Thanksgiving

I've been gone for a while, now I'm back.  That's all I'm going to say about it.

Coming out of the Thanksgiving season, I can't help but reflect on the things I'm thankful for.  I hate sounding like just one of the thousands with this, but here I go anyway.  Of course, I'm thankful for family first and friends a near second.  Besides those obvious things, here's a list of some other things I'm thankful for:

1.  Charity.  And by that, I mean the desire of some people to reach out a helping hand to those who need it, even though they are not required to do so.

2.  Variety.  In cultures and personalities.  In landscapes and weather.  In all the five senses.  Truly the spice of life.... I love that everything I put in my mouth tastes different than every other thing.  I love that there is still a world of flavors that I have yet to experience.

3.  Beauty.  Wow!  The kids and I spent a week at Lake Superior and I just could not stop marveling at the beauty of nature.  There is so much beauty in the world, it takes my breath away.  From the tiny to the majestic.  Earlier this year, while mushroom hunting, I came across a tiny, bright red bug smaller even than the head of a pin.  The color was stunning!  And I still have a vivid visual memory of the sun rising over the top of Mount Everest, a sight I haven't seen in over thirty years but can still enjoy every time I close my eyes.

4.  Music.  It can generate almost any emotion in me at any random time.  (By the way, anyone looking for a Christmas present for me might want to consider Bach 2000, the Complete Edition.  This is a collection of all Bach's works on 155 CDs.  Just thought I'd throw that out there!!)

5.  Capitalism.  Long may she live!!

6.  Laughter.  My sister is the biggest giver of this gift.  Almost everything she says and does makes me laugh!

7.  Comfort.  I'm thankful for comforting things, like hot bubble baths; electricity; heat in the winter; AC in the summer; private transportation; pillows; mugs of spicy, sweet chai;  hugs; a roof that doesn't leak......

8.  Freedom.  For the most part, I do what I want when I want.  It's a beautiful thing!

9.  The Internet

10.  Sunrises and Sunsets.  Sunrises because every day is a chance for a new beginning, filled with promise and hope.  Sunsets because they signal a time for quiet reflection and relaxation.  And both because they are so beautiful.

I would love to hear one or two things you're thankful for!

Sunrise over Lake Superior

  

The Birthday Present (the truth is finally revealed)

When I was about eleven years old, my best friend invited me to her birthday party.  Nancy and I had known each other since we were four (me) and two (her) years old.  We grew up in the same church and spent as much of our time together as our parents would allow.

Shortly after my family moved into a large house out in the country, and just a few short weeks before her birthday party, Nancy came over for a weekend.  We took a hike through the woods and while we sat on a rotting wooden bridge, our feet dangling over the small creek that ran below, I shared an idea I had for a short story.  At eleven years old, I'd come to understand that I was a genius;  my head was filled with brilliant ideas and I felt confident that I was smarter than most of the folks around me.  I was excited as I shared my idea with Nancy because I knew she would be as impressed with my creative genius as I was.

My idea was that God had created a second world.  This second world had started out exactly the same as our world, with Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden.  But the difference was, sin never entered this second world.  The people living in this world were sin free and so had a very different destiny than many of those living in our world.  As far as brilliant, creative ideas go, this one was terrible!  I hadn't yet figured out that it is sin that makes a story interesting.  Without conflict and wrong doing, how interesting can a story possibly be?

I was excited about Nancy's party because we always had so much fun at her house!  When I told my mom about the party, she told me that she didn't think I should go because we didn't have the money to buy Nancy a birthday present.  I argued with her, saying that Nancy wouldn't mind.  She didn't care about presents but it was VERY important to her that I be at her party!  (I believed this at the time, but I now realize that Nancy probably wouldn't have cared one way or the other if I showed up!)

My mom gave in and let me go.  The party was great!  Nancy's mom had planned and organized a lot of games.  One game involved hiding prizes in the front room.  I remember being very focused, while the other girls were laughing and leisurely looking for prizes, I was going about the business of methodically searching the room.  I started in one corner and moved my way backwards until I had found the majority of the prizes, leaving only three or four for the other girls.  I was sure they all were impressed with my amazing ability at finding things!  Nancy's mom, on the other hand, seemed disturbed that one child was walking off with all the booty and to my shock, she went off into the kitchen and returned with more prizes for the other girls, balancing things out.  Didn't seem fair to me, but, oh well.......

