Backing Down

 

When we first moved to Arkansas, the first garden went in pretty much by my own hand.  Al was in VA, with a few trips back here off and on until he was able to leave VA for good.  

The main garden, originally started by the previous owner, didn't do well at all.  I faced a lot of trials that ranged from rain washing things down the hill, plants being swallowed up by weeds, and humans absconding with my whole tomato crop.  I expanded my garden with raised beds closer to the house. While they did a little better, they still took a lot of work for a little produce.  The work I put into the gardens aggravated a wrist injury (from our move) and often caused issues with my lower back and shoulders, but I pressed on.  By the end of the year, my wrist had healed (it took over half a year). 

Last  year, I worked hard again, expanding gardens and trying to get the upper hand on the impact the weather had on the garden as well as the effects of horribly rocky soil. I didn't fair much better. 

This year, I was determined!  I expanded the gardens again and worked hard.  Unfortunately, I injured my shoulder in April while digging this ridiculous ground to plant seeds. So far it hasn't gotten better.  And despite my chiropractor's optimism that it will get better, I don't think I have the faith to believe that.  The pain I am in every single day doing simple tasks like tying an apron on, lifting things, folding clothes, or sitting up in bed, only leads me to a feeling of hopelessness.  

Then I injured my right elbow a month or so ago using a weed eater to clean up the garden.  This has now only compounded my inability to do those things I enjoy doing, or that need doing.  Even my basic chores hurt to complete! 

The main garden has been a huge thorn in my side with the increased weed and grass pressure that has choked me out of the garden.  And because of the poor state of the garden, the chiggers have taken over.  I can't go in for anything without a few more bites dotting my ankles or my abdomen.  We put a lot of sweat into putting the cattle panels up, but today I resigned from gardening a big garden.  

I told Al that I want ripping it all out and that I want to turn it into another pasture for the sheep. As much as it pains me to tear out all the t-posts and cattle panels, pull out all the raised beds and railroad timbers, drag every single rock from the garden boundaries and throw them along the creek bed, and level the soil and compost, it is time to let go of that dream. 

Truth, I just can't do it any more and certainly not alone.  I love gardening, but at some point I have to say, "Enough!" and walk away. 

I have time before spring to figure out what my gardening plans are.  For now, I will focus on expanding my raised bed garden out front.  The chickens have prepped a new area quite well.  The raised beds from the main garden will be brought over and eventually set up to grown more food closer to the house.  

I have learned this year that growing a bunch of foods the kids don't like is foolishness. There is no point in taking up valuable garden space to grow things only one or two people will eat.  So there will be changes in what is grown as well as how much is grown.  

While I don't have much hope my shoulder will ever feel better, I haven't given it up altogether, either.  I will patiently wait to see if the Father will allow healing like he did my wrist.  My chiropractor said to wait and see before deciding if we need any outside treatment.  I still have 11 more therapy visits left before treatment is over. 

And there you have it...

  

No More Leak, but Please Send Rain!

It's been a while.  There is not a whole lot to report on our end, but I can certainly fill you in on the latest.  

I think a while back, I mentioned that we had a water leak somewhere.  It more than doubled our water bill which was definitely not welcome into the budget. Finding a leak on our property was not a cheap or easy task, so we determined to not worry about it.  The other night, Al was walking outside and sunk in mud.  He was shocked because we didn't see the mud there before.  He got a shovel and dug the site, and indeed found the water leak.  The next morning, the hole he dug was full of water, with a small bubbling fountain.  He went to the store and purchased the materials he needed to put a valve in the line, so the water could be turned on in the house.  

Tomorrow, Al will need to finish the pipe work in order to get water to the shop again.  When he checked the water meter he did determine that our leak was finally found and there were no other leaks.  You can imagine how relieved we were.  

Aaron and Lily, our bull and cow, are slowly warming up to us.  We are able to pet them over the fence, but we still use caution when entering into pastures with them.  Meanwhile, Patty, the little heifer calf, still isn't sure about humans and runs away from us.  We feed them alfalfa cubes in the morning.  I both wonder and worry whether or not petting and friending the bull will have the same ramifications as friending a ram.  (That was not an intentional pun, but it works!)

