#49 - Go to an Apple orchard and get apples
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Just a few days before leaving for Nigeria, my friend Kim and I drove out to an apple orchard. Unfortunately, this isn’t my photo because I apparently didn’t take any pictures. The orchard had more than just apples though. We also got a few varieties of grapes and some fall raspberries too. They all ended up being delicious. The raspberries mostly got frozen. The grapes were either eaten or juiced. The apples just got eaten. It was a fun outing, even though we didn’t get to pick the apples. I guess we were just late enough in the season that they had already picked in all the apples, but we did get to pick the rest.
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Just a few days before leaving for Nigeria, my friend Kim and I drove out to an apple orchard. Unfortunately, this isn’t my photo because I apparently didn’t take any pictures. The orchard had more than just apples though. We also got a few varieties of grapes and some fall raspberries too. They all ended up being delicious. The raspberries mostly got frozen. The grapes were either eaten or juiced. The apples just got eaten. It was a fun outing, even though we didn’t get to pick the apples. I guess we were just late enough in the season that they had already picked in all the apples, but we did get to pick the rest.
#65 - Shop at the Farmer’s Market...
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
I love shopping at the farmer’s market, but I don’t always get there. My goal was to make it at least 6 times during the summer. I was successful. I went more than that, but by the end of September I had accomplished my goal. (But I left for Nigeria for a month and never got around to adding stuff here!) The Bloomington Farmer’s market is not very big, but it has lots of great stands. I love tasting pickles, getting triple berry mix, having a few honey sticks as well as the occasional brat or pizza. Of course the fruit and veggies are great too.
Part of the reason I was so good about getting there though was because of the CSA we joined this year. Every week we picked up a basket of fresh, organic vegetables from one of the stands to enjoy. It really forced us to consume those veggies, but it was so good for us! I loved it. I’m looking forward to next summer to do it again!
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
I love shopping at the farmer’s market, but I don’t always get there. My goal was to make it at least 6 times during the summer. I was successful. I went more than that, but by the end of September I had accomplished my goal. (But I left for Nigeria for a month and never got around to adding stuff here!) The Bloomington Farmer’s market is not very big, but it has lots of great stands. I love tasting pickles, getting triple berry mix, having a few honey sticks as well as the occasional brat or pizza. Of course the fruit and veggies are great too.
Part of the reason I was so good about getting there though was because of the CSA we joined this year. Every week we picked up a basket of fresh, organic vegetables from one of the stands to enjoy. It really forced us to consume those veggies, but it was so good for us! I loved it. I’m looking forward to next summer to do it again!
#23 - Buy a couch
Monday, November 7, 2011
I finally bought a couch...back in September. Most of these last few posts actually happened way back in September, but I ran out of time to blog about them so I’m finally playing catch up!
I really own very little furniture since my stuff has been stored in my parents garage for the past 5 years. All I really owned was a bed. I thought it was about time to own a bit more furniture and a couch sounded good, especially since Sarah got rid of the futon - meaning I had very little furniture left in the living room!
I started keeping my eyes open for sales. Mom really thought it was wise for me to buy something new as you just never know what critters could be living inside a couch. Gross. There were a whole bunch of sales happening at the end of September at nearly every furniture store we entered. I ended up getting this one for less than half price, I believe. I really like it and hopefully it’ll last for many years!
Monday, November 7, 2011
I finally bought a couch...back in September. Most of these last few posts actually happened way back in September, but I ran out of time to blog about them so I’m finally playing catch up!
I really own very little furniture since my stuff has been stored in my parents garage for the past 5 years. All I really owned was a bed. I thought it was about time to own a bit more furniture and a couch sounded good, especially since Sarah got rid of the futon - meaning I had very little furniture left in the living room!
I started keeping my eyes open for sales. Mom really thought it was wise for me to buy something new as you just never know what critters could be living inside a couch. Gross. There were a whole bunch of sales happening at the end of September at nearly every furniture store we entered. I ended up getting this one for less than half price, I believe. I really like it and hopefully it’ll last for many years!
#44 - Learn to make cinnamon ring pickles
Thursday, November 3, 2011
I love these cinnamon ring pickles. They are my favorite and have always been my favorite...I think. We were getting low on these so Mom and I went to work making them. Really, she did most of the work because they were at her house, but I helped. It takes 5 or days to get them done as you have a new step to do each night. I helped peel, core, and slice all the cucumbers. I helped wash them off after they soaked in pickling lime for a day or two. Each night the syrup had to be boiled and then cooled again. (That’s the part Mom did on her own.) Then I helped with the final bunch of canning. It was lots of fun and I’m excited to get to eat some cinnamon ring pickles for the next year!
#105 - Frame Peru mountain scene
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Right before I left Perú I purchased a watercolor of a mountain scene. The man was originally selling it for s/25 but I got it for s/10 (around $3.50). I couldn’t pass it up. I hadn’t really intended to worry about getting it framed so fast, but Sarah had purchased a Groupon for framing and couldn’t end up using it. Instead of letting the coupon go to waste, I used it for her. I think the painting turned out quite nice. I love it!
