Monthly Archives: June 2020

Our International Move – Part 3

Our International Move – Part 3

We have landed!!!! This post follows on from our International Move - Part 2. Now that we have landed, here's how Part 3 went...

After 30 hours, which included an overnight layover in Toronto Airport as well as Bahamas Immigration and Customs, we found ourselves walking out into 28 degrees C sunshine and blue skies. Hubby had welcomed us to the island with Mickey Mouse and a very large car for all our luggage and Miss E's carseat. As we made our way to Grand Hyatt Baha Mar, our driver took us on the scenic route and became our tour guide. We got our first glimpse of the beach and Miss E squealed in delight. We were finally in Paradise.

Goodbye Germany, now for the first leg of our journey

My dear friend, Danni was monitoring our flight and sent me this when we ha landed

"Hello Toronto, Canada"

Not that we saw much since we arrived late that evening

"We're coming, Papa!" Our second and last flight to New Providence, Bahamas

Acute Exhaustion

Three days into our stay I woke up with chills and in pain. My body was fighting something. I tried to stay optimistic that it was just adjusting to the climate, weather and maybe also jet lag? But by Day 5, both Miss and I had to urgently go to the doctor. She was diagnosed with a bad case of the flu and I was not only suffering from a cold, but also acute exhaustion - yep, that is a medical diagnoses. The medication we were prescribed would only start working in 24 hours, so we were literally out for the count. We had this beautiful resort to explore and enjoy, but we were stuck in the hotel room, cuddled together under warm blankets, both sleeping for hours at a time. At night I was shivering one minute and then a fever the next. I have never ever in my life felt like this before.

Somehow, Tinsel found his way to Nassau as well and welcomed us with snacks

She was born for this...The pure joy she exudes when she sees the beach - it overwhelms me sometimes

Thankfully our medication kicked in and we both felt well enough to go out and walk on the beach. It did us good. We also managed to go with hubby to look at a few homes - we couldn't stay in the hotel forever.

On Christmas Eve we checked out one of the Resort Restaurants and when we back to our suite, Santa had already arrived. We made it special for Miss E and she enjoyed. She was a bit sad that she would have to say yet another 'goodbye', this time to Tinsel who would head back to the North Pole for hibernation. He promised to be back.

Miss E met Santa and Mrs Claus

On Christmas Eve, she wished her friends and family a "Very Merry Christmas"

Christmas Eve Dinner

Santa made a stop in our Suite

2020

New Year's Eve saw us eating Pizza in our suite. Hubby had to go back to work and Miss E and I went to bed. He came back at 23h45, woke us up for the New Year's fireworks. I decided to skip it as I was exhausted, but Miss E was excited. So off they went and rang in 2020 with many of the hotel guests. I slept through it all.

It was raining on New Year's Eve and Miss E was a bit sad

About an hour later, we were blessed with this beautiful rainbow...I took it as a sign that things were going to get better

New Year's Breakfast with this Munchkin

Praise!!! She is like a fish in water 🙂

On January 4th, we moved into our new home. A fully-furnished (down to the teaspoons) three bedroom home in a lovely family-friendly neighbourhood. Miss E grabbed her scooter immediately and went out onto the street. Weeks went by, where I was struggling to get any maintenance work done - no one sticks to appointments. I was not yet mobile, so couldn't go to the stores for supplies etc. I was also trying to make sure Miss E was settling in. We also wanted to get her into some sort of Kindergarten, like back home. But that is also very different here...And did I mention: we also found ourselves dealing with head lice. Yep, you read that right: head lice!!!!

Our first home-cooked meal in our new home

She is loving the weather...like her Mama, she blossoms in the sun

Our only turned 5 this year

This is why we moved here...

School

After much research, it became very clear that we would be enrolling Miss E into an International School. That being said, our options were limited and also quite different in terms of curriculum. We decided that the British Curriculum best suited our needs and after some conversations with other parents, we knew that was the right decision. We visited the school and met a few of the teachers. The Director took us around and Miss E could even sit in on a lesson while mum and dad walked around a bit. It felt like the right fit. And Miss E started on February 3rd.