When the time came for Nancy to open her presents, I began to feel a bit uncomfortable.  I pretended not to be too interested in what was going on.  Nancy opened her gifts, one after the other, and the girls all showed signs of enthusiasm with each.  When she was finished, one of the guests felt obliged to bring to everyone's attention that Marialyn hadn't given Nancy a gift.

I was mortified, but kept my cool. Thinking quickly, I said "Nancy, you remember that story I was telling you about?  Well, I wrote it all out and made it into a book for you.  I forgot to bring it but I'll give it to you Sunday."

When I got home, I started working on my book.  But the story went nowhere!  Every interesting thing I thought to write into the story line, I realized wouldn't work because it couldn't have happened in a world without sin.  After only one day, I gave up.  I decided Nancy wouldn't remember anything about it anyway.

The following Sunday, Nancy came up and reminded me about the book.  She was genuinely eager to read my story!  Thinking quickly once again, I told her that I hadn't wanted to wait until Sunday to give it to her so I had mailed it.  Hadn't she gotten it yet?  She told me, "no."  I advised her to wait a few days, it would surely be showing up.

As the weeks went by and Nancy never received her book, she told me that her mom had told her that I probably had made the whole thing up because I felt embarrassed for not bringing a present.  This infuriated me because nothing makes a liar more angry than being told she's a liar!  I insisted that I had mailed the book, it must have just gotten lost in the mail.  And, unfortunately, it was an original and my ONLY copy.

Something interesting happened after that.  As the months and even years went by, I began to believe that I had actually written the story and mailed it to Nancy.  Several years later, as I was laying in my bed, I was thinking about that story and I found myself regretting that it had gotten lost in the mail.  It wasn't until I tried to remember the details of the story I had created that I remembered the whole thing had been a lie!

Can you imagine how uninteresting this story of mine would have been without the element of sin?  I would have just gone to Nancy's party without a present and simply told her, "I'm sorry, but we didn't have the money to buy you a present."

B O R I N G ! ! !

Most Honorable Face

Today, I learned that I have a most honorable face.  I learned this from Venerable Saddha.  He is a Buddhist monk.  I stopped by his temple early this morning and was invited into the temple where he shared many, many things with me about life.  At the alter sat a large, golden statue of the Buddha.  He was surrounded by smaller statues and decorations of bright colors.  The floor was covered with oriental rugs of varying sizes.  Benches lined the walls and there was an alter along one wall that had glass jars of colorful incense.  The room was large and airy; very peaceful and relaxing.  I could see why people would come here to meditate.

Venerable Saddha kept asking me if I had any questions.  I kept saying "no."  He seemed a little disappointed that I didn't have any questions and he encouraged me several times to ask questions, declaring that he has many, many answers.  He showed me pictures from his travels and even gave me one of him taken in Thailand with an important political figure.  When a Buddhist monk gives something to a woman, he is not allowed to give it directly into her hand.  He either must place it on a table or the floor for her to pick up, or drop it from above into her two outstretched hands.

He also gave me a medallion with a picture of the Buddha on it which, he assured me, would keep me safe from harm.

Everybody I met at the temple was very friendly.  They all encouraged me to come back any morning and meditate with them.  They also gather every evening around 6:00 and enjoy music and dancing.  I was invited for this also.

At the end of our time together, Venerable Saddha told me that I had a most honorable face and that I should run for mayor.  He assured me that if I would run for mayor, he would guarantee the backing of the entire Thai, Lao, and Burmese communities.

I was invited to come back in the afternoon to eat.  They told me that there would be lots of food.  I am not the type to let any invitation involving food go unanswered!  So, I went back around 1:00.   They did indeed have lots of food!  I felt a bit awkward though as I seemed to be the only white person there and I wasn't sure what the procedure was for obtaining food.  There were several long tables filled with pans of food and ladies behind the tables were busy frying and cooking even more food.  Music was being played from under a large, open party tent while men sat around drinking beer and children played in the sand.  I sat by myself at a long, empty table and watched the goings-on while my stomach rumbled in loud competition with the music.  Finally, I screwed up my courage and approached the food tables.  What had I been worried about?  The ladies were thrilled to talk with me and gave me samples of their food.  I ended up with a plate of fried fish and another of prawns.

