Monday, December 14, 2009

Our Next Post

Half way through our tour in Lagos we were sent a list of all the possible positions for our next post.

Thus the bidding process started.

Dan began by whittling down the list of posts that fit the criteria we needed to meet. (no small feat….as the list began with hundreds of possibilities) There were many choices that interested us , but we had to comprise our list of only 20 different positions.

We wrote those 20 positions/locations on index cards and color coded our choices. Then we sat on the floor – on several different occasions - and arranged the cards into an order that we liked best. We submitted the list early in September.

Then the hard part…. we had to wait. Our next assignment would not be posted until the end of that week.

That Friday we sat at home and waited for the close of business in the States, hoping that the list would be sent with the new assignments. With hopeful hearts we checked Dan’s email.. one more time… the list was in his inbox.

With shaking hands we clicked the mouse and opened the email to read our new assignment. BRUSSELS!!!

We were elated. There was much hugging and yelling as well as jumping and fist pumping!!! It was a good night. We called our families and shared the news.

We are still enjoying our time in Lagos, but know that when we arrive in Brussels (summer of 2011) our doors will be open to anyone who would like to visit.

Sour Cream

Hello all ~

There are times when one misses the modern conveniences of refrigeration – especially refrigerated trucks that make their way happily up and down the paved freeways and highways for the distribution of their tasty goods to consumers everywhere.

But when a door is closed, somewhere a window opens.

So begins my quest to find the directions and materials needed to make SOUR CREAM.

Never in my life would I have thought I would need this bit of knowledge, but now I am a master. I can make sour cream from the simplest of ingredients without having to pay $7.00 for a pint!! Some yogurt, a bit of cheese cloth, a strainer, and lemon juice ~ along with time~ are the key ingredients to making sour cream just like mom used to make –or in this case Breakstone.

Other creative variations utilize a new (preferably washed) pillow case to hang from the cupboards and drip into the sink for the better part of the day. And still others will make the most of those pantyhose that were packed for “special occasions” because they are just TOO HOT to wear on those toasty 90 degree days.

Either way, taste and texture are just perfect for those Tex-Mex nights. (We won’t mention the difficulty or cost involved in procuring taco shells or tortillas – a story for another time!!) But I do have Mesa flour – maybe I will have to try my hand.