First day of school...we had not gotten her uniform as yet. She was so excited and nervous at the same time

This was an emotional day for me and her teacher was kind enough to update me throughout the day

Settling in

Settling in, finding our rhythm - it was not all a walk in the park. I had to learn to drive on the left-side of the road; find my way around shopping; get a uniform for Miss E; sort out our home; and all the while also trying to get connected with other mums. It was exhausting and there were days when I couldn't function without several cups of coffee - which is saying a lot, because I generally don't drink more than three cups per week. Miss E was also not settling in at school - which was not a surprise. For about five weeks, I would drop her off and she would cry and not want to stay without me. It was heart-wrenching, having to leave her there and walk away. Several times I would sit in my car in the parking lot of the school, crying.

She has found a new hobby with her Dad

Did I mention we got a horse 🙂

Book Week at school. I didn't have a sewing machine at the time, otherwise she would have gone as a Sneetch

Finally she is old enough to start another hobby

Covid19

And then, just as both Miss E and I were finding our feet and rhythm, just when we were both setting in, the first confirmed case of Covid19 was announced on the island of New Providence. Friday the 13th March was the last day Miss E went to school - the last day I would pick her up from school, the last day she would see her teacher, whom she had come to love. It was the game-changer. We had finally started to feel like this is home. We could see ourselves settle here...and then we were told to stay home. And we did.

Shortly before the lockdown, I met a friend here for a coffee after dropping our kids off at school. We had such a wonderful time together, we ended up having lunch too

In conclusion...

Our move was not easy, no. It had ups and downs and we went sideways and under and zigzag. We got through illnesses and exhaustion and emotional distress; we climbed up high and fell down low; we hit peaks and found ourselves treading water. However, after six months here - three of those in Lockdown - we really do see our little family settling here. Of course no one knows the future, but we certainly feel like we could have a good life here. It ticks most of our boxes in terms of climate, people, access to travel. We do think of the Caribbean in terms of 'home' and we certainly feel extremely blessed to have this opportunity. Given the option, we would definitely not change anything. This is where we are and this is where we intend to remain.

Miss E is happy...even through everything we have put her through since September 2019, and with a new school and making new friends and then a Pandemic...she is blossoming so well

Have you enjoyed reading about our Big Adventure? What would you like me to write about next? Let me know down in the comments and I'll see if I can oblige.

Till next time, Dearies. Stay safe and stay awesome!
Zee

Around the World – India

Around the World – India
Have you ever been to India? Maybe eaten in an Indian Restaurant? It is awesome how diverse our weekends have become in our home. When Miss E looked on her map, she picked India because there is a picture of a man on an elephant and she found that very interesting. When I told her…
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Around the World – Brazil

Around the World – Brazil

So when we started on this journey of preparing, cooking and enjoying foods from around the world, we gave Miss E the responsibility of picking our next country for the following weekend. And after a very successful Heritage Weekend, where we celebrated South Africa and Germany, she went to her world map and pick.......Brazil!!!

Oh my goodness! What a choice! Bom Dia! At first, I knew this was going to be a very flavourful journey indeed. But as I started looking at recipes, I realised this was also going to be a very sweet ride. When I searched for desserts, I came across many that made use of either sweetened condensed milk or Dulce de Leche - the latter being made from the former.

Dulche de Leche:

I went to three different grocery stores and eventually asked my neighbour (who is from Brazil) if she had had any luck, but Dulce de Leche is not available here. So what is a girl to do? Make her own, of course. It was super easy: just put a can or two of sweetened condensed milk on their sides in my slow cooker and pour enough hot water to cover the tins. Then cook on slow for 8-10 hours. I did that on the Friday, then took the tins out and allowed to completely cool overnight. The next morning I opened the tins, scraped all that delicious Dulce de Leche into a bowl and gave it a quick beat with my electric mixer until smooth. It was good to go. There is still a mason jar half-full with yummy goodness in my fridge - I really should use it in something soon.

