Sunday, May 17, 2009
The German Bakery Story-Part 1
When I lived in MA, I worked for Home Instead Senior Care. We provided home care and support for elderly people in their homes. I was willing to take the training to care for people with Alzheimers and dementia. It was the hardest job I've ever had.
Mrs G had Alzheimers. I came into their home at a time when Mr G was trying to work in their home office on the second floor of the house. Mrs G didn't want Mr G to leave her sight and he needed someone to keep her company downstairs, do a little grocery shopping and cook their main meal of the day.
The G's had come to the US from Germany in the 1950's. He was an expert in Biodynamic and Organic gardening. Like many Europeans, they ate their largest meal at noon. We discovered quickly that my usual lunch for clients that consisted of soup and sandwiches wouldn't do. Mrs G ate like a bird, but she ate well if the meals were German dishes that tasted, to her "just like home".
Mr G was willing to teach me not only German cooking, but ORGANIC German cooking. Their kitchen was an amateur cook's dream. There was a large cupboard full of Le Creuset cookware and a large center island with the gas stove and oven built in.
Three mornings a week I showed up at 9am. Mr G would ask what I planned to cook that day. Then he would go out to his garden with a big basket and bring back whatever vegetables and herbs I needed that day. He taught me to make Spaetzle, Sauerbraten, German Potato Salad, Cucumber Salad and Goulasch.
The G's had chocolate every day after lunch and always shared. At 4pm, they would have coffee and sweets. Sometimes I made them a pie. People who visited would bring pastries. We were thrilled when Panera and Trader Joe's finally arrived on Cape Cod.
The G's decided move back to Germany just about the time I was planning to move to FL. I read a couple of articles about a famous German Bakery in Central Florida. I told Mr G that I would try to find it someday.
Last Monday night I had a dream that Mr and Mrs G were in. I don't remember too much about the dream except that they were there. Tuesday, we found the German Bakery.
And we weren't even looking for it. I took pictures.
The rest of the story.....soon.
Friday, December 19, 2008
Piano In The Woods: A Sweet Update
Someone got a sweet idea! Here's a hint: He makes things out of chocolate.
The video quality lost a little something in translation from the Cape Cod Times to here, but it's still fun.
Friday, November 28, 2008
The Piano In The Woods

I was all set with this breaking news report, but Regis and Kelly beat me to it, about 5 minutes ago.
Strange things are known to happen on Cape Cod. It is thought that departed spirits roam the beaches and woods. It could also be that many characters reside on that spit of land that juts out into the Atlantic Ocean.
Last week the police in Harwich MA were informed that a woman taking a walk in the woods had found a piano and bench. There are many theories about why it is there.
In the new movie TWILIGHT, the teen vampire plays the piano in the woods. Are there fans that have been recreating the scene?
Are there parents that have found a solution to their little Mozart-Wannabe-Insomniac pounding Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star at 3AM?
My personal theory is that someone is moving and needed to get rid of the piano. I've been there, done that. I had my grandmother's 100 year old piano when I lived on the Cape. It had been in the garage for 18 years. No one wants a free piano that has been in the garage for 18 years. We had to pay a junk company to take it away. The thought never occured to me to just dump it.
When the article appeared in the Cape Cod Times, the comments were pretty amusing. My two favorite:
"Someone will have to face the music"
"Will the owner want it Bach?"
If I found a piano in the woods, I would be inspired to play. I think I might practice the soundtrack to Into The Woods.
*Picture of the Piano Investigation from the Cape Cod Times by staff photographer Jake O'Callaghan*
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Leaving Cape Cod
Whenever someone hears that Mr Sunshine State and I lived on Cape Cod for 27 years, they have the same reaction. They frown, tilt their heads and say "And you LEFT? To move to FLORIDA!!!?". I'm always left feeling like I have to explain why we left a place that people have fond memories of visiting.
We moved to our little house in the woods when Cape Cod was still pretty much like our parents remembered it. Beautiful beaches, quaint shops and quiet roads for 9 months of the year. We lived with the tourists from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Then we stood on the overpasses of the Mid-Cape Highway and waved goodbye and held signs that read "Last one over the bridge, turn off the lights. See you next summer." By the time we left in 2006, it was tourist season year-round. Many of the quaint family places had closed down and fast-food restaurants and big stores had taken their place.
We had to leave for the beach at the crack of dawn to get a parking spot. We couldn't afford the ticket price at the Melody Tent anymore. It took me over half an hour to drive 14 miles to work because of the traffic. The most affordable dock for our boat was 40 minutes off-Cape.
Cape Cod is a beautiful place to visit, but the most beautiful places, Wellfleet, Truro and Provincetown were an hour away and I was lucky to get there twice a year, on a weekday when the traffic was lighter.
Cape Cod was a wonderful place to raise a family. The beach and good school systems were a reason to stay until they were out of high school. But the Cape was a hard place for us to live, in many ways. Mr SS drove an hour each way to work off-Cape for almost 20 years. New England winters are brutal in the car business. I have had health issues for most of my adult life and my physical and mental health require being warm and seeing blue skies on a regular basis.
Another reason to move here was one Mother who is a full-time resident of Florida and another who is a snow-bird.
So, here we are, in the Sunshine State (although it isn't living up to it's name this week).
Sandals and shorts every day after work. Watching the space shuttles go up from our sidewalk.
No coyotes staring me down in the parking lot after work. The Electric bill is half of what it was up north. The only ice I have to deal with is in my Diet Pepsi. The azaleas bloom in October.
The air is really clean.
Do I miss Cape Cod? Mostly my #1 child who decided to stay there. Clams. Making chowder just isn't the same when they come from a can. Dunkin Donuts. Every 2 miles. Every day. Krispy Kreme is NOT a reasonable substitute. And the feeling you get when you have been away and you drive over the bridge and see the Cape Cod Canal stretching out in a ribbon in both directions as far as the eye can see.