Zero to.... something

I received this surprise gift from Maťa today . While it may have no meaning or significance to you, I about died of laughter the whole time I watched it. It kind of sums up the last few months in a very funny way. Although, she toots my horn way more than I deserve.

Pumpkins and Beer... a winning combo!

This picture made me laugh long and hard...

I hope it brings you as much joy, too!

(It should be noted I stole this from a friend's FB album.)

Today the sun came out, nearly blinding me I might add, and we had a bit of warmth blow through... uh, no, no, no! Not liking this at all. It's fall/winter time, people, not spring/summer time! But despite the annoyance at the extreme change of weather (I suppose this is the mountains, after all, and should be expected), I am continuing on with my soup making endeavors. I had some extra butternut squash cubed and ready to go after making soup the other day, and decided to try this recipe I found online. I think it's my second favorite soup I've made so far, the first being the be Delicata Creamy Squash Soup.

Butternut Squash Apple Soup

Butternut Squash Apple Soup

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 carrot, chopped

1-2 Tbsp olive oil

1 butternut squash, peeled, seeds removed, chopped

1 tart green apple, peeled, cored, chopped (squash and apple should be at a 3 to 1 ratio)

3 cups cauliflower broth

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1½ teaspoon cinnamon, divided

1 teaspoon salt, divided

¼ teaspoon pepper

Combine butter, onion and carrot in a large saucepan; cook for 5 minutes. Add squash, apple, broth, nutmeg and cinnamon. Bring to boil. Simmer for 10 minutes or until squash is soft; add salt and pepper during the last few minutes of simmering. Puree in a food processor, adding another ½ teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Return to pot and heat through. Add more salt and pepper or cinnamon if needed.

The finished gate...

After what felt like months of staring at bare gate frames (and the nerve racking responsibility of keeping little children from sitting/standing/jumping on them), the builders were able to finish right before the first snow of the year. This is the end product....

On a side note, I should mention that I'm am no longer on my soap box/rampage regarding the fact that I have to apply for an EU DL. I've been in contact with the Embassy in Bratislava as well as the DMV in Texas, and things are moving along. And the upside? The police, once they've confiscated my TX DL, will send it to the Embassy and I have the option of going and retrieving it as long as I sign an affidavit promising I won't use it as my DL while in Slovakia. Sweet! While it's still a pain in the butt to do all this, it's better to spend the time and money obtaining the DL rather than getting slapped with a huge fine (and who knows what else) should I get pulled over (the police do random stops by the side of the road here all the time whether you're breaking the law or not).

Legal but Illegal

I received my Povolenie Na Pobyt (permission to temporarily live in Slovakia) this past Friday from the Foreign Police. It's good through July 2011. However, the foreign police are breathing down my neck about an oddly cut and folded page in my passport (put there by the national passport people in Philly, PA, when I had more pages put in, mind you) and want me to get it checked out at the American Embassy in Bratislava; this means I might have to get a new passport, which would mean I'd have to get a new Povolenie Na Pobyt printed and put in (the one I just got took about two months to get printed and sent because of a glitch in Bratislava). This means more time and effort on my part to get everything done. Right, like I sit around doing nothing but eating bon-bons waiting for something to do!

Regarding the illegality in my life, a law was passed and put into effect this past February stating that my American issued driver's license is no longer a valid form of identification for driving in Slovakia. And neither is my passport. This means I have to apply for an EU driver's license (read: spend a lot of money I don't have filling out a lot of paperwork I can't understand so I can drive for the next few months). And where do I get to apply? That's right, the local police station. Seriously? I mean, come on! Haven't I dealt with the police enough so far? I don't exactly have a buddy-buddy relationship with them. And then to top all that off, once you've applied and been issued your EU license, they take your US driver's license away and return it to the DMV in your state. Goody.

Okay, enough complaining. I'm off to the mechanic, who lives in the next village over, to get the winter tires put on the car... yes, illegally!

First Snow

This is what I woke up to this morning...

By mid-day it was like this...

and this...

So I ended up doing this...

Then I took these....

And did this...

And made this (omitting the cream cheese and using yogurt instead).

The Very Blustery Day....

Stretnutie Račkova

(This video is more for Kelly and Linda than anyone else, but feel free to enjoy it anyway if you so desire!)

