Gaviscon and Moby Dick

We love Moby Dick. Not the whale - the persian kabob place we have been going to since we moved to Capitol Hill several years ago. When we moved to northern Virginia a while back we were really happy to know there was a restaurant about a block or two away. Where we always had to drive to Virginia for pick up, now we drive a block. So convenient! My husband has been having upper GI issues lately that necessitate taking a prescription Med, gaviscon tablets or liquid, Gas X pills, and a big change in diet and meal frequency. It so happened that we went to Moby Dick on Friday for our usual fare that includes a barley soup. By Sunday he was in the mood to have more barley soup. So we first went to the pharmacy to pick up more gaviscon and gas X, then went back to Moby Dick for two more servings of soup that also come with flat bread. It’s been an adjustment to eat a few small meals per day rather than our usual two. And giving up caffeine, sugar, cookies, chocolate and tomatoes is terrible. Hopefully things will begin to resolve and perhaps small amounts of some things may not be all bad. When we mention the situation to people we know most of them have the same condition - we just never knew. The next item to consider purchasing is a wedge to put on the bed to keep his head raised at night. We’ll just take things one day at a time. But if we liked Moby Dick before,  we like it even more now. 

Yas Grocery Store

It was convenient to stop at Farm Stores to pick up eggs, bread or ice cream. You would just drive through and someone would give you whatever you ordered and you were on your way without getting out of the car. That was fifty years ago! In between weekly grocery shopping sometimes you run out of a couple of things. That’s when we go to Yas Grocery and bakery. It’s not exactly Farm Stores - which are long gone - but it sort of feels the same. The big difference is that it is Persian and my husband likes to pick up sour cherry jelly, and a sort of relish. Aside from those items, he has some favorite cookies too. The bakery counter is really nice! But the other main items we get are cucumbers and flat bread. There can never be enough bread in this house. It’s hard to believe that we can go though so much bread in such a short period of time. And then you get more bread if you order from Moby Dick - our favorite take out Persian restaurant that is just a block away. So, it’s a nice ride to Vienna after a morning walk and we are never disappointed. They wrap the glass jars in Persian newspaper and we have been using the cloth bag we got in Isfahan for groceries. It’s nice to have so many options. 

Bread Fiends

We love bread. We have some form of it every day - usually with cheese. My husband gets really nervous when the bread supply gets depleted. Sometimes we order Moby Dick Persian food because you get a hefty helping of bread that lasts until the next grocery run. It just so happened that the bread supply was in a dangerous situation. We were in need of every type of bread we usually have. So when I ordered online for Giant curbside pickup, they must have thought we were crazy! We needed English muffins, bagels, two sizes of French breads, pizza bread, naan garlic bread, taftoon, submarine rolls, Kaiser rolls and wonder bread. On top of that the angel food cake was also needed. I can’t tell you how delicious the freshly made French bread tasted! The sad thing is that the rest of it had to be cut up and put in to the freezer along with all the others. So we are now well stocked up for awhile - until the next time. I used to eat slices of plain wonder bread as a snack when I was a kid. There simply is nothing better! 

Yas Bakery and Supermarket

It’s been over a year since we visited Yas Bakery and Grocery store in Vienna. We would routinely go there for my husband’s favorite relish and tart cherry jelly. But we were also running out of bread so it was another reason to make a trip. So it was with a great deal of joy that we actually went in to a store to buy something. We haven’t done that very much either since we usually do pick up groceries and restaurant food. So we picked up his favorite torshi, jelly, cookies, and very long bread. The storekeepers remembered us and one of them said she would be getting a vaccine the next day. How things have changed in a year. There is plexiglass everywhere and social distancing signs abound. It is a small place so it gets a bit hard to navigate and stay away from the next person. Unfortunately we think my husband lost his winter hat in the parking lot, but we were unable to locate it a few days later. Anyway, we realized the long flat bread there is absolutely delicious and will add that to the usual items we go there for. So another activity we had before we did again. It still felt weird. 

Turkey Leftovers, Bread, and Moose Mix

After having Christmas dinner with our family in Virginia, we thought it would be a good idea to bring home some leftovers. So we packaged up the fried turkey breast, a whole loaf of hand made bread, and Persian cookies/pastry. My husband got a six pack of TC Trotters Moose Mix for bloody “merrys,” made in Virginia - so that rounded out what would be another few meals at our house. So we had the compulsory turkey sandwiches one evening, and the bread and tomato juice that complimented breakfast. The cookies were gone in two sessions following dinner with tea.  Since my husband doesn’t really care for turkey, it was used for soup - enough to last for two dinners with still more leftover to put in the freezer. I’m not sure when we will have it, but on the whole it was a great idea to take it home with us. It’s a good thing it’s only a four hour drive from where we live. But we do have a soft sided cooler that we keep in the car just in case. It’s hard to believe Christmas was just last week. It feels like centuries ago. 

The Last Day in England

We have been in England and France for the last ten days. Today is the last day and our hosts prepared a "typical" English breakfast. It is something to remember, but no where near the overall wonderful warm environment we found ourselves in. It's pretty hard to duplicate anywhere else. My husband and I don't particularly like to travel, but when we do we always go places where we know someone. This was the third time, and each time supersedes the prior visit. In spite of the rain and cooler temps, it was quite memorable. We will be heading to Heathrow in a bit. I'm not sure when we will return, but we have a lot to reminisce about.