The Grocery Run

The dirt on Betty's forehead is from the "splash each other in puddle mud"
fight that we were having on the road in front of the fire.

David Wood ate pizza with us tonight.

Miranda made the pizza from a recipe that she uses often.

Recipe:  2 ½ cups of water, 1 tablespoon of yeast, 4 tablespoons of sugar, 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Leave for 5 minutes. Add 3 cups of whole wheat flour and 2 cups of white flour. Mix but do not let it be a sticky dough. Roll out immediately or in an hour of two – everything will work out though the dough might have to relax a little after the first rolling.

And there you have it.

The pizza dough that was turned into 4 large pizzas. Two children’s and two adults. Or two with simple toppings and 2 with every topping known to man. Yum to both.

Sumarga playing with the dry grasses.

Why I started out talking about David Wood is that after eating he said he was going down to top up the fire for the evening.

Alice and I went with him.

He gathered sticks and logs from the side of the roads, ones that had been frozen in with the snow but were now able to be moved.

When mixed in with the dry shingles the fire began to sizzle. At first there wasn’t enough warmth to make us comfortable, but in ten minutes or so, the cedar branches were crackling and Alice and I warmed ourselves on the fronts of our body’s and then on the backs and then on each side. We stayed past dark, for there was a cavern of flame and the whole thing looks so beautiful to me. Alice was busy explaining to me who important it is to the fire to have oxygen. “I don’t know where you learned that,’ said Uncle David, “but it is true”.

Sumarga working his way over the rocks and
down toward the cold mountain water in the stream.

Sumin Poon and I finished loading the dishwasher when I came home, and then she swept the floor.

Sweeping the floor is a special gift anyone can give to her hostess.

As she was sweeping she explained that in Nepal her people sweep the floor with a low small broom/whisk, which women must bend over to use.

Often it gives them back aches.

Sumin was saying how lovely it is to sweep a floor with a long handled broom.

Sumarga weighed down by his snowsuit
snow pants and his heavy winter boots.

Doral came in the door later and with groceries. 

“What didn’t you ask me to go to town with you,” I asked him. 

“I looked for you,” but couldn’t find you.” 

That is because I was down at the fire with David Wood and Alice.” 

I began to look through the groceries. 

 Potato chips – 4 large bags and 2 cartons of dip.

“That is because I was loosing so much water in sweat today and I was looking for something salty.” 

 A big supply of the best kinds of chocolate bars. 

“That is because I love sugar.” 

Mushrooms. 

“That is so I can put them in an omelette tomorrow morning.” 

Tomatoes and sandwichbread. 

 “So I can make a nice toasted tomato sandwich.” 

 Blue berry muffins. 

 “For breakfast.” 

 There was a boxed cereal of some kind. 

 “For breakfast as well.” 

Betty and Alice Johnson helping to burn the shingles
off of the room of the cabin on Lot #4

 Then Doral laughed.

"I bought all of this because my body is aching so much from the work we did today and I am was looking for anything I thought would healing my aching muscles. I even bought Gatorade.  I have no idea why I did that for the Tylenol 3’s that I got from Moiya are working just fine. As well, I had some Robaxiset and I am ready to do seconds on both of these meds. I feel a lot better than when I didn’t have them on my body, though I am sure the muscles ache just as much if I weren’t on the meds."

In spite of his pain and because of of the meds, the old shingles are off of the roof and the men are ready to put on the tin roof, either today or tomorrow.

Arta