January - One Third of our Project

     The first month of our adventure at Camp Loma De Vida in Edinburg, Texas, is over. I'll summarize with some highlights, and pictures to go with them.

    During the month, I did a variety of work assignments, like helping to bake thousands of cookies. Terry and the other guys appreciated the cookies that didn't work out. Now we have to make more next month to make up the deficit. 

    Then Cheryl and I inventoried the nurse's station and counted t-shirts and tidied cupboards. 

The very last day, I got to try something new. Some of us sanded down the wooden railings on bunk beds by hand, because of reports of splinters from the wood. On the last day, I graduated to a palm sander! I don't think I operated it correctly, but it was sure fun!

  

  Finally, at the end of the month I bought two sizes of plates and some bowls at the thrift store. What a pleasure to abandon the flimsy plastic bowls, not meant for constant use, but too good to throw out after one use. I quite like our new dishes.

    Much to our amazement, our group leaders, Don and Cheryl Delaschmit are birders, and we'll be with them for the month of February as well. It's been great, their knowledge has been a big help in identifying birds. Here are some of the birds we've seen.

Green Jay

Ringed Kingfisher

Common Pauraque

    

    

    

    

    

This is such an interesting example of camouflage. You would never see this bird even if you walked right by it. It was pointed out to us a couple of feet away from the footpath in Estero Llano Grande State Park. Then it was obvious that a barrier of piled up sticks had been placed at the edge of the path to discourage people from disturbing the Pauraque's sleep. This bird is on permanent night shift; it sleeps during the day and hunts for insects at night.

I was glad to get such a good look at him up close. Last week Terry flushed one up out of the brush when we were chasing another bird, but I didn't get to see it beyond a flapping of wings. 

Roseate Spoonbill

What a surprise to see this pink bird in a marshy area, which we usually optimistically call a pond as we drove around one afternoon with our friends. The Roseate Spoonbill forages by wading in shallow water, swinging its head back and forth to sift the muck with its slightly open spoon-like bill. Sensitive receptors inside the bill detect vibrations given off by prey. When a small fish or aquatic creature touches the inside of the spoon, the bill closes on it quickly. 

What a way to get dinner. 

It's been a great month for birding! 

Kolaches

 

On our week off between projects we visited our Korean friend, Bongwol, in Houston, TX. We had met at YWAM Lausanne, Switzerland in October, 2012, when we were both Mission Builders there.

     We had a great visit. Bongwol served interesting things for breakfast: This is fried cabbage, with an egg is hidden in the middle of the “nest”. It was surprisingly tasty!

    On the agenda, of course, was bird watching. Terry didn't know I had another agenda, but he soon found out I was interested in seeing where Czechs had settled in the latter part of the 1800s. Many towns between Edinburg and Houston had been settled by Czechs and Moravians, and we noticed businesses with Czech names.

     Since my mother was born in the Czech part of Czechoslovakia, and my father came from Moravia, I found the fact that many from this country had previously emigrated to America fascinating. Why did they do it? Freedom. In the old Austro-Hungarian Empire, before it was united as Czechoslovakia in 1918, farmers were still under the feudal system. The availability of land in America in the Blackland Prairie region, as well as the political situation, drew them to emigrate by the thousands.

    Czechs brought with them their culture, a part of which brings me back to my story

    I have been to the Czech Republic ten times, and I am well acquainted with the koláč.

    It's a yeast dough pastry with a filling of fruit, quark cheese, or a paste made from poppyseeds. My parents even had these traditional delicacies at their wedding. Here's a picture of a Moravian variety Terry and I sampled in 2018. This pizza-sized one was sold with various flavours on the same plate. Tom is cutting them up so we could taste them all.

