Monday August 31, 2009

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY.

Outside my window... Bright blue skies. Clouds in the distance. A big bus right across the road (like 5 steps...). Our neighbor does some mechanic work on buses and this is the parking lot. :)

I am thinking... that a new week is a great thing.

I am thankful for... a kindred spirit and a friendship that is iron sharpening iron...with heavy doses of grace...

From the learning rooms... We finished up the last bits of Core 3 from Sonlight and are now concentrating on some craft projects (!) having to do with the time frames we covered until next week when we start core 4. The kids are going to be doing trappers today and Riley's eyes light up as visions of traps danced in his head. Like the snake wasn't enough.... I'm enjoying the fact that the kids are loving these crafts. I do my best to not let the schnibbles of paper and glue get me down. :)

From the kitchen... Mole con pollo. Rice and veggies on the side and of course, tortillas.

I am wearing... A fun skirt and a fun t-shirt I found at a second hand clothing store. It's a wonderfully chocolate-ly brown color and fits! Goes nicely with the skirt with lime and brown stripes and my lime colored earrings. :) Of course now the mosquitoes have more access so that's a bother.

I am creating... an alteration pile. I've a few pieces of clothing to patch, mend, and alter. Of course, this would mean getting out the sewing machine and some days, that's just scary for me.

I am going... to read with the girls in a minute.

I am reading... Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Just kidding. I finished it. Very good and I imagine it was quite the terror in it's first days. Now it wasn't so terrifying except for the psychological battle, which was enough. The next book is Gulliver's Travels.

I am hoping... to be gracious at all times in all situations.

I am hearing... The Kids' Classical cd. Vivaldi's Ring of Mystery to be exact. Makes me wish I'd kept up on my lessons.

Around the house... Kids, pets, and us.

One of my favorite things... cello music.

A few plans for the rest of the week:

More great school days, si Dios permite, and stay ahead of the food needs of the family.

Alan has two trips planned at this point. Mostly day trips so that's good.

We're going to the hot springs on Friday evening and inviting the new group of bilingual teachers. Want to come? :)

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

This is the 'looking up' view of one of the walk bridges that Alan has been working with the group on replacing. This one is at Monte de la Virgen. I'm thinking it's a good thing they're replacing it. How about you?

Faith

If you'd like to join the fun, here is a link to set up your own day book. The Simple Woman

Foody Friday....

at least it is for another hour.

Alan had the camera today with him on a project. That brilliant idea I had earlier in the week to do the post early then post date it - well - a few days of flaky internet, flaky power, and a computer that is potentially dying a rather dramatic death got in my way.

Enough about me....HOW ARE ALL OF YOU???????????????? And what are you EATING lately??? Have my posts made you hungry yet - or really glad you live in the land of 'being able to see and know for sure what that is on your plate'? :)

For this week's walk on the wild side I went for the scary looking stuff. Don't worry - I stayed with the fruits and vegetables - I can't stomach the meats section myself so I won't do that to you.

THIS is yucca, after I peeled it. Rather tough to peel with a normal vegetable peeler. I'm guessing my neighbors are using their machete's on them.


It's a root. It actually looks like roots we used to spend Saturdays trying to dig out of the yard after a tree removal. I bet I complained about those gnarly things back then.

Now I'm cooking it
and feeding it to the family.

So - you see them everywhere. VERY COMMON here. It's something akin to a potato only chewier, and grainier, and stringier. Cheap - about 8 Lempira (35 cents ish...). Really pretty good flavor but I wanted to brush my teeth pretty quickly after eating it.


Then for your viewing pleasure - Liches.
The fruit world's Cousin It.

I have a hysterical video of the kids and I doing Liches 101 but it won't upload so you'll just have to take my word for it.

These remind me of an orange in that you peel the outside
(the adventurous first step) away and find a pith layer,
then the FRUIT. YUM.

(I can't help but think 'eyeball' every time we get these but I'm over it and enjoy them with the rest of the group...)

It's texture and taste are similar to a grape but this comes with a really big pit so you pop this puppy into your mouth and suck away.

They will keep your children entertained for hours. Here is Riley enjoying one. See the contentment on his face? Kidding - really this is just him making faces at his dad while sucking on Liches.

