Jeffrey

 This morning has been so fun reviewing my pictures of the year, sending out short movies to my children and checking in with the Marco Polo app (excellent app it even works in Africa!) enjoying all of the new photos my daughter in laws have sent on my Frame (Debbie gave me a digital frame that shows pictures sent to it). 

My love, my friend, my husband

At the same time Jeffrey is briefly looking at our finances. He is a terrific husband and friend and we have grown in unity and purpose throughout the years. Every year is better and I couldn't have a more loving husband. These missions are great! A time to grow closer together with a shared purpose. I still love the fact that he takes care of taxes, costs, and money and lets me enjoy the pictures and children. We do sit down and go over where things are and what needs to be done, but I don't have any of the grunt work in the finances. Thanks love, you are the best!

Apartment living

 We live on the 2nd floor but numbering starts at the parking garage with 0, then up to the ground floor, then the first floor, and the next is the 2nd floor - my apartment is 302. I am living in luxury though I don't always know how to use it. I am trying to get used to the fact that someone will pick up my garbage bag and bring it down to the dumpster if I set it out in the morning - every morning! How cool is that? No need for a teenage son, someone - probably the lady who mops the corridor floors - picks it up and hauls it down to the bin.

I haven't figured out the washer/dryer machine either. So I decided to forget the dryer part and just enjoy the washing part. It is working out just fine!

I use a drying rack in my long bathroom and hang up the dresses, shirts, pants, and socks in the closets. 

This does mean there is a little more ironing to do because wrinkles don't fall out in the dryer. It is only the two of us, so there isn't much.

That being said, I was surprised the first day I stayed home instead of going to the office to have someone knock briefly and then try to open the door. My key was in the lock so they couldn't just open the door. Turns out it was the maintenance man to take care of the air-conditioning. He came with an apartment security man who had the keys to all the apartments. 

Air-conditioning outside of my balcony being fixed along with filters in all three of the  air intakes 

 inside of my apartment.

My laundry was all over the chairs, tables and couches and my first thought was, "I'm glad it is so white." The second thought was, "Sure glad I made up my bed so nicely." Shallow, and why should he even notice, but that's me.

The truth is I hate the fact that someone can roam around my apartment when I am not here without my knowing someone was here. It has given me a new perspective on how I want my apartment to look whether I am here or not and second not to leave money or valuables just laying around when we are gone. 

View from the Christianborg Chapel

 Jeffrey and I are attending the North Ridge ward and love getting to know the members there. 

One night we went to the Christianborg Chapel which happens to be facing the temple. While I was conversing, talking, and helping out, I noted the color of the sky. Beautiful orange hues. I immediately slipped out with my camera because I had previously seen a arch that I knew would frame the temple nicely. It is so nice to be proven correct!

Just outside of the chapel is a small hallway leading to either the culture hall or to the stairs. This alcove was probably built just for this view.

And what a view it is!

Almost like a postcard

We arrived at the temple just after we rode from the airport, so Brother Belnap could pick something up. In my head are mental maps of where things like my home, stores, food stands, and malls are located. I put the temple at the center and proportion everything out from there.

Christmas Devotional/Ward Party

 Jeffrey and I were asked to participate in the Christmas Devotional/Ward Party tonight at 6 pm. When we arrived the children were practicing for their nativity play. We could tell at a second that it would be a memorable play. It was!

The young missionaries are Elders. One looks American and the other is native African. He can play the piano. He had a keyboard tonight and helped the children rehearse. He played a soft musical accompaniment or loud if they were singing. We had arrived at 6 pm when we were told the night would begin. The children were running through their play. A woman who was obviously in charge set about directing and showing them when to come and when to come out from the back of the audience. There were about 10 of us who were sitting waiting and watching the children. It was about an hour or so later that some more adults came into the chapel and the program began.

After the prayer, singing and announcements, Jeffrey and I started out reading the story of Christ's birth from the Book of Mormon and added our testimonies. We all sang a hymn and then the children began. 

A young man in a robe with a staff came bent over as an old man while the American missionary read about Zacharias. The African missionary played something in the background. The first missionary read about Zacharias in the temple. A young man all in white and probably a long black wig came in the side door slowly waving his arms up and down as he walked over to 'Zacharias'. When the 'angel' startled Zacharias the keyboard gave a loud discordant sound. I couldn't help but start laughing. They acted out the rest of the scene and departed. 

