We'll start with what I don't like - I don't like wet wilted salad.
Now, the good stuff: I like a good salad spinner. Kinda knew that was coming didn't you?
So, I've priced the pricey ones and they are. I checked out the cheapies and they are. Then the clearance rack at W-M caught my eye - $10. There it was the perfect salad spinner. It was exactly what I wanted, for the right price at the right time. Not only that I got a bonus vegetable peeler - blades perpendicular, if you really want to know; I've never owned one like that - and a knife with a sheath (perfect for picnics!). Was any one item worth 10$ or the frustration of learning that it wasn't worth $10 or even $5 alone? No, never; but each of these was worth $3.33 each and they have proven themselves...
From our garden we pick fresh greens and drying them is a pain - we love the spinner!
From the produce departement we buy carrots - the garden hasn't rendered many worth eating - and my kids love the peeler better than my parallel blade zyliss version - therefore they can have carrots for snack... mmm tasty!
Now about this knife. Knives have been the ongoing struggle in our kitchen. We love a sharp knife. We've had our knife set for nearly 9 years now (don't ask me how I know!). We work hard to keep our knives sharp; as everyone knows, a dull knife is a sure ticket to the ER. So when I acquired this bonus item I declared all other hands off as I intend to use it to it's fullest potential. It's not the sharpest knife in the drawer - but it will be soon. Since it has a sheath, it'll be the only knife in the drawer. Which leads me to the question of the day:
How do you store your knives and are they safe?
Now on with the rest of your day... happy blogging!
PS. I'd post a picture but I'm afraid of the giant chain, so here's a link to their picture.
Wanna know how much I like my spinner set? I had to buy two. One to keep and one to send to my DF Clea. Visit her blog and check out the latest snap she took of her firstborn!
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Guess what's a treat after our work is done?
Today our boys surprised us:
They finished weeding part of the garden, all their lessons, and lunch. Then they dove into the river for a few hours. They've been busy!
It just goes to show that with appropriate motivation, your kids can do most anything.
When they started the day, diving in wasn't on the list of things to do. If we had then they might have never gotten the work done. Instead, It was after weeding that the river was offered and they buckled down to do all their lessons!
I'm happy. They're happy and we'll all sleep good tonight!
Sorry, I was too busy having fun to take pictures.
Oh, and there's nothing to update about the deck, except that it's coming along via behind the scenes work.
They finished weeding part of the garden, all their lessons, and lunch. Then they dove into the river for a few hours. They've been busy!
It just goes to show that with appropriate motivation, your kids can do most anything.
When they started the day, diving in wasn't on the list of things to do. If we had then they might have never gotten the work done. Instead, It was after weeding that the river was offered and they buckled down to do all their lessons!
I'm happy. They're happy and we'll all sleep good tonight!
Sorry, I was too busy having fun to take pictures.
Oh, and there's nothing to update about the deck, except that it's coming along via behind the scenes work.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
surefire things...
Wanna know my surefire secrets for everything?
Surefire way to prevent clogging the WWW with comments - don't post to your blog.
Surefire way to prevent leaving for vacation on time - don't pack until the day you are leaving.
Surefire way to win friends and influence people - look them in the eye when talking to them.
Surefire way to eliminate stress - look at newborn babies!
Surefire way to overwhelm yourself - bite off more than you can chew.
OK, I haven't surefire ways for everything, but I tried. At least one person has let me know they keep checking my blog for updates. Well, we've been busy. You all know about the flood after my trip to Uganda. What you might not know is that we are having a deck built - I have pictures... I'll share them... Right now! There are pictures with explanations, but in the end we'll have poured over 40 cubic yards of concrete for the foundation and pillars. So we've been a little busy.
The best part of the deck you ask? Well, it's hard to pin it down to one thing. First there's the low sloping stairs - the old stairs were awful. These are a marked improvement. Then there's the roof - decks aren't much good in FL without shade. Then there's the sundeck which makes it possible to sit in the sun and grill without roof cover. But best of all - the crane.