A jar full of delicious yummyness

Bem Casados:

Anyone who has ever been to a Brazilian wedding (or had Brazilian guests at their own wedding - Bettina) would know what these are. In English, it is literally called 'Wedding Cookies'. Sponge Cookies soaked in simple syrups, sandwiched together by Dulce de Leche. It doesn't get sweeter than this. They were yummy, even though the consistency was not that good - owing to the fact that I had to make do with Potato Starch Flour and the recipe called for Potato Starch. I had never used either for baking before and so wasn't sure how different the end product would be. My neighbour was kind enough to say that they were nice.

These were very sweet, I could only eat one...every hour 🙂

Dinner:

Oh. My. Goodness. This One-Pot-Shrimp-in-Coconut-Sauce was a freaking bomb!!! I love shrimp in general, but this dish knocked it out of the park for me. It was a huge it with the family, even though Miss E doesn't eat shrimp, she enjoyed the sauce very much. I highly recommend this dish. It was super easy to make and I used an immersion blender instead of a regular blender, simply because that's what I had on hand. This is the recipe I used.

This was so good. It's gone into my recipe book for regular meals

Bolinhos:

I had one more treat up my sleeve, since the Bem Casados had turned out to be too sweet for me. These Bolinhos de Chuva is sort of like a beignet. And they are supposed to be shaped like raindrops, but I couldn't get the dough consistency just right. They tasted yummy though, so the shape I am not complaining too much about.

Nomnomnom

All in all, I really enjoyed cooking over our Brazilian weekend. Our tastebuds were definitely put on a rollercoaster ride. And even now, weeks later we are all still talking about that Shrimp.

Have you ever been to Brazil? Are you from Brazil? What id your favourite Brazilian dish or dessert? Tell me in the comment section below.

Catch you on the next post! Stay safe and keep cooking,
Zee

Around the World – Germany

Around the World – Germany

At the time of my blog launch, this post was already a few weeks old, but I wanted to post it anyway as it still forms part of my Around the World through Food series. Enjoy!

This past weekend, we celebrated our heritage through food. I was born in South Africa and if you'd like to read about what I cooked and prepared from my birthplace, click here. Now, for those of you who do not know, my husband is German and I lived in Germany for six years. As part of our Around the World through Food series, hubby was in charge of preparing some German dishes...

Breakfast:

This was quite funny - we hadn't actually spoken with each other about what we had planned for our respective menus, so he didn't know my South African breakfast was a sort of Crepe / Pancake. So his breakfast was a German Pfannkuchen. And it was delicious!

Lunch:

This was delicious!!!

On my very first visit to Germany 11 years ago, hubby took me into the 'Innenstadt" of the town where his parents live. And he bought me a Currywurst. It was so yummy. And I would request to eat it every time we visited Germany. When we moved there in 2013, I would often eat this at Kirmes (carnival) and at Christmas Markets. So I was very excited when hubby served this for lunch. The sauce he made was amazing!!!

This is how Miss E wanted hers

Dinner:

Now this might not be a very German Dish, but it is something that reminded hubby of his childhood. He served up a delicious Pork Fillet and Vegetable Bake (Auflauf). I love a good vegetable bake as much as the next person, but that pork fillet was soooo good - super tender and melt-in-your-mouth perfection. My tummy could not have been happier!

Pork Fillet and Veg Bake with a glass of White Wine. Perfect Combination

Did any of his choices surprise you? Were you expecting a Crispy Pork Knuckle and roasted potatoes? Or perhaps a bowl of 'Grünkohl' with meat? When you think of Germany, what food first comes to mind?

I know my hubby would be interested to hear your answers. So comment below.

Till next time, Miss E gets to choose our next country...
Zee

Our International Move – Part 2

Our International Move – Part 2

Following on from Part 1 of our International Move - which you can read over here, we continue where I left off...

So hubby boarded his flight which would take him to Nassau, Bahamas via Toronto Canada. Miss E and I were now without a car - I hate driving - and made our way back to Neuss by train. When we got home, we were both emotionally drained and physically tired. I ordered some pizza for dinner and we fell asleep in each other's arms.

