munny bunny

This little bunny is a big hit with the babes.  I wasn't even able to finish sewing the tail on before screams of MUNNY!  MUNNY! forced me to hand it over to the tyrant/ two-year-old.

I used this Betz White tutorial, and it was a quick and easy project, made easier by the fact that I had been hoarding a very shrunken cashmere sweater for the perfect project.  This was it-- in fact, I don't think any of my crafts have ever been met with this level of enthusiasm. 

 Happy Easter!

farm definitions

1.  Play group

2. All-terrain stroller

3.  Field trip

Cayo's new welcome center

The welcome center/ town square is finally finished in downtown Cayo, and it is SO nice.  I love walking through on Saturdays on my way to the market.  Before, it used to be a dash across the bus parking lot and a quick scuttle past some dodgy characters who inhabited the equally dodgy small park.  Now it is a leisurely stroll down curving paths, past water fountains and tidy landscaping.  And even better, now there are outdoor cafes where you can sit in the shade and take a break.  This development has really elevated the tone of downtown Cayo.  Not only is it beautiful, but it also has wheelchair ramps, cross walks, and PUBLIC BATHROOMS.  I think this town center will set the standard for new building projects in Belize.

I played tourist today so I can give you a virtual tour :)

The approach from the market starts with nice sidewalks and a roomy avenue.  This is where buses pick up and drop off now.

On the right is the welcome center.  It isn't open quite yet, but I was lucky enough to get a tour from the manager.... and I forgot to take pictures :(  But let me tell you, it is niiiiice.  Slate and river stone floors, mahogany, and a really cool ceiling design that looks like jungle vines.  They have an exhibit up of pictures of Cayo from a hundred or so years ago.  I think this building will be where tourists can come and get free info about area attractions.  The statue is a giant toucan.

Continuing on the right are two large buildings, connected by a nice porch.  One is a new restaurant, Fuego, which should be opening soon.  The next will probably be a restaurant too.

Looking to the left, you can see the public bathrooms (!!!).  Those of you who have not been to Belize will not understand how big of a deal this is.  Let's just say that if I was in Cayo and really needed a bathroom, my previous choices were to either go to a restaurant and buy something so I could use the bathroom or go home.  I haven't been inside yet, but they look really nice from the outside.

The front side of the bathrooms is a stage, and in front of the stage is a plaza with really cool fountains and seating covered with trellis.

Unfortunately the fountains were not turned on today because they were having a craft fair.  But they are the kind that shoot up straight from the ground and drain back through the pavement (you can see the grates in the picture)-- ie perfect hot-weather kiddo playground.  I checked with the manager, and the water is filtered town water, so safe to play in :)

 Behind the stage/plaza area are several small cafes.  Right now there are only 2 open, a pizza place and a Mexican restaurant.  They are always packed, people really enjoy spending time here.

And as a bonus, here is Burns Ave, the main street in Cayo.  After it was repaved (and they found that burial ground) it was decided to keep the street pedestrian only.  The restaurants now seat people outside, and in the evenings tourists and locals love to stroll up and down.

That is the best part of this renovation, in my opinion.  The area has become a draw for families, and now families play in the park during the day, and take walks down town in the evenings.  It has become a true town center. I hope other towns (Benque, please?) can follow San Ignacio's example and create such beautiful areas.

book review: The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

This book was just DELIGHTFUL.  Rather then a long review, here are a few reasons why I loved it.

-- The setting is a place I had never heard of (Guernsey) and now I really, really want to visit. I asked Daniel if he had heard of Guernsey, and he said of course because that is where Guernsey cows come from.  Touche.

--The whole book is written as a series of letters.  I think this approach has the potential to be very hokey and confusing, but the authors did such a wonderful job.  The letters allow the different voices of the characters to really shine.

-- Speaking of the characters, I want to be real-life best friends with them.  Basically, I want to move to this book.

--Finally, be sure to read the author's note and learn why there are two authors.  It's a touching story.

Go read!

how we fit a toddler into our tiny house life

Our house is just under 500 square feet.  But due to an uninsulated roof (and no desire to spend money insulating it, as this house was never intended to be permanent and we want to save our money to build another house) the upstairs gets way too hot to use during the day.  So during the day the babes and I spend our time in a 10X20 room.  This is challenging, to say the least.  The biggest struggle is at nap time, when I can’t make any noise because the babes sleeps in a portable crib right in the middle of the room.   Other than that, I have been surprised at how few “accessories” our little guy needs.  I’ve also come up with a few really helpful space-saving solutions, which I thought I’d share.

