Over this past weekend Bryan and I had plenty of time to rest due to a flu we had picked up. It wasn't terrible but did keep us close to home. Our neighbors checked in on us and made us feel cared for. It was sweet.
I received good news and some not so good....The good is that the woman in charge of the community outreach has returned from overseas. She was gone for 3 weeks which is why we have not met yet and of course now that she is back, she will be very busy catching up. I don't want to harass her but am praying throughout the days for God's timing to meet with her and discuss the options for medical work here. I am so thankful she has come back and will keep you abreast of any discussions or plans.
The not so good news is that when we heard that our shipment had arrived in Soyo.....well not exactly...the letter was sent to 4 and one has arrived, one has a date of arrival and two are still being held in Houston.....awaiting further paperwork.....and guess which group we fit into......right.....the shipment is still in the US.....now this is not a huge problem....we are getting along with the few things we have here.....it is just that I only carried 2 pairs of jeans, two pairs of culottes and one pair of dressy black pants that are beginning to get too big......a wonderful problem.
A great part of being here in the heat with the limits of food is that we don't tend to overeat at all....we make enough for the day and maybe for lunch the next day and keep it simple....there is no fast food and without my pans and the baking supplies in the shipment....can't do baking and that is ok too.....so actually, both Bryan and I are becoming more healthy.....and we love this.
Over the weekend the gardener started his work. He has dug up most of the front and back yard and removed a layer of red dirt. He then had someone go to the jungle and get top soil which is very black looking and apparently things grow well in it. Today he is starting to put if around the garden and even has a few plants in a pan of soil to grow the seedlings. Very exciting, actually!!! We also have green beans from the nurses at Hospice of the East Bay.....and I got winged bean seeds which is a bean that is grown throughout Asia and you can eat the bean, the leaves.....salad!!!.....and it grows rapidly. I brought 1/2 lb of these beans so it will be great and something to share....I also have herbs that I have started in a planter in the kitchen.....the avocado seed that I put in water????? Nothing is happening but I have another one and will put it directly in soil and see if that works better..
It is very hot today and when we went to work with the children at school and do crafts, everyone was very warm...This group had a wide spread of ages, some very young and some up to 2nd grade. We did the coloring, cutting, gluing and the played bingo.....to learn numbers....it was fun and the kids really get into throwing their hands up and saying "Bingo" when they fill their card. The teachers seem to really enjoy getting supplies at the end of the day. It is a worthwhile time even in the heat.
Today is sweeping, washing the floors, laundry and trying to come up with something healthy and good for dinner. Yesterday we made a black bean and sweet potato stew that I got off the internet. Healthy and still enough for tonight. We even shared with our neighbors. That is always fun. Now I need to figure what to do with the bread that we get. The local bakeries are around town and they make the bread there, put it in a brick oven and bake it. It is white flour but still good. The problem is that it is stale in two days....so trying to figure what to do with stale bread.....of course, you say, just don't buy so much at a time.....and that is certainly what we will do in the future.....Any ideas on how to use this?
I think you can use it to make croutons, or those crunchy slices of bread to put on salad. I would put a little butter, some garlic powder and some basil and rosemary on them and bake them for 5 or 10 minutes to make them crispy (use small cubes or thin slices) and try it with soup or salad. like a cracker.
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