All in all it was a very interesting day and I have to say, I am considering their suggestion that I run for mayor. At least it's a paying job!

Girl, You Have Put on Some WEIGHT!!!

It happened three days ago as I was leaving the bank.  I ran into a woman I use to work with and whom I haven't seen in about five years.  I recognized her immediately (she looks exactly the same as last time I saw her.)  As I yelled out her name and waved at her enthusiastically, she stared at me blankly.... with no clue as to who I was or why I was yelling at her.

After several prompts from me, it finally dawned on her who I was.  She grabbed me up in a big embrace and as she hugged me, she placed her mouth near my ear and said, "Girl!  You have put on some weight!"  What could I do but admit that I had?

She held me at arm's length and said, "Oh!  You used to be so thin!  And I always loved your long hair.  But.... you still looking alright."

Can someone please tell me what the appropriate response is to THAT?

Well, I'll tell you what MY response was.....  From the bank, I got in my car and drove straight to the grocery store to pick up a month's supply of Slim Fast.  As I drove, I figured out my new diet plan.  Slim Fast twice a day (for breakfast and lunch) and a sensible dinner, with small but healthy snacks in between.

Decided to try and make a slushy by blending it with ice

Thought if I poured it in a pretty glass, I'd feel more satisfied.  WRONG!

I've put on 1.6 pounds since then and gone to bed hungry the last two nights.  Today, I decided to change it up.  My new plan is to drink a fruit slushy for breakfast (I read the label on that Slim Fast and found out that it contains sugar and 50 of the calories come from FAT!  Not only that, but it doesn't even taste good!) have my biggest meal of the day at around 1:00 and then have a low-fat yogurt, some fruit, and a handful of nuts for supper.  I plan to continue to eat small, healthy snacks throughout the day, like a small piece of fruit, a nibble of low-fat cheese, or a handful of raw nuts.

Today, I took advantage of my sister's crazy obsession.  In addition to chickens, she's obsessed with her ginormous garden.  She and her husband planted a garden this year that could feed a small village!  I'm thrilled with her obsessions; her chickens keep me in cage-free eggs and her garden is helping to feed my family.  Last week she gave me some collard greens, Swiss chard, peppers, mint, basil, green beans, cucumbers, and the very first tomato from her garden!  When you combine her obsession with mine (cooking), here's what you end up with:

Indian spiced green beans

Collard paratha (Indian bread made with collard greens)

Raita with fresh cucumbers and tomatoes

Today's sensible meal

I suspect that I will not be losing any weight.  But at least I'll be eating good!

P.S.  If you'd like the recipe for the delicious green beans, click here!

My Sister

I like to make fun of my sister.  She's always BUSY, BUSY, BUSY!  Do you want to know what she's busy doing?  Chicken stuff.  She's got a bunch of chickens and she spends countless hours a day taking care of her chickens and doing chicken-related things.  Like collecting eggs or building bigger chicken coops or constructing incubators.  

My sister likes to ridicule me for starting work on tomorrow's supper as soon as I finish today's.  She thinks it's a bit odd that I write out grocery lists and spend time traveling around from market to market looking for particular ingredients to use in my cooking.  Well.... I think it's a bit odd for someone to spend time and money building saddles to put on their hens' backs because the Rooster is ripping out their feathers and tearing up their skin when he aggressively and savagely has his way with them.

Whatever floats your boat, I guess.  But when I make fun of my sister, I have to do it under my breathe because if she even suspects she is being made the butt of some joke, she's likely to turn me black and blue.  She's tiny, but she's MEAN!

Through the Looking Glass.....

I feel like I've stepped through the looking glass.  Last week was my birthday and for the first time in 49 years, my dad gave me a card (which he bought himself!) and a present.  And also, for the first time in 49 years, I got neither a card nor a present from my mom.