1.     Pack and play crib-- This is his playpen, nap spot, and time out spot.  It’s a playroom/nursery that we can fold up and move when we need the space.  He does have a regular crib, but that is upstairs so he only uses it at night.

2.     Chair-top highchair—This is awesome.  It attaches right to a regular chair, which can be pushed under the table when not being used.  It also converts to a booster seat when he’s big enough.  And it’s super portable; we bring it with us to family dinners.

3.     Changing pad set up—we got a changing pad from Ikea, and set up an area around our washer as a changing station.  When I need to change him, I set the pad on the washer, which happens to be the perfect height.  Then it goes back on the wall when we’re done so I have access to the washer.  The big downside here is that there is no way to strap the babes in for safety—I make sure I’m always standing right in front of him and I never leave him laying alone.  It’s worked for him, but I don’t know how well it would work for a younger baby.

4.     Carrier instead of a stroller--  He loves it, and Daniel has lost like 15 pounds since he started toteing the babes around during chores every evening.  So it’s actually a baby carrier and exercise machine in one.  Total space saver.

all his clothes fit in the red bins

5.     Clothes/ toys-- honestly, the babes spends most of his days in a diaper and a shirt.  It’s hot here.  He has maybe 7 outfits total?  That is more than enough for him, although I do have to keep on top of laundry.  As for toys, he has a few but they really don’t keep his attention for long.  He prefers to be outside playing with dirt, rocks, and sticks.  So we put up a gate around our back patio and now that is his domain.

6.     Baby-proofing-- This is something that realistically we just could not do.  There is no way to put up obstacles and nowhere to move all of our bookshelves/ pantry items/ etc; our kitchen cabinets don’t even have doors to secure.   We have a baby gate on the stairs and covers over the outlets.  For the rest, we use the method from the book Love and Logic Magic for Early Parenting, by Jim Fay. A friend recommended it and it works super well for us.  Basically, we started very early training the babes to recognize a cue (we use “uh-oh”) that signals stop/don’t touch/don’t continue with your activity.  If the babes doesn’t stop, we immediately pick him up and move him to a time out spot.   This method seems too simple to work, but I was shocked at how quickly he started to understand.  It did require a LOT of attention and dedication for the first week or so, but it was worth it. At this point, he doesn’t even bother to get into our cabinets, pantry, or bookshelves.  Best of all, we can use the cues wherever we are, which is a life saver when he is at granny’s house and makes a bee-line for the crystal vase. 

Any more suggestions?  I'd love to hear them!

a chicken story

So here is the situation.  My husband loves chickens, and I do not (this has been well documented here).  Somehow he brings home "just a couple" of chickens, and before I know it there are 30 chickens running around the yard.  Our rabbits don't even multiply this fast.

Our latest bunch of chicks are a few months old, and every day Daniel runs out of time before leaving for work, and asks me to feed them.  So at various times during the day, I open the door and throw out rice or bread scraps or whatever is on hand.  Rather predictably, I have conditioned these chickens to come running at the sound of an opening door.  Sadly, these chickens also think it is their right to walk in the house-- perhaps to browse the pantry?

Add to this equation one active toddler who loves opening doors and chasing things.  We can see where this is going....

Yesterday I was occupied with something, when the screen door popped open and a flood of chickens raced in, followed by the babes, who was chasing them using a belt as a whip and yelling "SHHH, SHHH!"  (a noise they use here to herd animals).  This was followed by 20 minutes of me racing around the kitchen, trying to catch scattered running chickens (before they left me any 'presents' on the floor), while being 'helped' by a belt-wielding toddler.   Fun times here on the farm.

And that basically sums up why I have not been blogging as frequently :)

what I am reading: the harvard classics and the autobiography of benjamin franklin

When I came across the Harvard Classics collection while browsing around the internet, I was intrigued.  This collection is a compilation of books and essays, gathered by Harvard president Dr Charles Eliot in 1909. He stated one can achieve a liberal education by reading through these books (which famously can fit on a 5 foot shelf).  As all the books are available for free kindle download from project Gutenburg, I decided to amuse myself by working my way through the set. 