The weather here has been absolutely hot and dry.  The gardens shrivel up during the day because they just can't handle the heat.  All the seeds I planted have done nothing whatsoever.  It seems my struggle this year has been getting things to germinate.  I am not sure if this soil is contaminated (storebought compost) or if the water is too high in salt, but you can imagine the disappointment in finding every day that goes by there is no progress with plant germination.  Top that off with the fact that something is eating my green bean plants.  My guess is grasshoppers or locust.  

At this point, I have just decided to give up.  I'll try hard to keep alive what is growing, but I just don't have it in me anymore this year.  So I am working on stocking the pantry with purchased food, whether already canned, or fresh produce for me to preserve.  

On that note, my Azure order contained some frozen green beans which I will can up to see if it is cheaper to can frozen beans or purchase canned beans.  Once the local squash crops come in, I will be purchasing some to process for our pumpkin needs.  I may end up purchasing more carrots to fill the refrigerator.  I think our potato needs are filled, but I will purchase sweet potatoes since our crop was very poor.  

Next year's garden will have much thought put into it before planting since we have some picky eaters.  There isn't much need for certain vegetables if there are but a few of us who eat them.  

I have picked up milking Mocha and Juniper again.  I am thankful they had doelings on them still to keep the milk in production.  And while the amount isn't a lot, my perspective has been changed during the short time (one week) in which we were drinking store bought milk.  That garbage will work your gut over good!  Ugh!

While I hoped to be able to milk our new cow, I am not going to force interaction and try to milk her quite yet.  I do hope to be milking her before winter, but if not, I am okay with it.  We have plenty of time in the future.  

Hopefully, our garden clean up will start tomorrow.  I am still not sure what the plan is, but it may include totally disassembling everything we have out there.  Right now, the task puts me into high anxiety, but I am determined to figure out a better layout and plan to make work easier and clean-up a breeze.  

And with that, I will close. 

Big Changes Coming!

(photo courtesy of Yahuah's Farm)

For years I have said I didn't want a cow.  The thought of having to milk a big beast with a massive udder that gets covered with poop did NOT sound appealing to me.  And while I did research breeds of cattle which would be good homestead cows, I never considered the breed we are bringing onto the homestead. 

See, while we consume a lot of dairy, we don't consume enough to have a breed that provides gallons a day.  I don't want gallons of milk a day.  Having enough to get us through the day and put a little extra toward butter and cheese is sufficient.  

Are you ready?

We are bringing a herd of Zebu home!   

For more information about the Zebu, you can go here or here. 

Of course, the plan is to milk the cow, especially when I have no goat milk and won't for at least five months.  But realistically, I will need to allow her to get used to me and vice versa. 

In my research, I also found that they provide "deliciously creamy" milk in amounts of 1/2 gallon a day (or more).  Their milk is A2 which means it is more easily digested by the body.  

To answer the question, what about your goats?  We will still keep goats.  Next year will be a huge year in determining who stays and who goes.  For those who may be interested, these are the goats we have and who will be going and staying:

Does:

• Amber - retiring
• Mocha - undecided, maybe selling
• Jersey - selling
• Ivy - keeping if she has no difficulty in delivery
• Juniper - keeping if udder is improved on second kidding
• Maizie - keeping
• Yelana - keeping, unless we find she can not be bred
• Almond Joy -watching for size, selling if her size is too small next spring
• Bit 'O Honey - same as Almond Joy
• Serenade - keeping
• Kahlua - keeping
• Kit Kat - keeping
• Snickers - monitoring for size
• Starburst - monitoring for size

Bucks:

• Oliver - keeping
• Noir - keeping
• Timber - selling
• Prince - still deciding
• Napoleon - selling

While we don't know when, we have already set the plan in motion to bring home a herd.  The photo above shows the bull, Aaron, and the cow, Lily.  Lily has a calf, which we will not name because her purpose is for meat.  Each year, Yah willing, we will have a new calf to raise for beef.  

I know it is a big step, but it is a relief considering the burden of finding grass fed beef at a good price. We have done it before and we know we can do it now. 

Learning to Live

Why do we build up kingdoms here on earth?  We gather things and surround ourselves with them as if they give us a sense of value or purpose.  We even have boxes of goods piled up for that rare occasion we may decide to use them.  