This is a very strange way to start my 50th year of life.  I'm expecting that anything at all can happen from here on out.  Things I thought I knew for sure, I may find out are nothing but lies.  Right might become wrong, while wrong may suddenly seem right!  I've already discovered that eating less and exercising makes me gain weight.  And other topsy-turvy things are happening.  For example:

• my husband lost his job and instead of the increased financial worries placing stress on our marriage, we seem to be growing closer as we spend our days together
• my son landed a full-time job and now, each morning he heads off to work while Eddy and I hang around the house
• we've been without power four times in the last month and a half and I'm not even in Haiti!  I had a phone conversation with Dadou, my friend in Haiti, a couple of weeks ago.  I was sitting in the semi-dark surrounded by candles while he was watching t.v.  How backwards is that??!!  

With just one year left until 50, I decided I should pull out my list of "things-to-do-before-turning-50" and see what kind of progress I've been making.  I have completed numbers 4, 7, 8, 9, and begun work on 10.

Number 4 I took care of while eating one day at Mahnin's.  A lady came in who seemed a bit unsure of herself.  I was eating alone and invited her to sit at my table with me.  We visited over lunch.  I found out that she goes to Broadway Christian Church and knows several people I know.  I shared my samosas and shrimp rolls with her and we had a nice time.

Number 7 was a lot of fun.  Eddy and I did indeed attend my girlfriend's wedding in CA and we also drove down the coastline from Seattle, WA, through Oregon, through the Redwood Forrest, attended a taping of Jeopardy, and finally landed in Newport Beach.  It was great fun!

Number 8 did not go so well.  I did not feel happy or euphoric but rather ended up nauseous and with a terrible headache.  Won't be doing THAT again!

Number 9 I took care of back in December when I threw a party and made everybody sit and listen while I stood and recited the Raven (with only a few prompts from Eddy) start to finish.

Number 10 I work on a bit every now and then.  I'm actually doing pretty well with my left hand!

Filthy Liars

Ten months pregnant.  With twins.  That's what I look like.  For months now, I've been watching in amazement as my stomach has grown and grown.  Considering that my food consumption and level of inactivity has remained constant, I'm baffled as to what is causing my stomach to expand.  I wonder if it could be "middle-age?"

Everywhere I turn, I hear folks claiming that simply walking briskly for a short period of time every day, will take the weight off.  As my countdown to 50 is rapidly decending, I decided it was now or never.  My goal is to have the weight off by the time I hit that momentous number.

I started going to the Y.  I drag myself there every morning, six days a week, and walk briskly for 2 miles.  Sweat trickles down my sides.  My heart thuds in my chest.  My joints ache.  But still, I carry on.  And after one entire month, here's what I've discovered.  They are all filthy liars!  Everyone who claims walking is a painless and sure-fire method to lose weight is a filthy liar!

I haven't lost one pound!  The only change between now and one month ago is that my favorite time of day has now become my most dreaded time of day.  I used to love getting up early, sipping a cup of coffee while the rest of the household slumbered, leafing through a cookbook or reading a book.  Now, I can't wait for 11:00 to roll around when I'll be bathed, dressed, and finished with the morning's torturous routine.

And while my mornings are ruined by self-inflicted physical abuse, my stomach continues to rise from my frame like a freshly popped pan of jiffypop popcorn.

It's very discouraging!!!!

Temporary Custody

I've been thinking lately about all the "stuff" I have.  What are my plans for things like the half-dozen or so vases I have?  I only use one about once a year.  The vases aren't even beautiful pieces of art, they're just cheap, colored glass.  Or the jewelry cluttering up my dresser?  Again, nothing expensive or beautiful; mostly stuff I haven't bothered to wear in over a decade.  What about the ginormous George Foreman Grill that's been sitting on top of my refrigerator for the last six years; I've never used it even once!

When I think about the collections of people like Michael Jackson or Elizabeth Taylor, I realize the silliness of having so much stuff around.  They had houses full of stuff worth millions of dollars that just stayed behind collecting dust or starting fights among relatives after they left this place.  Nobody's going to even bother fighting over my stuff, it will just be a nuisance for someone to go through and get rid of.

I recently became involved in a project to help clean out the house of a woman who has been buying and saving stuff for many, many years.  Going through her house, I couldn't help but wonder at the purpose of owning all this useless stuff!  She had so much stuff, she didn't even know what she had!  She bought the same stuff over and over again as it became buried under piles of other stuff and she either couldn't find it or forgot she had it.  Most of the stuff, it was obvious, she never even used!