I am able to get a bag of these, maybe 20 and it costs me 50 cents.

I had more interesting foods and food items I was going to share but my Friday is running out. I'll just save them for our next episode.

Buen Provecha...

Faith

Catiwhahmpus......

You read that phonetically by the way.

That is how I feel this week. Just a wee bit off. Catiwhahmpus. I learned that word many years ago and it's like supercalifragilisticexpialidocious. Sometimes it's the only way to describe something.

Missed the Simple Daybook posting on Monday. No power.

Missing the Wordless Wednesday posting because the other computer is dead and that is the only one that reads the camera card.

Power has been on and off and on and off and on and off.....so I figured it I wanted to get ANYTHING posted it better happen right here, right now.

Not much new is happening here in the zoo. Days Alan is home he's welding like crazy. The other days he's driving all over this portion of the country with this bridge project. For the rest of us, school has begun again in full force and we are at a year where - GEE WIZ - this is a LOT of work. Balancing the schedules, needs, and computer time of a 6th grader (!), a 4th grader (!) and a 2nd grader (!) is making my head spin a bit.

And people still want to eat.
And wear clean clothes.
And I still want to have my coffee in the morning before I have to formulate complete sentences in any language.

I need to be getting up earlier.

So - in case you were wondering what the incredibly wonderful and amazing missionary life is like this week....the biggest thing I'm being called to at the moment is try to educate my children with a smile on my face and make dinner.

We did some bits of poetry this morning. Read some and then handed the girls white board markers and some ideas and they've been ensconced in their bedroom creating. Janelle is going to contribute to today's poetry for your viewing pleasure. Keep in mind that the knowledge of seasons and the normal changes of them, for my children, are a bit skewed as we live in the tropics. :)

Spring by Janelle Hayes 8/26/09

S - Swimming in the pool.
P - Please keep cool.
R - Riley's being mean.
I - I want iced tea.
N - No school (goodie!!)
G - Going to my friends' house.

Spring.

Entertainment and education at it's finest. As for dinner.....I'll get back to you on that one.

Faith

Foody Friday.....oh wait....it's Saturday..........

....and that is what happens when the power goes out. Things are late.

So - if you'll forgive me for the belated post we'll move on. I'm learning from my mistakes though and in the future will be using that fancy posting feature of blogger known as 'post dating'.

So - on to the food. We do thing basic here. Simpler. Most days I love this. Others? Well, lets just say I have to stay away from websites that have 'cooking' in the title as it makes me want what is not available. I have unbelievable cravings for black fig vinegar and dried cranberries and nuts and fancy lettuces and THAI FOOD...but....now... what were we talking about here???

Oh - got it. Back to the standard here. A staple. A very lovely combination.

Beans and rice.
This meal is on our menu at least 2 - 3 times a week. Served just like this. It's also a staple combination for other varieties of meals but honestly - THIS is a favorite. Rice cooked 2 parts water 1 part rice with a smidge of chicken bullion. Beans cooked in the pressure cooker with LOTS of garlic, chopped onion, chicken bullion and a jalapeno if I can find them. Last week I put in 1/2 a can of Chipotle chilis and sauce (no tuve jalapeno...) and boy was it good. :) So - in the bowl first put down a scoop of rice followed by a scoop of beans, then top with chopped cilantro, crema (sour cream to you north of the border) and grilled tomato, onion and garlic. It is DIVINE - and cheap but honestly this is no longer the main, motivating factor. :) Our FAVORITE beans are pintos but they are harder to come by here so we go with the much more common red or black beans. Anyway you cut it....fabulous.

You can also top it with cheese but we don't LOVE it and it's not cheap so we don't bother a lot of times.

Speaking of cheese - here is a picture of the common variety "queso seco". This is our preferred type. You can just crumble it up and sprinkle over anything and everything you want. (One thing to note is that I've not found a Honduran cheese yet that will melt. I know there are imported ones but nothing locally. It's funny to try and melt cheese that seriously, WILL NOT MELT. There is a burned, mesquite type flavor that goes with your non-melted cheese if you try that.) Quesillo is more common but it's 'wet' and texture is everything to me, so I wait for the seco.


