Friday bullets, Oct. 5, 2017

October 06, 2017

It's Friday and I actually realize it.

A.'s car, which was pretty old and cheap when she bought it, is now undriveable. The list of what is wrong with it is so long that the mechanic said she would be better off buying a new one. Or at least buying a less old one. Since the wheels are capable of coming off is she hits a pot hole of any kind, it is now parked. This means that the car situation here is pretty dire. We have spent the week driving and shuttling cars and vehicles between the three drivers who need the two cars. Anyone have a cheap, yet driveable car that A. could buy?
This urban girl has been fascinated by watching the farm fields around her new house. I've certainly driven by lots of corn and soy bean fields in summer when they are all green and growing. What I didn't realize is how dried everything gets in the fields before it is harvested. I also didn't realize how yellow the soy beans become before they dry. What I think I love most, though, is watching all the birds enjoying the fields after the harvesting is done.
There has been much cooking at lunch by the younger people. L. in particular has been enjoying cutting up vegetables and cooking them in some oil in the frying pan. (She has been doing this all by herself.) Today she decided to become even more adventurous and added a cracked egg on top. As a result of her cooking endeavors, she spent the rest of the afternoon writing a cookbook for me. The recipes (and spelling) are all her own creation. The peanut butter 'cac' [cake] recipe will give you a sense of what she has come up with. Pretty much, you take some peanut butter and spread it on a tortilla. That's it.
Since we have been learning about Mexico, everyone now wants to go and visit Chichen Itza in person.
Olive is now as tall as Kenzie. She is 18 weeks old.
We will be celebrating the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival tonight with some new friends who also have children from China. It was actually last Wednesday, but Wednesdays have become a little nutty around here, so we pushed it back to a more relaxed day. I'm making a chicken, lemon grass, and potato curry (it's Vietnamese), sauteing some lotus root, and steaming some dumplings. There's, of course, a couple boxes filled with moon cakes as well. I do admit to buying lanterns this year. Making them seemed a bit too much.
The process of finding new doctors continues. Y. now has an appointment with a pediatric orthopedist in a couple of weeks. In the meantime she is off the hook for wearing her AFO's, and is not missing them.
The past week has been crazy. I have only managed to get into my studio once. This does not make me happy. I'm not entirely sure why this week has been different from past weeks, but I haven't enjoyed it.
It was K.'s turn to pick the bedtime song last night. He looks at me and says, "Can you sing the Imperial March (from Star Wars)?" Um, no, I couldn't if you were curious.
For the last three or four days, K., Y., G., and L. have had a long and involved game going on in the toy loft which revolves around the massive block city which they built. They have all spent hours playing this. When I occasionally listen in, it is like listening to a soap opera. The drama that befalls all the people and animals who inhabit this city. It's quite something. Here are some pictures of the city that has kept them all busy for hours on end.