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12 gennaio The Rich Life, Christmas Cheer and Pineapple Upside-Down Cake I woke up this morning with a really great feeling that our life here is rich and full. We live simply, but we enjoy our life, and on days like today I think we are squeezing every bit of enjoyment and adventure out of it that we can.
Starting about two weeks before Christmas, a flock of parrots could be seen before and after school, snacking on pecans from the trees behind the building. The parrots are apparently not native to here, and they seem to come around near Christmas time. It is guessed that they either were released by someone here, or they escaped from a private owner, and now this is part of their "migration" route. They are a bright green with an orange and red beak, and look like they belong in a jungle somewhere! They have stripped the pecan trees of virtually all of their fruit(also not native to Cairo - one of maybe four or five trees in the whole country which just happens to be on our school property!) I've included some pictures of them. What a treat to entertain such lovely visitors!
We started back to school this week, and today (Friday) I can honestly say that I love my job. I have a really great class this year, and some really fun personalities in my class. I love being able to set my own schedule each day (well, to a point, anyways) and I don't dread going to work in the morning, which I think for a lot of us is something big. Don't get me wrong - I hate getting up early when it is still cold and dark, and I frequently dream of spending my life reading, gardening and eating bonbons, but overall, I wouldn't choose anything different! I work with a really great team of teachers, and in a very nurturing and positive place, and that is hard to come by!
On a completely different note, I made my first pineapple upside-down cake today, and it turned out great (I think...it is still cooling!) I had to be sure to lock the cats out of the kitchen, though. A week ago I made cheesecake "cups" and put a lovely orange topping on them, and returned to the kitchen less than 5 minutes later to find that 7 out of 10 of the cups had cat lick-marks on them, right in the middle! Needless to say, we couldn't serve them to anyone, so we had to eat them all ourselves....sigh! What a hardship! I like experimenting in the kitchen, although sometimes my experiments are a bit...well...inedible. But, the prep and eating I find quite therapeutic.
Our cats were so happy to have us home over the break that they sat curled up on us for almost the full two weeks! It was really sweet, until one day Kelvin found Memphis napping in the toilet bowl. Now, don't ask me how on earth that is even possible. Thankfully, she chose the toilet that has no seat, so it hasn't been used more than two or three times since we moved in. She wasn't even wet when she came out - just a bit dusty. Kelvin thinks she went in for a drink, and then just curled up for a rest. Still, yuck! After that, I wasn't so eager to have her snuggle with me!
Okay, another Heather story. Not nearly as good as the vomit story, but it works. Just before Christmas, I was doing some star-shaped crafts with the kids. Everyone knows that Christmas crafts just aren't the same without loads and loads of sparkly glitter, tastefully appointed with tons of glue. Well, at the end of the day, I accidentally sat down on someone's star-shaped, glue-covered, glittery craft in my black pants. I ended up having to go to the Christmas celebration and the staff Christmas party with a star-shaped glue/glitter mark on my butt! Some christmas cheer, anyone??
I always feel like I have to sign off on these things like a letter (which is maybe a clue to why I wait so long to write...) So, toodle-oo to whoever is out there reading these. Is there anyone reading these?? |
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