My cousin's husband, Tom

     I found out the koláč came to America, too. I knew it wouldn't be the same, but I was eager to taste-test this American variety, called kolache. We managed to track some down at Prasek's Smokehouse in Sealy, TX. They were displayed with meat pastries that looked like pigs in blankets, also called kolache. [Technically incorrect! Czechs don't call meat pastries by that name.] I carefully chose my apricot kolache. I found the name amusing. The plural form of koláč in Czech is koláče, which is what Americans call one pastry. I carefully carried the little white paper bag out to the car, and happily anticipated our lunch dessert.

    Meanwhile, Terry was on a mission. He was trying to find a certain state park, but the GPS was not co-operating at all. We kept travelling down secondary roads, back and forth, until lunch was long overdue. I have to eat pretty much on time, so I wasn't happy. About an hour and a half later, I couldn't stand it any longer. “Just eat, then,” said Terry.

    “But I wanted to eat the kolache with ceremony,” I explained. It was not to be. I ended up eating my kolache, while Terry focused on the road. I took a bite before I remembered I was supposed to photograph my kolache, sitting on the dash looking fresh and delicious.

    I'm so grateful to Terry for stopping to find the kolache. We had in mind to stop at another bakery the next day which was famous for achieving the “best kolache” award, but we never got there. The next morning a winter storm warning sent us straight home to Edinburg, instead of exploring yet another state park we had in mind,and stopping at the bakery.

That's ok. I sampled my American kolache.

 We both decided it wasn't at all the same as a real koláč. It was lighter, the dough fluffier, and the filling much sweeter. Delicious, but definitely not a koláč.

Here's a picture of some soup noodles I bought as well.

And the delicious soup I made from them. Just the thing for a cold winter's day!

A Surprise Visitor

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"Where is that sewing kit?" I muttered as I opened cupboard doors in the little cabin at Camp Loma de Vida.

"You've got to be kidding! That wasn't there before!"   I didn't scream, though.

A little snake lay behind Terry's soap caddy. I wondered whether he thought the cord was one of its kind.

I walked next door where the men were working, and, trying to be calm, told Terry, "There's a snake in the cupboard!"

Terry, Don and Gary, carrying a cardboard box, came over to investigate. First, they moved Terry's soap case out of the way.

As it was a bit chilly, the snake was docile, and didn't move.

It was only the size of a garter snake, and had beautiful clear markings on its back.

 Then, using a broom, Don swept the snake into the box. 

He walked the box towards the bush.

"Take it far away!" I emphasized.

I found out it was a harmless Western Rat Snake, quite common, and non-venomous.

The adults can get to 4 to 6 feet long! And their colour darkens.

This must have been a baby, to able to squeeze through the hole near the pipe under the bathroom sink. 

Terry stuffed some insulation from next door, blocking off the space between the pipe and the side of the cupboard.

Once I found out it was just a baby, my alarm melted away. I even felt compassion towards the little snake, trying to escape the cold.

But I'm still cautious every time I open a cupboard door. It's a good thing there are only two cupboards with doors!

Even looking down at our rug makes me look twice! 😀

Return to Camp Loma de Vida

Exactly ten years ago we were at Camp Loma de Vida; it was only our second SOWER project in the US. Now we are back, on our 25th project! At first glance, nothing much seems to have changed. A few cabins have been remodelled, and work is ongoing in building a few tiny houses. A quadriplex cabin to be used as a dorm is being remodelled right next door to us, so Terry doesn't have far to go to work! 

What is different is that we don't have Baby B with us, our little 21-foot trailer. A description of her demise can be found in blogs written in March, 2020. We have been graciously given a cabin to live in for three months, one of the reasons we drove 3000 miles, chasing the warm weather. Very warm weather hasn't exactly materialized yet, but we're very grateful to say good-bye to the bitterly cold weather Alberta is having this month. 

Since we weren't told what exactly was in this little cabin, we brought very little, only the things we thought were the bare essentials. Besides, our Ford Escape is much smaller than the Expedition was.

Here are the things we were glad to have brought with us:

1. Our duvets, sheets, and our own pillows. These were a godsend when we visited friends in Yuma, AZ, as they were having a cold spell as well. What a comfort to snuggle up in at night. 