This one is the strangest I've tried thus far in our wanderings. Batierna.

Seriously, when I saw these things in the market I thought they were burning material. Oh no.

It's food.

Really. Let me explain...

So - you have this long seed pod.










Then you open it and take a deep breath as it looks like worms in there.

Then you pull those out and eat the outside.



Ummmmm....honestly - it's like eating a cotton ball. Not cotton candy....a cotton ball. I have photographic proof that I did eat it. See!

It was w.e.i.r.d.. Again maybe it's that texture thing. Riley thought they were really good. He's such adventurous soul. He's going to give me grey hair.

The girls....ummmmmm.....what do you think they thought of it?


Apparently you can toast the seeds up with oil and garlic and they are something akin to a very large and super crunchy pumpkin seed. At least that's what Riley tells me. In his hanging out with friends, I'm realizing he is sampling more common foods than we are.

Hungry?? Come on over - we'll serve you up something entertaining.

Buen Provecha!

Faith

Wordless Wednesday....

Monday, August 17, 2009

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY -

Outside my window... blue skies patterned with wispy clouds. The humidity index has just gone up. I felt it change. It is 'clingy hot' although, as you will find later in the post, I have new reasons to be thankful for said humidity.

I am thinking... that God has a healthy and active sense of humor. :) I'm doing my best to join in the moments.

I am thankful for... rainy evenings as we've been without water in the house for going on 3 days with only intermittent trickling. Those rainy evenings have proven God's way of giving me enough water that I can collect it in the buckets, bowls, and broken cooler so that I can wash dishes, fill the filter, flush toilets and take bucket showers.

From the learning rooms... At the moment the kids are listening to the Spanish story program as I've been catching up on my cleaning as the water is trickling in. It's always on the schedule but normally this happens in the afternoons when my brain is too tired to think. I may have to make more coffee to keep my brain up for the math that will be happening later.

We are also enjoying the unit study I have that coinsides with the Sonlight core we're on. Honestly, crafts and art projects are the bane of my existence as a teacher and my poor children will be highly undereducated in these subjects.

*I am terrible at them.
*I loathe the mess they create.
*I want to fix projects so they are even.
*I can't think 'artisticly' so this element has sadly, I know, been absent.

Enter Home School in the Woods History Study unit on early 19th Century America. It's basically about the crafts and creating part. I don't think there is enough reading. THEY (those little artsy students) are loving the crafts and lapbooks they are slowly but surely building.

I'm doing my very best not to grumble about the amount of paper shnibbles and glue droplets we are creating. :)

From the kitchen...
Lunch will be hot dogs as this is the treat for Mondays. :)
Dinner - veggie stew with a potato base.

Another confession - I hardly ever follow recipes. I'm blessed to be able to 'wing it' in the kitchen and come up with things that are not only barely edible, but pretty darn good. This has served me well in a place where variety and availability are not always guaranteed. I'll throw together some biscuits and a salad (I FOUND SALAD GREENS (not just iceberg lettuce) IN SANTA ROSA!!!) and we'll be done.

I am wearing... Fancy clothes. I've felt a wee bit less than spiffy the last few days with our water issues so I resolved to dress up for 'work' today. Black slacks, turquoise shirt, heels, and normal bling.

I am creating... a method to the craft madness, which will hopefully result in artfully educated kids and a relatively sane mother by the end of it.

I am going... to pay bills later.

I am reading... Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Yes, still. It's very good; just slightly interrupted.

I'm also reading Shepherding a Child's Heart by Ted Tripp. This is in addition to my morning readings in the Bible and other quiet time literature. I figured this one would be a good one to add as the other day during clean up Natalie brought me this book (she had been using it for her play 'school') and as she was handing it back, very matter of fact, said, "This is for you. It's a book to teach parents to treat their kids better." Turn around. Walk out of room. After Alan and I picked ourselves up off the floor from our laughing fit, I decided maybe I should read it so I can help us all understand the REAL point of the book.

I am hoping... for water. For several hours in a row. For it to last long enough to take a real shower this evening.

I am hearing... Natalie 'invent' something behind me.

Around the house... Kids, pets, and me.

One of my favorite things... running water. :)

A few plans for the rest of the week:

Visiting with teachers newly arrived from the states for the bilingual schools.

