QUEEN OF MY CASTLE

Some of the Arab bread from our corner baker, which we quickly became addicted to.

Dearest Friends,

My life was so very different here, compared to what it was in Indonesia, that I don't really know where to start or how to describe it.  In Indonesia I felt isolated...insulated.  My days were very routine, and very much separated from the world around me.  Most of the time there I had felt like I was just watching, waiting.  Now it felt more like I was living.  Though the scenery was awfully bleak and desolate here, when compared to our awe-inspiring surroundings in Indonesia, I felt more a part of what was going on around me, like I finally had some say over my life.  I actually had some choices to make, instead of having them all made for me.

Funny, but until I pulled these photos out, I had forgotten that my kitchen here in Wimberley was not my first black,white, and yellow kitchen!  I covered those counters myself, with something like black vinyl contact paper -- and no, I never sipped Jack while I cooked, or at any other time!

Most of all, I loved being the queen of my own castle, with no maid, and no bevy of older, more experienced neighbors (or relatives) telling me what to do and how to do it.  I still wasn't a very good cook, but I was becoming more adventurous, more willing to try new things.  I tried making my own sourdough starter, and attempted making bread, pancakes and biscuits from it, all of which were flops, but I had fun anyway.  Best of all, when dinner was a disaster, or when I just didn't feel like cooking, we finally had some other options!

One of the more exotic places we discovered was called Omar Khayyam, and served middle eastern food.  They had this one dessert which had a tissue-paper-thin sheet of real gold leaf draped over it, and you were actually supposed to eat it!  At the opposite end of the spectrum was a British fast-food joint called Wimpy's (after that character from Popeye who was always trying to borrow money for a hamburger).  We were quite disappointed to discover that their burgers really sucked (think White Castle), but they had a counter with stools, and it was a fun place to go for ice cream or a coke.

After a while we joined the American Club -- kinda like a country club, without the pool or golf course -- and that became our go-to hangout.  They did a pretty decent hamburger, and hosted Mexican Night or Barbecue Night on a regular basis.  One of the first things I signed up for was their Gourmet Cooking Club, where a different member did a little cooking demonstration each week.  Not really gourmet, but fun.  I enjoyed being able to hang out with women who loved to cook and who's hubbies didn't all work for the same company.  Since they weren't all Americans, as it turned out, and had lived all over the world, I began to amass a very international recipe collection.

The best thing about the American Club, other than their burgers and free lending library, was that it was within walking distance of our house, which meant we could always get there -- even when our car was in the shop!