Knocked out...Goodbyes are so exhausting

The next day we headed to hubby's family by early morning train to spend the weekend saying our farewells. Damn that was hard! I hate goodbye's in general. But knowing that you won't be seeing someone (be it family or friend) for a very long time, ya'll know how hard that is. At the time, I wondered if it had been a good idea to book this little getaway: the FEELS we both had was draining. I was not sleeping well, Miss E was missing her dad. And it was hitting me hard that I still had a million and one things to do before boarding our flight - how was I going to manage it all!!!

Quality time with one of her cousins

One last walk with her other cousin

Distractions helped...

What helped was that we still had some things to look forward to: There were several things happening at Kindergarten that Miss E was really looking forward to; I had weekday mornings to get through more packing and selling and organising; and I had some dates set up with my girl friends for some last hooras! It was good. It was certainly a very good distraction to the chaos that was my home.

At the same time, I didn't want Miss E's routine to be completely disrupted: yes, Dad wasn't home; and there were boxes all over the house; everyday she had to say goodbye to beloved toys as I either sold them or packed them up (books and plush animals mostly). We had LOADS of Mommy-and-Me time. We made the most of our afternoons and evenings together alone. I took her to the movies to watch Frozen 2. We jumped in rain puddles, went for walks in the park after Kindergarten. And we spent many evenings eating picnic-style in the living-room (it just wasn't the same eating at the dinner table without dad).

I kept this movie date as a surprise and Miss E was super excited when she knew what was going on.

Mommy gets her first Mulled Wine of the Season...helped to lift the spirits.

"Riding" a bicycle on a carousel

Exhaustion didn't stop me

Two weeks after hubby left, I had managed to pack up the last of our things we were putting into storage. I was exhausted: I had packed, unpacked, re-packed and weighed our 6 suitcases about 6 times; Miss E didn't want to talk about moving anymore and we were both just exhausted. I decided we would just take a break. My brothers-in-law arrived to collect the last of our boxes which they would put into storage for us and yet another farewell was had. Miss E and I stood waving them off and when we returned to our very empty apartment, Miss E said "and now?" and we both burst out laughing because those two words echoed through the house.

Packed, unpacked, repacked...this was not fun

On December 1st, we had a visitor: Tinsel the Elf had arrived in style - Miss E found him lying in a 'bubble bath' in the bathroom basin. It was the best distraction I could have come up with for Miss E. And he was such a great sport with popping up in crazy places all over the house.

Tinsel arrived in style

Saying goodbye...to a home

Finally our last day in our apartment arrived - the only home Miss E has ever known. Oma and Opa had also made the trip down to Neuss to help us get to Frankfurt for our flight. That morning I sent Miss E with her grandparents for breakfast and I got our suitcases out to the front door to be loaded into their car. I did one last sweep through the apartment, checked behind every door, even did one last emotional video of our home. Then the lady who was moving in arrived for handing over of the keys. It was a very emotional experience. Miss E had also arrived home and we said 'goodbye' to our apartment. She too, had tears in her eyes. We were closing a chapter, and I reassured her that our next chapter would be amazing.

I shed more tears than she did on her last day of Kindergarten

These kids have been a part of our lives for over 5 years. And I don't know when I will see my Godson again 🙁

Trying to get a posed photograph of this group is hysterical. I think I took about 15 photos...

Our last farewell was to our neighbours downstairs. Miss E was exhausted by then and didn't want a long drawn-out goodbye. We headed to the city afterwards and made our way to the train station for our train to Frankfurt. Once we arrived there, she was feeling loads better and even asked if Tinsel knows that we won't be in Germany anymore and if he was going to visit her in The Bahamas. We checked in our luggage and paid for the excess, then went to our hotel where we would spend the night. Oma and Opa were booked into the hotel as well. Next morning, we enjoyed breakfast together and in a very good move, the grandparents decided it would be best to bid us farewell at the hotel, rather than at the airport.

"Please, no more goodbyes, mommy" - sad to leave

But we are going to see Papa in less than 48 hours!!!

Our last night in Germany

Sometimes we just have to let it out, so that we can feel better...