Yes, that's right folks, a crane. I know what you're thinking - a crane, why on earth would you want a crane? We
ll, in a word - groceries! Ever since we moved in here 9 years ago I've wanted a dumbwaiter. With the floods and all it just wasn't practical - besides all they lift is 100 pounds our less. My crane will lift up to 1/2 ton. And just what will three boys do with a crane? The world may never know - especially if their Dad trains them to fear the crane. It will also lift our 1/4 ton generator up during flood events and make living here during floods more practical.
So there you have it, dear friends, an update from the river.
If you check out the Best of Uganda album there are the best pictures from my trip to visit Clea and Isaac. Oh, BTW, the program Clea made for me - it still works! So far, I have all but three windows clean in my house. The 7 fans aren't faring so well - only two of them are clean, but they're clean!
Surefire way to prevent clogging the WWW with comments - don't post to your blog.
Surefire way to prevent leaving for vacation on time - don't pack until the day you are leaving.
Surefire way to win friends and influence people - look them in the eye when talking to them.
Surefire way to eliminate stress - look at newborn babies!
Surefire way to overwhelm yourself - bite off more than you can chew.
OK, I haven't surefire ways for everything, but I tried. At least one person has let me know they keep checking my blog for updates. Well, we've been busy. You all know about the flood after my trip to Uganda. What you might not know is that we are having a deck built - I have pictures... I'll share them... Right now! There are pictures with explanations, but in the end we'll have poured over 40 cubic yards of concrete for the foundation and pillars. So we've been a little busy.
The best part of the deck you ask? Well, it's hard to pin it down to one thing. First there's the low sloping stairs - the old stairs were awful. These are a marked improvement. Then there's the roof - decks aren't much good in FL without shade. Then there's the sundeck which makes it possible to sit in the sun and grill without roof cover. But best of all - the crane.
Yes, that's right folks, a crane. I know what you're thinking - a crane, why on earth would you want a crane? Well, in a word - groceries! Ever since we moved in here 9 years ago I've wanted a dumbwaiter. With the floods and all it just wasn't practical - besides all they lift is 100 pounds our less. My crane will lift up to 1/2 ton. And just what will three boys do with a crane? The world may never know - especially if their Dad trains them to fear the crane. It will also lift our 1/4 ton generator up during flood events and make living here during floods more practical.So there you have it, dear friends, an update from the river.
If you check out the Best of Uganda album there are the best pictures from my trip to visit Clea and Isaac. Oh, BTW, the program Clea made for me - it still works! So far, I have all but three windows clean in my house. The 7 fans aren't faring so well - only two of them are clean, but they're clean!
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Three boys, all in a row...
Apparently I can't catch a good picture fromt he bow of the boat. It's fuzzy but here's a picture of the house on the second day after the peak flow during April Fools' Flood - that's my name for it. For a brief moment we pondered whether or not Meteorologists across the country would conspire to play such a joke as to tell the entire SE that they would be flooded during the week of April 1 and following... During this picture it's actually about a foot lower than the peak, but none the less, it's quite dramatic to realize the amount of water that flowed past my house.I scheduled an appointment for my boys to visit the Pediatrician today. It's loads of fun to haul all three together and hear them place bets on who will get shots. This time it was L. He took them both in stride as M and S watched in wide eyed wonder. I totally respect our pediatrician. He is acquainted with my dad and all that we've done over the years as a family. He's the kind of guy that I'd want watching out for my kids health. I won't get into the vaccination debate. I'm a wimp and uneducated in such matters. Please comment all you want about it, but don't expect me to respond... Any way, that's not what prompted me to post tonight. Tonight it's all about boys. On FB I did a silly quiz about "how many kids will you have". Based on my answers, 3 girls. How could the 5 question quiz be so off? I'll never know. I talked with another mom - she has 5 kids- all but one are girls. They talk all the time. My boys wrestle and fight all the time. The fights aren't about anything real, just about anything that doesn't matter so they can get it off their chests. Then as I walked out of the office with the official estimate "L, if he keeps going, might grow to be 5' 8" or so by the time he's done." a nurse commented "all in a row" and made the motion like stair step kids. Before we left the house his friend came to visit and we discovered he'd grown by several inches (or so it seemed) since we last saw him - how could this be? Now he's a head taller than L now and taller than me.