2. My Bullet machine (mini-blender) for my daily smoothies. 

3. A small porridge pot and a mini frying pan. 

4. Terry's new phone, which had to be bought in Yuma, because his died sooner than expected. That means we have a new North America plan, allowing us phone access in the US, as well as in Canada, and lots of data. And a new phone number.

5. Consistent Wifi in the cabin and elsewhere on campus. This is a HUGE blessing. I can carry on sending in my devotional messages, as well as being able to ask Google all my usual questions, AND Face Time with our family. 

6. And the laptop, of course!

7. Small quantities of basic groceries and staples from home, which I knew our son would not eat, and which would just get stale on the shelf. 

I'm thinking of investing in an InstaPot, which I've heard is a versatile and multi-purposed addition to an efficient kitchen. What else? We'll have to wait and see.

I'm not going to worry about what we don't have, because our Heavenly Father knows what we need before we even ask Him.

Grandchildren Gallery 2021

 

This is our youngest grandchild, Nellwyn Gabriella.

Learning French with Nelly 

                                Nelly's getting ready to help in the kitchen.                                 Roar!

                                   (age three-and-a-half in these pictures)

More French games outside in their back yard.

                                Matteo, nearly 10, on a Father's Day hike.

Zachary graduated this year, and we were actually allowed to attend the ceremony! A celebration followed in Stephen and Susannah's back yard.

He's building delicious pizzas at the moment at Famoso's.

Zachary is 18 in December 2021

Caleb spent the entire first year of Video Game Design on his own computer at home. Now he's actually in Vancouver, working on the course in person.

Emma has only a few high school courses to complete after Christmas before she graduates in June 2022. 

Caleb is 19, and Emma, 17.

Caleb is holding some of our wedding pictures at the 50th anniversary celebration.

Bower Ponds, a wonderful park in Red Deer, has these extra-life sized geese to ride. Earlier in the spring, someone had attached 

face masks to each of them.

Nellwyn, 4, and Livi, 6, before their long ponytails were trimmed.

Lego is always an attraction at Grandma and Grandpa's.

Ellis, 8, loves to climb trees.

That's all for Grandchildren Gallery for 2021!

A reminder to myself: take even more photos next year!

A Stellar Day

 "You're having a stellar day!" exclaimed my husband on our way home. I'd been giggling over our latest two experiences of the day.

First of all, we climbed up the Peach Cliff trail in Okanagan Falls.

This is the rocky outcrop of Peach Cliff, with a 600 m rockface, as seen from our condo parking lot. When it was first suggested that we climb up to the satellite tower, it looked impossible. How can we get up that cliff, I thought. 

The All Trails app, however, revealed a more gradual ascent, on the back side.

OK, I thought. This is our last day here. We've got to do this.

After a bit of a steep climb, the path levelled out and wound through a Ponderosa pine "forest", which looked like a former Boy Scout camp, with little lean-tos made of scavenged dead wood.

A ramshackle shed nearby was full of trays of rock core mining samples, remnants of an old mine. I later found out it was the Dusty Mac Mine, which produced silver and gold from 1969-1976.

We even saw our condo from the top! I think this shot is enlarged a bit. We're very near Skaha Lake.

I was thrilled when I finally spotted the cell tower. It had taken us an hour to get to that point, and seemed easier than the trail exactly a week before. The steep sections seemed more manageable.
After documenting reaching the summit and congratulating me, Terry had a surprise idea.

"I'm going to call Bruce and Val, and we can wave at each other!"

That little dot in the purple circle is Val, standing in her driveway at the mobile home park underneath Peach Cliff. She's looking up on the cliff side, that looked so scary from below. When Bruce came out, we all waved at each other. I wonder how well Bruce saw us through his binoculars.

Terry wanted to take me out for lunch in Penticton, about 20 minutes away. I readily agreed, despite the food in our fridge that was supposed to be eaten up before we left for Alberta. It wasn't exactly 20 minutes to the restaurant, though, as we had to find it first. We drove further and further downtown, until we came to Okanagan Lake, at the other end of Penticton. The GPS was not at all helpful towards the end. 

