Furlough 2012

I have been in Haiti for two and half years now and this furlough was my third and by far my best time going home. The first time I went for a two week furlough the trip started out disastrously and pretty much stayed that way. I got terrible sick and floated through my time in a daze trying frantically to get some shopping done… there were some good parts but it was mostly a hectic whirlwind.

The next time I went home for 6 days to attend my nephew’s wedding and that trip was way better than the first although still a bit hazy and hectic.

Now I went again, this time for 3 weeks. And the only awful, terrible thing of this whole trip was being separated from Veronika. Otherwise I could not have hoped for a better time!! It felt blessed from God from the very beginning!

I got to fly first class for the first time in my life! It was pretty great not  having to stand in long lines of grannies and overwhelmed parents struggling with too much luggage and fussy kids. Not that it ever bothered me before but when this time I could just pass everyone up and zoom through the priority access lane, be seated and enjoy a cold drink before everyone else came struggling onto the plane it was really fun! Then through out the whole flight I got served drinks and food and was politely addressed by name and get this, twice I was the first person off 0f the plane! The seats were wide and comfortable enough that you could actually have a bit of personal space which was perhaps the highlight of the whole first class thing as I have had some very squishy experiences not to mention waking up to find my head resting on  a complete stranger’s shoulder! So the bottom line is, I arrived at my destination feeling rested, warm and ready for adventure rather than the usual – shivering cold, starving hungry and exhausted!

Rachel had a bedroom all clean and waiting for me with a new sheet set that felt as soft as silk and fat, fluffy pillows! There were hot showers or steamy bubble baths as many as I wanted, the power never once even blinked, there was wifi through out the whole house, there was full phone service everywhere- no need to rush to a window or outside to answer the phone. There was an endless supply of fresh brown eggs, and cold milk, there were endless friends to spend time with from this age:

to this age!!

And about every age in between!!

And then there was the parents, 2 nieces and my baby sister who drove 1o hours, up from VA to see me! Wow!!

The fun thing about Dad is his belief that a full stomach makes a happy heart. He is just horrified when someone mentions something about being hungry. It is urgent to him to get that person something to eat and FAST. And it can’t be just anything cheap because cheap stuff isn’t fit to eat. Good’s potato chips, Lapp Valley ice cream, brown eggs, real butter, hormone free meat- chicken or seafood seem to be his favorites, homemade noodles..

He loves veggies too but for the most part its Mom who taught us to adore things that come from the earth. In fact, I was an adult by the time I found out it wasn’t a sin to eat fruit loops and drink kool-aid!!

Its because of my Mother that we eat things like grilled eggplant and polenta with kale,

And then there was the sisters and 5 of my 42 nieces and nephews!

I could go on and on but I’ll spare you the details!! It was a delightful trip filled with love and good times. And I came home with my memory bank full of good memories to carry me through many a weary day!!

I was very ready to come home to Haiti where my heart is for now!!

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!!