En-route to the airport, there was a lot of crying on Miss E's part. And it was very difficult to console her, even with the idea of seeing her dad in 30 hours and swimming in the ocean. So I just let her cry.

This could not have been a more perfect send-off if I had planned it. Christmas "Angels" at the departure lounge at the airport

Once we were boarded and settled in our seats, I started to feel like the pressure was finally off. And that is when my body decided to relax...which allowed to for the real exhaustion to hit...check out Part 3 for the start of our new adventure.

Till next time, Dearies
Zee

Around the World – South Africa

Around the World – South Africa

Playing catch up on the blog, this post was written when we started our Journey Around the World through Food Weekends...

This past weekend, we embarked on a culinary journey around the world. And we headed to my birthplace, South Africa. How did it go? Read on...

South Africa has some of the most diverse customs, people and food. You can't go wrong with a lekker 'Braai' (BBQ); almost everyone and their aunt knows how to make a good Curry; and if you haven't yet tasted a Peppermint Crisp Tart, you haven't lived!

Miss E helping mommy make a 'melktert'

Suffice it to say I can braai with the boys; share a Masala steak Gatsby with my chommies and steal a slice of Milktart from my sister's fridge whenever I go visit. Sloppy Joes does not even come close to vetkoek; and don't get me started on pickled fish.

Talent in the kitchen to me is adding a little of this and a pinch of that. And of course we can't forget a heaped teaspoon of this spice - yet my teaspoon is not the same size as your teaspoon. When you know that Tuesdays is Frikadel, White Rice and Tomato Smoortjie - then you grew up in a coloured home in the 90's.

Milk Tart going into the fridge to set

Man! This post brings back memories. But I digress, I wanted to write about us celebrating our heritage through food. So anyway, I woke up on Saturday morning and Recipe book in hand, headed down to my kitchen to start on breakfast...

Breakfast:

Now I grew up eating 'post toasties' (did I get that right?) - which was essentially corn flakes. And the way we enjoyed it was with warm milk. To this day, I can't eat my morning cereal with cold milk. But since I wanted to mix things up a bit for our 'Heritage Weekend', and we eat earl during the week, I decided to make South African Pancakes - or Pannekoek. Which one could agree is a cross between the dutch Pannenkoek and the French Crepe. I followed this recipe and they were scrumptious! I also only made half a batch, since I didn't want us wasting any food and we are only three people. Miss E enjoyed her first one as it should be eaten with cinnamon and sugar. Her second and third one, she insisted on Nutella.

These were so good, I forgot to take a picture of the plated dish 🙁

Lunch:

Growing up, going out to eat was a luxury. It was not something we did often, instead we kept those 'restaurant' visits for special occasions. Like birthdays. And back in the day, Spur Steak Ranches were THE family restaurants. The food was always yummy and they had large portions. We often would share one or two starters and then almost always not finish our main meal, instead taking the leftovers home in what was called a 'doggy bag' (is it still called that?). And one of my favourite starters (and remember back in the day, the kids never got to choose the starter, so I always hoped my mum would pick it) was the Spur Crumbed Mushrooms. Oh, it was heavenly. Deep-fried to perfection and they always brought a white dipping sauce, that I now think may have been like an aioli?

Crumbed Mushrooms and Fried Chicken - nomnomnom

Anyway, I searched all over the web for an original recipe, but couldn't find one (remember, I also wanted to make use of pantry items that I already had on hand.) So I just used a basic crumbed mushroom recipe and tweaked it a bit using ingredients I already had in my cupboards. Of course I couldn't just serve mushrooms either. So I made something my mum used to make ever single Sunday after church: fried chicken. Both of these complemented each other very well. And my homemade aioli dip was a huge hit with Miss E as well.

Dinner:

This was a no-brainer. It was always going to be a Curry. I just couldn't decide if I wanted to make vetkoek or roti to go with it. So of course I messaged both my sisters, who make both roti and vetkoek very often. It was unanimous: roti for the win. Only, I have never made roti in my life. I've seen it being made. But the method looked too daunting (almost like when I look at an overlock machine - scary). I don't know why I was so scared though - it was not that difficult.