We hang onto hobby items and partially finished crafts that haven't been touched for years and tell ourselves that maybe, MAYBE, we may pick it up again.  

Collections of trinkets that tell us, and others, where we have been in our lives.  And for what purpose does it serve?  Do we not have the memories?  Do we need these items to remember? Or do we have them so we don't forget? 

And books!  We gather collections in hopes that we or our children might read them and enjoy them, but in reality they sit on shelves untouched.  The collections of non-fiction that you intended to use as your own library, perhaps to limit the excursions to town, or to have in case things got so bad your kids wouldn't need a public library, but would have their own.  Or perhaps you have them because you hoped your children would desire to have books read to them in the evening? 

Games and puzzles that sit in cupboards with barely a quarter of them even being touched.  Purchased for entertainment, but rarely touched because playing games is such an inconvenience to the life we would rather live. 

The list goes on, but the question is this:

Who gets to figure out what to do with it when you are gone?  Whose burden does it become?  And is that person able to deal with that load on their shoulders?

These things stress me out.  

There is an online auction that pops up in my Facebook feed.  I often look through the photos and ponder the collection of items as well as the person that left them behind.  Do you think that person ever considered who would deal with the shelves and hutches of china and collectibles? Does any of the furniture in the home hold value without the person sitting in them, that no longer exists? 

I don't want my kids to have boxes and piles of things to go through when I die.  I don't want that burden on them.  I don't want them to be stressed out any more than necessary.  Nor my husband for that matter!  And I don't want the burden of dealing with his stuff either.  Some things are easy enough to get rid of, but the quantity of stuff we collect?  Why?

Do I need all the books I have on the shelves? Do I need vintage books simply because they are old and history fascinates me?  Old things bring me joy? Goodness!  I can go to a museum for that!  Do I need all these history books when there isn't a child in my home that enjoys history like me?  (Seriously, I am reading a 100 year old history book for leisure!) 

I ponder why we have things, like the 100 year old clock on the wall that isn't working. The cuckoo clock in a box downstairs that hasn't been working for decades. Old Bibles, too worn to use...old furniture that sits and collects dust simply because it is old.  When do we say "enough is enough"? 

We have bigger houses to accommodate stuff we don't use.  Extra rooms in the home are filled with items of no importance for the "just in case" syndrome we carry around in the back of our minds.  Why do I have all these curtains? Just in case the blinds fall off the windows.  Why do I have all these doilies? Just in case I might want to put them under something. Why do I have a butter churn? Just in case I want to milk a cow and make butter. If the answer is "just in case", then we probably don't need it.  

When will we be content with the bare minimum and learn to live?  Perhaps the better option is to enjoy it for a season and pass it along to the next person interested. Free yourself from the burden of materialism. 

A Diary of Lithuania - Part 4

Well, this is the final post on Lithuania.  I know very few of you are remotely interested, but I am glad there are some who enjoy.  Especially my older children who have told me these posts have brought back so many good memories.  

August 31, 2007

I just finished cutting lettuce, tomato, and olives for a taco salad.  I also grated cheddar.  it is still interesting to me, but lettuce here isn't near what we have in the states.  Occasionally, you can find iceberg, but the only other lettuce, called salotas, is sold in a small flower pot.  I'm not sure why.  Perhaps you plant it and eat leaves off.  Anyway, they are very skimpy heads of lettuce.  I have learned that salads here on most occasion do not include lettuce.  If they do, there isn't much of it.  At Cili Pica [pronounced Chili Pizza], they sell a delicious Greek type salad.  It has lettuce, red cabbage, tomato, cucumber, carrot, onion, feta cheese, and walnuts.  When we eat there, I get the lemon-honey dressing.  It is yummy!

Most salads here are like pic-nic salads.  If you go to the deli-counter, the salad section can be as long as 20 feet.  Ninety percent of those salads are made with mayonnaise.  They are big on mayo here.  Yes, you can get Hellmann's.  Half the salads, or more, have beets.  The top salad ingredients would be mayo, carrots, peas, beets, and cabbage.  They also use eggs and ham.  I'm not brave enough to try most, but someday perhaps.  We tried a few which were quite good when we had dinner with a friend.  When we went to Trakai, we ate at a restaurant that served a pickled dish of carrots, beets, and cabbage.  It was awesome.  I can't find it anywhere else.  I would imagine it can't be difficult to duplicate. 

