Peach Pie

Yesterday was an important day! Following in the traditions of the women before me, on both sides of my family, I made my first fruit pie. I've enjoyed many a pie before, but yesterday, with Momma's supervision, I made one myself!

Dad returned this morning from Moz, and we saved the first piece for him! I might not win a pie competition like my grandmother, but it tasted pretty good! :)

Monday FUNday

Yesterday, my friend Ricci decided to visit Philadelphia on her day off. She and I are similar in a lot of ways. When she contacted me about visiting on Monday, I responded with a suggested activity that I knew would cement her plans: Trader Joe's! Ricci and I both love this grocery store, and since there aren't many in her area, we made plans to start our day by meeting for some grocery shopping!

After our shopping adventures concluded, we got some lunch and ate in the shade at the Rodin Museum. We paused for a few quick pictures with the Thinker.

After returning to my apartment to put all the groceries in the fridge, we visited the well-known Love sign at JFK Plaza and made our way to dinner. 

Ricci had suggested we do a nice dinner out, to celebrate my birthday (which was in March) and my graduation. Dinner was a delicious mix of swordfish kebabs and fennel salad, spanakopita, and figs and goat cheese drizzled with honey. For dessert, we went to a different nearby restaurant to share tiramisu and salted caramel budino. It was all excellent. 

It was a wonderful day and even better to catch up with a good friend. 

Lunch

At long last, I was able to reconnect with a student from a few semesters past.  She hasn't been able to come to class, but we have been keeping in touch via text.  In light of my new found freedom (haha!), I arranged to have lunch at her house.  When I arrived, she had made a proper feast for us!  She said she was celebrating that we could finally get together.

After a leisurely lunch, we had our tea. :) I've missed those little tea cups heaped full of sugar.

My Second Surprise Party :)

My students felt badly that they all hadn't been prepared to celebrate my birthday last week.  When I returned on Thursday to our class, they were ready to party once more!  I don't understand why everyone doesn't want my job! :)

Moving Martha

This weekend was moving weekend!  For a change, I wasn't the one moving.  Martha, my roommate from junior year of college, moved from New England and into my apartment.  Friday, two other friends and I drove up to Massachusetts to help her move her belongings down to Pennsylvania.

Meet Martha:

We arrived at about midnight and promptly went to bed.  The next morning, Martha rented a U-Haul and we packed up!

By 1 p.m., we were ready to get on the road!  We drove to Charlestown and stopped to let Martha say goodbye to her favorite beach and to have a picnic lunch on the beach.

We left the pizza on the rocks when we went to take some pictures by the water's edge.  Imagine our surprise when we came back to empty boxes!  We lost our leftovers to a hungry seagull!

Refreshed by our break, we got back on the road and drove the rest of the way to Pennsylvania.  

We arrived at my apartment at about 11 p.m.  I figured out that the three of us who left Pennsylvania on Friday had travelled about 800 miles in a 29 hour period.  I don't recommend it!  Bed felt very, very good!

Sisterly Creativity!

My sister and I decided to release our inner artists this Easter.  For her Good Friday/Easter celebration with friends, we made this cake: 

We made a carrot cake, with yummy cream cheese icing.  Joy made two 9 inch round cakes and then frosted the cake.  We put 24 marshmallow peeps around the base of the cake.  

For the little garden, we used three chocolate wafers and ground a few other wafers to be the "dirt" in the center of the garden and on the icing.  Joy sliced a few green Mike and Ike candies and stuck them to the top of orange Mike and Ikes to make the "carrots" in the garden.  We put the other five bunnies on toothpicks on the top of the cake.  

I think it looks awesome!  And I can now verify that it TASTES amazing as well.  I actually didn't eat the peeps, but the cake itself was incredible.  

Green Smoothie Goodness

I've gotten a few responses to my green smoothies.  My sister thinks I'm nuts.  My mom likes them.  Some friends also make them.  I think they are amazing!  I actually start to crave them if I go a long time without one.

The idea behind a green smoothie is to use green veggies as the base of your smoothie.  Fruit can be added to sweeten the taste.  I add a little bit of kefir as well.

I make all sorts and I don't really follow a recipe.  Whatever happens to be in the fridge is what goes into my smoothie.  Here is this morning's smoothie:

Don't the colors look pretty?  I started with some cucumber, then added three big strawberries. Next, I chopped up a banana and then added several handfuls of baby spinach leaves.  I poured a little raspberry kefir (or yogurt) on top, added a bit of water, and blended it together.

I know some people are put off by the green color, but it tastes delicious!  I actually love the brilliant green.  I prefer to use baby spinach, but I have some friends who use kale.  The baby spinach tastes a little sweeter to me.  If you haven't made one before, you should really get out your blender and try it!

Birthday Blessings

Monday didn't go quite as I planned, but it ended wonderfully.  Snow started falling at about two in the afternoon.  Val and I had planned to go to campus to hear a guest lecturer, but I was exhausted.  Val told me I should lie down and take it easy.  When I woke from a nap, it was 7 p.m. and the snow was still falling.  Rather than venture out, we stayed in and made a vegetarian version of my mother's chicken gravy (so...gravy and peas and carrots) and baking powder biscuits.  It was a perfect warming meal for a beautiful evening.  

It felt like a wonderful lead-in to my twenty ninth birthday.