Curry and Roti - my first time making Roti

Dessert:

Now this was one I didn't have too much faith in. I was hoping it would work, but my ingredients was way off on the recipe and it didn't turn out very well. I made a Milk Tart, which is a cold tart that is enjoyed all over South Africa. For some reason, my filling did not set, even though I made the tart the previous day.

This was a bit disappointing as the Milk Tart did not set.

We thoroughly enjoyed our South African Day and the food I prepared. And I certainly enjoyed going down memory lane with the dishes and the smells in our home.

Miss E wanted to surprise me by coloring in the flag

What is your favourite meal or dish or dessert from your homeland? Do you get to make and eat it often? Let me know, I am always looking for new dishes and prepare for my family.

Happy cooking!
Zee

A Trip Around the World – through Food

A Trip Around the World – through Food

I wrote this up in Week 8 of our Lockdown...Enjoy!

We have entered into Week 8 of our lockdown. And I think my family and I could do with a little shake up. Normally, we would go somewhere, we've never gone before. Or we would hop in the car and go explore our city as tourists. Well, of course this isn't possible. So I came up with something we could do inside and still keep it interesting during this period. "A Trip around the World - through food" then became our thing to do on weekends.

In my new kitchen, I wanted to enjoy cooking again...

When I thought of how to get things started, I came up with us celebrating where we come from. So our first weekend we will be venturing into cuisine from South African and Germany. I'm looking forward to it very much. I haven't cooked a South African meal in a very long time. Not even a good curry. And I could do with a bit of German flavours too.

Miss E has been charged with picking a new country for every weekend after we celebrate our Heritage this weekend. She has a large map on the wall outside her bedroom and I will post a video on my Instagram account every Monday morning of her picking the next country. This should get very interesting, because her map has pictures that is associated with the country or city, so we will probably be getting lots of countries with 'fun' pictures.

We enjoy food, and especially tasting dishes from all over the world.

What have you guys been doing to keep things a little interesting during your lockdown? How long have you been under lockdown?

Our International Move – Part 1

Our International Move – Part 1

So, as you may have noticed, we live in The Bahamas. We recently embarked on our grand adventure and I wanted to share with you how it all went. So read on for Part 1 of Our International Move...

How it all started:

In July of 2019, my husband was given the opportunity to interview for a position in the Bahamas. We had been keen on doing an International move for a while, but our options were very limited. We also had a list of things we really wanted to have available in the next country or city (top of that list was access to a beach). Never once did Nassau, Bahamas ever come to our minds when we discussed our list. So when the opportunity presented itself, we were very excited.

At first glance, living on an island surrounded by water seemed most appealing. However, once the initial excitement wore off and more research was done (by yours truly), I started doubting whether such a move was best for our little family. There were so many things to consider: would Miss E be joining school; cost of living is very high; we would be expats.

Of course I did the only thing that one can do in such a situation - I grabbed a pen and paper and started a Pro's and Cons List. I spent three days on that list and the Pros far outweighed the Cons.

It almost didn't happen...

The Interview Process was a long one, with a few 'back-and-forths', and a period of 'no communication'. In August, we started doubting whether we were even being considered anymore - such was the silence from their end.

In September, Hubby received the good news along with the Contract. A few days later, we accepted the offer and our lives were forever changed. Lists were made; plans were put into place; the first set of important people were informed - it was the start of a thrilling rollercoaster ride.

This was on our visit to tell the family about our big plans.

Our priority was to speak to Miss E about the changes that were coming. It was important to me that she not only be included in some of the key decisions of our move, but also to keep the lines of communication open. At four and a half years old, we didn't expect pushback, but we wanted to ensure that she felt like she was included in the process and not just being told what to do and to 'deal with it'.

Then we decided to tell our families. They were happy for us, of course sad we would be leaving Germany. My family on the other hand, couldn't be too sad, because we were so far away anyway. Although now there is a 6 hour time difference, so that does make it harder to call or Skype.