I also realized today, as we travelled around town that I have been really stressed lately. I had no idea how stressful flooding is to the victims - you think I'd know by now after 2 major (although they call it officially moderate) and several minor floods! This one really took it's toll on us and we are all as a neighborhood recovering as best we can. If you know someone who's been through any kind of flooding, lend them a hand - even a batch of cookies (even from the store) would make their day a little brighter. Reach out and touch them with a gesture of warmth and love. My folks wouldn't have us stay anywhere but their house in our time of need, but I know it's hard on them both. Hug someone who's helped displaced people.
Pray for a couple of teen boys who need a stable home before DCF places them in a foster home.
For the record, that's our mailbox on the left side of this picture. Yes - the water was over 3 feet above our road! Also pictured are two of our neighbors who kept our generator fueled up to keep our fridge running for Saturday - Tuesday!
Friday, April 3, 2009
We interrupt this slow developing blog-cast about Uganda to bring you the latest news from the winding river...
We cannot tell the precise moment when friendship is formed. As in filling a vessel drop by drop, there is at last a drop which makes it run over; so in a series of kindnesses there is at last one which makes the heart run over. –James Boswell from Life of Johnson, September 1777.
So when I first met MM he went on and on about this house. The house on the river. The house in which he grew up. The house he spent hours and hours playing without siblings. On and on the stories went. Before that though I remember returning from senior vacation with my dad and the Hwy 20 bridge across the Ochlocknee was closed and we had to detour through Quincy. I said “Those dang fools living on the river!”. I had no idea that less than 10 years later I’d be one of those fools. I think I even sang the song “Don’t build your house on the sandy land. Don’t build it too near the shore. It might be kinda nice, but you’ll have to build it twice, yes you’ll have to build your house once more…”
Today I sing a different song. It goes something like “Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly host! Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.” It started last August when we learned how the different emergency agencies behaved during storms. It was very stressful. So last weekend when the river started to rise and MM was camping with L, at God’s prompting, I purged our basement (the first floor is supposed to stay empty) of junk and organized what was to stay down there (there’s a high shelf!). I felt silly on Saturday after cleaning the extra room in our house because the river didn’t rise in to the basement.
It wasn’t until Tuesday when I called MM back home from camping that I felt slightly vindicated. I drove home from town to begin preparing for the rain that was to come. About the time my neighbors and I gathered all our potted garden to our patios (tell me we don’t know that it’ll flood!) and emptied all the basement bottom shelves and makeshift tables from last weekend, MM shows up to handle all the man work. It seems the work never stopped. We believed we were ready for whatever would come. So much so that I brought our boys back to the house (L stayed out camping with my dad) on Wednesday. Why on earth would I bring them back except I think that we’ll stay at the house through the flood?
We woke up Thursday morning with the river over our driveway by about a foot or two. Wednesday it had been only ankle deep and rising. I worked on work a little while MM worked on miscellaneous things around the yard. The rain fell and the river rose. The kids played around the house (what’s not covered with stuff from the basement) and I worked on important things like clean dishes and clean floors. Oh, and then the electric company made an error and turned off our power instead of power across the river! I spent the afternoon making phone calls to restore our power and finally succeeded. After dinner with our neighbors (had to wade with kids on my shoulders to get there!), we waded back to go to bed.
