Mission: Office Construction

Several weeks ago the real estate manager for the property where the Mission Office resides came in to visit with us.  He said that they had some money "left over" in some fund or other and they were thinking of painting our walls or installing new carpet.  Neither one of these things actually needs to be done so we office missionaries asked if instead of these jobs they could put in a sink for us.  They seemed to like the idea.

Since that time we have had many many visits from different people, contractors, sub-contractors, sub-managers, etc.  It looks like they really are going to do it!

Last Thursday we came to work and there, behind my desk, was a difference in the wall!

The workmen had opened up the wall to get access to the back of the cupboard where they are going to install a new cupboard with sink set into it.

It was said that they were going to bore down into the concrete floor under the cabinet to reach the water lines and electric lines.  We are really souped  up about this change.  A sink!  Yay!  Plus they will put in six feet worth of cabinets above the sink, too!  That will be so nice.

Munchie Monday

For a long time I have searched for a recipe that was vegan, sort of cheese-y, and tastes good.  Finally I have found it.  There  is a website called lifeisnoyoke.com which has a cashew queso recipe on it.  They really suggest that we all try it. I am glad I did!

You need:
1 cup almond milk
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1/2 cup RAW almonds
1/2 cup RAW cashews
1 large red bell pepper, deveined and de-seeded
1.5 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder—I used dried chopped onions
A pinch of crushed red pepper

Put the wet ingredients into your high speed blender.  Add the rest of the ingredients on top.  Start the blender on low speed then move up to high speed.  Let it blend for 6 minutes.

When you stop blending, the queso is hot and ready to eat.  You can use it as a sauce.  You can use it on macaroni and cheese.  You can use it for a dip.


Things I have done with it:  eaten it out of the blender jar!  Then there was using it for dipping a variety of vegetables and vegetable crackers and tortilla chips.  Most recently I added it to some fairly much dried-out macaroni and cheese.  Dear One served himself a second serving!!  You could have knocked me over with a feather.  Of course, he did not know what he was eating, which was good.  I think.

Food Friday: Homemade Almond Milk and Residue

A recipe I wanted to make called for almond milk.  We did not have any.  We did have almonds.  And water, fortunately! So I made some.

To make it I put 1 cup of almonds in the high speed blender then poured in 3 cups of water.  I used distilled water since I had just gotten some.  After about 3 minutes of blending I shut off the machine and poured the milk through a nut milk bag to remove the very fine pulp.

This is the almond milk pulp that I put in the dehydrator to possibly make into almond flour.  Well, why not try to use everything instead of just throwing it down the garbage disposal, which, by the way, is a marvelously useful piece of kitchen equipment if you do not have a compost pile available.

After a few hours in the dehydrator we had some almond flour!  That makes me happy.  Well, and that is on top of the tasty almond milk which tastes nothing like the almond milk I have purchased at the store.

Not a lot of flour, but still, nice to have it.

Vegetation Near Us

Every since we arrived here last August I have been snapping pictures of the different plants and animals near us.  My intent was to share some of the different plants that are here in the Pacific Northwest, many of which I had not seen before.  That does not mean they are not growing on the east coast of this great country but I had not seen them before.  Now I will share one.

This is a picture I took yesterday in the industrial complex where we serve in the mission office.  I do not know what it is but I like the drippy pink flowers and the rich shiny leaves.  It is growing right up against the wall of a huge beautiful, but unoccupied, building that was once a museum of some sort which escapes my mind as I write.

Healthy, Wealthy, and Wise #1

If I remember correctly, that old statesman from Pennsylvania Benjamin Franklin once made a little saying:  Early to bed, early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.  Well so far I have done the former two but have not accomplished the last three, by any measure that the popular world would acknowledge.

Nearly every night I am in bed no later than 9 PM and many nights lots earlier.  Most mornings I am awake by 5 AM but usually much earlier...3 or 4 AM.  I am not feeling the health, wealth, or wisdom.  Having said that, we have a comfy dry roof over our heads, a bed to sleep in, a chair and a couch to rest on, plenty of good food available, clear water to drink, and money to pay our bills.  I guess by most measures that would be considered wealth, so we will take that off the table.

Healthy, on the other hand, is something I want to embrace.  It is a new month.  Prior to General Conference of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints which took place in Salt Lake City, Utah on 31 March and 1 April (Easter weekend, the most glorious weekend of the year) I prayed about some questions that I had regarding health and the wisdom part.  The brother who offered the very first prayer asked Heavenly Father that "those who came to the Conference seeking answers to their questions would have them realized.)  I was so grateful for that prayer and was filled with hope that my questions would be answered.

In actuality, the two questions I had in my heart were not the ones that were answered at this Conference, but other questions that I had buried deep down in my heart because I had almost given up on finding answers, well, those question WERE answered.  I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father who hears us, listens to us, and then responds at the time we need the answers.

So, what is this all about?  I have been trying to swim early in the mornings.  Lately I have been waking up and 2 and 3 o'clock which makes me worry that I will not be able to perform all my responsibilities at the office if I get up, work on Spanish, clean house, iron, or go swimming.  Over the last three months I have averaged one day a week, perhaps just a little more.  Not good.  Better than no days a week.

This weekend I realized that the pool in our complex, the one where a duck couple comes every afternoon to swim around and quack quietly to themselves, is available every day.  There is a nice big hot tub right beside the pool.  After General Conference it came to me that I can go there to swim in the pool and then warm up in the hot tub...the pool not being a heated pool.

On Friday the new bathing suit I ordered almost a month ago finally arrived.  That, along with the inspiration for Conference, got me off dead center and into that suit when we arrived home from the office.  Down the stairs I went, walking around on the sidewalk instead of the doggy grass, unlocked the gate, went into the pool enclosure, removed my long flannel shirt and glasses and walked over to the steps into the pool.

One step down into the pool.  I stood there for perhaps fifteen seconds.  Probably less.  The water was perhaps fifty degrees F.  I stepped back out onto terra firma and progressed over to the hot tub.  Because I was alone I was able to do many exercises which I did for at least ten minutes.  Not by any stretch could you call it swimming, but I did keep the body in motion without stopping for that time. Next time I will ask Dear One to be my time keeper and come out onto our porch to tell me the time.

It does not sound like much, and it is NOT much, but it makes my heart glad to have done a little bit of water work.  AND the cool thing is that the duck mom came to the pool...though she was unpleasantly surprised by the fushia-garbed creature in the hot tub, and she barely touched down on the surface of the pool before she took off again.

Hopefully I will have some better healthy news by the next time I write.

April Birthday Card

Splitcoast Stampers has some great card tutorials.  I tried this one.  It goes in the mail today.

 This is the front.

Start opening the card and this is what you get:

This is the card completely popped and without sentiments written in on the blank parts.  You could stamp it but I usually write my own sentiments.

It was really pretty quick and easy.  I did have to even up the edges after all was done as there was a little extra "white" showing on the outside.

It was a satisfying project.

Munchie Monday: Peeps "Cake"

Our mission president's wife likes Peeps.  I saw the picture of a Peeps cake in First magazine so I made one.

The "cake" is a giant chocolate chip cookie baked in a 12-inch pizza pan.  When cooled I covered it with green icing then many many Peeps with colored mini marshmallows edging them.  Kind of cute and it went over well at the potluck dinner all the full time senior missionaries had.

Another treat I made was brownies cut into 3-inch circles with marshmallows and melted butter with chow mein noodles in then made into Peeps Chicks nests.  Those were also enjoyed.

Fortunately I was able to leave all that stuff at the party!  No need for any more sugar for the next decade or so...!