When the ball got rolling, there was no stopping it

There were so many things to do that I had to start making lists. We had to give notice on our apartment; figure out the best way to sell our car; shipping our belongings; informing our Kindergarten; and all the while keeping our move off social media 🙂

Exhaustion slowly started creeping in and I was in desperate need of cuddles from Miss E

At first we wanted to ship our belongings to Nassau, but after much research and talks with a few people who already have made the move to the island, we realised that shipping would not be the best option. Not only would most of our electronics not work due to the voltage difference (it didn't make sense purchasing voltage converters), but shipping itself would be very expensive. Our only option was to store our expensive large items, sell off what we can and give away the rest. This was not going to be easy 🙂

We still did lots of fun stuff during this time of packing and planning.

In October, I had just returned from a Girls' Trip to London with my good friend, Sandy, when we got the news that my husband had to move sooner than we had initially planned. And since we had so many commitments and things to do, we couldn't leave together. our timeline got moved up by one full month, which meant we had to hustle on the packing. We rented a moving van so that we could take 80% of our belongings to a storage facility we rented for two years. Hubby drove the van up north, got everything packed into the storage container and made his way back home - all within 36 hours.

I treated Miss E to a Ceramic Painting session to distract her a bit and also to make sure we still got our time together during all the chaos happening in our home.

November 13 saw us selling our car and it was the first time since we said "yes" to this move, that it hit me that it was all real. Don't get me wrong: I knew what was happening. But with all the actual packing and telling people and getting rid of stuff, I didn't really have time for it all to set in: we were packing up our home of 6 years and leaving one continent for an island!

It didn't hit me yet that we were moving to another country...not until the day we sold our car 🙁

Two days later, I found myself sitting on the floor of Frankfurt International Airport holding and comforting my daughter - both of us crying. We had just said 'goodbye' to her dad who was walking toward Airport Security. We were going to be by ourselves for one full month.

"Goodbye, Papa. See you in one month."

This was just one more test of my patience, faith and resilience...To Be Continued in Part 2

Till next time,
Zee

Our 6 Month Anniversary

Our 6 Month Anniversary

Today we celebrate our 6 month anniversary...We have lived in the Bahamas for 6 months today. And with that in mind, I wanted to celebrate this milestone by finally relaunching this little baby I started 3 years ago. This little blog has been a a sort of 'thorn in my side' for a long time. It has been more a source of frustration than the space of peace that I had intended when I thought up the idea of blogging 3 years ago. Now, more than ever I need a place where I can tell my story; somewhere I can be comfortable expressing my feelings. I have so much to share, so many stories to tell and yes, recipes to to share...for life and baking 🙂

Six months since we first put our feet into the Caribbean

Six months ago, we put our feet into the Caribbean for the first time.

The last six months have been more than I could have imagine. There were highs and lows; ups and downs; disappointments and triumphs. And yet through it all, I have learned so much about myself: new strengths; old weaknesses.

My Hair has seen better days. The humidity is not great, but that is the least of my problems 🙂

It's not easy been an easy transition, and we are still not yet settled in. There are still loads of wrinkles to iron out and we have been set back due to the current global pandemic. But the hope is still there that we can and will get through this and find our feet in our new 'home'. We have so many things on our Bahamas Bucket-list. So much we wanted to see and do in our first year. And we've had to postpone them. Not cancel them.

Life with this one is definitely interesting

We don't know how the next few months will go. No one does. And that is the most difficult: not knowing. We can but hope and pray for life to return to some sort of normalcy. Because, let's face it: we will never truly go back to normal. Our normal way of life; our normal daily routine; how we interact with others; how we travel - that has forever been changed by this pandemic. Some have realised that less is more; others now understand the true meaning of family. One thing is sure: our new normal will be very interesting indeed.

And to that, I say 'cheers!'. Bring it on. If I have learnt anything over the last 6 months, it is that nothing is certain; nothing is permanent; and life is far too short not to live it.

Sunsets and cocktails...

Have you ever moved to a new city or country? How long did it take for you and settle in and find your rhythm? What have you learned about yourself during this global crisis? Comment below, I'm curious.

