Weeks 21 and 22: Project 365, the 2015 Edition

I've been a slacker in the P365 department lately, both in taking photos and in posting. We went to Sta. Rosa/Belgrano Friday, May 22, for the launch of a new Bible study but totally failed to take any photos.

Saturday, May 23

The house we rented on Canning had a parrilla which we used on a regular basis and we've really missed having one at this house. For a while Ivan's had an idea and has been gathering materials to make a portable grill. He started with a 55 gallon drum that he cut in half, some scrounged bits of metal, and his welding tools. This is the type of project he works on when he wants to unwind and relax.

He is much more productive when he relaxes than I am!

Sunday, May 24

A little more progress on the baby quilt: two of the three rows for the bottom section are finished.

Wednesday, May 27

Several years ago I bought an upholstery weight denim to make a new slipcover and cushion covers for our sofa. I'm finally getting around to making them. We bought new foam for the bottom cushion (decided to go with one long cushion instead of two smaller ones) and we reused the old bottom cushions, cutting them to size for the back cushions.

This week I hope to get the slipcover made. But first I'm going to watch a bunch of youtube videos on how to do it, because the prospect honestly freaks me out a little. I tried making a slipcover years ago and it was a total disaster; I wasted yards of fabric and had nothing to show for it. But at the time I only had one book checked out from the library to guide me, and I just didn't understand the photos and explanations well enough. I'm hopeful that video tutorials will be more helpful.

Thursday, May 28

Marce, my Spanish tutor, came over this afternoon with all the ingredients to make brownies for her English students at one of the area high schools (she teaches English in several high schools). I shared on Facebook about our baking drama. I was doubling the batches and making them in large 12"x17" jelly roll sheets, but only added half the necessary sugar with the first pan. Second time I forgot the sugar entirely, remembered as I was putting it into the pan, then only added half but, again, remembered as I was putting it into the pan. Good grief! That second pan did end up with enough sugar, but the ingredients had not been added in the right order and it DOES make a difference! Those brownies were fine but had a much denser quality to them. You can bet I concentrated on the task at hand while making the third pan -- and finally got it right!

Marce took the first pan home with her, saying they'd be fine with dulce de leche :) With just the second and third pans, though, we ended up with well over 120 small brownies to share with the kids on Friday.

Friday, May 29

I didn't take a single photo today. Thankfully Marce had her camera and I've used a few of her photos to create a little collage.

Her first, second and third year classes were combined and with so many students they couldn't get enough desks in the room. Solution: remove ALL the desks and let the kids sit on the floor. There were kids everywhere, up against every wall. I don't know how many there were in total, but the brownies disappeared in less than ten minutes when we set them out during the break.

Marce had asked us to share about our year in Uganda, and also a little about the U.S. Ivan put together a slideshow with photos we'd taken in Uganda, and Ugandan music in the background. He could also still fit into the Kaunda suit he had made while we lived there! I hadn't kept my Ugandan dress, finally getting rid of it the last time we were in the U.S. (I'd worn my big puffy gomez exactly once in the past 14 years so didn't feel I could keep hanging onto it for sentimental reasons). I shared about growing up in Detroit and what I remembered about the summer of the '67 riots, and also about moving to Kentucky for three months the following year and how very different that was culturally. Ivan and I spoke in Spanish because we wanted them to understand what we were saying. The focus wasn't on English but on different cultures.  

Saturday, May 30

We went to a Celiac Expo in downtown Carlos Paz this afternoon. There was quite a turnout! I was able to try a lot of different treats: various cookies, bread, chips, cheese puffs... It was a nice way to see what we liked (or didn't like) without having to buy a whole package of something.

I couldn't get near the booth where they were giving cooking demonstrations. The crowd was at least six deep, if not more. I could see the tippy top of the white chef's hat and that's all.

Sunday, May 31

Charlie came over for lunch and spent the afternoon helping Ivan finish his portable grill. Charlie was bending metal rods while Ivan used the grinder.

They were justly proud of their finished handiwork!

We'll be trying the grill out today. Besides grilling some beef, we have some vegetables to throw on too: tomatoes, red peppers and butternut squash. Yum!

Monday, June 1

At the Expo on Saturday we learned there is a bakery in town that's 100% gluten free! I was so excited, I could hardly stand it :) We went on Monday evening and picked up several things: a small loaf of rustic bread that's about the size of a grapefruit, a breakfast pastry for Ivan, some cookies and (what Ivan's most excited about) pie crust so I can make an apple pie!

Although I have't tried to make pie dough, I have tried several times to make pizza crust. It's completely different from regular dough, it's very wet and you have to spread it in the pan with your fingers or a spatula. I've read that with the pie dough you have to put it between sheets of plastic wrap to roll it out, because it's so wet and sticky. So I was thrilled to find ready-made gluten free pie dough!

They didn't have any regular loaves of bread left, but we plan to go back this morning to get a loaf. I haven't had a grilled cheese in well over four months and the mere thought of it makes my mouth water.