We have been in our new rental in Galston less than a week. The village is perfect for us. It has everything we need in a half-mile radius. Grocery store, multiple pubs, chippy, 2 castles, and a Greggs all within walking distance. There's even a pet supply store but it's a little further, a full mile and a half. Brilliant! Last few days have been busy rebuilding a new home environment. New bed, new couch, new dinnerware, new cookware, new fridge, new washer/dryer, new desk & chair, and next new car. The buying stuff never seems to end. But no new kitchen knives. I'm still navigating verifying my age on Amazon to purchase kitchen knives. Should be straight forward but it's not even at my old age. You can only verify age with a visa or mastercard credit card issued by a UK bank. A UK debit card doesn't work. A US credit card causes conflict with SMS authentication. Lesson learned, kitchen knives should be purchased in store if you can find them in stock. Diffe...
The big move from Trump's America to a first world country has entered the next phase. We landed on 2 February. Everything is similar yet so very different. The obvious differences are obvious like driving on the left side. It's the subtle differences that are surprising like the quietness and darkness. In my American experience you surrounded by more light and sound than you realize. In our home in Washington state you can always hear some noise, like pigs rushing to a call or loud music from cars driving by. Out here, nothing but silence. Street lights and commercial signage fill US skies with bright lights all night long. Here, no massive street lights in most residential areas. Tacky sights and sounds don't intrude uninvited in to your home. Food is very different. It's fresher and not full of chemicals and preservatives. Ingredients list you can read and understand what's in your food. Can you identify disodium guanylate? Quirky difference are grocery store car...