I had a wonderful weekend with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ in Račkova Dolina. We were in the lower Tatras (the mountain region here) and despite the rain all weekend, it was a very relaxed atmosphere with plenty of time to talk with others. It was definitely geared more for the couples towards the end of the weekend, but I managed to make the most of it. Friday night we broke up into small groups and shared with one another about what we were doing, our ministries, our lives, etc., and then had some time to pray together. Saturday morning we talked about discipleship. We were supposed to split into groups and discuss (missionaries, women, pastors... of which I posed the problem, as Tomas Kohut pointed out, because I was both a missionary and a woman... I muttered to Andy, who was sitting next to me, that I could just cut myself in half; we thought it was funny), but by the time we were supposed to split we were so deep in the argument that people were afraid that we'd lose the... uh, momentum?... of what we were discussing. It was a very lively conversation about whether discipleship should in the context of the Church or on an individual basis (or something like that; I was only getting snippets from someone who was translating for someone else), and at one point Andy, Peto and I were about to start placing bets on who would take the first swing! (I was thinking about yelling, "Fight, fight, fight," but thought better of it in the end.) But not to worry, they finally agreed that you needed both personal and general discipleship, and everyone was still friends.

Saturday night was the "Romantic Evening" for the couples. Gag me! Since I was the token single person at the retreat, I bowed out. Granted, not everyone's wife was there, but still, they're married so it could technically still apply; I am not even close to being married. I did make my way into the room eventually to watch the futball (soccer) match between Slovakia and Slovenia to determine who was going to the World Cup; Slovakia lost 2-0. I think the best part of the evening was the nearly eight bottles of wine the group knocked back (I counted). Baptists drinking? Who knew! But then, this is Europe. It was hilarious watching the bleary-eyed stagger off to bed. As Ben (Uhrin) said to me as he put his unfinished glass of wine down (of I don't know how many), "Enough. I'm going to bed. I'm getting drunk." I laughed. It was a classic moment.

Sunday morning we met again and talked about families, finances with a family, and what the seasoned parents (i.e. parents with older children) did to raise them in a godly manner. Yeah, not my area so much, but I listened and tried to follow it as much as possible. Everyone left after lunch, so we spent lunch time taking bites in between saying our goodbyes to everyone.

All-in-all it was a great weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was nice to get away from the daily grind of ministry and just be able to let my guard down a little. And not having to constantly be thinking about fifteen things at the same time was refreshing... just don't tell anyone that!

Heading to a pastor/missionary weekend retreat thingy.... I don't actually know what it is, I just know that I'm going even though I'm technically not supposed to because I'm not a member of the Baptist Union in Slovakia, but because I happen to know people in (sort of) high places, I was extended a special invitation. So, with that said, I leave in a little while to go schmooze and rub elbows with men (and their wives) to hopefully get some interest in the possibility of some guest preachers/speakers coming out to Zavadka every now and then. In all seriousness though, I'm looking forward to it. It never hurts to make contacts and meet new people, especially when you're in charge of a ministry! And even if no one comes out, they at least get to meet me and learn a little bit about what it is that I'm doing here. If nothing else, I'll appreciate their prayers.

Have a great weekend and I'll catch up with you next week.

Bored on a Wednesday night?

Solution: Take your friend with the swollen foot and who can't walk to the local doctor only to find out he can't do anything and then spend the next two hours at the horrible hospital in Brezno with the hateful nurse who visibly gave an "I don't care" shrug when presented with the doctor's note stating an x-ray was needed el pronto and became seemingly angry by the fact that an American white girl was with the injured Gypsy patient more than the injured Gypsy patient herself who just needed an x-ray and, ultimately, a cast placed on the severely fractured but not broken foot.

The "Emergency Room" is inside those two doors...

Domino in the waiting room

The empty (and depressing?) ER wing

Inside the "ER"

Is this what India's like?

You never know what you'll encounter here in the mountains, and today was no exception to that rule. While driving around the switchbacks of the Horéhronie region (where I live), hopelessly lost trying to find the Alcohol and Addiction Treatment Center (don't worry, I haven't become that culturally sensitive yet; I was meeting some Americans who were giving a seminar there), Martina and I had to stop as a herd of cows crossed the road followed by their herders and the four dogs helping them. The conversation went something like this:

Martina: "Oh look, a cow."

Me, not wanting to stop: "Good thing we're not in India."

Martina: "Oh look, another cow."

Me, thinking to myself: "Uh... those cows are on the road."

Martina: "Oh look, more cows."

Me, now having to stop: "Is this what it's like in India? Quick, get a picture. Stick your head out the window!"