We went around the block 3 times before we finally found The Prague Cafe. There was no sign at all, except for a small notice on the door, that you had to walk up to, to see. Just like the little "hole in the wall" shops in the Czech Republic. 

My sandwich was the most delicious Caprese sandwich on a croissant, equally yummy as the first one I'd ever had in the San Francisco Area more than five years ago. 

Michal, the owner, was born in Prague, and I shared where my parents were born. We even conversed in Czech, as he lapsed into his native language, explaining how he had made the gingerbread cake. 

It looks quite ordinary, but oh, it was tasty. I asked him where he bought his spices, knowing they came in little envelopes, specially mixed for pernik, gingerbread cake. Surprise, he just bought his spices individually--cinnamon, clove, nutmeg , ginger, and sometimes cardamom and anise. I think his secret was the long mixing, to properly blend all the spices. 

I'm going to try his method when I get home.

The other cake is a kolach ( phonetical spelling, as I don't know how to access the accents) with blueberries. It was ok, but they are best fresh out of the oven. 

I was 'over the moon' with my unexpected cultural experience,

 really glad I had forgotten the A & W coupons at home. 

It was unusual for Terry not to get upset as he kept going 'around the block', which was not at all rectangular in shape as a block should be. It was also unusual that he agreed to try a new eating experience, rather than sticking to chain restaurants. 

It was in the car on the way home as I burbled on and on about Michal and his cafe, that Terry made the comment, "You're having A Stellar Day." 

I'd say a Five Star Day!

Tackling the Oliver Tower Viewpoint Trail

First things first. We had a job to do this morning. Preparing apples was different than at North Okanagan Valley Gleaners. We only had to remove the stems, cut out the scabs and bruises, and give the apples a quick rinse. Terry was one of the people coring the apples. Then the chunks were put into the dicer, spread on cookie sheets, and put into the dryer.

Our morning's work was finished so quickly, I suggested an adventure before we drove the 20 minutes back to Okanagan Falls. "Let's go check out the hiking trails above Fairview," I said. "It's going to be showery for the next few days."

Terry looked up his All Trails app, and found a trail. Parking at the bottom of a steep cliff, we gazed up and saw a well-worn path of scree, large loose rocks and sand. This is it? I thought. Talking briefly to a hiker striding down confirmed it. 

"You can go straight up here, or around where it's not so steep. I find it a great workout twice a week," he said.

We decided to just go up. "I just want to see what's on the other side of this ridge. You know, like the song":        The bear went over the mountain....

                  To see what he could see... 

                  And all that he could see...

                  Was the other side of the mountain..."

The first thought that crossed my mind as I plodded through the deep sand was I'm not as fit as I was on the White Goat Falls trail  ten years ago. Terry had been so impressed at the time, and called me a mountain goat. Today I had to stop every once in a while to catch my breath and still my pounding heart. Terry kept asking anxiously, "Are you all right?" 

Finally at the top of the gravelly part, we reached the ridge. That's where we saw the "other side of the mountain." You can see how difficult it was to wade through this loose stuff. 

Already the view from the ridge was looking spectacular

As the path levelled out, long-needled Ponderosa pine trees dotted the dry hillside. No sounds, but we did see and hear a covey of quail at the bottom of the hill. Here and there clumps of tiny, low-lying

Prickly Pear cactus peeked through the long grass.

 

Rusty remnants of an ancient fence

"Look up, there's the tower!"  

I didn't know there was a destination to this climb. I didn't know the trail was called the Oliver Tower Viewpoint Trail. But I made it up there, 3.7 km, 830 feet up, on the top of this "mountain."

From that vantage point, you could see all over the valley. 

Various trails meandered down the mountain, so it was much more relaxing on the way down.

When we got to the bottom, Terry again said, " You did great, I'm impressed!" 

For me, a little encouragement goes a long way!