Alan will be driving to Mapalaca for a two day overnight for delivery of and help with the installation of bridge materials. This is a 4 hour drive one way and so he'll be hanging out trying to get several things done in one trip. This was originally scheduled (haha) for last week but he was absolutely slammed with other elements of bridge projects so it was postponed to this week. There is also a trip to the closer bridge (1.5 hours one way) to see how they're coming along.

Here is picture thought I am sharing...

Creature feature....proudly brought to you by Riley...of course.

Faith

If you'd like to join the fun, here is a link to set up your own day book. The Simple Woman

Dentistry Data...

First of all if you are just joining the 'Zoo Chronicles', this post will make little to no sense without some background....so....here and here is said background.

The cost of a dental visit:

**One trip to Santa Rosa de Copan (45 min. drive one way) for initial visit which I thought would be a quickie 'replace the filing that fell out'. .....NO.....

**One dentist visit that resulted in that first link. (egads)

**One, go into the office and talk to them in person, as I couldn't get through on the phone for rescheduling the follow up appointment.

**One trip to office where it had to be rescheduled again because of no power.

**One phone call to my house (bless them) as the dentist couldn't see me for scheduled rescheduled appointment.

**One trip to office to actually get the thing fixed. Actually two things fixed. The worst parts that is.

**$35 USD. That and some emotional trauma, but who's counting?

I will be going back next month for more little 'clean ups' but the worst is over (PLEASE let it be over...).

I was able to do it without anesthesia which means I'm either getting a thicker skin or I'm just stupid. Plus, with the added pressure of my family being in the waiting room, I knew that I had to be a big girl and not cry otherwise my kids may wind up with the same issues I have with dentists. I am now the proud owner of two newly filled and rebuilt molars.

As I was laying there I decided that in order to distract my mind from the obnoxious drill sound and practically overwhelming panic that she would hit a nerve and only know it AFTER I screamed and climbed up the ceiling, I would pray. I don't know why this didn't occur to me during the last visit but this time I used it as a weapon. I prayed for a friend who was going to be having a trying day. I prayed for my ability to understand the Spanish and fairly new vocabulary that was being thrown at me. I prayed for the dentist as she was working on me. Then I remembered to pray and THANK GOD for the fact that I could sit in a dental chair, IN HONDURAS, and have someone repair my teeth. Studying history you'll find that people used to (and still do in some areas) die from abscesses and such that probably stemmed from issues with their teeth. Here I've been whining about having to go when really, a subtle shift in my focus, could bring me to honestly, being THANKFUL for the ability to go.

Ahhhh.................perspective. Why is it such a difficult thing to choke down some days?

Of course, this is a very simple place to get to AFTER the appointment. Yet, it is a learning experience I will do my best to retain for future use.

Dentistry is not the end of the world. Forgive me if I made it seem so. It isn't even the end of MY world. I have gone....been seen....been fixed....and am living to tell the tale. I even like the dentist so much I'm signing Alan up for an appointment. :)

'till next time...

Faith...smiling and laughing.

Monday August 10, 2009

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY Monday, August 10, 2009.

Outside my window... overcast skies which still manage to be hot. :) Also there is the neighbor girl who no matter what I say in Spanish seems to think that if she just stays here and hangs on the bars, all afternoon, Janelle and Natalie will eventually come outside to play.

I am thinking... that it will be a miracle if I ever actually get to see that dentist.

I am thankful for... a great first day with homeschooling!

From the learning rooms... We started! Or should I say we are finishing up? We obviously took a rabbit trail with some of the school 'last year' as the kids went to the local bilingual school. As we realized this was a great opportunity for the time being, it isn't a forever thing so we are back at the Hayes Zoo Academy. So - we are filling in a few blanks and in about 3 weeks should be ready to dive into the 'newer' material. Some of which I still need to get ordered to be brought down here by visitors who LOVE us in spite of the fact that we use them as cargo shipping. :)

From the kitchen... Leftovers will be the order of the evening. I may bake some bread or something to go along with it to 'dress' it up but that will depend on whether or not the heat index goes down.

I am wearing... Jeans, which are annoyingly baggy, a t-shirt that is not as cute as I remember it, chacos and the normal bling.

