25 January 2014

Final Things







Our last skate, Ruby sweetly teaching Lily  to keep her hands on her knees to get the right position. The day was minus 12 but the sun was shining.  

Our last lunch; bagels, ham, eggs, raspberries (a luxury in winter but cheaper here than in summer back home), it's been our standard lunch for 3 months now. 

Our last dinner at Dumpling Cafe;  xiao long bao, greens, steamed dumings, scallion pancakes. Chinatown is always a winner for our family. 

And finally the daunting task of packing. Extreme temperature changes make it tricky to figure out what to leave out and what to put in so we'll probably be cold on the trip to the airport and hot when we arrive. We'll cope. I'm trying to focus on the positives of returning. Mostly I've come up with loose leaf tea and my sewing machine! I've travelled before and missed people desperately, but with email and Instagram, I've barely had a chance. I travelled a lot on my own when I was younger and I think loneliness often leads to homesickness. But with five constant companions for the past three months I've had no opportunity for loneliness. It will be lovely to see family and friends again, and I'm going to make a real effort to ensure that the effects of this trip last a good long while. How I'll do that I'm not sure but I'm going to try.  Any tips?

3 comments:

  1. No loose leaf tea? I am never going overseas again!

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  2. We did find some in a specialty grocer in New York but otherwise very difficult to locate. I asked locals who all kind of said 'hmm there's probably some at....' insert name of shop, and there invariably wasn't. It is most definitely not a tea drinking culture, even crappy motels will have in room percolators, but no way to boil water.

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  3. Wonderful! Welcome back. Love that big pile of shoes and the sound of your last lunch in Chinatown.

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