The baker here is huge.  You can find so much except frankfurter rolls.  You just need to make sure the rolls you buy for salami sandwiches don't have jelly.  Yes - did that!  Speaking of salami, Rebekah loves it!  She eats salami pizza like it's going out of style. 

I have finally found "skimmed" milk.  It is actually .5% fat but I can drink it no problem.  Al drinks whole milk and the younger two drink 1%.  It is quite embarrassing to put a case of milk in your cart because it is not done here.  In fact, I would venture to say it isn't the beverage of children here.  Juice or nectars perhaps, but not milk. [I later learned from friends that children in Lithuania drank tea, mostly herbals like chamomile.] But, I don't think Lithuanians hurt for calcium.  They eat a lot of yogurt [jogurt] and cheese [suris].  They also eat a lot of cheese curds [varske].  It's the same as cottage cheese.  I used it in a recipe, but haven't eaten it with a spoon.  Oh, they also drink a lot of kefyras or sour milk. [later realized this was kefir, like we find here in the States] I know, but I think at the Rimi store there is more kefyras than pienas [milk].  Now - have you had your Lithuanian lesson?  Quiz on the next page...

What is Varske? [pronounced versh - ka]

Ok - nevermind!

The kids are very impatiently waiting for our move and our air freight.  They are also waiting for our van as well.  We have heard the van is in the middle of the Atlantic already.  Our air freight - not sure.  But we manage day to day.  The kids go out to play when it rains. then back in when it stops.  They seem to like it a lot.  Cassie has figured out it gets cold here.  It's been 40 degrees at night. So when we wake, she stares and pleads to come in.  She normally sleeps on the back steps, but recently Al has found her huddled in her crate with a blanket [I recall this blanket being mustard yellow. She was buried in it the following year.] 

I am amazed at how quickly Leandra is growing.  I noticed a few days ago her jeans are nearing the short side.  I told her the chances of her fitting into her HHE winter clothes are slim, but then again I bought a larger size.  I can get cute sweat suits for 30-40 litu, that comes to about $10-$15.  The prices here are either better or equal to U.S. prices. 

We received most of our food shipment from Netgrocer.  They forgot the brown sugar and whole wheat flour.  I am almost out of the bag Adri sent. I think I can make 1-2 more loaves, but not completely whole wheat.  i have made oat bread as well.  Leandra is practically making bread on her own now.  She is quite a capable young lady.  She and Andrew have done fairly well on the new chore schedule, too. 

Last Friday, I went to a coffee/tea at the ambassador's residence.  I enjoyed the time away.  The occasion was to welcome the Deputy Chief of Mission's wife.  She is very nice as is the ambassador's wife, Mary.  I also got to meet Japan's ambassador's wife, but unfortunately I forgot her name.  I spoke to her for a while.  She was very nice.  There was another lady, I thought she was the ambassador's wife... of hmm... can't remember.  Some European country, perhaps Hungary or Estonia.  

Sunday I had a nice time away with some other women.  We had cokes and a dessert and salad.  I was late, so didn't get to "shop", but not to worry.  Maybe next time.

Well, I guess that's all for now.  I'm not sure what will happen this weekend.  Tonight there is a potluck at the embassy.  Should be fun.  I am bringing a taco salad.

Al just called to say he bought me a cell phone.  I think the cheapest was fine, but it would be interesting to see what he has for me.  

Last Sunday, we went to Church of Christ in Vilnius again.  It was all translated and the sermon was beautiful.  I was touched.  The kids were well behaved.  The church does have a children's class, but I need to learn more about it.  I don't know that it is very planned out.  Also, most of the kids are older.  The minister's wife spoke near perfect English and said she would be more than happy to teach a class for Rebekah and Tija, her daughter.

There were a few other people who spoke English.  One guy, Chris, has been here for ten years.  he has learned the language.  He is from Canada.  I told him I spent time in Edmonton, which he lived for a long time.  He knows Cold Lake.  I found it interesting. [My family lived in Edmonton, Alberta for about 6 months when I was in the fourth grade.]

