One hundred ways with cabbage

Right, well. It's been a pretty busy week with Polish lessons and visiting the Notariusz.

We have reached the wonderful stage of the past tense and unlike English, we have to decline the verbs depending on whether it's male, female or neutral! In addition there are irregular verbs and those are very difficult to remember!! It's still fun despite this and we feel much more confident in shops and at the market. I recommend making the effort with a new language as most native speakers will appreciate the fact that you are at least trying!

Last Tuesday we went to sign the pre-contract on our little apartment. We were there for 2 and a half hours! This was because the official translator was held up at her previous job and was over an hour late. The good ting was that we had time to meet the owners of the place and 'discuss' in our terrible Polish, their minimum English and their son's excellent attempts to translate a few things.

After the signing we all went to the bank together and money was transferred. We should have completed this coming Thursday, but there has to be a meeting of all owners and one is away, so this will have to be postponed. Doesn't matter.

On Wednesday after class we walked to the apartment - it took us oooh..... about 15 minutes sauntering! We met the owner and his son and we went in to measure. Wow!!! They'd installed lights, the bathroom fittings and had even contacted their friendly kitchen designer/builder! We meet him this coming Wednesday to see what he can do. No need to try to draw things for IKEA (WHEW!!!!!). They had also cleared out most of the rubble from our big cellar (we have 2!) and whitewashed the walls!

It looks like we are being helped above and beyond... The son is about to start renovating the apartment under us and he plans to live in it. I have already suggested we build a barbecue in the back garden and he looked very interested!!! We will NOT be bbcuing on Australia Day!!

The title? Well, we seem to eating a lot of cabbage - cooked, with carrots, with seeds, in salads, as a big side dish, and frankly it just seemed important enough to dedicate this instalment to the humble cabbage!

Today we took a tram out to Nova Huta -YUK! We went to the end of the line, hopped off, walked 50 meters and hopped on the one going back again. It reminded me of the early days in Brisbane, when we tried to find the centre of Ipswich!!!

The weather is changeable. Very pretty until yesterday when the snow started to melt and be mucky and 'orrible. Last weekend we had a lovely time with our friends and on Saturday evening we walked through the snow to the Rynek for dinner. It was beautiful.

and finally... we managed to miss the election by voting 10 days ago! Ah-the postal vote is a wonderful thing! Nothing like voting at your kitchen table with not a single sausage sizzle in sight! And no one annoying you as you go in. I am making a habit of this. Last time I voted at the Consulate in Brunei, and this time I sent it up to the Embassy in Warsawa!

Right. That's about it for now. Thanks for the comments-great to hear from you lot! Keep it up! We fly to Edinburgh to see family there next Friday early, so I'm not sure when I'll update - I'll try before I go! NO promises.