Merry Christmas!

Today, on Christmas Eve, I ate a whole bowl of fresh-picked, juicy and chilled mango. It was delicious and before you tell me that I'm rubbing it in (if you happen to love fresh-picked mango), then I'll just tell you it's my consolation prize for spending the third Christmas in a row in such close proximity to the Kalahari Desert. :) So there.

I also spent the majority of my day in the kitchen, happily wrapped up in all sorts of little cooking projects. It made me very happy, because that is one of my happiest places to be. I started off by making some fresh ricotta for our lasagna and a big pot of marinara sauce to simmer away while the ricotta drained.

Mom picked a bucket of beans and a bucket of spinach, another perk of having Christmas in the middle of summer. So we had fresh-picked beans with our lasagna and garlic bread for lunch, then a chocolate cake, chocolate ice cream, and whipped cream (which was actually a failed attempt) made up our dessert. All in all, a lovely culinary day, and I'm already anticipating what tomorrow's menu will be.

Yesterday, we baked up the second half of our sugar cookie dough. For the first half, which we baked the week before last, we iced them with red cinnamon and green mint icing... very original, I know. For this half, I decided to go with some more sophisticated toppings.

So at the far left, we have the more traditional almond icing with simple sprinkles. Center back was coconut, topped with coconut; far right was root beer, with a small sprinkle of cocoa for identification. Front center was a more rustic 'pressed' cookie (rather than the rolled and cut-out version) topped with Nutella and almond. The root beer was hands-down the favorite of the day, surprisingly enough. I, however, was merely experimenting and wasn't sure how they would turn out, so I only made six of that kind. Oops... next time! (Also, we sort of ration out our root beer extract around here, so I don't know that we want to use it all on cookie icing!)

Tomorrow will be a somewhat normal Sunday for us, although we are only having one of our two usual services. I do know we will be eating more mangoes. I can't tell you how happy I am that they are back in season! Last year, when the season was in full swing and the price dropped dramatically, we would go buy a bag of mangoes nearly every day. I plan on continuing that tradition. Right now, they are still being imported from South Africa, but it won't be long until there are Francistown grown ones for sale!

Merry Christmas... and may good holiday food be in your near future!

Guest Post

I'm guest posting today over at Cotton+Wood. She asked me some questions about celebrating Christmas in Botswana, and I waxed long and eloquent... plus, a recipe!!!

My first guest post ever! :) Thanks, Rebecca!!

Gray days

Gray days and cooler weather make me inordinately happy.

It also makes it feel so much more like Christmas time, although I must say - this being my third Christmas here, it doesn't feel nearly as strange as it did that first year. New traditions have a way of forming themselves... and I'm still with some of my favorite people on earth.

Cooler weather also makes it easier to cook and bake up a storm.

Every rainy day we try to bake something and make some type of soup. It's ingrained in my soul that December should be the month of warm, filling stews and comfort foods.

Gray, stormy days make all my dogs freak out... literally. Apparently none of them are keen on thunderstorms or lightning in the night.

Stormy days all week long make for a yard that never dries out, and a lot of muddy tracks that I've wiped up in the house. Someone needs to come train my dogs to wipe their own feet when they come in the door.

Stormy days all week long make for a lot of soggy towels and washcloths that pile up. Although it is clouding up and beginning to thunder now, I'm thankful for a couple hours of sunshine this morning to get a couple loads done.

Happy Friday to you all! Now, what should I bake tonight?

Yesterday the termites came.

After a series of hot days, it culminated in one sticky, unbearably still day. All during the afternoon we said, "If only it would rain." It was eerily still - no breeze, no singing birds - and stealthily the clouds moved into place.

Suddenly, BOOM! An awesome lightening storm and it poured, poured, poured, making streams in our yard and ponds in the street. In the dark, the rain slowly lessened, and ceased.

Then, sounding almost like the sound of the rain, a million termites left their wet, flooded homes and swarmed for every possible light source. Have you ever heard a thousand termites pinging against your window? A few managed to squeeze in some forgotten crack and swung drunkenly around the room - not knowing where they were going or what they intended to do.

This morning the yard is littered with them - millions of termite wings that were abandoned last night. They're mesmerizingly beautiful, the way they blow and float in the breeze, almost like a sort of snow. Around all the doors and windows is the evidence of their big night last night, and I think we have some sweeping up to do.

From this month's Grace & Honor

"The whole family is gathered together. Twinkling lights reflect in children’s eyes as they gather around and Grandpa reads the Christmas story. There is hot apple cider to sip and fresh cookies to munch. Then the fun begins – it’s gift time! The gifts are distributed, and soon it is your turn. You open a soft, lumpy package from your Great Aunt Martha. It’s a… sweater! Yes, a sweater in a color that you despise, in that odd 90’s style that is definitely not modern, but not yet vintage, and hence, a style you would not be caught dead in. Worst of all, there are rabbits embroidered around the bottom edge. Too kitschy, too outdated, too childish, too UGLY. Now what happens?"

Continue reading ---  "How to Receive a Gift You Didn't Want"...

"She lived a simple life. She wasn’t flamboyant; she wasn’t boisterous. She loved a good man, and their modest plans for a life together filled her waking moments. She had a happy past, a joyful present and a bright future.

"And then her life was turned upside down."

Continue reading --- "A Life Changed By God"...

Some very random pictures for your weekend viewing pleasure...

All the dogs love to be... wherever I am

Paper pumpkins for our Thanksgiving table... I made ten or twelve of these in orange and yellow, using this pattern.

For Luke's third birthday, I made a little car caddy. It folds up nicely into a little package that buttons shut...

And opens up to show a felted road with little numbered pouches for each car. I based it off of this tutorial. I used fabric paint for the lines on the road and the numbers, and fabric scraps and button extras for the rest. So fun!

My brother and his family came for Thanksgiving and to celebrate birthdays. George has been experimenting with Bloomin' Onions, so he taught us all that he knows. AMAZING...

I made my first ever Coconut Cream Pie, then topped it with some toasted coconut and macadamia nuts.

That's all the evidence of the Thanksgiving meal that we have. Everything else was promptly consumed. :) 

This was a particularly hilarious Skype call... all my immediate family was on one side of the camera or another. The kids were just a little excited. :) Something about a web cam and being able to see themselves... it brings out ALL the silliness.

It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas!

Complete with a few carefully packed ornaments from our storage in PA, a snoring dog, and an air conditioner (you can just see a part of it in the top corner). Welcome to Christmas in Botswana!