Anyway, it's nearing lunch time, Rebekah is playing in a tray of cornmeal, and I need to get lunch made.  

~~~~

I've enjoyed writing about the first month in Lithuania.  In this last post, I mentioned that the kids were excited about our move.  We ended up moving to another house just up the road because the basement had mold which made me really sick.  The new landlords were super sweet and loved the kids.  They would bring gifts to the kids off and on.  They lived just up on the next street, and we could see their home from the back porch.  

The photos at the top of the page were taken at Trakai, a castle outside of Vilnius.  Al's brother came along with us, and if my memory is correct, so were a few people from church. 

A Diary of Lithuania - Part 3

 

*Photos taken of Leandra and Rebekah 

on their bikes after our air freight arrived.

*For some reason, I am unable to reply to comments on my posts.  I don't know why or how to fix it, but I'll have to reply here.  

Last post, my mother asked if she had seen the diaries because she remembered bits and pieces.  Yes, I had originally sent the diary to Mom, and she sent it to Sarena, my friend from childhood.  Sarena actually had it for several years, forgetting to get it in the mail to me.  I believe, and I could be wrong, she finally got it to me last year.  She can comment below when she did.  I enjoyed pouring over them when I got them back.  I believe after this initial diary, I started to blog about my adventures there.  I actually wish I had never deleted those blogs because my memories aren't as fresh as I would like them to be.  So, unfortunately, when I am finished typing up this diary, there won't be much more. 

August 8, 2007

We found out that DC [Washington, DC] screwed up once more.  They didn't ship our air freight because it was "unauthorized".  It was thrown on a truck with the HHE [household shipment] and headed for DC. It's so dumb!  Anyway, Al spoke to the movers and I guess they will pull out all the air freight when it arrives in DC.  Then, they will ship it.  We won't see it for two more weeks.

The family is sleeping much better now.  We are still pretty tired at night.  But, we are getting accustomed to the very early mornings by sleeping through them.  here it is 7:15 a.m. , and the kids are all still asleep.

Al has been doing a lot of start up paperwork at work for medical and such.  Evidently we are in a very heavily tick infested area and the ticks carry encephalitis, so the doctor is recommending a vaccine.  I am mixed on the idea.  I suppose it is better to not get ill.  They gave us a tick removal kit.  We are supposed to save any removed ticks to be tested. [for lyme disease]

Al wants me to go shopping for a cell phone, but I'm not really in the mood.  I told him it really isn't much more than a leash around my neck.  But, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to have a phone for emergency purposes. 

The kids have been fighting and arguing a lot.  Yesterday I sat them down to do a small bit of school and Bible writing.  It worked for a while but they began to quarrel again.  Rebekah is raising her voice to me a lot. She tells me I'm being mean just because I tell her not to do something. 

Al brought home a list of foods and products we can order from the commissary in Helsinki.  A lot of the food is very expensive.  I can, however, purchase a few items from them that are difficult to find here.  We still can't find any natural peanut butter.  I'll need to check on what the restrictions are on mailing to the APO.  There are a lot of restrictions on the diplomatic pouch service. 

Life is pretty normal here.  Things seem to go the same as before.  I try to think about anything different that would cause a disruption to daily life.  I'm not too sure what there is.  (other than not having our air freight) I don't feel as comfortable with the kids outside because Cassie doesn't bark at strangers.  Many people walk by in a day.  I see kids running around all the time.  Leandra is a bit sad there aren't any girls.  I have seen some girls but they walk far up the street.

I think I am doing well.  I am teaching myself the language.  I think the news about air freight brought me down.  Just one more thing to throw into the ol' pile of government garbage.  

Well, I better be going for now.  I thought about taking the kids to the corner store for an ice cream, but I am not too sure yet. 

August 9, 2007

It was nice to talk with you again [Mom].  Hopefully you can call sometimes and surprise us.  Just remember the 10 hour difference. 

The kids are out playing with the dog.  It's just before 9 a.m..  I can hear thunder and the sky is laden with fat, gray clouds.  I love it.  It hasn't rained too much since we've been here, but the weather is beautiful.  The warmer weather 78-80 degrees causes our living room to bake like an oven. [There were a lot of windows in this living room.] GSO brought some fans to help.  They also brought the dehumidifier for the basement.  In 8 hours, we had about 3L of water in the machine.  It can hold 6.  This morning I dumped another 3L.

