We're Home Sweet Home

...and after all the traveling we've done this past week, I'm thankful to be sitting on something other than a car seat! We literally spent over 30 hours in the Fiat altogether. Ugh.

I'm not going into long rambling details about our week. Okay, get up off the floor and quit laughing. I can write succinctly you know! I just choose not to most of the time.

We had limited internet access and I sometimes went WHOLE DAYS without being able to check my e-mail or blog. That is my new definition of suffering.

A can of cranberry sauce somehow made its way into someone's suitcase from the U.S. and onto the table at the Thanksgiving dinner we enjoyed with a large group of missionaries. Don't know who or how, but I was just praising Jesus for that little bit of home. I was more excited about it than the chocolate pecan pie (which almost made me weep for joy).

The hubby slept through ten minutes of fireworks that were set off practically under our window on Saturday night but suddenly woke up a short time later when the slight rustling of plastic occurred in the bathroom. He was up and in there like a shot, discovering a toad had invaded our space. How that toad ever got in is a mystery I may not want to figure out. Just glad the hubby DID wake up and was able to escort Mr. Toad back outside to his natural habitat.

Our favorite little restaurant in Belgrano (the next town over from Santa Rosa de Calamuchita) has doubled its prices which made us very very sad. We've enjoyed this spot since 2003 when a friend introduced us to the joys of paying by the kilo for a buffet style banquet. Tio Rico's is a small place, room for maybe 20 inside and more outside, with one small hot bar and one small cold one. Not a huge selection, but everything is always delicious and fresh and they change things up frequently so you don't get bored. One of the sisters told the hubby they were hit hard during the farmer's strike that lasted months and months. So maybe they're just trying to recoup some of their losses.

The couple who have been caring for the property in Santa Rosa chose a beautiful yellow for the interior this time. Since yellow is my favorite color, you know I'm happy :-) About half the rooms have been painted and the rest will be done within a few weeks. It's looking very clean and fresh!

I was careful not to drink the water but still managed to get Montezuma's Revenge.

This has become a regular occurrence and we're not sure what's causing it. I've lost over 20 lbs. since we arrived in mid August. Is it the water (drinking only bottled now), the food (not eating any take out at all), adjusting to the diet here (trying to eat more fruits and vegetable to counteract all the beef and cooking more chicken when we're home)... It's a mystery but I'm hoping we figure it out soon. As much as I need to lose weight, this way is no fun.

The hubby reminded me that we didn't get stopped a single time on our trip. This was an answer to prayer because we hadn't received our final paperwork on the car before we left. So although we do have a paper saying it's in process, it could have been a problem had we been stopped. Police routinely set up road blocks and pull people over randomly to see what they might be able to find that you do not have in order. Even if you have everything exactly how it's supposed to be, they'll sometimes just make up something. I think they do it when they're bored and the coffers are low. Anyway, we're just thankful we didn't have to deal with it on this trip.

Guess I ended up rambling after all. Oh stop your snickering! This is the first chance I've had to leisurely blog in days. Let me just enjoy the experience.