Dinner Party

I went to an awesome party at my library. It was given for those who are participating in the summer reading program. Honestly, I wasn't looking forward to it. Gram nearly had to kick me out of the house in order for me to go to it. I do NOT like to be thrown into social situations in which I don't know anybody. Once, I went to a wedding in Indiana with the guy who was my boyfriend at the time. I didn't even know the bride or the groom. He tossed me into the pack of wolves and I was left to survive on my own. (Apparently I didn't make a good enough impression because they told him to dump me, which he did a few days later. Over the phone.) I have always been a shy person and it takes a long time for me to open up to most people. I was afraid this party would include a bunch of people standing around making awkward conversation. Boy was I wrong!

First of all, there were only nine of us there. I'm not sure how many people are in the program but I was surprised to see so few. Upon arriving, we were asked to sit at one of the tables in the small(ish) community room in the back of the library. I recognized one of the librarians but everyone else was unfamiliar to me. There was a man at a table in front of the room with food and cooking utensils and I still didn't know what was going on. A nice lady named Shirley sat down next to me and we made polite chit chat throughout the evening. (Another thing I'm horrible at!) The party got underway and the guy at the front introduced himself as a personal chef. The library hired him to make a full course meal for us! We started off the evening with freshly-made pico de gallo. He made it without alcohol and served it to the expectant mothers, and then added beer and served it to the rest of us. Then he added peppers, though I can't remember which kind. I preferred it with the peppers. Then he made Caesar salad, which originated from Tijuana, keeping with the Mexican theme for the evening. I also learned that anchovies are a common ingredient. I wasn't particularly fond of learning the fact but was able to swallow most of the salad.

After the salad came the main course: pork tacos! He had roasted pork tenderloin marinated in tamarind (sp?) chipotle sauce. He had two types of peppers and lettuce to add to the meat after it was heated with mushrooms in the sauce. It was SOOOOO delicious. I have to email him to get the recipe. I was expecting the tacos to be spicy hot but the sauce was more sweet than anything else. He told us to save room for dessert because he had something special for us. He had made polenta almond cake with a creamy caramel almond sauce. I felt like I was in a modern-day episode of Downton Abbey since we had our own personal chef and was served a 4-course meal. I was stuffed by the time my cake was finished but I asked if I could take a piece home for Gram. She enjoyed it as well. We were also given some coupons for free food at Culver's and Taco Bell, though Taco Bell will never live up to the food I had at this party! I also picked out a really fancy reusable drinking glass. I'm really glad I signed up for the reading program, though I never expected all of this. It was a great way to end the Apostles' Fast!!!

In other news, Gram and I are watching season 2 of Downton Abbey again. It's nice being around somebody who is addicted to it and Mr. Bates as I am. We just finished the fourth episode in which Matthew and William go missing. I think one of my favorite scenes will always be when Mary sees Matthew at the concert for the solders in that episode. My mom tried to watch it once but couldn't get into it. She and my step-dad will be here on Monday to stay with us for a couple of days. I miss having her around for many reasons, but one thing I'm really looking forward to is her neck rubs. She has tough thumbs and knows how to massage out the little balls of stress in my neck and shoulders. Sometimes I feel like my head sinks down into my shoulders and she can stretch out my neck. I'm usually sore for a couple of days but the stress is lowered. We will be celebrating my step-dad's birthday next week and Mom wants me to bake a cake and key lime pie. I found an easy recipe online and I hope it turns out well. Gram has a long list of things that need to be cleaned before they get here and I'm not looking forward to it. But she even bothered to get our dog to the groomer's so he's not smelly while my parents are here. Of course, that means I get to shampoo the carpet in the living room.

My second and final namesday of the year was on the 27th. I didn't do anything special but was able to get to church Friday. Our priest asked me to help out the chanter during both services. Some of what we sing is in Greek but the books we use have Greek phonetics in them so it's easier to follow. The chanter and I switched over to English during one of the hymns that closely resembled something we sing at my church in Michigan and I have to say that we rocked at it! The choir director asked me to sing with them on Sundays but I can't do that right now. I'd rather chant than sing though.

I hope I don't wait another two and a half weeks before my next post. A friend of mine has invited me to Cornerstone next week. It's not really my kind of thing but this is the last year for it and there's going to be some Orthodox stuff going on. I'll definitely take my camera if I go.

Until next time,

~Staci~

Projects and Pictures

One of the saddest parts about leaving Morocco was not being able to bring back many souvenirs. My friends made sure I didn't go home empty-handed though; I managed to fit the necessary newspaper, a key chain, and all of the Tramway tickets I collected from my traveling. But probably the most special item I came home with is in the picture to the right. My friend Morady and I were on our way to Oudaya and we walked through an area of the Medina where the craftsmen worked in their shops. This was the less "touristy" section of the marketplace. Up until this point, I had stopped at every tiled and mosaic-looking fountain I saw. So when we walked by this shop, I asked Morady if we could stop in and look at the mosaics they were making. Thankfully he could translate and we were allowed to watch the men work. I don't have a picture of them, unfortunately, but the shop was covered in mosaics and tiles. The men sat on the floor of the shop or on stools and they hammered away as they were talking.I asked

Morady to translate for me and tell them how beautiful I found their work. This heart-shaped tile was hammered into shape and given to me as gift. I can't tell you how honored I was to receive such a present. I carried it around in my purse for the rest of my stay in Morocco and I made sure it was in a safe place when I got home. This is one of the stories that still makes me tear up when I talk about it. There are tears in my eyes right now. The picture on the left is just one of the MANY fountains that are located in and around the marketplaces, though many of them don't actually run water but they are still so beautiful to look at. The colors and patterns are simply stunning in person. Gram and I have gone to Home Depot a couple of times and I found myself drawn to the flooring sections where they have samples on display. One of these days when I get my own place, it would be nice to have a mosaic floor somewhere in my home or garden.