I am creating... a list for the papelaria. This would be the office supply store. All our dry erase markers are dead, the construction paper is nothing but a memory, and I CAN'T FIND ONE PENCIL OR RED PEN IN THE WHOLE HOUSE. How is THAT possible???

I am going... to market.

I am reading... Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. It's the next book in the British Literature core that I am doing with my mom just for personal enrichment! ** Still reading....I've made it past the historical content, author's introduction, and various other introductions. NOW I can start the story. :) ** - THIS week's update - On chapter 5. It's good - but my brain is fried by the evenings and taking up a British novel at 9pm is....challenging....and slow. Still - very worth it.

I am hoping... that the dentist will actually be there when I show up on....Thursday now.

I am hearing... The girls' science DVD in the background and Alan and Riley welding (YES - both of them) in the back yard. The bridge project has moved to the back patio. Who would've thought THAT was possible?

Around the house... Kids, pets, and us.

One of my favorite things... my husband's sense of humor.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
More great school days, si Dios permite, and stay ahead of the food needs of the family.

Alan will be driving to Mapalaca for a two day overnight for delivery of and help with the installation of bridge materials. This is a 4 hour drive one way and so he'll be hanging out trying to get several things done in one trip.

That and my dentist appointment has been rescheduled to Thursday afternoon. We'll see if that will work. I am thankful they called me this afternoon to let me know the dentist wasn't able to see me today as we have to drive 45 minutes one way for this.

Here is picture thought I am sharing... never say brute force isn't effective....Yes, he is bending steel with just his biceps. I'm married to Superman I tell ya'. I'm there trying to keep things from wiggling and to offer some 'resistance'. :) I do cover my toes when he gets out the welder in case you were worried. A new viewpoint on being a supportive wife, don't you think??

This is also a visual for you to see what designing and building bridges, or more specifically, building BRIDGE WELDMENTS (internal structure for those of you who are confused like me) will look like in Honduras. Office space????????????? Machine shop?????? Tool shed??????????? What are those??????????????

At least I'm a decent office assistant. :)

Faith

If you'd like to join the fun, here is a link to set up your own day book. The Simple Woman

Foody Friday...

Let's see if I can tempt you to come and visit me with some of the food items we have here.

See the pineapples???????????????????????????????????? This is the plant!! Right now they are still coming on and we can get them for around 50 cents USD. Did you know it takes two years to grow a pineapple??? This makes me feel a tad guilty every time our family eats ONE in a sitting. Hmmm...


Then there are the banannas. Did you know that banannas grow upside down?? This is Riley (obviously) holding it the way it would be on the tree. It was a tad heavy for him to hang onto and not drop. This BUNCH, con tallo, cost me about $2.50 USD - they are starting to ripen ever so slowly so I'm putting bananas in the freezer a bit ahead of when we need them for smoothies. Perfect. Although in about 2 days I'm going to have a TON ready. Banana bread will be a food group for a while. Have I mentioned how thankful I am for my freezer lately?????????



This is a picture of a woman finishing off a batch of tamales. She was just pulling them out of the pot as Alan got the picture. They use the adobe mud stoves to do these, filling them with firewood and getting it hot enough - then the ashes are raked out and the pots put in for the residual heat to do the baking. Honduran tamales are much different from the ones in Mexico - mainly in that they are HUGE, wrapped and cooked in Banana Leaves, and the consistency is more like a corn pudding verses the drier Mexican ones. These were made for us by a church family that we were visiting a few weeks ago. Fascinating.


Now, we have a new fruit that is starting to pop up in the markets. Star fruit. I missed the name she gave me as it was a particularly busy (loud) day in there. Plus, I wasn't planning on buying them. I didn't even see them actually - she just handed me a bag and told me to try them. FABULOUS. Actually it's a bit like sucking on an underripe lemon (you know the face!) but you add banana and homemade yogurt to round out that tartness and it's wonderful!



I had a fun and instructional video to upload but I'm thinking the hour and a half it's taking to TRY to upload is not a good sign. I'm going to post this while it's still Friday and see if I can figure out the video portion for next week.

Buen Provecha!

Faith

Dental updates....