Stuff in bedroom

Stuff in living room

I recently watched a short video about a family who decided to downsize.  They sold their house of over 2,000 square feet and moved into a small, 350 square foot house.  During the moving process, they had to purge and get rid of everything they owned that wasn't absolutely necessary.  This family of three is now happily living in a 350 sq ft unit on a bit of land that allows them to grow their own vegetables.  They aren't bogged down by having to house and take care of things they have no use for.  I admire them!  I want to be like them!

While both of these cases represent extremes at opposite ends of the spectrum, I'm sure there must be a comfortable spot for me somewhere in between.  I do feel very fortunate to be the temporary custodian of some wonderful things, like the banjo and recorder I recently acquired.  These are instruments that once belonged to a friend I dearly loved; a professor I highly admired.  It means something to me to be the caretaker of instruments that were once in his custody. Not only that, but they give me pleasure in other ways as well.  I've always dreamed of learning to play the banjo and now, I'm just one step closer to achieving that goal.  The recorder I already know how to play, but not well.  I've been enjoying relearning how to make music with this charming instrument!

I have temporary custody of other things that I enjoy as well, such as my cookbook collection, my videos and photos of my family, my books and sheet music, to name a few.  But the other stuff, the stuff I don't need and haven't used for years and years..... I need to get rid of it!  It's dragging me down!  Today, I am going to make a list of areas in my house that need to be purged and then I'm going to begin working my way methodically through the list, getting rid of everything that isn't necessary for living a healthy, happy, life.  When my sojourn here is finished, I don't want it to take my children more than a couple of days to find new custodians for the things I leave behind.

Carpe Diem: A Lesson Learned

A few days ago, one of my FB friends posted a question: "Are you the type to eat a delicious meal slowly, savoring every bite, or do you gobble it up quickly?" My answer was (or rather, the explanation for my answer) way too long to post on FB so I thought I'd post my answer here.

Homemade brand ice cream used to make a flavor called Dark Raspberry Chip. The first time I tasted this ice cream, I stood frozen in wonder and amazement. After a few seconds had passed and I was able to breathe again, I sat down to recover my senses. This ice cream was more delicious than anything I'd ever put in my mouth with the intention of sending it down to my stomach! I entered into a love affair with this ice cream in which it became my reward for every good deed, my consolation prize for every bad day.

It came to pass, after a year or so, that I had trouble finding this flavor. I went from store to store with no luck. I found out, from questioning the person in charge of ordering at Scott's, that Homemade had discontinued this flavor. It was like learning of the death of a dear, dear friend! I took to my bed for several days.... (o.k. that's a slight exaggeration. but I FELT like it!)

Imagine my joy when, a few days later, I found some Dark Raspberry Chip ice cream at Meijer's!! They had two half gallons left. I put them in my cart and pushed myself over to the frozen foods service area where I asked if they had any more in the back. They did! I told them I'd take everything they had. They brought out four plastic wrapped packages containing five half-gallons each. I abandoned the rest of my grocery shopping for the day so I could rush home and put my twenty-two half gallons of ice cream in the freezer.

At that time, we were living in a studio apartment above my parents' garage. We had a stand-up freezer in the garage. I emptied it out to make room for my ice cream and lovingly placed them all inside. Within minutes, my torment began.

I now had twenty-two half gallons of ice cream, which seemed like a lot. But I knew that once it was gone, it would be gone forever! I had to be careful how I allowed myself to enjoy it. I didn't want to gobble it all down and be left with nothing! Over the next few weeks, I thought longingly about that ice cream almost constantly, never allowing myself to have so much as a bowl.

Finally, one day, after over a month of denial, I decided I would allow myself a bowl. I made this decision in the early morning and determined I would have a bowl of ice cream at the end of the day, after I had bathed and put on my pajamas. I spent the whole day in a state of woozy ecstasy as I anticipated the pleasure of the evening.