Elizabeth and Mary meeting. I didn't understand the words but could feel the good message.

The next scene was Elizabeth and Mary after the missionary read about Mary and Joseph being espoused and Mary expecting the son of God. There was a great deal of joy, hugging, and laughing. Most of what the children said was in their own language, so it was very nice that it was action.

Elizabeth came in bent over moaning with Zacharias at her side (by now I am laughing hard as she looked like a mother in pain) and went out the back and then came in the side door a minute later with a swaddled baby (doll). Zacharias wrote the word John and held it up to the children in costume gathered round while the missionary read the story.

Joseph and a pregnant Mary

Then a bent over Mary with a "baby belly" walked in with Joseph and out the back while one missionary read and one missionary played. They came back in again, laid the baby (doll) in a manger (basket). Little children in sheets settle in front of the basket, I am assuming as sheep or cattle.

Angels visiting

This is where everything gets exciting. Angels in two rows dressed in white coming from the back of the room sing as they slowly wave their arms up and down. They continue to sing as they circle from each side behind Mary and Joseph and then go up the opposite of the aisles they came down. 

Angel on his way to visit the shepherds

Shepherds were sore afraid

The same angel in the black wig waves his arms as he comes to the shepherds in the corner  who were "afraid" and a discordant sound from the keyboard comes again sending the audience into loud laughter. The shepherds nod to baby Jesus as they go to the back of the room and come back with the angels coming down the aisle as Kings with gifts this time. 

The angels are all singing a different song still waving their arms slowly. This time the angels and Kings stay behind the couple with baby Jesus and the sheep or cattle covered children.

Kings bearing gifts behind the angels going up the aisle

All gathered round the Holy Family

With all the children in a scene they break into a wonderful song of joy that sounds familiar but is in their own tongue. I felt like getting up and dancing with them. 

A few more songs and messages, then a prayer and we went out to the hallway where they were handing out dinners in a little box in a sack with a drink. The Bishop has said we could not sit and eat together like in years past, but were all to go home to stay safe.

The feeling of joy was really awesome! A very memorable and touching evening.

Finding fun things to do - Gingerbread houses!

There will be a party on the 23rd for  a missionary Christmas celebration. The opening activity is making gingerbread houses. Sister Dick wanted me to look for graham crackers to make the houses and create some certificates for the winners. I volunteered to make actual gingerbread  houses and to put them together. I did find graham crackers in my ramblings (they are rare here and found only in American stores), I am making some graham cracker houses to decorate too. Since there are 8 couples and a single person, I am making 9 gingerbread houses and 9 graham cracker houses. Leaving the choice to decorate as a couple or do your own. 

Sister Dick, originator of this party and author of Gingerbread house decoration

There is a learning curve for every endeavor in a new culture or country. Converting cups and grams, Fahrenheit and Celsius, and learning how to turn on my oven has taken me a minute or two [hundred]. 

You can find recipes here and here and here for the gingerbread. Just pick which ingredients in the recipe are in your neighborhood. Mine has metrics, I had to figure out the proportions I needed. 

                                                                                                                                                                            

 

I have golden syrup instead of molasses, and brown sugar that has large crystals, and a call for self-raising flour, and I'm off!

Here is a link for the Royal icing that is used to "glue" the houses together. 

If you know Laura Nausin, she is really good about mixing up a batch that is needed i.e. activity day girls, or party. If you are lucky like I was, she even mixed up the gingerbread dough. Ah, for the good old days.

So here are some tips for baking in a metric society and making gingerbread houses:

1. Figure out how the oven works. Good luck if google doesn't pop up your particular oven. Ask a friend.

2. Understand how grams and cups are not equal. Try this link.

3. Watch for package measurements of the grams! Much simpler than figuring out in my head.

4. Tape parchment paper/baking paper down on your sideboard, then flour and roll the dough with another parchment paper on top. 

Taped a sheet of parchment/baking paper down to the counter

5. Flour ALL utensils in the pick up process!

All spatula pick-up needs to be floured, or great frustration follows

After placing dough on the baking sheet, even up the walls  and edges

6. Watch carefully the last few minutes while baking or the houses will burn instead of 'crisp'.

7. While the gingerbread is fresh out of the oven, is a good time to cut out windows, doors, and if you are smart even off the edges that have bulged out in cooking. I learned this a little late, I did have several house held together by icing because the edges did not match, I said, "next time".