Did you know that when there is no power in an area you can't have dental work done?

Sooooooooooooooooooooooooo....................Monday is the new day.

And I am sorry for being so dramatic with the last post. This won't kill me. I should quit whining...there are much bigger things happening than me in a dental chair in HONDURAS.

:)

Faith

Death by Dental Visit.

First of all you must know that one of the ways Alan and I cope with or try and make it through some of the REALLY challenging aspects of our living as we do is to find the humorous side. "BLOG FODDER" is a phrase that we use with one another to kind of snap each other out of the "Oh. My. Heck. What do I do with this?" mode.

After this last couple of months though I'm feeling a bit done having interesting blog fodder for you all. Nothing personal - I'm just feeling a bit like the crash dummy and that I'd rather sit out for a while. Alas, we are still here so I'm strapped into the 'vehicle' called new experience.

Newest experience to share - DENTAL VISITS and WORK in Honduras.

This story is not for the faint of heart. Or the ones who get the willies reading about medical stuff. Heck I wish I could click the little "x" button and opt out but no - here I am. Your own personal crash dummy.

A tad bit of history for you to set the stage.

I don't like the dentist.

Forgive me if you are one. I'm sure I would like you in real life and in my intellect (or what's left of it) I KNOW that you do good things for me but frankly - I don't like you to have to be that close to my mouth.

I don't remember for sure when this phobia first manifested itself. I remember one particular dental visit as a young teenager that left me feeling like I'd had a watermelon in my mouth for hours and I'm guessing that's where it started. We switched dentists later and I had several years of decent dentists and a fabulous orthodontist, but still. I will forever call my parents blessed for paying for the priviledge of getting my wisdom teeth out surgically. As in all I remember about that appointment was showing up early in the morning, saying hello, counting backwards with the goofy mask over my face then waking up being escorted to the car by several assistants. Mouth full of gauze and the sensation of floating, I still was trying to say thank you as they helped me into the car because it had been so great for me. I do remember whacking my forehead on the window as I tried to lean out and wave. I'm sure drool completed the picture. Needless to say - THAT was the best dentist appointment ever.

This story is a tad different. I will warn you that there is more punctuation than is legal in this post. It just isn't possible to convey the feelings I'm having without it.

Three phrases for you.

Third world country.
Dentistry.
Filling that falls out.

D.R.A.T.

This was how last month started for me. I managed to lose a filling in one of my molars. Not sure how but it HURT - it felt like half my tooth was gone. In fact it made my whole jaw and face hurt. Meaning I couldn't ignore it like I would've preferred to do. My first thoughts were I have to EXPLAIN this in SPANISH????????!!!!!!!!!! (and maintain my composure but that's another subject) Followed by my husband's comment - BLOG FODDER. I tried not to glare.

So - bless other missionaries' hearts - they shared the phone number of their dentist and said buena suerte! I called with much fear and trembling but I made the appointment anyway as I would rather get it fixed than have my husband pull my tooth. Yee....haw.....

I arrived at the appointed time with the major nausea that follows me to all dentist visits. But shoot - I was somewhat looking forward to getting this fixed. As I was 'checking in' I was met by blank stares. The dentist I had made an appointment with was in San Pedro Sula. Grrr...BUT since they had me on one book in the office the other dentist lady said she'd check it out after her next patient.

HOLY COW.

I don't know if dentists have been lying to me for years or this one is just painfully truthful in her manner. It was bad. Lots of damage. Yes, the filling had fallen out but apparently there was major stuff happening underneath that one. The Spanish was flying so fast and the pathetic, panicking gringa in the seat was trying to focus on verb conjucation and vocabulary more than the actual PAINFUL pushing, yanking, poking, and general chewing out I was getting.

Can you say cry???????? Oh my heck. It was practically like being told your old and going to need dentures. Or better yet - pull them all. (!!!!!!!!) In Spanish. I now have some temporary something to see if it works for about 3 weeks then if so, she'll cover it over and fill it for good; but if not (!!!!), I may need something like a Root Canal or a Crown with a SPECIALIST!

AAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCKKKKKKKKKKKKKKKK!!!! !!!!!!! And OUCH.

