream. It was a perfect morning.

Tomorrow we’re off to Windsor for some shopping a little sight-seeing.  Mike has requested the US Open and pizza for dinner tomorrow night so it will be, in his words, the perfect Father’s Day. 

The boys leave for Wisconsin on Friday. I’m already dreading it.

Happy Father’s Day from the UK to our dads, our family and friends.  Watching golf makes me miss my dad more than usual so I’m making a mental list of the things I know he’s going to love when he visits (London is a musician’s paradise).

Graham: Be patient Dad!

Livin’

The days are moving fast! My work days are the fastest I’ve ever experienced and that might be something you wish for but I need to slow down a bit because I’m not getting enough done and I’m learning at a pace that’s too fast for me and therefore retaining next to nothing.

On our days as a family, we wake up at 7 (that is, me and the boys wake at 7; Mike is up much earlier and bikes a solid 15 miles before we’re ready to eat breakfast). After breakfast, it’s lunch before we know it and for the past month, we’re lucky if we see Greyson more than 2 collective hours in a day. He’s made so many friends in the neighbourhood that we barely see him. We have to remind him to check in from time to time and to stop in for some lunch or a snack.

Graham, who called Greyson “Nn” for the past year (as in the sound of the letter, nothing else) now says “Gayson” and only saves “Nn” for the times when he really needs to get his attention. Graham’s 2.5 year old vocabulary is amazing and he’s already using a bit of British (garage = “gare-ridge” and backyard = garden). The funny thing is, we can’t tell if he’s picking up the accent because he can’t say his R’s anyway.

Our household goods arrived a week ago Thursday and after the 2nd full weekend of unpacking, organizing and otherwise performing duties that require a daily dose of ibuprofen, we are feeling like home in this place.

47 St. David’s VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

We spent a beautiful sunny Mother’s Day in the city where the boys got to see the Buckingham Palace guards for the first time. They got especially excited over the guards’ marching band which was likely a rehearsal for the Queen’s Jubilee- a celebration of the 60th year she’s been on the throne which is being commemorated on June 4th and 5th with a load of pomp and circumstance including 2 bank holidays (i.e. no one works in the UK).

Mother’s Day in London VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

So, a few big milestones in recent weeks but none more enjoyable than yesterday and today- two 80+ degree days with home cooked BGE meals reminiscent of home.  I do miss my food processor though- pesto is not easy with a £20 hand blender!

Remember our neighbours? The guy whose BMW Grey crashed into? Well, after they brought us a nice bottle of wine to thank Greyson for the scratches, they invited us to dinner twice and Mike and Ben go cycling together whenever they can; thus the early morning bike rides which Mike takes with or without Ben.  These photos were from his solo ride at 5:30am today. The Copper Horse statue is King George III. The path is called “The Long Walk” and leads to the King George IV gate at Windsor Castle.  It was paved during Queen Anne’s era apparently to make it easier for coaches to get to the castle.

The Long Walk VIEW SLIDE SHOW DOWNLOAD ALL

Quote of the week:

(Knock on the door on Monday @ ~10am)

Fede: “Can Greyson come out to play?”

Mike: “Don’t you have school today?”

Fede: “I forgot to wake up”

(Mike’s last line in his email to me: “They must run a pretty tight ship”)

Alive and well

Greyson, who lost his 1st tooth last Saturday, has made a “best friend” in our neighbourhood named Feday (not sure how to spell it but it’s pronounced “feh-day” with emphasis on the first syllable).  He’s a great kid, around 8 years old, and the two boys have been riding their bikes all over the place, running amid the gardens (yards to you Yanks) and bothering the older kids.

Yesterday as I chatted with a fellow expat named Mary Beth, Greyson proceeded to crash into a really nice black BMW sedan at mock-10 breaking the reflector light off of the front of his bike and leaving 2 big gashes in the front left panel of the shiny car. I looked at the woman, whom I’d just met and said with a bit of trepidation “whose car is this"?”

“Oh, it’s my husband’s. It’s OK as long as your son isn’t hurt!”

I proceed to apologize profusely and ask her to let me know what the damages are as I’m simultaneously willing my son not to add stress to an already stressful situation by breaking down in tears from either pain, fear, embarrassment or some combination. I’m telling you, he smoked this car hard. God smiled on me a little bit and willed Greyson to shake it off. So off he and Feday rode into the…OK, it wasn’t a sunset.  Mary Beth continued to be gracious for a few more minutes until her husband, who doesn’t yet know his car has acquired some character, called her into dinner somewhat sternly.

