"winter"

Ok, so I live in the tropics, and it doesn't really get cold here.  At the most, it can be a bit chilly in the mornings and nights.  I love this weather though.  I can put on a (light) sweater, curl up on my couch with a blanket, and drink hot chocolate without a sauna-like experience.  These temperatures only last a few months out of the year, so I appreciate every moment.

Also, chilly nights plus sunshine = mysterious foggy mornings....

Christmas baking casualty

I have this great set of measuring spoons with magnets in them-- they stay stuck to eachother and to my magnetic knife strip, so I'm never searching for a missing spoon.

Unfortunately, I have recently discovered this also means they stick to other metal things.  Like the bottom of a cookie pan.

Daniel:  What is that smell? Like... burning plastic?
Me: I'm just baking cookies, they don't smell like that... oh wait... crud.

RIP 1/4tsp.

book review: Moonwalking with Einstein by Joshua Foer

This is the story of a journalist, Joshua Foer, who spends a year making himself into a memorizing master.  He learns how to memorize long strings of random numbers, names for unknown faces in yearbooks, and the order of a whole deck of cards… in under 2 minutes.  And he uses methods of memorization that have been around since the Greeks, not some crazy system.  This is something anyone can learn, as he proves.

My first thoughts after reading this book:  If these methods have been around forever, why wasn’t I taught them in school? Why couldn’t this book have appeared  before 2 years of trying to memorize the cranial nerves in PA school?  Or better yet, when I was in high school and the first question on every history test for 3 years was a list of important dates in American history… the same list…which I consistently got wrong for three years??? Aargh.

Anyways, this book is a good introduction to some basic, accessible tricks for memorizing things (not like the clunky mnemonics that were harder for me to remember then whatever they should have helped me remember).   This is not a guide to memorization, but a window into the methods, a catalyst to learn more about the art of memorization.   I do wish he had gone a bit deeper into the methods he used in his year of training, but hopefully I will be able to find other books on the subject, because it is really fascinating!

snapshots

A few weeks ago we helped out at a fund raiser for a Belizean man who suffered a brain aneurysm.  He is being treated in Mexico, since Belize's system does not have the capability to help, and his medical bills are mounting quickly.

Friends of ours put together a town fair.....

There was barbecue (of course) staffed by about 30 men at one point.

We spent 6 hours supervising a bouncy house (200 children came through. I...don't even have words to describe the chaos.  By the end of the day, even a kid bouncing on another child's head didn't bother me.)

And the highlight of the day-- Daniel judged a dog show.  A chihauhua dog show. A costumed chihauhua show.

I think a little part of him died of shame.  Ranchers do not even acknowledge chihauhuas as part of the canine species.

The fair raised $10,000 US .  Amazing.

Henry

Dear Henry,

We love you, but we also love sleeping past 5:30 am on a Saturday morning.  Please keep in mind that several of your cousins have been... well... barbecued and eaten.  Just saying.

With love,
the provider of your bottles.

saturday at the market, main street

This is what Cayo's main street looked like a few weeks ago:

Why yes, the ONLY path through the construction was under the backhoe.  No pedestrian ramps to be seen.

Also notice the large hole on the left, totally lacking in fencing.  It went down about 10 feet.  I checked.

One of those only-in-Belize moments, where americans just shake their heads at lost lawsuit opportunities.

hey look!

I added a page for book reviews and a page for recipes-- see the links up there next to 'home' and 'about'?  Just in case you are looking for something to read or eat.

Did you know rice and beans goes really well with turkey, stuffing, and cranberry sauce?  Belizeans take their rice and beans seriously.  No meal is complete without it, even Thanksgiving :)

thoughts

* Really, having electricity is amazing.  Refrigeration! Irons! WASHING MACHINE.  I seriously did about 7 loads of laundry the first week we had electricity.  Curtains, rugs, pillow covers-- everything is now clean.  The cat went into hiding.

*with the refrigerator now working, somehow the grocery store stars aligned, and I was able to find sliced turkey and pickles.  This resulted in my all time favorite sandwich of turkey, cheese, mayonnaise, and pickles.  This is the first time I have ever been able to find all the ingredients here!

*However, I can now say I feel a bit more relaxed about food safety.  I mean, I left spaghetti sauce with meat out for almost 24 hours one day (pre-working fridge) and it was fine.  The secret is boiling and covering (thank you Dr Pasteur).  Who wants to come for dinner?

*I made the most amazing from-scratch fudge brownies the other day and gave one to Fr John.  The superiority of the brownies was confirmed yesterday at the rectory, when several people asked for the recipe when I walked in.  Apparently the brownies are now famous. 

*We are bottle feeding a baby goat named Henry.  He lives in our yard, along with the guinea hens, the 2 rabbits who are loose, and of course the cat.  When I come home at night I feel like Dr Doolittle- I get rushed by goat, cat, and bunnies, all demanding FOOD NOW.

*our male bunny has figured out how to push the back door open.  Sometimes when I am reading on the couch (from which only the top half of the door is visible) the door will silently swing open.  A few minutes later a large white bunny hops by.  Sometimes he is followed by a small goat. 

*this weekend we will be assisting at a fund-raising fair (for a sick boy).  Daniel and I have been put in charge of the blow-up-jumpy-house-thing.  I'm pretty sure Daniel has never been in one.  This should be fun. 

*anyone have any book recommendations? Perhaps some non-fiction to keep my brain from shriveling?

expofair Chetumal

A few weeks ago we went to the Expofair in Chetumal, Mexico.  It's basically like a State fair.  Only the hats are WAY bigger.  

There were animals of course, and we spent lots of time gazing longingly at cows.  And when I say we, I mean Daniel.  I liked this little guy's hairdo.

There was tons of food.  I have no idea what any of this stuff is, I was told they were "sweets."  I was also forbidden to eat anything at the fair by the Belizean family we were with.  They do not trust Mexican food (I wonder if there is much difference between Belizean and Mexican Giardia?).

I did sneak a strawberry popsicle.  Sadly, it did not taste like strawberries.

There was a huge building filled with artisans selling their crafts.  I didn't bring much money, which was a big mistake.  Next year.

And of course there were rides.

I discovered that Daniel had never been on a bumper car!  That needed to be remedied promptly.

I think he liked it.



The night was finished with a round of bull riding. 

So much fun, we will definitely be going back again!

snapshots

Daniel likes birds.  Unfortunately, they don't seem to like us.  We've gone through about a dozen chickens, bantams, and guinea hens over the last 2 years.  Inevitably, they show up mysteriously dead.  Right now we are down to four guinea hens, and I am content to stay at that number.  Daniel would love to add to the flock.... he said this little one fit perfectly on his finger.  A requirement for a chicken, apparently.