Martina: "Uh, no it's fine. I'll just get out of the car. Aww, a little baby cow. So cute!"

Needless to say, it's rarely a dull moment here.

I tried my hand at another soup recipe today. I had a head of broccoli and a head of cauliflower in the fridge that needed to be eaten, so I started looking online for soup recipe ideas. I found one that was amazingly me friendly from the get-go, but I ended up adding a little more to it as it seemed like it would be kinda bland. I paired it with amaranth biscuits and it was pretty good. I have to admit though that I like the squash soup much better; it had much better flavor than this one does. But for now it'll fit the bill of warm, brothy goodness on a rainy, damp day.

Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion, diced

3 large cloves of garlic, minced

1 teaspoon thyme

1 broccoli, cut into even-sized pieces

1 cauliflower, cut into even-sized pieces

3 cups vegetable stock

1 teaspoon each parsley, rosemary, basil and oregano

1-3 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon pepper

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and gently fry the onions and garlic until they begin to soften and you can smell them; be careful not to allow them to color. Add the broccoli, cauliflower, vegetable stock (this should cover them, if not add some more), salt, pepper and herbs. Simmer with the lid on until the vegetables are cooked. Blitz the soup in a food processor and reheat, adding any additional seasoning to taste and any extra liquid to get the consistency you want.

Soup de Jour

Delicata Creamy Squash Soup

With the weather continuing to change and the leaves falling off of the trees, it finally feels like soup season!

I had some squash in my fridge, and since most squash-related vegetables are all labeled "tekvica" in Slovakia, I had to do some research online to figure out just what kind of squash I had purchased. I ruled out Butternut, spaghetti and yellow, but was still stumped. Thanks to Google, a few clicks of the mouse and some handy-dandy pictures, I came to the conclusion that my squash was Delicata (although, I'm still not 100% sure). So a new tab, a few letters and a few clicks later, I discovered this recipe. It sounded promising as well as simple, a bonus in my book! I tackled it head on, but made a few changes (making it not so simple) to make it more "me" conducive.

I didn't have enough delicata squash, but I had a patty pan squash and a zucchini, so I used those along side the delicata. You can't buy broth or stock here, but I happened to save the water after boiling cauliflower a while back, so I used that instead of vegetable broth. I personally think it turned out very well, and Oliver even seems obsessed with it as he meows at my feet until I give him some... he's so weird!

Delicata Creamy Squash Soup

2 delicata squash, halved lengthwise and seeded

1 patty pan squash, seeded, peeled and cubed

1 zuchinni, peeled and cut into small moons

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 onion, chopped

1-2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon thyme

3 cups vegetable broth

1½ - 2 cups all natural, plain yogurt

1-2 teaspoons arrowroot powder

1-2 teaspoons salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place the delicata, cut

sides down, in a baking dish. Add 1/8 inch water in

baking dish, cover with foil and bake 35-40 minutes or

until tender; let cool. Meanwhile, steam patty pan

and zucchini together until soft; let cool. In a large

saucepan, heat oil; add onion, garlic and thyme, and

cook over low heat, stirring occasionally until onion is

softened but not brown. Scrape the squash out of the

flesh and add to onions. Add the stock, yogurt,

arrowroot powder, pepper and salt. Cook over

moderate heat, about 25 minutes, stirring

occasionally. Puree the soup in a blender or food

processor. Season with more salt and pepper if needed

and serve.

Throwing Apples

As a missionary, sometimes it's the little things that help you make it through the day. Sometimes it's the big things. And sometimes it's the moments when you can silently without explanation to all present throw things off into the far yonder pretending it's all the tensions, frustrations and any other "sions" in physical form that you're tossing away and giving to God. (Trust me, it helps.)

Today, for instance, I threw apples. Moldy, rotten, worm-filled apples. I threw and grunted. And threw and grunted again. And again. And again. As long as the kids were bringin' 'em to me, I threw 'em. (Then I realize that maybe it wasn't such a good idea because I was teaching these kids to throw apples onto property that didn't belong to me... oops.) One of my buddies looked at me quizzically when I had finished and asked, "Feel better?" I smiled and merely said, "Yep." The satisfaction of not explaining yourself is also a release in a backwards kind of way; it's just between you and God, and He understands.

I wish Europe was into baseball. I mean, a batting cage would be so awesome. I would also settle for a punching bag, which are easier to come by here. But for now, I'll throw apples.

Dear Ab, Rob, Cor, Moose and Lucy...

Dávid a Domino tancovanie