Headed Home!

Glenn has been in Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan for the past 8 days. While he was gone, I had a list of "projects" that I wanted to complete, such as get caught up on emails, do a little sewing, do an inventory on the school books in my basement, and the list goes on and on. Additionally, I wanted to do lots of cooking and baking because the day Glenn was to return, 4 couples would also start arriving in Budapest for the Member Care Team meeting that Glenn and I were hosting. They were going to stay at the Eden House up the street, but eat most of their meals here at our house where the meetings were going to be held.

Of my projects, I was able to get pretty much caught up with my work emails (but not my personal ones) but that was about it. I did spend 3 days in the kitchen preparing tons of food! I made 14 quarts of homemade ice cream using my new ice cream maker from Anne Quillen. I'm not sure which is my favorite: vanilla, mint chocolate chip, Snickers, or the fruit sherbet!

I also cut up red, green and yellow peppers to put in the freezer to have on hand for meals I'd planned. One quart-size baggie was full of pepper strips and another baggie was full of diced peppers. A third baggie was full of peppers, onions and mushrooms that I sauteed and froze for later in the week for omelettes. I baked (yes, in the oven) 4 packages of bacon to have in the fridge for several breakfast meals and BLT'. I baked a cake, grated 3 lbs. of cheese, made a crock pot of chili for the freezer to serve late in the week, and boiled, deboned and chopped 12 pieces of chicken for a casserole and chicken salad sandwiches. All of this, I made in advance and stuck in my deep freezer. It was full to the brim!

I also ran to Judit's house to pick up the duvet cover she made for me (she's a seamstress) to go with the bed skirt and pillows she'd made earlier this month. I am redoing the guest room and am having so much fun with all the gorgeous fabric I bought while we were in the U.S. from September through January! I wanted the room to be finished in case one of the couples ended up staying with us instead of at the Eden House.

I went grocery shopping for all the staples I needed to have on hand for meals (breakfast, lunch and afternoon snack) for that many people. You know, sugar, coffee, fresh fruit, milk, soft drinks, and don't forget the uber necessary toilet paper. I couldn't decide which brand to buy! This Ooops! brand is new here, and though I don't think the person who came up with the brand name is a native English speaker with a true understanding of what Ooops! means, I did go on and buy it just for the fun of it!

While I was pouring over the various brands of toilet paper, I was trying to decide, "Do I buy the 3-, 4-, or 5 ply paper? Do I buy it in orange, pink, blue or white? Do I need a 4 pack, 8 pack or 16 pack?" Decisions, decisions, decisions. In the end, I chose NOT to buy this brand called Selfness because what does Selfness mean, anyway? Obviously, another NON-native English speaker who is responsible for naming things!

While Glenn was gone and I was trying to do everything to get ready for all the folks, I also had to keep the yard cut, watered, dead flower heads pulled off and weeds dug up. I was sooooo hoping these flowers would wait to bloom a week later, just in time for our meeting, but they decided not to listen to my pleas! Aren't they gorgeous?

I had so much fun doing all this prep work but alas, the meeting was cancelled. We got word on Sunday morning that Glenn's father, Bill Borders, had passed away peacefully in his sleep earlier that day.

We called him Pa. He was a wonderful man and a terrific father. A quiet servant who never sought the spotlight. Glenn rescheduled his flight to come back to Budapest a day earlier (he arrived on Monday instead of Tuesday), and we are headed out on a 6:15 am flight tomorrow (Tuesday) for the U.S. We will be there for two weeks, staying with my father but spending much of the time over at the Borders' house. The funeral is Thursday. Pray for Glenn's mom. Not only is she emotionally sick, grieving the loss of her longest and dearest friend, she is also not feeling well physically.

So...all that food that I prepared is just going to sit in the freezer while we're gone and then Glenn and I will be able to enjoy all that ice cream when we get back!

Catch you next week, from America.