You’d think that we’d have known the signs. When we went to bed the river was still rising. MM was scheduled to return to L and break camp on Friday. Certainly we could wait until morning and get out of the house safely – why didn’t we take the cars up the road before now? Then it’d just be a boat ride to the cars and we’d be to safety. It was 3 a.m. when I woke with a start and called the dam. The river is rising and not going down anytime soon. It was two inches up the wheels of our neighbor’s truck. Everyone must move their cars now. What possessed us all to wake up to walk their dog or call the dam can only be called God’s hand of protection. We didn’t know about the lower than our part of the road spots until Friday morning as we drove out of the neighborhood and encountered them with our truck and van. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in all my life. After we all made it out of the house and to the neighbors where we parked the boat trailer, MM and I had a moment – WOW. What on earth were we thinking?
I often wondered why our family doesn’t spend much time camping together. After all, the struggles you encounter as a family serve to draw you together as you search for solutions. Now I know why we don’t camp together (I just send Dad with one or more of them)- we encounter all our struggles together and find solutions as we live in our sometimes houseboat. Our family is being forged in the crucible of floods and life on the river!
as of right now, the river is 26.11 feet. It was 23.71 or so when we were leaving. That's right - it's up to the mailbox bottom now and gently rising. We're taking refuge at my parent's. The water might not recede until next week after all the Sunday rain...
And I really did say "This is life. If I thought it was supposed to be any different, I wouldn't live down here." For a copy of the picture see:
http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=CD&Dato=20090402&Kategori=PHOTOS03&Lopenr=904020805&Ref=PH
So when I first met MM he went on and on about this house. The house on the river. The house in which he grew up. The house he spent hours and hours playing without siblings. On and on the stories went. Before that though I remember returning from senior vacation with my dad and the Hwy 20 bridge across the Ochlocknee was closed and we had to detour through Quincy. I said “Those dang fools living on the river!”. I had no idea that less than 10 years later I’d be one of those fools. I think I even sang the song “Don’t build your house on the sandy land. Don’t build it too near the shore. It might be kinda nice, but you’ll have to build it twice, yes you’ll have to build your house once more…”
Today I sing a different song. It goes something like “Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise Him above, ye heavenly host! Praise Father, Son and Holy Ghost.” It started last August when we learned how the different emergency agencies behaved during storms. It was very stressful. So last weekend when the river started to rise and MM was camping with L, at God’s prompting, I purged our basement (the first floor is supposed to stay empty) of junk and organized what was to stay down there (there’s a high shelf!). I felt silly on Saturday after cleaning the extra room in our house because the river didn’t rise in to the basement.
It wasn’t until Tuesday when I called MM back home from camping that I felt slightly vindicated. I drove home from town to begin preparing for the rain that was to come. About the time my neighbors and I gathered all our potted garden to our patios (tell me we don’t know that it’ll flood!) and emptied all the basement bottom shelves and makeshift tables from last weekend, MM shows up to handle all the man work. It seems the work never stopped. We believed we were ready for whatever would come. So much so that I brought our boys back to the house (L stayed out camping with my dad) on Wednesday. Why on earth would I bring them back except I think that we’ll stay at the house through the flood?
We woke up Thursday morning with the river over our driveway by about a foot or two. Wednesday it had been only ankle deep and rising. I worked on work a little while MM worked on miscellaneous things around the yard. The rain fell and the river rose. The kids played around the house (what’s not covered with stuff from the basement) and I worked on important things like clean dishes and clean floors. Oh, and then the electric company made an error and turned off our power instead of power across the river! I spent the afternoon making phone calls to restore our power and finally succeeded. After dinner with our neighbors (had to wade with kids on my shoulders to get there!), we waded back to go to bed.