Fast forward about 20 minutes and the husband and his two daughters are standing in front of his car looking at it closely, rubbing the panel then looking at it again.  Greyson is still riding and he stops and the man says something to him that I can’t hear and Greyson rides off and then the man and the girls start *gasp* walking toward our house!  I’m literally in a panic in the front room picking up wayward Legos and calling frantically to Mike who is hiding (yes hiding) in the garage.  I am prepared to pay for the damages but I do not want to get scolded by a guy I’ve never met in a country I’ve only lived in for a month!

The door bell rings.  I open it and say hello.  He says (or at least this is what I think he says) “Hi, my name is Ben. I’m the guy who was yelling at your son…” but what he actually did say was “I’m the guy who was yelling at his wife to come to dinner but I just wanted to stop by and welcome you to the neighbourhood” and he hands me a bottle of wine and a bottle opener in a little gift bag and I’m so shocked all I have the wherewithal to say is “I can’t believe you’re giving me a bottle of wine after my son crashed into your car!”

10 minutes later we’re in his living room with his lovely wife sharing a bottle of wine and getting wonderful advice on life in the UK along with invitations to Legoland, the Olympics and a future dinner along with babysitting services from their very mature and polite 14 year old daughter Kathleen.

We are settling in and counting the days until our household goods arrive (into port on 10 May; pray for a quick customs process). The air shipment brought our clothing, some kitchen essentials and, of course, Greyson’s bike. The sea shipment will bring comfort that we’ve been missing since March 27th (but who’s counting?)

Here’s a few pics from recent weeks.  We’ve already had visitors and are looking forward to more. Come soon!

Graham after getting “attacked” by mud in a tree

Mike sent me an email with this picture that said “this is the life…watch the landscapers take care of the back yard while I drink coffee”.  And he says he’s bored.

And the after picture:

GRAHAM*isms*

G: (to me, while taking a bath by himself) “Pweese can u weave? I need to be awone. Pweese cwose the door”

All you needed (or not) to know

We have arrived!

We were blessed to connect/re-connect with so many Wisconsin friends during our final trip to the UK…it was joyful and overwhelming and the well wishes continue to propel us on what is now day 7 of our official arrival to England.  I hope you all felt our gratitude for the big hugs, endless laughs, the hospitality and sacrifices made to visit with us. We might need to find a way to relocate again so that we can create a great excuse to get together.  It was a perfect send off in every way.

Our friends and family were all very interested in the specifics about this move. “Are you bringing everything with you"?”, “How long does it take to get there?”, “Do they have bathrooms?” (Ok, no one asked that).  Without completely boring you with the nitty gritty details, what I can tell you is that the most stressful part of this move was trying to separate our lives into 4 buckets before the movers arrived (the answers, now in hindsight, are in blue)

1. What gets put in storage (not enough)

2. What gets shipped in a 40ft ocean container (too much)

3. What gets shipped via plane (the wrong things)

4. What comes with us in our checked baggage (11 bags of mostly useless crap)

Our checked baggage is unpacked and my little closet is almost full. The air shipment that arrives this week contains the rest of our clothes and shoes along with our favorite kitchen essentials and odds and ends. I honestly don’t know where I’m going to put it all! Stay tuned for future photos. Our garage will not be housing our cars.

The sea shipment which is comprised of our furniture, linens, dishes and beloved TempurPedic takes 4-6 weeks so my patience is being tested. We are in our own home but sleeping in rented beds, eating with rented utensils and sitting on rented couches. Nothing is comfortable nor familiar but on the flip side we are laughing every day whether it’s at each other for being jet lagged and tired, at driving on the wrong side of the road, or our inability to figure out how to use our stove and oven. (The oven is of course in Celsius but to make things interesting, most of the numbers are worn off so we just turn it on and hope for the best).

We stored pretty much anything with a plug because although converters will work for computers and laptops and a few other smaller electrics, most of our US appliances and electronics would blow up from the high voltage (this happened to me with a flat iron on a business trip once and was enough to keep me conservative). We spent the first couple of days shopping for a coffee maker, hair dryer, BluRay player and other essentials. Yes, we have to buy a TV at some point as well.

We celebrated Easter yesterday by lazing in the morning with the boys and their little baskets and then had dinner last night with colleagues/friends who hosted a wonderful Easter dinner with gammon, twice baked potatoes, mac n cheese, green beans, deviled eggs, salads, a cheese board and cake pops! We are thankful to have friends here who welcomed us with baskets of goodies and necessities, treats and toys for the kids, internet access and answers to questions we didn’t even know we had.