8. The icing can be time consuming and tricky IF you have a donated 7 lb package of powdered sugar that is lumpy! It all has to be sifted. At the very end of the sifting is little hard rock crystals that feel like miniature gravel. One idea is to blend it in a blender - I don't know how that works or doesn't work.

This is a time to have a movie on, or something great to listen too. Takes time.

9. Icing can make up a multitude of errors!

Houses ready for transport

10. Make sure you have lots of fun!!

Sister Despain with her finished creation

The houses with their honors

We had awards as, "Most likely to Win in The Great British Baking Show", Picasso Award, Monet Award, Curb Appeal, etc., etc.

Evolving Granola Recipe

 A couple of people (Julia and a missionary here) have asked how I make granola. I did have a recipe from Laura Nausin, but I've tweeked it beyond recognition.  (Scroll down for tweeked recipe)

I start out with 5 or 10 cups of oats. 10 cups if I have a big oven and two baking sheets. In Ghana there is only one baking sheet as that is deemed sufficient for two people.

Looks like black, green, and light green - not so -
Oats, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds

Ignore the dark and light green color from the bowl, the light reflects green swirls in my ingredients.  To the Oats add different seeds. You can add nuts (almonds, walnuts, pecans, etc., etc., but Jeffrey can't have them). I add pumpkins seeds and sunflower seeds.

I am not sure why all these seeds are good for a body. Susie is the one who told me about them, I'm sure she could outline why.

In a different bowl I have a cup of water, 3/4 cup of oil (I use olive, the original used vegetable), 3/4 cup of chia seeds, 3/4 cup of hemp seed, 3/4 cup of flax seed, 1/2 cup of honey, 1/2 cup of agave, and 1/4 cup of maple syrup for flavor. I have noted if you add the chia seeds and water it will clump up. If you want sweet clumps, add water, oil, and sweeteners, then the chia seeds and other seeds and let sit a bit. The original recipe had brown sugar and maple syrup - I think.

Next, mix the two bowls of oat and oil/seeds thoroughly and dump it all onto a baking sheet. Spread it out to the edges so they don't get too crispy.

Tricky is knowing what Fahrenheit to Celsius is. 300 degree is 149 in Celsius. My oven shows 100 and 200, the rest is just proportional.  In fact this whole recipe is proportional as the metric system has everything in grams - every cup may be the same (there is even two measurements for that!) but grams varies by each ingredient's denseness. 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of butter will be different grams. tricky, tricky....

Bake for about 20 to 25 minutes watching at the end as it toasts. In this oven I have to turn it mid-way as one side of the oven is hotter than the other.

Turn over with a spatula or  swirl it around so the other side can get toasted.

Bake for another 20 to 25 minutes still watching at the end so it doesn't burn on the edges.

Take it out and cool. After cooling, add dried fruit. One combo that is nice is dried cranberry and blueberries. Recently, I found a medley of dried fruit and we like it. Different batches in the past have had dried apricots, dried apples, dried currants, etc. Have fun with whatever makes you happy.

I put it in a tight container in the cupboard and watch it disappear in a few days. 

Evolving Granola Recipe

5 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats

1 or two cups of pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds 

Optional: Chopped Almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews etc., etc.

In a separate bowl mix:

1 cup of water

3/4 cup of oil (olive or vegetable)

3/4 cup of flaxseed (I used the milled)

3/4 cup of chia seed

3/4 cup of hemp seed

1/2 cup of honey

1/2 cup of agave

Optional: 1/4 cup of Maple Syrup for flavor

Add the two bowls together, and then spread out on baking sheet. Bake for 25 minutes at 300 degrees, then turn and bake for another 25 minutes. Cool

Add dried fruit: cranberries, blueberries, apricots, apple slices, currants, raisins, etc. etc.

Store in tight container on the shelf

Learned how to wrap my head

 I took a walkabout yesterday. Yes, I know some of you are laughing about the irony of living in Africa and being cold. So on my perambulations I saw a woman sitting on the church steps with a bright dress and a matching head wrap. I sat down beside her and asked how the wrap was wrapped. 

It is absolutely amazing to me what these women can do with a length of cloth. Everything!

This lady (sorry I forgot to get her name)  takes off her head wrapping and shows me a triangle. She puts her forehead in the middle of the base of the triangle and folds it to the back into the two ends. She brings those around with a twist at the back and tucks them back into the circle formed around her head. She actually showed me three different ways to wear that wrap. Come to find out the material is a very big square that has been folded into a triangle.

