Amendment to Salsa Recipe

I truly apologize for this. We had cut down on the salt we put into the salsa, then started noticing that it was possibly not fermenting quite perfectly. /:) So we upped it once more. I have the amended amount in the previous blog post...I changed it some time ago, but kept forgetting to notify you of that. Sorry about any inconvenience!

We made lacto-fermented cucumbers recently again, and are starting to like them (a bit). :) They have a lot of zing! You just put fresh dill and garlic slivers into your jar along with the cucumbers and pour some whey and salt water to fill up to 1 inch of the top. Leave it on your counter for a few days then refrigerate. They don't become mushy if you add a grape leaf or two. The tannins in grape leaves preserves the crunch. Yum. (sortof)

Okay--grinding wheat for my fave cake--morning glory!

Lata

Home!

It is good to be home. We were gone about 40 minutes less than a week. :) We left Friday at 1:00 and returned Friday sometime after 12:00! We drove through the night both ways. The kids were amazing. We had been bracing ourselves. :) They were a bit more fussy on the way home, but still much better than we imagined! Our time in VA was awesome. So so good. It was so nice to be with dad again, and we really enjoyed having Mary around and hanging out with her. Our kids loved being there too. The first evening they were all three downstairs with Tim and he was giving them rides in a cardboard box. :) Monday we all walked up to the graveyard and had a small time there. That was a good step in the journey...

Tuesday we ladies went out to Starbucks and then went shopping! I made a haul at the Goodwills in the area. They have much nicer stuff than out here, and a huge selection. We had a most lovely day together! That afternoon we went through mom's china cupboard and divided things up. I have her wedding china. Come see it.

Wednesday the others had all gone, but we stayed so that I could spend time with my friend Rosemary. That was delightful! I learn so much from her. We can talk for hours about healthy living and new ways of improving our lives. :) And everything else.

And then we came home. We arrived noon on Friday, unpacked, cleaned up, and crashed. We were so tired, Craig slept sitting in the living room with all three kids roaring around. Now, that's tired!

Lata!

Tomorrow

Tomorrow we take off on our long safari! We are, to state it mildly, excited. We love traveling. And now, we hope our kids love traveling. :) We plan to leave soon after lunch to try and cash in on the nap time...at least several hours of sleeping beauties.
We've been sick this week, but I have reason to believe God is now healing us. The kids have been sick for a month...and I finally took them to the doc because of the upcoming trip. Craig and I came down with a cold this week. But God is the healer...I am so grateful!
We hope to drive through the night...although we may need to stop for a bit of sleep. I'm taking ice coffee along and Craig is taking cold tea. :) We haven't done this for years, so we'll see how it goes. And of course...three kids in the back... prayers appreciated!
We'll probably stay in Va until Wednesday or so. On Monday our family will go to see mom's grave and have a small time there. You can pray for the grieving process this week. Going home to dad's house will be a step as also the time at the grave site will be. I feel a lot of peace through this, but there is still pain and tears. I miss mom for myself, but miss her for my children as much. Since her death, this life has come into a totally different perspective for me. It feels so short! And the real thing is coming...
I cannot wait for Dad and Mary to see our kids again! I wish we'd live closer to them.
Okay...enough rambles. Thank you for prayers and blessings to all of you friends!
Rachel

Pictures of the Life Back There

We left for Thailand...two young kids...

Sorry it's rotated wrong. Wanted a pic of my mom waving...

Neighbor kids.

First kitchen.

First vehicle.

Language...

Hangin' out.

Ama and I.

Laundry.

Traditional.

Helping Ama and Ami.

Slicing palm for pig food.

Baby Dolls

Sewing curtains.

Our house!

Our view.

My friends.

Helping harvest corn.

My friend Avile Zamua.

We had a baby!

Life started changing.

But a nice change!

Bomani's grandma.

Let's go to Khun Khong!

Bomani Leon

Family of Three

Nice. :)

My friend Asi's baby with Bomani.

Twins on the way!

We left Thailand to come home to my mom.

They are getting rather large.

Our babies!

Family of Five.

Pictures of the Here and the Now

Hazel trying to get to the cat. This is a new "pet" we have inadvertently acquired. She was begging for food one day and so I fed her. Now she sticks around. Her name is This. Bomani named her.

Sauerkraut

A full back seat. But what's wrong with a full car? :)

I don't know why he took it. Sometimes he just does that.

These girls tumble and play like puppies. Hazel is wild! She bowls Bomani over if he's not watching.

Playing with a long, purple bean pod.

Hazel it is.

She was such a sweet baby while sick.

Someday I'm having lots of help with my cooking!

I should have captured it yesterday, because by today it looks much better. Hazel took one too many risks with her climbing and fell face down on a wooden part of the step-stool. I felt--terrible.

It's awesome.