The day crawled by, dinner was served and then cleaned up, the kids were put to bed, my bath was taken, my pajamas were on, and I went down to the garage to retrieve my ice cream. With my hand on the freezer door, I noticed a puddle of water pooling out from under the freezer. When I opened the door, a purple river littered with chips of black dripped onto my feet. I threw back my head and howled like a wounded animal.

My dad and husband came running to see what was the matter. They found me there in a red rage, almost delirious with grief. What had happened??? My poor dad looked mortified as it dawned on him that he had forgotten to plug the freezer back in after using the outlet a couple of days earlier for a power tool. He apologized profusely. I tried to forgive him. It was hard....

That night I lay in bed and reflected over the last month. All of those times I had denied myself the pleasure of a bowl of ice cream. I should have had them all! I had delayed joy and now I had nothing. NOTHING! And I realized that life presents us with opportunities that we must seize and take advantage of immediately without feeling guilty. Do not delay! Seize the day!

I daily remind myself of this as I live the rest of my life. I'm still the type that likes to save dessert for last or read a good book slowly, but I no longer postpone joy indefinitely.

And, this story has a happy ending because Homemade is making Dark Raspberry Chip ice cream again. I should have known that there would be a public outcry the likes of which had probably never been seen before. It took a couple of years, but it's back on the market!!

So much to read, so little time!

It has been rainy and dreary here for several days.  Last night,  I slept with the bedroom window open so I could enjoy the shimmering chill in the air as a fierce storm sucked up all the sound for miles around.  A bright flash of light would illuminate the room and then, almost 20 seconds later a clap of thunder would sound in the distance.  It was delicious!

This morning I woke up thinking about books.  So many books to read!  I went around the house and gathered up all the books waiting to be read.  I love having such a wealthy supply of riches waiting for me!  I stacked them all up on the coffee table and took a picture.  Here they are:

That big book on the bottom of the stack is three pounds of words.  Literally!  I weighed it on my little kitchen scale.  Several years ago, I read Follett's Pillars of the Earth.   What an amazing literary work!  It transported me back to the middle ages, where I lived and breathed for days on end as I watched the lives unfold of folks involved with the building of a great cathedral.  I was loathe to turn the last page, knowing I would feel lonely and sad for weeks upon having to leave their world.  Oh!  How I'm looking forward to being transported again to another time and place with his book, Fall of Giants.  I'm saving it for last!  

In the meantime, I've started reading A Beautiful Blue Death; a British mystery set in the 19th century.  It's a fun and exciting read so far!

While I've been sitting here at the dining room table typing, a robin has perched on a branch right outside my window.  He is watching me type and seems to be very interested in my blog!  He was kind enough to let me snap his picture.

I would love to continue writing, but I simply feel I must brew a cuppa and get back to my book while the weather is still cold and dreary! 

Celebrating the Buddhist New Year

Thursday, I stopped by Mahnin's to visit my friend, Pimpa. While I was there, I found out two things: one, that Saturday (today) is Pimpa's birthday and two, that Saturday (today) is the day many Buddhist countries celebrate the New Year. I was invited by Mahnin to return on Saturday and have some traditional Burmese food eaten only on New Year's Day. My attendance was pretty much guaranteed when she looked at me and said, "You come. You no pay."

I am very adventurous when it comes to traveling and eating. There is almost nowhere I wouldn't like to visit and almost nothing I wouldn't like to try tasting. It sometimes happens (like it did after I tried the traditional offal (pronounced AWFUL by me) soup served on Easter morning in Greece) that I say to myself, "Well.... I'm very glad for the experience I just had. Now, I shall never have to do it again!"

Here is what was served to me this afternoon...

If that looks like a bowl of white rice swimming in water, that's because that's EXACTLY what it is!  And the rice and water are cold!  Let me repeat and clarify: This is a bowl of plain boiled white rice served in a bowl with cold water poured over it.  And to go along with this "festive" dish, I was served a small dish of yellow split peas and some sort of stew made from onions and dried fish (like salt cod,maybe?)

I'm proud to be able to add to my list of experiences eating traditional Burmese food on the Buddhist New Year, and I'm glad I will never have to do it again!

In spite of the fact that it is her birthday, Pimpa looked very sad today.  I hope she knows that she is loved and I hope her day gets better.  Happy Birthday Pimpa!