We went to the mall yesterday with another family.  Tricia brought along two of her kids, Max and Kelly, aged 7 and 9.  They were happy to find friends their age. We ate at a restaurant (pizza and soda) and later ate ice cream.  Actually, it is Italian gelato, on scoop was about $1.  We paid 3 litas.  It is very hard to watch for sugar here because nothing is labeled for it.  You can read if sugar is an ingredient but grams aren't shown.  Andrew drank a Coke Light which I assume is sugar free.  But his ice cream wasn't sugar free.

Tricia was telling me that most people speak English here.  I think that's neat, but they should not have to.  Just like we shouldn't have to speak Spanish in the U.S..  Anyway, they evidently "love" Americans.  I wouldn't go that far, but I don't think they hate Americans either.  I am trying my best to leave a good impression.  Tricia also told me the president of Lithuania is an Lithuanian American.  His family immigrated to the U.S. then went back. 

I finally asked a few questions about bathrooms or water closets.  1st - Do Lithuanians flush toilet paper? No, they use waste baskets, thus the reason the public restrooms stink.  I believe it is the same for Germany.  2nd - Why do the bathrooms have blue lights?  Well, Tricia told me that she was told you can't see veins that way.  It totally makes sense to me.

We had tacos last night for dinner.  The foreign foods section of the store had ramen, soy, Mexican food, and such.  The ramen I bought was the best I had ever had.  I miss refried beans but I am still new to the stores.  I told Al I need to go to the mall and search.  I need to try each store.  I think if I can find dried pintos, I'd be happy.  I found a few cans of beans or "pupeles", but I never looked to see the type of bean.  I have a running list of foods to search for.  Problem is you have to look hard for things and be willing to pay the price.  I'm not too picky.  The Helsinki Commissary has a shipment/mail order plan for a refundable $120 fee.  They don't have everything, but they do have some things.  Their prices seem somewhat high though.  Good thing is you can get seasonal things like turkeys.  I haven't seen turkey here [it was there, I just didn't see it at the time], but I have seen duck and chicken.  Hey, they even have quail eggs! I think shopping here is neat.  They have these huge tanks with fish swimming around.  You can't get much fresher than that!

We are going to another family's home for lunch and a play date.  The kids are excited.  Leandra's a bit bummed because the only girl is 5 years old.  But I am sure she can find something. 

Mail delivery seems to be pretty fast.  We received something yesterday with the date of July 27.  So, hopefully, we won't have to wait for mail too long.  But I do know it all sits in a box until Wednesday mail day. 

We killed our living room spider last night.  We watched him as he poked half his body out.  I had hoped he would come all the way out, but no such luck.  I finally sprayed a bit of Raid under the baseboard adn went to bed.  This morning we found a balled up spider on the floor.  Yeah!

We just got back from the Fellow's home.  The kids had a fun time eating lunch and playing.  They have two boys and a girl.  I am not sure about the boys' ages, but the girl is 5.  Susanne and I talked for quite a while about a lot of stuff.  She is really nice and seems to be somewhat like me when it comes to food.  She bakes her own bread and likes to stay away from too much sugar.  Their house is actually really close to the embassy.  It is absolutely huge!  It's much older than ours but it is pretty inside.  She has some hutches and closets in it which the landlord provided [I remember they were giant solid wood, antique]...Susanne doesn't like them though.  She talked with me about food you can and can't buy here.  I need time to look around and explore the stores. [I recall her telling me what there was and wasn't from my list.]

I think we will make a run to the HyperMaxima at Akropolis [an absolutely amazing mall] when Al gets home.  We will need a few things, mostly fruit.

August 10

Well, another day, another week.  I have steaks planned for tonight.  We bought charcoal and lighter fluid.  I just hope I'm not burning dangerous stuff and feeding myself toxins.  Kidding!!

Al plans to invite some of the single guys over to the house this weekend for a "homecooked" meal and laundry.  They basically live out of hotels and off restaurant food.  Not good.  Anyway, I told him I'd try my best to make a tasty meal without seasonings [they hadn't come yet].  I could make macaroni and cheese, but we'll see. 

I guess Adri [Al's mom] is shipping out a care package of whole wheat flour and other stuff.  I hope she sends her popcorn because we can't find it.  I also wish I could find some natural peanut butter.  Unfortunately, that is a little more difficult to mail. 