You’d think that we’d have known the signs. When we went to bed the river was still rising. MM was scheduled to return to L and break camp on Friday. Certainly we could wait until morning and get out of the house safely – why didn’t we take the cars up the road before now? Then it’d just be a boat ride to the cars and we’d be to safety. It was 3 a.m. when I woke with a start and called the dam. The river is rising and not going down anytime soon. It was two inches up the wheels of our neighbor’s truck. Everyone must move their cars now. What possessed us all to wake up to walk their dog or call the dam can only be called God’s hand of protection. We didn’t know about the lower than our part of the road spots until Friday morning as we drove out of the neighborhood and encountered them with our truck and van. I don’t think I’ve ever been so scared in all my life. After we all made it out of the house and to the neighbors where we parked the boat trailer, MM and I had a moment – WOW. What on earth were we thinking?
I often wondered why our family doesn’t spend much time camping together. After all, the struggles you encounter as a family serve to draw you together as you search for solutions. Now I know why we don’t camp together (I just send Dad with one or more of them)- we encounter all our struggles together and find solutions as we live in our sometimes houseboat. Our family is being forged in the crucible of floods and life on the river!
as of right now, the river is 26.11 feet. It was 23.71 or so when we were leaving. That's right - it's up to the mailbox bottom now and gently rising. We're taking refuge at my parent's. The water might not recede until next week after all the Sunday rain...
And I really did say "This is life. If I thought it was supposed to be any different, I wouldn't live down here." For a copy of the picture see:
http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=CD&Dato=20090402&Kategori=PHOTOS03&Lopenr=904020805&Ref=PH
Saturday, March 14, 2009
What else did you learn in Uganda, Kahlua?
Before I get totally slammed with "upload those pictures already" requests, here is a picture of the foothills of the Rwenzori mountains. Enjoy. I was taken all over the area surrounding Fort Portal. This was on a day hike when all 8 of us wore me out hiking up the trails. Also, this particular shot shows the slope of the mountains. The camera is upright. The trees in the foreground are planted on the slope of the mountain.But onto the real reason for this post.
A couple years ago Clea along with her family and mother, moved into our house. While we all lived together we learned much about each other - as anyone would... I learned that I'm a terrible housekeeper and my dear friend learned that I live in the MATRIX. If you need a pot, there's a special place for it, but you have to move the canister in front before you reach for the pot or it won't come out or if you want a special jar of sauce, it's in it's place, but you need a stool and a road map to get to it. Everything is that way - even my linen closet. Pull from the top and insert at the bottom... I also learned that if there's a way to make a doable list, Clea's the gal for the job.
Well, in Uganda, things weren't much different when I entered into Clea's home. I didn't think they would be. The amazing thing is that I didn't see much activity going on about cleaning anything. It didn't need to be cleaned. Either it had been or would be before the next month is over. I didn't notice it until we were talking one day and she mentioned her chore program. It's for keeping the house clean without giving up days on end to accomplish it. It's useful for Susan who works in the house to help Clea and Connie, because it lets her know what's going to be done so she needn't worry about it.
I've heard of such programs. Flylady is the only one that comes to mind right now, but they are all over the place "how to clean your house in 15 minutes a day" "What to do when guests are coming over" "Year round spring cleaning" (Those are just my ideas) Here's what you get when you do a web search for "How to keep your house clean":
- How to Keep Your House Clean in 20 Minutes a Day
- The 10 Habits That Keep Your Home Clean
- Keeping House Clean - Tips on Maintaining Your Home As a Peaceful...
I've been following the chart for nearly two weeks now. I actually find it quite rewarding. My family of males can even follow it. I'm sure you can't read it, but you don't need to. Just know that I'm following the program and enjoying success along the way.Clea, here's to you, dear friend. Thanks for a job well done!
Did anyone besides me notice that the beginning of CLEAn is Clea?
Friday, March 6, 2009
I've had a weeks rest at home...
[just in case you are wondering, the pictures haven't been uploaded yet...]
now back to the old grindstone... I thought I'd start my journey blog with a taste of the cuisine to which I was treated...