READING
I may have mentioned in a previous post that I joined the adult reading program at my library for the summer. I haven't been reading as much as I should but picked up some books yesterday and made some good selections. Joan Didion's book, Blue Nights, is a great read that will have you at the end before you know it. However, it is quite sad and a bit off the wall as it chronicles the death of her only child, with some references to the death of her husband. You can immediately see that she hasn't completely finished the stages of grieving, though that's not a judgment on her. In fact, I commend for writing a book about such a painful topic. As I was reading it, I couldn't help but see the similarities between how she wrote and how I talked when going through a painful event of my own back in 2010. Of course her pain is more justified than mine was. I was just a deluded, naive, and foolish woman who tried to think the best of people and got hurt in the process.

Light reading

The second book I picked up, The House At Riverton, was recommended for people who were missing "Downton Abbey" as it's a fictional account of a maid who worked in a "great" house like Downton. The main character is in her 90's and circumstances cause her to look back on her time as a maid. I'm enjoying it so far and it almost reads like a mystery. The reader knows something mysterious happened involving the main character and she keeps referring to to it but the full story hasn't been told yet. But the cool part so far is that it really does sound like DA. For any DA fans, the cook and her kitchen aide have the same relationship as Mrs. Patmore and Daisy!

My third book is a collection of short stories, The Love of A Good Woman, by Alice Munro. I haven't started reading it yet and I haven't ever read anything by Ms. Munro in  the past. But I'm trying to branch out a bit and read new authors this summer. On a side note, I read "Song of Songs" during my Bible reading today. I was hesitant to read it as it reminds of a painful time in my life in which I quoted a verse to somebody I had cared for deeply. But I got through it and now it's on to reading the "Wisdom of Solomon" and "Wisdom of Sirach" for the rest of the month.

CROCHETING

This is the yarn I will be using for my latest project. I originally had it set aside for a blanket with a really complicated design. The blanket would have consumed more of my time that I wanted so it's now on the back burner for another time and season. My new project is going to be a towel wrap, complete with straps, flaps, and buttons. Even though my gram has a lot of yarn, most of it doesn't match in size, texture, or color. But there should be enough of this yarn for my project. I started with the blue but screwed that up and had to start over with the white. I'd like to have it done before July.

GARDENING

I mentioned in my previous post about how well our garden was growing but I didn't have a picture to show for it. A friend called me yesterday and wanted to know how it was doing here is a picture I took this morning. Thankfully the weeds are few and far between and the garden is small enough to get watered on a regular basis. Plus, there aren't any trees covering it to keep it from collecting rain. Everything is growing quite well, except for the cabbage on the far right being picked on by neighborhood critters. It'll be so exciting when we get our veggies!

Until next time,

~Staci~

Surprise Finds

Nothing's definite but I hope to have some really cool things to report in the near future. It's been a slow week in my little village. Gram's nephew is making a really surprising recovery. He ended up back in surgery after suffering more bleeding in his brain. The doctors weren't optimistic that he'd recover but he survived the surgery. He was kept sedated for several days so he wouldn't get agitated and cause his blood pressure to rise. I think God answered prayers because now he is expected, with time, to gain back everything he lost after suffering the stroke. He's had nurses watching him almost 24/7 but now he's been weaned off the ventilator and the pneumonia has cleared up. Glory to God in all things!

My parents are heading down this way at the beginning of July but won't be here for my birthday. But my mom said we might be able to figure out a way to get a clothesline put up. It's June and I STILL DON'T have one! The weather has been absolutely beautiful ever since I moved down. If I close my eyes, I can pretend that this is Morocco and not Illinois. The weather has been drying out our garden a little bit but not enough to ruin our veggies. All of our tomato trees have shot up nicely, though there hasn't been anything on the vines yet. A neighborhood bunny rabbit has been snacking on our cabbage plants. Every time I see them, I think of the "Cabbage Patch Kids." My brother and I used to have a record of them that we'd listen to.

My closet has been disorganized ever since I moved here. Half the stuff in there belongs to Gram but I never complained too much because I didn't have ANY closet space the last time I lived here. But it didn't take long to go through my mess and I ended up finding MORE of Gram's yarn; she has it stashed all over this house, apparently, and my closet was no exception. It was time to get out old summer purses and bags and I found the purse I used on my adventure through Morocco. Eight months have certainly flown by! Sometimes it feels like Morocco was just a dream. Anyway, I went through pockets and found about $3 in change. That was a nice surprise though I should know better than to put away a purse without cleaning it out first.

The Apostles' Fast begins tomorrow and lasts until the end of June. So now it's time to eat up some leftovers I know Gram won't finish. In a way, it's almost nice to have a non-fasting person in the house. That way, you don't have to worry about eating up all the dairy and meat in the house. Gram has gone to a family reunion today so I can eat my bacon-wrapped steak. But the positives of living with a non-faster can't eclipse the negatives. Even though this fast is just short of three weeks longs, it'll be long enough to weigh on my nerves and I can't always ignore Gram's comments and questions about why I fast. It's not something she's ever been accustomed to and it can stress me out sometimes. But I feel more prepared this time. I've gone through our cupboards and found boxes and cans that need to be used up. We're running out of space in the kitchen. I've also found more fasting recipes to try that should be healthier than eating PB & J and saltine crackers. And it should be better than giving up and going back to normal food.

That's all for now. I hope for more exciting things to write about in the future.

Until next time,

~Staci~