I have no idea why I'm writing a boring blog about food... but since so many lately have asked what foods or what things we miss... I'll write a blog for the world to know! lol... At lunch we asked each of the kids to think of the 3 foods that they would eat again and again... At the top of several lists was Lasagna... sadly a very expensive and non practical meal here (cheese and meat topping the reasons why it's not practical!)... Spaghetti and pizza were also on a couple lists... Tonia of course had groundnut stew on her list (a Sierra Leone food that we all love to eat)... Oddly enough pancakes came up a few times as well (they don't miss pancakes... we eat them a few times a week). Joe was pretty sure some moose sausage and steak would be on his list... So... these are the food items that 'we' miss.... I think I just miss variety! But in reality... it is so much easier to not have to think much about what you are eating... the choices are just a topping for rice... sardines, flavored tuna, beans, kamote tops, etc... so not so difficult to think about every meal!
Well... I've been informed my 'free time' is over... time to see a patient!

Sick of being sick!

My good friend who is Nurse Practitioner told me that the first year of practice you get every bug that walks through your door... multiply that times 9 and it feels as if someone is always sick! It's usually mild and only passes through a couple of us... but seems like there is always one child sniffling, coughing, puking, fever, etc... So my New Years resolution... no more sickness!!! Lately we've had a round of the flu bug passing through the clinic and I sure DON'T want that one! We've seen a lot of intestinal bugs as well... though I believe that has to do with the water source being so low... we still bring our drinking water in from Alabel as there has only been water for an hour or two every day. But it FINALLY rained last night and we have water today!! So loads of laundry are being sent through the washer as I type... and if it stays strong... maybe we'll get in a 'real' shower!! It's the simple things in life that give us pleasure! :P
Christmas was interesting to say the least... we woke up and got to skype video chat with my sister while the kids opened their stockings... then they took a break to do chores and eat before we connected again and opened presents from Aunt Christine while she watched. What a blessing the internet was this year! Joe had strep on Christmas morning... but there was a plug needed for the kids to be able to play the new Wii Aunt Christine got them... so we drugged him up and sent him to GenSan on the motorcycle while I took the kids to the Thanksgiving celebration at church... (can you say H-O-T!!!)... but it was all good and the kids got to enjoy their new game that evening.
Presents and such are a weird thing for me... I look around at our surroundings and the lack of just basic needs... and feel strange for receiving presents when we already have so much... yet I know that God takes pleasure in giving good gifts to his children... Anyways... it's a weird struggle... one not easily solved.

For REAL!

So I haven't been blogging lately.. not that lots hasn't been going on.. but mostly because I'm afraid I would be a little too 'real' with people... I have started many a blog to try to express some of these 'real' issues here... but then I am always afraid it will come across the wrong way and I end up resorting to just deleting the post and keeping inside for yet another day. So.... sorry for the absence of 'fun' blogging... it's been difficult to have the 'Christmas' spirit here... so far away from people who share the same love of Christ, the same language, family, etc... some days if it were up to me I would just hide under my blanket until this season has passed... but of course having children forces one to not do that, (and the fact that's it's 100 degrees out!)... so we plod on through... learning how to celebrate with no close friends of family close by, with just the ants as our constant companions... :) We are thankful that we have each other (and there's a LOT of us!)
We are finally on 'break' from the kid's school... so now it's just the 'normal' duties of animals, garden and of course patients... We see anywhere from 10-25 patients in a day... ranging in problems from halfway cutting their wrist off... to infected wounds, to trying to figure out some medical dilemna that's plagued someone for years... (those are the hardest!)
We are trying to at least get some holiday baking in... but it means that we splurge for 'nice' flour (that you can only buy in the city)... the 3rd class flour just doesn't cut it for delicate baking items! It's difficult to find baking products and goodies... But we managed to find marshmallows in the city last time we were in... and a box of rice crispies... The box sizes here makes it perfect for rice crispy treats... one box per 1 bag of marshmallows! I think we might even have some food coloring that we could add in to make them look 'Christmasy'!
Currently we are in the middle of re arranging and organizing the house... BLAH... but oh well, it must be done.. and I'll feel great when it's finished!

bugs!