I watched on the airplane trip over from New York, a woman put a young child on her back and wrapped a cloth around her and her baby and then tied the ends together in front. Women carry their babies all the time in these lengths of material. Sometimes they tuck them together (somehow - need to find somebody to show me) and it looks pretty good in front with the baby tucked in the back.

Those big bundles that are carried on women's head -- They wrap a cloth into a circle for cushioning, then balance the load on top of that. I thought they might have a particular hat, but no, it is merely a cloth wrapped up to help with the stability.

This is a lady I met my first Saturday. She took down her heavy bowl, and showed me how she wrapped this second piece of cloth into a circle and then balanced her bowl on top.

Turban head covering with a smaller piece of cloth wound around in a circle

She can carry large amounts of ice and drinks to sell - all balanced on her head.

Walkabout

 The Security Guards are getting used to the fact that I come out and walk around the temple complex.

Here is why:

Before getting out into the sun

After a little walkabout:

Much nicer

The question that will come to a few people's mind is why am I blogging about such mundane things?  Simple, I don't have a job yet. Brent Belnap game me a few assignments which were done quickly. The Area Presidency hasn't issued a call yet. One is in Costa Rica, one is on assignment, and the other is here but obviously not issuing work assignments. I understand that they are pretty new working together. I haven't let Jeffrey or Brother Belnap urge the Presidency to act in my behalf because there are no people related jobs available yet. No MTC, Pathways, or people getting together. Most work (that is being done) is accomplished remotely. I am really hoping for a people oriented type of job. I don't mind secretarial, filing, copy & paste, or humdrum type of work as long as it is interspersed with people. So I don't mind waiting.....really, I want to wait for a people oriented assignment....okay I am looking around for things to do. I'm one of those missionaries who are to go out and "do good things."

So, I do walkabouts after a few hours in the office when I get cold.  I say hello and talk with people if they look at all like stopping to chat. 

Today I took note of all the flowers and beauty that is so well maintained on the grounds.

There are beds of this pretty pink flowers. At a distance they are cheerful and happy.

But the stems have a touch me not defense. You have to watch for those sweet, pretty things. Sometimes there is a bite.

I noted that fall is here - probably year round.

More sweet pretty things, it makes me wonder how they taste or smell.

I love the big beautiful flowers also

These trees remind me of the Hawaiian leis but they do not smell like them. I did note that these same trees live by the Philippine Area office and they rain on the sidewalk too.

I learned that Margaret (spelling unknown) is in our North Ridge ward and works in the Auxiliary building. Janis is a greeter for the Area Office and lets people in or redirects them. Sharon said she might have a job for me to do as I already learned the software, but it won't be until Monday.  Good thing I brought a few projects.

Pin It - not Pinterest

 On Tuesday I had the opportunity to lead a discussion for our Sister's Scripture meeting. Andrew gave me a powerpoint on a lesson he taught and I was able to use it in my lesson. Listening to the ladies was enjoyable and enlightening. 

Afterwards, Sister Hymas, Sister Despain, and I went out to "drop pins". If you are like me, you wouldn't know what that meant, if you do, you are probably younger or have more experience. 

Sister Hymas took us to particular places that we would want to shop or visit again. When we arrived we'd pin it in our maps on the phone and save it in favorites, so that we could get there on our own with a GPS guide. So I have pins for a bakery, Sewing notions, a seamstress (Beatrice!), shopping mall, a meat shop, a shop whose good are made and run by women, a gelato shop and a restaurant with great food, an art store...and some other things that have been forgotten - but pinned for future reference!

Afterwards the three of us went out to a late lunch at a place by the Swiss hotels.

Here are Sister Hymas and Sister Despain

Yummy pineapple drinks before the salads came

I have a picture of the three of us, but I can't figure out how to get it off WhatsApp. In fact the WhatsApp is in my messages and I can't find it's icon on my phone. In my messages, I click and the texts and messages show up.......I need a young person.

This is what Ghanaian's money looks like

Money in Ghana is called Cedi. The hundred Cedi was introduced just a short time ago.
Note the smaller the value the smaller the bill. 

I am getting used to using colored bills with different sizes again. But the blue and blue grey bills don't buy as much as the last time I used colored money. We made a purchase of salmon and found out the cost was $31 for a pound of salmon!  I learned later it was imported from Norway. I'm watching much more closely what each purchase is worth.  Figuring out values is one of those learning curves!