My parents and I were able to skype at 8, which was a great way to start my day.  The rest of my day was fairly un-birthdayish, as I worked on lesson preparations and paperwork for my new job.  The snow started melting and had dissipated by the time I left for an afternoon at Barnes and Noble with Val.  She spoiled me with a birthday latte and treat at the cafe.  

I left Val at 5:30 to meet my sister for a surprise birthday outing.  Val was going to a lecture on campus and was then going back to her parents' home.  I got home and had a surprise waiting at my front door!

My parents arranged for a beautiful potted gerbana daisy to be delivered today. I can't wait for spring!  I'm looking forward to creating a container garden on my little balcony and this little plant can be my first!  Thanks, Mom and Dad!

My sister arrived and gave me a wonderful spa treat basket, and included the hugest mug I have ever seen!  :) I'm drinking my Twinings of London Orange Cinnamon and Spice tea out of it right now.  

Joy and I then headed off to a "undisclosed" location for dinner.  She took me to the Melting Pot, a fondue restaurant.  We were there a few minutes before Val walked in the door!  Sneaky girls!  Then another good friend, Marleen, joined us as well!  My sweet sister planned a wonderful girls dinner out.  Several girls couldn't make it but we four had a great dinner.  We shared a cheese fondue, followed by a chocolate fondue for dessert. 

It has been a special day.  I'm so thankful for the amazing people in my life and especially in my family!

Thanksgiving

Through the years that I have been away from family and/or overseas on my own, I have realized that Thanksgiving is a very special holiday to me, perhaps even more so than Christmas.  I'm very glad that I booked my ticket to arrive back in PA before Thanksgiving.  My family in M-burg made the drive down to the family farm for the day.  Although a part of our family is still in Moz, we were almost all together.  

We had the traditional feast, and the usual nap time afterwards.  Once revived, the kids needed to expend some energy.  Anna was thrilled to find out that Kolton and Emme have a "neigh neigh."  Said "neigh neigh" is an elderly miniature horse named Molly.  Molly has lost some teeth and one eye, but she doesn't seem her life of grazing and the occasional pony ride.  

As we put the kiddos on Molly for a walk around, the sun started to set.  It was that perfect time of evening when the world looks golden and life feels uncomplicated.  I love those moments.  It was wonderful to have the time with family.

Anna giving Emme a kiss

Never give up praying. And when you pray, keep alert and be thankful.

Colossians 4:2

Goats

Goats can be found in the most unlikely places in Mozambique.

Momma and Baby both getting a drink 

Enjoying the shade at a gas station

Poor things!  I thought the humans were packed into the chapa, but the goats don't even get a seat!

Goats generally seem to end up as a meal.  While in the village last week, we frequently had matumba (goat intestines stuffed with goat meat) and rice for dinner.  Our first night in the village, there was a goat tied to a tree near the village.  The next day he was suspiciously absent.  

Unbeknownst to me, one of our translators told the cooks that I do not eat meat.  For our lunch and supper meals, they would provide beans or eggs for me.  I didn't ask for it, but I will admit to being very grateful.  In this setting, I could have simply not taken meat and no one would have been offended.  It would have been a long few days to only eat bread for breakfast, and rice, ncema, or millet for dinner.  The beans were very tasty and they cooked the eggs well also.  

The one night, Lazaro and Luis started asking me about my diet.  Lazaro could not believe that I would voluntarily eat only vegetables, fruit, rice, and bread.  (He didn't seem to mind having an extra portion of matumba!)  Lazaro said something in Portuguese to Luis with a little chuckle.  Luis translated into English for me, prefacing it with a little explanation.  "He wants to joke with you.  He's saying, 'Is she sure she's really African?'" We all had a good laugh over that comment!  I told Lazaro that he isn't the first to ask me, but I know two other Africans who are vegetarians.  We are certainly a rarity.  

Innocent's Barraca

For a treat and for our friend's Orville and Cheryl's last night in Beira, we went to Innocent's Barraca.  (A barraca is the general word for a tent, stall, or hut in Portuguese.)  Innocent makes seafood like no one else in town.  His establishment is tricky to find at first, but it's worth the search.

The decor is simple, mostly flags from football teams and countries.  The lampshades are baskets turned upside with seashells dangling from the rims.  This last visit, our waitress was a girl from Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe's flag

Innocent arranges the seafood beautifully.  I admire it even though I don't eat it.  My usual option is fish, but my time in Mozambique is testing my commitment to eating fish as well.  (I don't like it when my food looks back at me, and most of the time, fish is served with entire body still entact.)  However, it is impossible not to appreciate the color and visual appeal of Innocent's food.  

The last ten days are flashes of memories of endless dirt coating my skin, staring children, a river crossing in a dugout canoe, African sunrises and sunsets, a pet warthog named Pumba, wall to wall people in a small brick church, mutumbu (goat intestines) and rice, and the Beira Hillbillies (I'll explain that later!).  I scribbled pages and pages in my journal as I sat on a painful reed mat in a small village in the province of Tete.  

I'll write more in the days to come, but for now, here a few glimpses.

Our dinner being prepared.  

A friend had peeled a stick of sugar cane for me to eat.  I love sugar cane, but it was challenging to eat gracefully especially with a group of twenty kids just sitting and watching me.

Dad playing with the kids.

Dugout canoe crossing the Shire River

Watching.  This is a small crowd.  At this point, the other thirty kids were off playing football.