Till next time, Dearies
Peace and Love, Zee

Mein Freundeskreis

Mein Freundeskreis

Heute möchte ich über Freundschaft und die verschiedenen Arten von Freundschaften sprechen, die man im Laufe seines Lebens schließt. Mein Freundeskreis ist unterschiedlich groß, was meine Gefühle für sie betrifft - und ich bin sicher, dass viele von Euch sich damit identifizieren können.

Ich hatte das Glück, in meinem Leben einige erstaunliche Menschen getroffen zu haben. Menschen aus allen Lebensbereichen; mit einem sehr unterschiedlichen kulturellen Hintergrund; einige, die nach kurzer Zeit kamen und gingen; viele, die meinem Leben einen Mehrwert verliehen haben; und natürlich einige, die verweilten, um ihre eigene Weisheit weiterzugeben. Für die wenigen, die ich "Freunde" nennen darf, haben einen besonderen Platz in meinem Herzen.

Es gibt jedoch eine Gruppe von Damen, denen ich an dieser Stelle wirklich danken möchte. Diese Frauen haben alle ein Herz aus Gold. Sie haben ihre Liebe und Freundlichkeit durch Worte der Hoffnung, Ermutigung und Weisheit ausgegossen.

Ich hatte keinen guten Start auf der Insel. Als ich hier ankam, hatte ich eine schwierige Umstellung: Ich war fast drei Wochen lang krank; ich hatte Schwierigkeiten, mich auf der Insel zurechtzufinden; der Umzug in unser Haus war etwas dramatisch. Und dadurch kamen mir Zweifel, ob der Umzug hierher eine gute Entscheidung war oder nicht. Ich mühte mich ab, das Gute zu finden. Meinen Kopf hoch zu halten war ein täglicher Sport, und all diese Veränderungen durchzustehen, forderte seinen Tribut von mir - emotional und mental.

Dann wachte ich eines Morgens mit einer ermutigenden Nachricht auf meinem persönlichen Instagram-Konto auf. Etwas, das mein Herz erwärmte und meine Seele tröstete. Am nächsten Tag postete ein anderer Freund etwas Ermutigendes. Und am nächsten Tag wieder ein anderer Freund. Einige Wochen lang wurde mein Posteingang jeden Tag mit Textnachrichten überschwemmt, meine sozialen Medien explodierten mit so viel Liebe und Unterstützung. Mein Herz war voll. Meine Seele war ruhig. Ich fand die Kraft, die ich brauchte, um mich wieder aufzuraffen und alles zu tun, was ich brauchte, um mich in mein neues Leben hier einzuleben. Unser neues Leben hier.

Christina, Tanja, Bettina, Denja, Anna, Miriam, Ute, Nadine, Nici - und all die Näherinnen, die ich kennen gelernt habe und die supersüß waren (falls ich Dich nicht namentlich erwähnt habe, bitte entschuldige). Sandy, Sara, Miriam K, Milissa, Farial, Daniela, Lawrien, Sabine, Sylwia:

Von ganzem Herzen: Vielen Dank! Eure Ermutigung, Unterstützung, Worte der Weisheit und Liebe haben mich kürzlich durch eine sehr schwierige Zeit gebracht. Ihr wisst es vielleicht nicht, aber Eure Anwesenheit in meinem Leben ist ein Geschenk des Himmels. Allein das Wissen, dass Ihr da draußen in der Welt sind, erinnert mich daran, dass es immer noch gute Menschen gibt. Menschen, die sich sorgen, verstehen und mitfühlen können. Ihr habt alle einen besonderen Platz in meinem Herz. Ihr habt mir alle geholfen, wieder auf die Beine zu kommen und meine Zen-Zone wieder zu finden.

Ich hoffe, euch alle eines Tages persönlich wiederzusehen. Aber im Moment sende ich euch virtuelle Umarmungen und ihr sollt wissen, dass ihr immer in meinen Gedanken und Gebeten seid.

Nie alle meine Freunde sind auf dem Bild, aber ihr seid alle in meinem Herz 🙂

Licht und Liebe,
Zee