So, before we left I posted what we will miss and 1 week here tells me that there is plenty more to add to that list. But in the spirit of counting our blessings this Easter, here is a start to what we’re already enjoying:

1. Deliveries. Anything and everything we want/need can be delivered to our door with one day (or less) notice. There’s a store called Next that can deliver curtains, a vacuum cleaner, a fruit bowl and clothing for our entire family in a day. We used Amazon Fresh in Seattle for food but the UK has this concept perfected and it’s reasonably priced.
2. The gym. We joined The Thames Club and it’s fantastic
3. Travel. We booked 10 days in Italy for the cost of a weekend in the US. We’ll hit France and Ireland as a family before summer’s end as well.
4. Service. Whether setting up satellite TV or simply making an enquiry, it’s friendly, quite sophisticated and very fast via a telephone call or visit to the internet.

So, all you needed to know and more? We are almost over the jet lag (we had cereal and oatmeal at 2:30am our first night here and have slowly crept out of that pattern) and I report to my new office first thing tomorrow.  If you did not receive a “We’ve Moved” card, please let me know. I have extras and would be happy to send.

Love,
Mike, Jess & the boys

FACT: Did you know that a box of Lucky Charms in the UK costs over $10 USD? No, we did not buy it!

Dear Seattle…Yours Truly, The Guenthers

Dear Seattle,

It took us a little while to fall in love with you and now that we have, we’re leaving. 

Love, Mike & Jessi Guenther

4 years ago we made the decision to move from 33 years of Wisconsin familiarity to a place we’d never even visited.  It was, at the time, the biggest leap of faith we’d ever taken.  In August 2008 we took our final flight from Milwaukee to Seattle after heartfelt goodbyes to family and friends and the first 12 months was the whirlwind we expected it to be with some unexpected events (3 different houses!) to make it more interesting, i.e. stressful.  We had a hard time meeting people that year; at least meeting people we felt connected to.  I often wanted to “just go home”. We were together in our resolve, thank God, or we never would have stayed.

Fast (really fast)-forward almost 4 years and we are saying some heartfelt goodbyes once again to friends and “family” who filled the holes that were created when we moved; who filled holes we didn’t even know we had.  To our amazing friends the Johnsons who are kindred spirits in every sense; like-minds and a loving relationship with the added bonus of 2 amazing kids who, like their parents, wrote the book on what it means to be a true friend. We had the pleasure of spending our last few days with them and I couldn’t think of a more perfect way to close out our time in the neighborhood.

Happy Birthday, Angie!

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We said goodbye to the Pinskis and Herreras who have the shared belief that most adventures are better with friends.  To the Betos, Nichols, Shumakers and Reeds whose 3, then 4, then 5 year-old boys taught Greyson the power of friendship, sharing, Star Wars and Superheroes.   The Loves (is there a better name for our retired neighbors?) introduced our boys to their backyard in the summer and movie nights in the winter; Easter Egg hunts and bubbles bigger than balloons, homemade applesauce, salsa from their garden vegetables and whoopie pies. 

We will also miss:

Pike Place Market.  What more can we say?  It will not be possible to get better fish where we’re going. It’s a big deal.

Mt. Rainier. Majestic. Breathtaking. Unparalleled. (Honorable mention goes to the Olympic and Cascade mountain ranges)

Lake Washington. Our family had so much fun on this lake last summer. The River Thames won’t provide the same level of entertainment but there will be scenery worth photographing.

Downhill skiing. We’ll have to go to France and although it’s not difficult to get to France, a season pass and weekly visits will not be possible. We hope to make it once or twice a year.

Shopping. From groceries to clothes and shoes, shopping here is easy, the selection is great and believe it or not, MUCH cheaper than what we’re about to pay (and Seattle ‘aint cheap).

Appliances. We are going smaller, we are cooking in Celsius and our oven, range and refrigerator will require manuals that will be consulted on a daily basis until we have them memorized. The washer/dryer is small and inefficient and sits in the garage.

Our Church. We found a family at Eastlake and it will be very difficult to replace (especially in a secular England).

What we will gain is yet to be named but we know for sure that we will gain because our first adventure gave us the confidence to know that we can do it again.  We’re looking forward to making a new list.  But we will miss our friends…

So long, Seattle

PS. We sent change of address cards this week but if yours doesn’t make it, our new contact info is below ~

47 St. David’s Drive

Wentworth Gate

Englefield Green, Surrey TW20 0BA

Mike’s new cell: +44 (0) 7798 671643

Jessi’s new cell:  +44 (0) 7798 657463

Maui-licious

What would you do if you were moving to the UK in 10 days?  You go to Maui.