Pimpa with a customer/friend

From 3:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.

It's been almost three weeks since my new sleeping schedule has kicked in. For some reason, I wake up around 3:00 every morning and remain awake until 5:00 or so. I don't know what to do with myself during this time. Sometimes, I get up and wander around; sometimes I get online and surf the web or check my email and the stats on my internet sites; sometimes I search for something to watch on t.v; sometimes I'll read. I've even tried using this awake time to pray, but find my mind wanders just as much during these wakeful hours as it does at other times of the day. It's very hard for me to focus. I think my brain is turning to mush. I'm looking for suggestions on what I can do with these middle-of-the-night wakeful hours.

The book I'm currently reading (Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis) is taking me on an exciting journey and giving rise to many intriguing questions. While I wait for your suggestions on how to spend my sleepless hours, let me share a couple of things I've been pondering during the past few nights:

1.) If God exists, and if He's all powerful, why doesn't He erase the past? I'm unhappy with the idea of anyone having to spend any time at all (let alone all of eternity) suffering in a place like hell. I would think this bothers a loving God even more! Obviously, things didn't work out so great this time around. Why not turn back the hands of time and start all over with a new and better plan? (Albeit, this pondering identifies "God" as the conflicted, loving/vengeful "God" profiled in Christianity.)

2.) If someone is completely delusional, mad as a hatter, but totally happy, wouldn't it be o.k. to just leave them alone and let them live in their delusional world? For example, if someone is dressed in tatters and living in a junkyard, drinking dirty water and eating grass and berries; but believes she is dressed in fine clothes, living in a palace, drinking the best wines and eating exotic delicacies; isn't that alright? As long as she's happy and poses no threat to anyone else, why not let her live and be happy? A random question, I know. But I've been wondering about society's definition of mental health and our fear of anyone who sees things a bit differently or seems a bit strange.

Another thing I've been doing during the night is spending time on the "Playing for Change" website. This is a great site that is working to connect the world through music. Check out this inspirational video of Bob Marley's Redemption Song.




At a lunch I attended yesterday, we spent some time discussing the fact that every known society, past and present that has lived on the earth, has developed two things: music and religion. It seems we humans are intrinsically wired for both. This leads me to believe that both music and the Creator somehow exist at the very core of the universe and we, as humans, have a longing to connect to both.

A day in Detroit

Yesterday, I spent the day in Detroit with Pimpa.  She called me the night before and asked me if I would drive with her to her doctor's appointment.  Her husband, who normally makes the monthly trip with her, was sick and she didn't want to make the trip alone.

Pimpa looked tired and stressed and in fact, this turned out to be the case because once she finally got in to see her doctor, she was told her blood pressure was dangerously high and there was talk about sending her to the hospital.  But a couple of hours later, after medicating her and writing her several prescriptions, she was allowed to leave.

Pimpa, looking tired and stressed

Once we left the doctor's office, we started on our "big" adventure.  The first stop was to a pawn shop where Pimpa had some jewelery she needed to get out of hock.  It had been sitting there for over a year and after working 14 hour days for days on end, she'd finally saved up enough to reclaim her items.

leaving the pawn shop

From there, we went to lunch at a little Vietnamese restaurant.  By now, it was 3:00 and about four hours past my lunch time!  I had become very narrow in my focus over the last couple of hours, not caring about Pimpa's jewelery or anything else in my desire to satisfy my growling stomach.  I can't remember a time I've ever been happier to arrive at a restaurant!

Add caption

This is the third time I've eaten in a restaurant with Pimpa.  She has a habit of ordering way more food than she intends to eat!  As she was ordering item after item on the menu, I found myself thinking, "Yes, I can eat that!"

making selections off the menu

But, once the food began arriving, I realized there was going to be trouble.  Big trouble!

I have this theory that the hungrier you are, the less you can eat.  I had barely begun eating when my stomach felt like it was about to burst!  By the time we were done eating, there was still enough food left on the table to feed a family of four!

what we couldn't eat

After leaving the restaurant, Pimpa took me to a Chinese BBQ where she ordered BBQ ducks to take back home.