The first book on the list is the Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, so that is where I started (though there is no set order; I think I might group books together by time period for my own sake).  I had never read this, and really only knew the basics about Mr Franklin:  he was a big figure in colonial America, he did something with electricity and a kite, and there is a fabulous science museum in Philadelphia named after him.  Though his autobiography is a rather fascinating look at the life of a person in the 1700's in colonial America, I wondered when reading why it is included in this collection.  Most of what I would think of as the important parts of his life, such as his experiments with electricity or his contributions to the Declaration of Independence and time as the president of Pennsylvania, are not included.  I realized that perhaps Franklin's autobiography is the first book in the first volume of this collection because Franklin, incredibly, was almost entirely self-educated.  He had two years of formal education from ages 10-12.  The rest of his impressive abilities in writing, thinking, and languages (he read latin, french, italian, and spanish) came from reading.  He taught himself to write properly by reading famous poems and essays, and then rewriting them in his own words.  He learned debate skills from the Greeks.  And throughout his life, he sought knowledge by forming groups of like-minded people who spent time discussing, debating, and encouraging each others interests. 

Benjamin Franklin was lucky for his time, because he grew up in the printing industry and later became a printer, thus having access to many books.  We have such a rich resource in the internet, and really it is only laziness that keeps me from reading more classics rather then poplar fiction.  I'll take Franklin's story as inspiration to try and improve myself a little.  Anyone else want to tag along? Next up for me is John Woodman's Journal.

Belizean style chicken tacos

There are many, many variations of chicken tacos here in Belize.  This recipe is one I developed, combining a recipe given to me by a Belizean friend and some other elements of chicken tacos I have eaten here.  It uses ingredients that are really common and used in many dishes in Belize.  I think the elements that make a taco "Belizean style" are a soft (rather than crunchy) tortilla, not too spicy, and not too many toppings.  Hope you enjoy!

Ingredients:

for the chicken

2 large chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 cups chicken broth (mine was homemade, if you use store bought cut back on the additional salt)
1 tsp red recado powder
1 tsp allspice berries
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
dash of powdered jalepeno
salt to taste

for the onion topping
1 1/2 cups slice onions
1 tbs olive oil

for the tomato sauce
1 1/2 cups stewed tomatos (again, used homemade here- cut back on the salt if you used canned)
1/3 cup sliced onions (cooked)
1/8 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt

for serving
fresh corn tortillas

Start with the chicken.  Combine the chicken, broth, and seasonings in a large pan, and cover and simmer for 20 minutes or so.  Then remove the lid and allow the liquid to boil off.  Your goal is to get rid of all the extra liquid, leaving chicken that is moist but with slightly crispy edges.

Do all the onion cooking at once.  Fry the onions in the oil, and then turn down the heat, letting the onions soften and caramelize a bit.

Next is the tomato sauce.  Take 1/3 cup of your cooked onion, and blend it in a blender with the stewed tomatoes, cumin and salt.  Then simmer the mixture on the stove, low heat, for about 10 minutes to thicken the sauce a bit.

Warm the corn tortillas to serve, adding the fried onions and tomato sauce on the chicken.

december is done... and we're still here

Well sadly for all those who attended the fancy (and super expensive) end of the world party at the Mayan ruin of Caracol, nothing exciting happened.  The Mayan community sent an editorial into the paper saying that even though the world didn't end, people still should seek to learn from the ancient wisdom of the Mayans.  Hopefully this does not include how to DIY jade tooth inlays... blech.

Meanwhile, we have been mostly doing not much here.  I made 75 chocolate truffles for christmas presents, and baked the world's tastiest ham (orange juice, honey and cloves, sooo good), but the sum total of our decorations was the felt Christmas tree my mom guilted me into completing while she was visiting.  It turned out nice, but had to be kept well out of the grabby reach of the babes.

Daniel is off for Christmas break, and we've been taking some walks, teaching the babes how to herd various animals.  My work will be done when we've taught him how to open and close gates.  Then I can retire from farm work.

In random news, we are baby-sitting my brother-in-law's agouti.  Here is the  not very informative wikipedia link if you don't know what one is. Basically it's a nocturnal rodent, about the size of a cat, and people like to eat them.  Also, it has a very scary growl and teeth, which is why the picture is blurry.

And finally, a few weeks ago the end of the rainbow was in my back yard.  Still haven't found that pot of gold....

odds and ends

1.  For all those wishing to avoid the electronic babysitter (or, as in my case, about to claw their eyes out if one more second of Dora echoes through the house) may I suggest chickens?  This is our routine:  scatter some rice for the chickens, close screen door, plop baby in front of screen door.  Guaranteed 10-20 minutes of baby entertainment.

2. This is not only a huge tarantula in my bathroom, it is evidence that I am not the same person I was four years ago.  When I yelled to Daniel that there was a tarantula as big as a baby's head in the bathroom, he said, "Well chase it out."  And I did. By myself, with a broom and no shrieking.  Who am I?

3.  And here we have much cuteness.  The babes was supervising Daniel in watering our corn.  We're quite sure he will grow up to be a farmer.