My Treasure

God said,

“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be.”

This is my treasure!!

And this is where my heart is!!

Veronika Kate

All that matters is that we’re together. Like bread and butter we stick together, through thick and thin. We’re a family and we belong together forever!!

That’s Just How Family is!!

This morning I heard Dad on the phone with a repair man telling him that he’s out of town but the oven in his bakery/store has to get fixed so if he goes to fix it just go in the back door. “The back is always unlocked,”  I hear him say several times!! I just shake my head; not only did he tell the repair man and everyone that works with the repair man that he always keeps the back door of his store/bakery unlocked but he told them he’s out of town for a couple days!!

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When I went shopping with a niece I hear her at the checkout telling the cashier that the pin number for the card is written on the back!! The card was  no doubt her father’s!!

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As Mom and I sat on the couch trimming string beans she’s telling me about her day and how she feels so flattered how someone guessed  her to be a sister to John and Abe but she’s actually their Mother. I looked at her and said, “But Mom, you are their sister!” Her mouth dropped open as she realized her mistake!! After that we couldn’t stop laughing!!

Foodie Crawl

recently i was intrigued by a blog post i read about someone who did a coffee crawl going from cafe to cafe sampling coffee and gathering ideas for decor... well I started thinking that in two and a half years of living abroad surely the food culture in Lancaster has changed some and I also started thinking how much fun it would be to gather some friends and do a crawl of my own sampling different foods, sharing drinks, and enjoying fellowship. So on Friday Amy, Sully, my cousin Linda and I drove into the city to do a little crawl and it was one of the funnest days I've had in a very long time!

Our first stop was a darling crepery! I don't know what it looked like inside because we sat out front at small black tables right on the sidewalk so we could watch life go by. And the first thing we tried was a Mediterranean crepe! The crepe itself was infused with curry then spread with hummus and filled with spinach, tomatoes, creamy feta, and big, fat, juicy, kalamata, olives!! When that first bite went into my mouth  the flavor just exploded and I closed my eyes...

From there we hopped down to a cool little donut shoppe with a fascinating name 

come to Mommy, babies!!

we tried 4 flavors- fluffernutter, hot oreo, cafe mocha, and mounds!! 

And I will go on record saying, " the fluffer-nutter was by far the best!! "

we all know what goes with donuts better than anything else- COLD MILK!! but since there was none we had second best which was good too!!

From there we bounced down to Central Market- the oldest functioning farmer's market in the US!! I had the happy privilege of introducing Linda to spring rolls with fresh ginger sauce! Now I am very partial to spring rolls and I have missed them muchly. I was not disappointed when I bought one at this little Asian food booth!! Oh it was so delicious! But as you can see Linda wasn't so sure!!

Next we shared a samosa. a samosa is a triangle shaped pastry with a filling in the middle, the one we ate had curried lentils and roasted peppers.

Here Linda, and Sully watch reverently as I break apart the samosa while trying not to lose any precious lentils!!

Next we had a stuffed grape leaf from this stand:

And then one of the most bizarre foods I've ever tried: 

CHOCOLATE COVERED BACON!

Here I am smiling uneasily at my treasure,

and here I have my first bite in my mouth- notice the intense concentration on my face as I try to find words to describe what was happening inside. 

My conclusion: it isn't something I'd like to eat all the time but definitely worth trying!! The first thing you taste obviously is the rich, sweet, milk, chocolate melting in your mouth followed immediately with the smoky, salty, crispy bacon! Very interesting!!!

After that Linda so kindly bought a delectable chocolate covered strawberry that we all reverently nibbled on

Oh and somewhere in there we shared an apple cider and a carrot smoothie that helped Linda feel better after she started having a reaction to the spring roll that I forced her to try! It was such a relief that she started feeling better as I had hoped to deliver her back safe and sound to her Arlin and it would have been my fault if she had had an allergic reaction to something I made her eat! But all's well that ends well! and thank God for carrot smoothies that make people feel better!!

Now for the grand final!! 

GYROS!!

Amy had read about this new, Greek, food truck called Souvlaki Boys. Its authentic, greek, street food cooked up and served out of this little blue truck!

The nice man in the truck explained to me that pork is actually the kind of meat you would usually get in your gyros in Greece and Italy not the lamb and beef that is often served as authentic greek here in the states there fore they serve their signature gyros with pork. They roast the meat on a rotating spit and then slice it off piping hot and smoky to fix the gyros!! 

This is what they look like, full of smoky, roasted pork, lettuce, tomatoes, feta coated fries, and a creamy, white cucumber sauce all wrapped up in a soft, flat bread. 

Then its placed in your hand by one of the Souvlaki boys...

...and then your face will look happy, eager, excited but don't smile too big or you might drool!! Your taste buds are about to come alive like never before!

and then the MOMENT!!

The thing I loved about this foodie crawl was that I got to try a lot of good food without spending tons of money and without getting full right away. We took turns paying for things then we'd all have a bite or two and a sip or two and then we'd all share our take on it and we were all satisfied!!

It was a very fun day!!

Camping!!

Last weekend some of us staff got to go on a weekend camping trip! The spot we chose was in the Pine Forest way up in the mountains where its cool and green!! We set up camp in a lush valley that was full of soft grass, enormous elephant ear plants, blackberry bushes and towering pine trees!! During the day it was very pleasant but as the sun slid down behind the rim of mountains and darkness fell it became quite chilly. We knew it got chilly up there so in the week before we went many of us spent happy hours digging in the missionary barrel searching for long sleeved shirts and sweaters, shoes and blankets. It was so fun to dress warmly and to see the kids all cuddly in little jackets and cozy pjs!

Here we are on Friday morning ready to load up and head out! I think we remembered everything and everyone!

Yes, we took our fourwheelers too! It was just thrilling to go up and up the dusty road past gravel pits and a dry river bed and a huge cemetery then little houses and lush green gardens. As we went higher and higher the air kept getting cooler and cooler!! It was BLISS!! (and the sun was shining brightly and no, I did not remember to take sunscreen)

After driving for about 2.5 hours we finally reached our final destination and then the fun really began! Here we are unloading the truck and trying to get organized but it was hard to concentrate with so much beauty to gaze at! Oops! someone sat on the table on the way up and bounced a little too hard and it broke in half! But we still figured out how to use it!

Matt set up the tents with the kind help of little hands! Many little hands make light work, (not)!! Us girls helped too!

Shea chopped the wood and minded the fire!

That first cold evening we all sat around and ate great big bowls of steaming hot stew and thick slices of homemade bread! It was the perfect way to warm up!

These two little guys know that the best way to start a Saturday morning is- coffee!!

                                         Mich age 3 1/2                   Eddie age 3

Following are some misc. pictures of Saturday morning!!

We had a delicious brunch- eggs, hash browns, ham, bacon, bread, avocados, coffee, juice, and cappuccino muffins with nutella!!

After that we all loaded up the four wheelers and motos and went riding around on the mountain enjoying all the beautiful gardens and fresh cool air!!

Here are some things we saw:

The rest of our time was spent at the campsite, cooking, relaxing, playing, spending time together-bonding!!

Here are the kids making soup!