Pimpa at the counter, placing her order

This was an interesting place and, to be quite honest, the ducks were probably the ONLY thing I would have eaten from this shop.  Everything else looked a bit, well............ scary!!

tripe

ummm.... not sure

a whole bunch of stuff I'm not sure about

The lady who cut up our duck was amazingly quick and accurate with her cleaver!!

From the Chinese BBQ shop, we went to the farmer's market to buy fruits and vegetables.  This was a cool place with aisle after aisle of fresh-looking, low-priced produce.

We also went to a couple of Asian markets where I was able to buy an entire case of Shin Ramyun spicy noodle soup.  This should make Lucas very happy!

By the time we pulled into my driveway, it was going on 11:30 ( a good three and a half hours past my normal bedtime.)  As I got out of the truck, Pimpa thanked me for going along with her and said, "Next month, we go spend night in hotel."

Next month??  Really?????

Another week goes by........

Well, it's been a rather brutal week for me.  (I'm going with the 4th line definition in the online dictionary for brutal, which is "taxing, demanding, or exhausting.")

 My trip out to Pierre Payen to visit Clean Water for Haiti went well.  Chris (the director) was not there, but it was a pleasure to meet his wife and daughter.  His wife, Lesley, was very knowledgeable about all things related to bio-sand water filters and explained the project and the filters in a way that was understandable to me.  I was very impressed with the work site and am excited about the possibility of bringing this project to Jeremie.

a mold used to make the bio-sand filters



a bio-sand filter can filter a 5-gallon bucket of water in 45 minutes

Although I was willing to take the risk of driving out to Pierre Payen without a spare tire, I was not going to take the same chance driving all the way to Les Cayes.  So, after returning to the city Tuesday evening, my friend Alix (who was loaning me his car) and I went to the tire shop and got a new tire put on the spare rim.

that's Alix in the orange shirt



putting the tire on the rim

 The trip out to Cayes was mercifully uneventful.  The main reason for making this trip was to meet a young girl who is looking for a family to adopt her.  I thought she lived right in Cayes, but turns out, she lives in the countryside in a small town called Maniche.  We drove out into the countryside over a very rough and bumpy road, asking pedestrians of all shapes and sizes if this was the road into Maniche.  Each one affirmed this, pointing vaguely in the direction ahead of us saying, "You've almost arrived."  We finally arrived at a sad looking, colorless little town.  I say colorless because it seemed to be made completely out of cement and stone; no grass to be seen anywhere, houses crumbling along both sides of the streets, a dusty film settled on everything in sight.



the road to Maniche



town of Maniche

town of Maniche

We pulled up in front of one of the crumbling houses and were greeted by Sandrine, her brother Bob, and their mother.  They were excited to have visitors and ushered us into the house, where I took pictures and asked Sandrine a few questions about her life and her interests.

main room of house where they sleep, eat, and generally just hang out



front room shot from a different angle

 
We stayed about 15 minutes, then climbed up into the vehicle to head back to Cayes.  But before leaving, I decided I'd better use the restroom.  I asked where I might be able to do this.  Sandrine took me to a small, dark, empty room off the main room of the house, pointed to a corner and suggested I squat and pee onto the dirt floor.  I couldn't bring myself to pee in their house this way so went out back instead and tried to hide behind a banana tree where I pulled down my jeans and worked as quickly as possible.

We spent two nights in Les Cayes and stayed with some friends of mine while there.  It was good to reconnect with Touloute and his wife as I hadn't seen them for almost four years.  Their son, Luvio, has turned into a carbon-copy of his father, something he seems to not be very happy about!

When it became known that we were in Cayes to meet with and take pictures of a young girl who needs a family, a mother brought her six-year-old daughter to me.  She explained that the little girl's father had died in the earthquake and she now was unable to raise and care for her child alone as she had no economic resources.  She dreams of a better life for her daughter and asked me if I could also try and find a family to adopt her.  What else could I do but take her picture and information and tell her I'd do my best.

Since returning to Port-au-Prince, I've pretty much been holed up in my room, watching the days crawl by while I wait to go home. 

Which I will be doing this afternoon!

P.S.  I almost made it through this entire trip without any stomach distress.  Until yesterday, when I ate a bowl of boullion made with goat's head that seems to be doing quite a number on me.  My stomach has been gurggling and bubbling all night long!