As I'm leaving and making an appointment for the rest of the fixin's I mention that I want a cleaning too to make sure things are taken care of and she says.................."Oh really, you don't need a cleaning that badly." (WWWHHHHHHAAAAAAATTTTT???) THIS does not help my general nerves in actually having dental work done HERE.

My face still hurts. And I'm mad. And I'm feeling old and decrepit. And I'm hollering at my kids to floss and brush within an inch of their lives. Apparently I have more cavities that need attention (her words were "minas de carias" (a mine of cavities...) hyperventilating me) but for now we're fixing the most desperate things. I BRUSH!! I FLOSS!! Ugh. It was only $35 USD but oh my heck, it hurts and I'm still trying to figure out how my mouth went from being fine just three years ago to being a cavity mine field.

Of course NONE of this happened when there was a dental team here that maybe could have looked at it (with US credentials no less) and explained in ENGLISH what's going on in my mouth. I hope my husband gets a job some day with good coverage because at this rate I'm going to need false teeth by 38.

Now - of course all of this military coup and governmental take over stuff is kind of overshadowing my little dental issues. We wound up having to be out of the country when I'd rescheduled the appointment and then couldn't EVER get someone back on the phone. I was wondering if they'd closed the office for a while. Last week I was in the town and went in and made a new appointment. Guess when??????????

Tomorrow.

I am a tad worried about what I'm walking into as the '3 week' fix she gave me has now been there for about 5-6. I feel like I'm walking into a mine field.

At least tomorrow will yield more blog fodder.............unless I crash really hard in which case God will give me that new body he's promised with perfect teeth.

'till then...
Faith

New Monday Day Book

The Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY Monday, August 3, 2009.

Outside my window... I see blue sky interrupted by lots of clouds, hiding the mountain to the right. At present they are white but this is the rainy season so I'll be watching for changing colors that signal the thunder, lightening, and rain that is sure to come.

I am thinking... that I forgot to put the sheets out on the line. Better pause and do that while the rains hold off.

I am thankful for... the internet being reconnected. I have bills to pay, phone calls to make and general details to take care of. Of course, this also makes me a tad nervous as to how much we rely on this technology to function.

From the learning rooms... I will be reorganizing and getting things set up as we are scheduled to start school next week!

From the kitchen... I am following that menu plan I started last week. The markets were a tad light on some of the things I wanted to get so there will be adjustments but that just keeps up the creativity factor, doesn't it? :) Lunch will be PBJ sandwiches (found Peanut butter!) and veggie soup. Dinner will be a Chicken and Rice casserole.

I am wearing... my newly updated capris and my favorite t-shirt from Lucy, and my older chacos as the newer ones are being cleaned and dried as we speak. :) Silver hoop earrings, makeup and lipstick. All this goes well with my newly blonde hair. At least that's what I'm telling myself.

I am creating... ummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm..................................does last week's sewing fest count for this week? I used the sewing machine to update capris, mend holes, and do up a few quickie play dresses for the girls. This is a miracle in itself as I've had this machine since I turned 18, have moved it to three different countries and I'm on about my 6th time of actually USING the thing.

I am going... back to the market today to try and find cat food.

I am reading... Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. It's the next book in the British Literature core that I am doing with my mom just for personal enrichment! ** Still reading....I've made it past the historical content, author's introduction, and various other introductions. NOW I can start the story. :) **

I am hoping... that Alan's trip to Monte a La Virgin goes well. He's out there welding up more bridge parts as they are ready for the next step. He'll be staying overnight as this place is 1.5 hours one way from our house and the work itself will take most of one whole day. It didn't make sense for him to drive all the way back just to turn around again to finish it up.

I am hearing... The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe on CD. I think my children have it memorized by now. I know I do. They need some new material.

Around the house... General picking up needed desperately. Again. Still. I just did this and can't understand why it won't stay that way.

One of my favorite things... my morning latte. I was so long ago by now though I may need a repeat.

A few plans for the rest of the week:
*Reorganizing of the school shelves/calendar.
*Finishing a few books with the kids and gearing up for the next 'session'.
*Following that menu plan.
*I have a dentist appointment for Wednesday that is going to be an experience.

Here is picture thought I am sharing... typical view out the car window.

Faith

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