Cooking like Crazy

Nearly all my married life, I have wanted to do the Once a Month Cookbook's plan for cooking for an

 

entire month, all in one day.  Up until last week, I had only ever done two weeks of cooking at one

 time, so Evangel and I decided to tackle a whole month of cooking in one day.  We didn't make it.  It really took us two days, since we didn't just devote to it.  We had other obligations such as kayaking, devotions, and other things, and we never could find ravioli, so we only did 29 recipes. 

 We started off with a long trip to the grocery store where we went round and round hunting for those few ingredients we had never used before, or some substitute.  We never found ravioli, manicotti, or pepperoni.  Do South Africans have something against foods that end in "i"? 

 As things progressed, every counter was filled, every burner was filled, and we were quite a mess!  I do think we got done in 8 hours though, just not 8 consecutive hours. 

 Quiche was one of the fruits of our labor. 

Linguine was actually the first meal we ate, partly because we needed this pan again, and could not afford for it to be in the freezer. 

Three reasons for this intense cooking spree:

1)  Evangel is making a recipe book and doing culinary science for school, and this was a quick way to wrack up recipes.
2)  Some of us wanted to try the South Beach Diet so I wanted to have normal food on hand, prepared, so that the rest of the family wouldn't have to suffer with us. 
3)  It's great preparation for hospitality to have a full freezer.

"She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness." 

I guess that would another reason, it seemed like a Proverbs 31 thing to do. 

A Tiny Little Day Away

Yesterday, the ladies in our house went on a little outing to a miniatures fair in Rondebosch. 

We were intrigued by seeing things at 1/24th the usual size, and even some things at 1/144th the usual size! 

These little birds and animals were noteworthy for being so exquisitely done, and also for being the most expensive booth in the show. 

 We enjoy studying them, trying to figure out how they made each little item.  How would you do that hose? 

 Such careful little details like the moss on the rocks fill me with admiration for the people who have the patience to craft these things. 

 Evangel can make many of the "foods" in this little pastry shop.  I hope viewers computers really let them zoom in to study the cuteness. 

 These are on the 1/144th scale, I believe.  In other words, they are for a doll's dollhouse. 

 I was not surprised to see a man made this one.  It's not "pretty", but so carefully detailed. 

 My boys studied this Monopoly game trying to figure out how they did it.  They think they know, but I'll be impressed if they have the patience to try it. 

 Inspiration to Nieces expecting little ones.  I'd skip the maid though.  I never wanted anyone else to take care of our kids on a regular basis.  Their baby years went by so fast! 

 We are in Africa, so this "Green Roof African Curio Shop looked very much like a local shop.  How did they do that Nguni cowhide skin?  and the zebra!    Notice Mandela on the right wall. 

 Lest you think we were the only ones interested in miniatures, notice the crowds!  That's Paul's sister Grace in the purplish jacket towards the left. 

 Looking in through the top of this room.  Our Joshua noticed the bagpipes and was impressed with them.  My parents had a large print of that girl in the long dress in the gold frame hanging in our house in Rochester for years.  How surprising to meet her again in a miniature room in Africa.  I didn't see her at all yesterday, only today in the photo. 

 A toy shop is a treat for the eye that loves color. 

 A peep into an art gallery has us feeling like we learned something. 

And then finally, back to the lady with the exquisite birds.  I heard her say a clock like this sold for $1500.00 in America and truly, her work was exceptional.  I think it's usually easier to make miniatures of man-made stuff than to make correct miniatures of things straight from Creation.  I think when you try to copy the Lord's things He has made, it can be a way of praising him.  My Gram used to say, "Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." 

"The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and they that dwell therein."  Ps. 24:1

In trying to imitate Creation in a small way, I gain a new appreciation for how hard it is.  "I will praise thee for I am fearfully and wonderfully made, marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well."

"

21 Years Later, We're in a Hut

 We headed for home last week, zipping south on the N1 like we usually do, like Abraham, not knowing exactly where we were going though we had a pretty good clue we would end up back in Cape Town eventually.  But we didn't know where we were going to sleep, so I Googled "Trompsburg Accommodation" and this is what we found! 

 Once again, it came complete with a pet,  a very low maintenance animal. 

 It was way cool on the inside!  and a great price!

See what I mean by "way cool"?  (double meaning)  We had a roaring fire in the evening, but the next morning things were chilly!  We saw snow on the mountains as we passed.  The boys wore their usual "school uniform" of shorts. 

I see links between this and the prayer of  Ps. 71:3  "Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort:  thou hast given commandment to save me, for thou art my rock and my fortress."

Cowboy dude turns 5!

 We missed the real party, but we had a nice family time on Saturday with Chili-cheese fries cooked nearly enough.  Daniel and his mom made that impressive hat out of cereal boxes and scrap leather.

 Connie was pleased to get a present too.  She opened her doll from Grampa and Grammy Clough, smiled real big, and then quickly turned to Daniel's cars.  I'm sure the doll will get some TLC later, but those little cars were the thing to do. 

Evangel made some rainbow cupcakes for the grand event.  The adults and teens enjoyed them, but the little kids were having too much fun to bother eating.

 

Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!

Psalms 133:1

 

Coming home is nice.