It's amazing what one can get used to when you have to... Joe and I both grew up in COLD climate... aka.. Alaska! No ants invading your coffee 30 seconds after putting it down, no strange and weird bugs falling on you at night, no crawly guys in the bathroom, and NO snakes eating your chickens (although we did once have wild dogs eat our chickens...) Anyway... you either get used to it... or learn to deal with it! Just this week we decided that the bugs falling on us in the middle of the night was robbing us of precious sleep and needed to be solved... so up went the mosquito net.... now of course all the kids want one! lol... ants really do love anything and everything... I was at the desk earlier typing and kept feeling something crawling on me... sure enough... ants had invaded where the water/ rubbing alcohol mix bottle had just been sitting... who knew ants liked alcohol!? But for the most part we are 'used' to our little house critters... generally they are harmless... although the big ol wolf spiders don't appear so and when I see them I don't mind letting 1/4 of the can of bug killer out on them (even though it doesn't kill them!) Joe mostly just enjoys getting pictures of bugs... and trust me... there are LOTS of interesting new bugs here!

Enjoy a few of his shots!

Gardening!

Well.. it's official... we are full fledged into gardening! We FINALLY had a nice rain and were able to transplant our lettuce today... thankfully they had JUST finished plowing the rest of the garden this morning! Sweet timing!

So anyone who knows me... knows I certainly DO NOT have a green thumb! So far I had only been able to grow a few bean plants and squash... lots and LOTS of squash plants! I'm not THAT fond of squash to be honest... I've even considered giving one squash to each household here in the village and organizing a squash bake off! Anyway... all my starter plants weren't doing so well... but finally I was able to get a few cucumber and tomato plants in the ground... the tomato plants ended up being transplanted a second time as where we originally put them happened to be a wee bit too close to where our patients SPIT! lol...

Anyway... I've been doing a ton of reading on gardening... trying to figure out what grows well where... and finally was able to get some lettuce started and some more bean plants. And the funny thing was... when I dumped our old 'starter' to mix in with the dirt I was putting around our bean plants... the tomatoes that hadn't grown... grew! So... I currently have 19 tomato plants all shooting up! I guess I better be looking up some good jarring recipes! :) Good thing we like spaghetti sauce!

Some of the kids really enjoy gardening... others just enjoy the 'clearing' (the burn pile to be exact).... but we've been busy, busy clearing and planting! We've so far gotten squash, beans, papaya trees, tomatoes, cucumber, and lettuce planted! Phew!

I actually have really enjoyed gardening (shocker I know!)... I admit to being slightly impatient and wanting it to all grow faster... but I'm sure that a few months will pass before we know it!

Internet Part 2

Miracle of ALL miracles... we have internet once again!!! And SUPER fast at that!!! We are so excited to be able to use our internet phone to be able to connect with family and call out in emergencies! Yeah!
On a funny side note... the company's satellite is based in Korea... so all my little side bars, etc... are all in KOREAN... hmm... maybe I should start studying so I can understand... either that or figure out how to change my settings to ENGLISH! lol... :)
It's been pretty busy at the clinic... seeing about 10-20 patients a day... as our current REACH nurse stated today... you sure do get a LOT of strange cases! Trust me... strange is putting it lightly! I would expand... but I understand that some of you readers don't care for the medical side of things... so let's just say... we get some WEIRD cases! :P
Glad to be up and running again... and feel free to call us (that would be if you have my number... which you would have to email me to get!) God bless!

Internet

Well.. we are temporarily w/o internet... it's a very long, frustrating story... but we were unhappy with the provider we had... so since we were still w/in our time frame to cancel... we did... of course getting a refund out of a company is like pulling the teeth of a horse! But... we are fairly confident the new company will allow us to actually use our internet phone and video call... and not blank out whenever there is rain! So... we are hoping to set that all up here within the next week or so... pray it happens fast... would love to be able to talk to my family on Christmas!!!