Goulash. What is it about goulash this week?

How often do you see goulash on a menu? Not very often, right? So what are the odds of seeing it three times in a row? That’s right. It was cold and rainy on Wednesday night, so I decided to make a pot of goulash for dinner — a dish I haven’t eaten or seen on a menu in more than a year. So I was a little surprised to arrive at work the next day to find that the lunch menu featured Hungarian goulash with noodles. Coincidence, right?

That alone would have prompted the odd comment over the lunch table, but wouldn’t earn the anecdote a place on my website. But when I arrived at my hotel that evening, what was the special of the day? Sure enough, Goulash with Sour Cream. That was a coincidence too far.

Seeing a steak on the menu three times in a row — not such a big deal. Every restaurant serves steak, right? But goulash?

Now that everyone is up-to-date on our new house, I thought I’d write a few words about what’s happening in our social lives. I actually promised the scoop to Hello magazine, but they wouldn’t pay my asking price, so I’m publishing it here first, in another “Where’s Matthew” exclusive.

We had dinner last night with our friend Darren, who snapped this photo over a few beers in the pub afterwards.

Earlier in the day, Aude’s brother Jerome came down to Kent with several of his friends for a tour of the seaside town of Whistable. Unfortunately, he picked a terrible day for it, with pouring rain and gusty wind. We sat in a seaside restaurant, eating local seafood and watching the rather mad locals windsurf and sail in the pouring rain. Air temperatures were 16 degrees and water temperature was 13 degrees, so thermal wetsuits were par for the course.

The previous weekend, we took advantage of the brief spell of good weather to get the Corvette out of storage and go for a drive. We went to Hythe, near Folkstone, to visit the American Garden, 8 acres of informal woodland garden with a spectacular display of Azaleas and Rhododendrons. In the middle of nowhere, it was really stunning, with everything in full bloom, and the perfect place to spend a warm, sunny afternoon.

Tomorrow we’re off to see Cosi fan Tutte at the local theatre…

Life in a small town, eh?

It seems like ages since I last updated my blog, but a busy schedule and limited internet access have made it tricky to keep the site up-to-date.

We’re settled into the new house now, although a few boxes remain, waiting for me to find the free time to unpack them properly. The cats are beginning to settle down, although they still scare the life out of one another (and Aude) from time to time. It’s almost as if they’re characters from the Sixth Sense, whispering to one another “I see dead people!” They’re fascinated by the garden, and they both spend hours watching the birds and other local wildlife.

We’re beginning to exercise our green thumbs. I started by mowing the lawn, not entirely successfully. The previous tenant had largely neglected the lawn, and in the long vacant period between tenants, the grass grew to more than a foot tall. My cheap new lawnmower didn’t stand a chance, promptly shedding its three blades all over the yard. From new to totally buggered in about 15 minutes.

The hardware store replaced it under warranty, luckily. I finished trimming the lawn, promptly killing it because I’d taken so much grass off. As I said, the yard had been neglected for ages, so much of what we thought was grass was actually a covering of moss, and there are bare patches all around the garden. I’ve re-sown the lawn, so we’ll see how green my thumbs really are.

Aude, on the other hand, has genuinely had green thumbs. She’s repotted all of her indoor plants, all of which seem to be thriving (except for the one that Calypso seems to think is really tasty, despite the fact that it induces vomiting every time, transforming the living room into an obstacle course of kitty-vomit puddles). And she’s dug a large bed in the garden and planted loads of flowers. We’ve had three days of heavy rain, so we’ve crossed our fingers and hoped for the best.

We organised a house-warming party for next week, but no one wanted to come (it’s a holiday weekend over here and most people are away), so we’ve rescheduled it for the following week. The new garden furniture is on order and will hopefully arrive sometime this week. We’ve got a new sofa and armchair coming tomorrow, so everyone should have someplace to sit. I’m shopping for a new barbeque grill next week, so everyone should have something to eat. And there’s always plenty of wine in the house, so everyone…well, you get the idea.

We’re successfully moved into the new house, although there are still boxes everywhere and it will be some time before we’re really settled in properly. The cats have explored every inch of the house and seem to approve of their new surroundings.

Since we’re still in the stone ages over here, it’ll take at least a month to install my new broadband connection (despite being on a broadband-enabled exchange). I can access the internet (but not my e-mail) from the office, but otherwise have no connectivity — so if you don’t hear much from me, it isn’t because I’m ignoring you. It’s because I can’t access my e-mail.

The new floors are down, and we’re nearly ready to move into the new house tomorrow morning. The contractors have done a really, really good job on the floors — I’ve lived in England so long that I’ve come to expect second-rate work, so it’s a real surprise when someone comes along and does a really top-quality job. The floors are cherry, in case anyone’s keeping track.

I’ve still got a lot of packing to do tonight, but we should be in the new house by this time tomorrow. In the meantime, here’s a brief tour of the downstairs:

Living room

Dining room

Entrance hallway

Kitchen

Powder room

I’ve got a thing about McDonald’s restaurants around the world. I actually make a point of seeking them out when I’m abroad to check out what they have to offer. I’m fascinated by the way they maintain their brand consistency, yet tailor their products to the individual population they’re serving.

So I was ecstatic when I came across this Thai version of Ronald McDonald in mid-wai. It was a sight-seeing trip and photo-op all in one!