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Right before I left Perú I purchased a watercolor of a mountain scene. The man was originally selling it for s/25 but I got it for s/10 (around $3.50). I couldn’t pass it up. I hadn’t really intended to worry about getting it framed so fast, but Sarah had purchased a Groupon for framing and couldn’t end up using it. Instead of letting the coupon go to waste, I used it for her. I think the painting turned out quite nice. I love it!
#92 - Join a Bible study in Minnesota
Thursday, October 20, 2011
I really loved my weekly Bible study in Peru with many ladies from school. It was usually a combination of teachers and parents with a few other missionaries thrown in as well. It was a great group of ladies and I looked forward to our study each week. Sometimes we would do a Beth Moore study, other times one of the members would lead a study of their own, and still other times we worked through a Precept study by Kay Arthur. I always enjoyed it, so I wanted to still have something like that to participate in and get to know some more ladies.
A few times I went with Sarah to her church when I first got back to town and they were sharing some of the Bible study options and I decided to give it a try. They have a Tuesday morning study which intrigued me because most groups meet in the evening, which is logical with work schedules, but I often end up with evening meetings because that’s when others don’t work.
The study is called Redemption Unveiled and is walking through the Old Testament to see how God prepared the way for Jesus long before He came to the earth. I’ve really enjoyed the study. The day starts with some worship in song followed by small group discussions. I think our group has around 15 people, so it’s not as small as I’m used to, but we have an age range probably from 25 to 75. It’s great. Then we all come back together and one of three ladies leads a further study on the lesson from that week.
I’ve now missed several weeks of study since I was traveling, but I really look forward to getting back to join these ladies once again and dig into the word of God and continue to build some relationships there.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
I really loved my weekly Bible study in Peru with many ladies from school. It was usually a combination of teachers and parents with a few other missionaries thrown in as well. It was a great group of ladies and I looked forward to our study each week. Sometimes we would do a Beth Moore study, other times one of the members would lead a study of their own, and still other times we worked through a Precept study by Kay Arthur. I always enjoyed it, so I wanted to still have something like that to participate in and get to know some more ladies.
A few times I went with Sarah to her church when I first got back to town and they were sharing some of the Bible study options and I decided to give it a try. They have a Tuesday morning study which intrigued me because most groups meet in the evening, which is logical with work schedules, but I often end up with evening meetings because that’s when others don’t work.
The study is called Redemption Unveiled and is walking through the Old Testament to see how God prepared the way for Jesus long before He came to the earth. I’ve really enjoyed the study. The day starts with some worship in song followed by small group discussions. I think our group has around 15 people, so it’s not as small as I’m used to, but we have an age range probably from 25 to 75. It’s great. Then we all come back together and one of three ladies leads a further study on the lesson from that week.
I’ve now missed several weeks of study since I was traveling, but I really look forward to getting back to join these ladies once again and dig into the word of God and continue to build some relationships there.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Exercise. Not my favorite word. I’ve never been one to spend a lot of time exercising, but after 5 years in Lima I learned that I really loved going for a good walk and did it regularly. I knew coming home to MN was going to make that a challenge as it wouldn’t be a primary mode of transportation any more. Thus, the goal.
I did it though. For more than a month, probably closer to 2.5 months, I’ve been exercising pretty regularly. This has mostly come in the form of running, but I’ve gone on some great walks and a bike ride as well.
Running. The first day I ran to the end of my block and back. That’s even stretching it. That was the entire distance, but I walked some of it, and I was beat. My lungs could not handle it. My legs weren’t tired, but my lungs were. For many days that’s as much as I did. Then I started going around my block which is a very large block, but I definitely walked a large majority of it.
About 6 weeks ago I started listening to a podcast with the goal of helping you go from a non-runner to a runner. There is a lady (actually named Laura) who tells you when to run and when to walk. I believe week 1 started with a 60 second run and 90 second walk and you repeated that about 6 times. Each week it got progressively harder: 90 second run & 2 minute walk, 2 minute run & 90 second walk. Last week won though. Week 5 instead of doing the same run three times it was three different workouts. Challenging. If I remember correctly, the easiest was a 5 minute run & 3 minute walk repeated 3 times. Next came 2 eight minute runs with a 5 minute walk in the middle. Day three went to a 20 minute run...no walking. Talk about stretching me! I did it though.
The challenge is, I’m now in Nigeria and on Week 6, day 2. I haven’t run for 4 days due to travel and I’m no longer in my neighborhood or anything remotely comfortable. I don’t know where I am and am pretty sure it would be dumb to go run here in Lagos. We’ll see if I can run more once I make it to Fiditi, but I might just be out of luck for a month. (Besides...it’s in the 90‘s and humid...who wants to run in that?!?!) The question is, what will I do then? By November there could be snow until spring. I’ll figure out a way to continue because I’ve actually enjoyed it more than I thought I would. Praise the Lord.
#34 - Spend an entire week at the farm
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
I might not be posting about this until now, but I really accomplished it back in July. It just took me a while to realize that I really did. I went out there a week after returning to the states and was fortunate enough to stay a whole week. I went out because of our Johnson family reunion, but got to stay that long because I went early to help Grandma get ready, see some friends, and just relax in the comfort of the farm. I love spending time there. It is so relaxing. It was a great family reunion and great to spend time with the family. Our side of the family was in red. I’d say we make a pretty fine looking group!
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