We'll start with dinner since it's the first thing I ate at the Wootton's monastary (more on that later). I had chicken soup. I'm confident there was chicken but from where I didn't know. The soup was great. I think I even had buttered bread. I was quite surprised at the presence of chicken as I had heard that meat was not very good locally and it was too expensive to get to the big city for better meat... Even so, I enjoyed the soup after a long journey (3 days to be exact!) to get there.
Fast forward to breakfast and you have eggs - rolled up in chapati - Add a little sauce of chopped onion and tomato and perhaps some green bell pepper on the side. Oh but wait, it's not that easy... First you have to get the eggs from the market --- more on that later --- then they sit on your counter in a egg carton (the big 2 dozen or so size) until you use them. Yuck say all us refrigerator freaks, but the reality is, fresh eggs can be treated that way. Before you cook the eggs, you must crack them. How will you know that the egg is fresh? The grocer might not have perfectly rotated his stock. Does he even know how to rotate stock? If he does, does he throw in a few bad with the good and pretend ignorance?
In Kenya, Connie and Clea, broke many rotten eggs and were very sad to say the least when once it was broken right into a cake batter they were making - all from scratch... It wasn't until they arrived in Uganda that they learned to float test the eggs. You know the old David Letterman segment "Will it float or will it sink?" Good eggs sink. Each egg is tested that way.
Back to breakfast - are you worn out yet? Don't give up, last night we had to make chapati (much like tortillas but with fat cut into them and the pan fried.) If you've never made tortillas, you ought to try it some times. There's no bakery to go and pick up the bread you want at $1 a loaf. Even if you do buy bread, you might make croutons out of it but not a nice soft cold cut sandwich. So here I am enjoying breakfast - complete with juice from concentrate.
From my description you'd think all we did was eat. To look at the scales, you'd be convinced. But really we did have some normal days. There are four kids to tend to. They aren't all out of diapers and only half of them will string a whole story together. Onward to lunch. It's usually leftovers, but with me around I don't think there were as many so at times lunch was an extra preparation. Peanut butter and jelly. Seems simple enough. Grab the peanut butter and jelly and a few slices of bread and you're good to go. Not so fast. Remember the bread? While breakfast was being cooked, you had to start a batch of bread dough. It takes at least two hours to prepare. which includes rising times. As long as Clea doesn't object, I'm going to take the liberty of sharing the recipe here. She got it from somewhere, but it's a good recipe.
So as long as you started the bread before breakfast was served and you got it in the oven more than 20 minutes before lunch, PB&J is an easy lunch. Although I have to say, I really did enjoy the Nutella sandwich we enjoyed one day... Oops I dont' think I was supposed to share that... Tee Hee!
Before you take a deep breath, there's the cleaning up of all the cooking mess we made. Thankfully they have hired a helper that is able to take care of these things so Clea and Connie can focus on the kids and other things they have to do. Are you thirsty yet?
Remember, TIA (This is Africa) what should be simple is never and what should only take a few minutes of concerted effort takes weeks. TIA and therefore I shall not shall not shall not touch the tap water to my lips. TIA, I shall not touch the tap water to my lips. For that we have squirt bottles to rinse the toothbrush and our mouths. But just how do we fill those squirt bottles? Katadyn makes a great tank filter that adequately filters the water to make it safe for consumption. Every day (I can hear Connie missing me now) someone has to take the tap water and pour it into the filter tank so that over the course of the morning it can drip via gravity out of the filter and into the holding tank.
As long as everyone does their part, the water is great. I've seen other filter contraptions that aren't so nice. With any of them, there is the possibility that the floor will be mopped. Well, it seems I've rambled on and on. Perhaps too much, but if you've read this far thank you.
now back to the old grindstone... I thought I'd start my journey blog with a taste of the cuisine to which I was treated...
We'll start with dinner since it's the first thing I ate at the Wootton's monastary (more on that later). I had chicken soup. I'm confident there was chicken but from where I didn't know. The soup was great. I think I even had buttered bread. I was quite surprised at the presence of chicken as I had heard that meat was not very good locally and it was too expensive to get to the big city for better meat... Even so, I enjoyed the soup after a long journey (3 days to be exact!) to get there.