I'll send this off on Monday so it will make the truck to Finland.  I'll also include postage paid envelope to send it to Sarena.  I haven't spoken to her yet, but she would love to hear from me. 

Monday, August 13, 2007

I finally got the kids started on the chore charts today.  They seem pretty enthusiastic, but I am sure it will wear off eventually.  A job well done earns them 3 litas minus the centus for bad behavior.  They basically draw 3 marbles out of the basket each for a room in the house.  They are responsible for those rooms for a week.  How well they do determines money earned.  Their poor behavior loses them money. 

Well, I spent a long time shopping at Rimi the other day.  I found some of the hard to find stuff like baking powder, yeast, and pinto beans.  I found they are very big on yogurt (jogurt) here.  A full blown aisle of yogurt bigger than in the States.  They sell a lot of their dairy products in bags.  The yogurt I buy is in large 1 liter bags.  They come in several flavors.

I enjoyed my peaceful stroll through the HyperRimi sans kids.  I was able to explore and find what I needed.  Unfortunately, there are foods we miss and can't get.  The only time we will get to eat those items will be during our R&R's if we choose to go to the States.  Evidently you don't have to take them in the States.  You can go most anywhere, but we are so far from our first R & R that we won't even think of it. 

It's nice to finally get back into my baking.  Adri sent me a few zucchini bread recipes to use up my huge zucchini (cukinija).  Anyway, because I got the zucchini from the neighbor, I took her half of the cake I baked.  We talked in Lihtuanian a bit about the ingredients, and she gave me a bag of tomatoes and cucumbers from her greenhouse.  I think she was somewhat surprised at my increased vocabulary.  Before I came home, she offered me coffee, which I declined.  Al told me I should have accepted.  I should have.  Oh, guess what else she gave me?  Another humongous zucchini!  Aye! What to do?  I decided to bake another cake for the marines at the embassy.  

I am attempting to make a loaf of oat bread (duona) without a recipe.  It looks good so far, but you never know.  I made pancakes this morning without a recipe and they were good.  We didn't have syrup, but they used honey (medus) and applesauce which I made as a topping.  They were quite content.

Well, I guess that is all for now.  We walked to old town yesterday.  We saw St. Anne's Cathedral.  It was beautiful and old.  The kids bought post cards.  One to you.  The shops are wonderful to look in, but no spoons.  I have tried to barter for large doilies.  They were stiff; I suppose from too much starch. I saw plenty of ideas for gifts.  You would love all the amber items sold here. Anyway, so much to please the eyes, but I told Al that usefulness is more important. Anyway, just make sure you are ready for the Lithuanian culture to touch your home. 

My bread is ready for 2nd kneading.  Then laundry and preparing my mail for Wednesday.  Love to you all.  I miss you bunches.  Take care, K?

ps. I forgot to mention the beautiful babuska dolls.  Some sets had as many as 20!  The smallest one was [I drew a small blob on the page, but it was the size of a mini-chocolate chip] This small!!! CRAZY, HUH?

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I actually thought this was the last post, but my pages were out of order and I found another section.  I don't think my diary got out to my mom that week.  

Most of you aren't familiar with the packing and moving process when going to a post.  We basically had two shipments (three if you count the car).  These two shipments, air freight and HHE, are supposed to be kept separate.  Then when you arrive at post, they immediately process and send your air freight.  The other items go via ship with your car.  This is why they take much longer.  Our air freight ended up not coming immediately.  Air freight typically has all the things you would want as soon as possible.  For us, it was toys, bikes, homeschool materials, spices, herbs, kitchen things, office supplies, extra clothes, etc.  So you can imagine not getting that stuff when we had planned to, was holding a lot back in progressing toward daily life.  But we were content and made do.  

Also, I wanted to make a note, that while it sounds like I was complaining about not having foods I liked, it was quite the contrary.  We found plenty to eat and were satisfied with the selection.  At the time, Andrew, our oldest son, was on a low sugar diet for ADHD management.  We were so set into that routine, it was hard to shift. Fortunately, around the time we moved, he was learning to control his sugar a bit better.  None-the-less, we did still work toward limiting the intake of sugar...at least initially.  By the time we moved to Poland, we did use a bit more sugar.