Our nephew Jake (on the right) turned 14 on March 16th.  Greyson (2nd from the left) turned 6 on March 21st and Mike’s dad Lee (see below on the left) turned 60 TODAY!  I can’t think of a better way to celebrate a handful of March birthdays than with a trip to Maui.  Mike’s parents made it their mission to ensure our time was amazing and “thank you” just isn’t enough.  It was perfect (and so was the weather).



Mike and I spent our mornings with a cup of coffee on the lanai watching the humpback whales and their babies play. I’ve never seen so many whales for such long periods of time. At 5am in the morning with the Pacific like glass it was by far the best part of each day.  Greyson chose to go whale watching on his actual birthday so he’s now an expert on all things humpback (and Orca, of course) and informed me that when they pop their heads out of the water it’s called a “Spy Hop”.
GREY*isms*

G: (on our way home from dinner) “I’m still hungry”
Mike: “We can heat up the pizza from dinner”
G: “You stole all of it?”

Have you ever seen sea turtles mating? It lasted more than 2 hours. They put on quite a show…


 

We obviously had a wonderful time. Carmen and Bria look more and more alike every day, Uncle Brian was Graham’s hero but best of all our families got to spend hours and hours laughing and relaxing.  Happy Birthday to the Guenther/Letarski boys. Happy Birthday indeed. Aloha, Maui. Until next time…

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47 St. Davids Drive, Wentworth Gate, Englefield Green, Surrey TW20 0BA

Big Ben…Parliament!

That we’re moving to London is no longer a secret so I’m sure it’s also not a secret that our lives are feeling a bit topsy turvy these days.  I’m blogging from a Sky Club in the Atlanta airport during a layover between our house-finding trip in the London area and our annual AGS trip to Cancun.  You might ask why we would consider staying away from the kids for 2 straight weeks when I just got back from a long trip away from them in January and it would be a fair question.  85 sunny degrees, turquoise ocean and free.  That’s my answer.
We flew from Seattle to Wausau a week ago to drop the boys off with my parents.  We spent Monday night together before our 2pm flight to London Heathrow the following day.  Unfortunately all did not go as planned.  Graham’s cat allergy (just recently discovered during an allergist appointment to check up on the peanut problem, which of course is in full effect) is worse than we thought and even though my mom dropped her cat off at my sister’s before we got there and laundered and cleaned the house top to bottom, Graham had trouble breathing in less than a day and after a visit to the ER, a steroid and breathing treatment, my parents and the boys are having fun/living in a hotel down the road from their house.  And when I say having fun, I’m not kidding.  They swim every day. Chuck E Cheese, the movie theater and light saber fights are the norm.  The boys will be in for a rude awakening when we pick them up as life at home isn’t nearly as exciting.  To say we are grateful to my mom and dad for their help doesn’t do it justice but THANK YOU!!
After a week in London, Mike is excited to make the move.  Our relocation agent on the UK side drove us around the areas we had researched and we’re happy to report that we found a house.  We were prepared for very small and very expensive and we got both of those but we are pleasantly surprised by the light and the space given our expectations.  We have a full guest suite plus a bit of extra room so we’re looking forward to hosting friends and family. (The below is a pic of the living room)

While in town, we also toured the schools that were recommended by friends and colleagues and aside from the expense (Ripon College tuition, anyone?), we are very confident that Greyson is going to be happy at ACS Egham International School.  We looked at the TASIS American school along with a couple of British schools and ACS Egham rose above.  They can also take Graham into their “Pre Scramblers” program for as many half days as we feel comfortable leaving him.  We can walk to the school from our house and Windor’s “Great Park” is nearly across the street with Windsor Castle and the famous Ascot race course just a short 5 minute drive away.  After crossing off the home and school to-dos off of our list, we spent the weekend touring the city of London and eating its amazing food (including a wonderful Gordon Ramsey restaurant).

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March means packing, marking large furniture for storage and selling a number of items including our cars before we head to Hawaii with Mike’s family- something everyone is very much looking forward to before we make the official move.
Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers as we embark on this journey.  We are optimistic, a bit anxious and mostly excited about the next chapter.  Mike is planning to join the Facebook world and he tells me he may take a stab at blogging as well so stay tuned for that!