Bloomin' Success

One of Allan's passions in Indonesia was growing orchids, so it was a great loss to him to leave those plants behind when we moved. He had at least 100 (but to hear him tell it, they numbered in the 1000's). We had so many beautiful varieties which flourished in that climate, and it was such a bonus to buy the plants for only $2 a piece. So it was quite disappointing to find out that a single plant here in Angola would cost $50, but ones with blossoms were $75. That was out of the question. So Allan was thrilled to be able to bring some orchids back from South Africa a couple months ago, and we have held our breaths hoping they would grow. Then two weeks ago---voila!---three beautiful blossoms. We just had to share this with you!

Another Bundle

It just occurred to me when I posted our new photo that some of you may be wondering who is the roly-poly bundle in my arms. Brian and Allison have been foster parents for the past couple years, both in Massachusetts and now in Washington. They have cared for Luna Sunshine since she was a couple months old and have recently found that the petition to have parental rights terminated has been accepted, so they are pursing adoption. We are excited for them and praying that all will go well with the courts system to allow this to happen. They have been awesome parents to her, treating her like her own, even though they know that nothing is final until all the approvals have been given and all papers have been signed. We certainly enjoyed our time at Thanksgiving getting to know her better, and I'm sure she had a kick spending time with the rest of the family.

Lost in Translation

For someone who loves to talk, it's almost a punishment to live in a culture that doesn't speak the same language as you do. In Indonesia, most of the populace (and even most household help) spoke no English at all, and even simple tasks like shopping for vegetables was very stress-producing. I spent almost three years learning Bahasa, which has absolutely no relevance to English words at all. I probably learned more on the golf course with my caddie and felt fairly competent when we left that I could hold my own, at least for routine taks. I was even able to deliver a simple speech before the women's club in Bahasa. So now that we're in Angola and Portuguese is the national language here, I am starting at square one. But I must say, I am quite enjoying the challenge and love the discovery of new words and how they are formed. At least many Portuguese words can be deciphered because of their similarity to English. And if I am stuck for a vocabulary word, I just try adding a "são" (pronounced as a nasal "soun"), and sometimes I am right after all! Of course, there's always the liability of embarrassing yourself by making an error in pronunciation or vocabulary. One of our favorite stories in Indonesia was when Allan posted a sign on our bird aviary, thinking he was telling the guards not to feed the birds, when in reality, he was asking them not to eat the birds. So I asked him to please check with his secretary before delivering a speech in Bahasa. We've had some interesting twists here as well. When my Portuguese teacher asked me if there were unfamiliar words in the text, I told her I didn't know the word advogado. She told me it meant liar. I found that strange to put in a book, and then it dawned on me that she was saying lawyer, which wasn't clear because of her accent. We laughed about it when I explained to her what I thought she said and then finished by saying, "Well, actually, a lot of lawyers are liars." The latest almost-error was a week ago when I got my hair cut pretty short. As the stylist was blow-drying it, I was searching my mind for the vocaulary word to tell her I looked like a little duck (pequeno pato), but all that came to my mind was pequeno peito. I was later relieved that I had withheld my comment when I looked the word up in my dictionary. Peito is the word for breast.

Comfort Scents

We hear a lot about comfort food, but have you thought about comfort scents? Psychologists would back me up on this one. Getting a whiff of a certain smell propels you back to a familiar time or place, sometimes almost forgotten except for the trigger that aroma provides. Sometimes it's not such a good memory, but I would say most often those smells flood us with a heartwarming break in our life. Coffee most often reminds me of my dad. Evergreens - cutting down Christmas trees with Bill and the kids. Cigarette smoke - Friday night football games in Texas (don't ask me why). Fried potatoes, onions, and bacon - Aunt Lydia's for breakfast. Campfire smoke - camping with my family and campfire nights at summer camps. Now I know I could go on and on, but I don't think you planned on taking this walk down memory lane with me. I realized this week that when I choose a certain perfume to wear I am reminded of the giver. Thanks Erin for Amazing Grace, Lydia for Lavendar Bath Gel, Allison for Lavendar and Vanilla Body Souffle, Ragena for Bathina, Bonnie for Moonlight Path Lotion, and Allan for Organza (which was the first and only perfume he bought for me---and that was only because some sales girl recommended it). As far away as we are, my nose takes me back to you, my friends. That makes scents, doesn't it????

Junkie

Ok, I admit it. I have become an online Scrabble junkie. Well, what do you expect when I have a husband who doesn't enjoy the game but will play it to pacify me if I spot him points and bend the rules? There are some pretty awesome players out there, and I've learned a lot of new words. But I can feel my adrenalin pumping when I start a game or get close to a win. I've played with people all around the world and actually have a pretty good record going, but I can tell it's become an obsession when I'd rather "scrabble" than work on the other things staring me in the face. So I am putting myself on a scrabble-less diet for the next week while I devote time to preparing for the workshop I am teaching in a couple weeks and finishing the curtains I started. And I hope it's not going to be too painful.

In the Jungle

In September, we experienced our first safari . We traveled to Namibia, the country on the southern border of Angola. It truly was the experience of a lifetime. Jason met us in Windhoek, the capital, after which we spent 8 days traveling to 4 different game reserves. Jungle--it was not. More like a desert for the most part. We saw more giraffes, zebras, and springbok that you can imagine. and although we never saw lions or cheetahs roaming free, we did witness a lion feed at one of the reserves that would chill your bones. We spent hours each day searching, identifying, and logging the different species of animals we saw. We gained a new appreciation for God's handiwork in the creation of so many amazing animals. I swear the rhinocerous is the strangest one ever. We frequently had to stop the car to wait for a parade of elephants or zebras to cross the road. We sampled meals of oryx, springbok, alligator, ostrich, and yes, even zebra. At one water hole, we watched the feeding of rhinos, hippos, and water buffalo who came to feed at the same time. Our pictures cannot do justice to what we witnessed, but it is certainly a trip we will never forget.

Home On the Range

Yes, I've been back to cooking again since we've been in Angola. We were thoroughly spoiled with Emi, our cook in Indonesia. Although I originally protested the idea of having someone else in my kitchen, she was amazing. Not only did she prepare lunch and dinner, but she also made tortillas, bagels, breads, you name it. (Come to think of it, she's to blame for the weight I gained there!) But an empregada (maid) in Angola is not only more expensive and difficult to find, but rarely does she cook Western food. So I am back to full time cook, and I am actually loving it. Although finding ingredients locally for a particular recipe is a challenge, I normally start with what I have available and adapt. Sometimes the substitutions in the recipe outnumber the original ingredients, so it truly is a new creation. We have come across some new favorites, as well. I am including a few of these for you to try. We had some fantastic BBQ ribs that a friend prepared, and she shared the recipe for Absolutely Awesome BBQ Sauce from a website. A favorite dessert (for which I can easily find ingredients) is a fruit sorbet, and I think my current favorites are mango and melon. One of the local desserts I've grown to love is Banana Paõ, commonly called fried bananas. I recently prepared Lemon Cream Sandwich Cookies (from Bon Appetit) for a coffee we had and got great reviews on them. So I hope you'll try some of these, too.