Fast forward to breakfast and you have eggs - rolled up in chapati - Add a little sauce of chopped onion and tomato and perhaps some green bell pepper on the side. Oh but wait, it's not that easy... First you have to get the eggs from the market --- more on that later --- then they sit on your counter in a egg carton (the big 2 dozen or so size) until you use them. Yuck say all us refrigerator freaks, but the reality is, fresh eggs can be treated that way. Before you cook the eggs, you must crack them. How will you know that the egg is fresh? The grocer might not have perfectly rotated his stock. Does he even know how to rotate stock? If he does, does he throw in a few bad with the good and pretend ignorance?
In Kenya, Connie and Clea, broke many rotten eggs and were very sad to say the least when once it was broken right into a cake batter they were making - all from scratch... It wasn't until they arrived in Uganda that they learned to float test the eggs. You know the old David Letterman segment "Will it float or will it sink?" Good eggs sink. Each egg is tested that way.
Back to breakfast - are you worn out yet? Don't give up, last night we had to make chapati (much like tortillas but with fat cut into them and the pan fried.) If you've never made tortillas, you ought to try it some times. There's no bakery to go and pick up the bread you want at $1 a loaf. Even if you do buy bread, you might make croutons out of it but not a nice soft cold cut sandwich. So here I am enjoying breakfast - complete with juice from concentrate.
From my description you'd think all we did was eat. To look at the scales, you'd be convinced. But really we did have some normal days. There are four kids to tend to. They aren't all out of diapers and only half of them will string a whole story together. Onward to lunch. It's usually leftovers, but with me around I don't think there were as many so at times lunch was an extra preparation. Peanut butter and jelly. Seems simple enough. Grab the peanut butter and jelly and a few slices of bread and you're good to go. Not so fast. Remember the bread? While breakfast was being cooked, you had to start a batch of bread dough. It takes at least two hours to prepare. which includes rising times. As long as Clea doesn't object, I'm going to take the liberty of sharing the recipe here. She got it from somewhere, but it's a good recipe.
Combine the following items and let dissolve and poof:
2 Tbsp yeast
1/2 cup warm water
1/2 tsp sugar.
Combine and dissolve in big bowl:
2 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp shortening
2 tsps salt
2 cups boiling water
Add first mixture to second. Add 7 1/2 - 8 cups flour (Clea uses 7 cups). Mix.
Turn out on floured surface; kneat 10 min
Place in greased bowl (probably the one you used for the second mixture); turn once; cover and let rise until doubled. Punch down let rest 15 minutes. Divide into two (2)
So as long as you started the bread before breakfast was served and you got it in the oven more than 20 minutes before lunch, PB&J is an easy lunch. Although I have to say, I really did enjoy the Nutella sandwich we enjoyed one day... Oops I dont' think I was supposed to share that... Tee Hee!
Before you take a deep breath, there's the cleaning up of all the cooking mess we made. Thankfully they have hired a helper that is able to take care of these things so Clea and Connie can focus on the kids and other things they have to do. Are you thirsty yet?
Remember, TIA (This is Africa) what should be simple is never and what should only take a few minutes of concerted effort takes weeks. TIA and therefore I shall not shall not shall not touch the tap water to my lips. TIA, I shall not touch the tap water to my lips. For that we have squirt bottles to rinse the toothbrush and our mouths. But just how do we fill those squirt bottles? Katadyn makes a great tank filter that adequately filters the water to make it safe for consumption. Every day (I can hear Connie missing me now) someone has to take the tap water and pour it into the filter tank so that over the course of the morning it can drip via gravity out of the filter and into the holding tank.
As long as everyone does their part, the water is great. I've seen other filter contraptions that aren't so nice. With any of them, there is the possibility that the floor will be mopped. Well, it seems I've rambled on and on. Perhaps too much, but if you've read this far thank you.
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