I couldn't see past the top step of the ladders! Who knows what could be lurking in the depths of this pool!! It is actually starting to look much better today and maybe by the end of the week I will feel that it is safe to venture back into its watery depths. We'll see.
I realize that I haven't posted anything since April. But it isn't because I have been laying about doing nothing. So here's a little catch up on what's been going on.
First, I had to travel back to the US (again) for my little sisters wedding! And I found out, at the last minute, that she wanted ME to take the pictures at her wedding!! YIKES
It was a beautiful day though (other than some big wind) for an outdoor wedding. And all in all I think that, I'm not a professional, but I did ok on the pictures.
After I got back from that, I was home for 10 days and we left for our cruise. It was our 10 year anniversary. (Can you believe it!!) So we went on a 12 night cruise to Scotland, Ireland and the port of Paris. Then we spend two extra nights in Amsterdam. It was really nice.
It was a long trip, but if you look through all the photos we really had a good time.
Then when I got back from that trip I was home for just under a month and went back to the US for family reunions. First was the Bennion reunion.
My sister was able to come from Utah for that. She brought her two kids Z and I. We had so much fun spending time with them. And we had a blast at the reunion. I didn't do real well at taking pictures on this trip. I think I was really getting tired by this point and holding up the camera was becoming a huge effort. But I really loved getting to see my family.
Then I flew out to Seattle to go through the temple with my friend Julia. (I miss her terribly.) And she showed me all around Seattle. It was good to see her again. And Washington is beautiful.
Then it was out to Utah for fun with the Pearsons (my cousins), my sister Laura and the Mitchell reunion.
We watched "The Dark Night"... seriously good movie. Ate junk and some seriously tasty breakfast (I made the right decision), stayed up late, laughed till we cried and made me wish I lived closer to my family. Then we camped, had to rescue the dogs, camped a little more and enjoyed the company of family and friends.
By the end of the vacation, I was absolutely exhausted. It was a good trip. And then, there was the trip home...
I was able to arrange my flights so that I went from Las Vegas to Chicago, Chicago to Tulsa, (becuase no airlines go straight from Vegas to Tulsa... sheesh) then was supposed to have a 4 hour layover in Tulsa before heading to Atlanta. This part went quite smoothly. I arrived in Tulsa around 9 am and got some breakfast. I figured I would eat a big breakfast and then eat again when I got to Atlanta around 3. Silly me. I sat waiting in the terminal and watched the time to board the plane come and go, and we were still sitting there. Finally they made the announcement that there was severe weather in Atlanta and everyone was on ground hold till it cleared. That was fine, I had a 2 hour layover in Atlanta, so I should still be able to make my connection. An hour and a half later they finally came back and said that they were still waiting for the weather to clear and the ground hold to be lifted. I knew I was going to miss my connection and that meant I would have to spend the night somewhere, since there is only 1 flight per day to Lagos from Atlanta. So I went up to the desk and let them know that I was going to miss my connection and that I needed to be rescheduled. The poor guy at the ticket counter had to sit on hold with international reservations for almost 30 min. Then he asked me if I wanted to spend the night in Tulsa or go on to Atlanta and spend the night there. (I should have chosen Tulsa!) Thinking that I should get to Atlanta so that there is a less likely chance of missing the flight tomorrow, I said "Atlanta please". DOOMED.... DOOMED I tell you. Finally about a 1/2 hour latter they finally load up the plane and we head out toward Atlanta. We are starting our final descent into the Atlanta area when they close the runways again. More bad weather. They put us in a holding pattern in the air for about a 1/2 hour and then tell us it will be another hour before we can land. Only one problem with that, we will run out of gas before then. So they divert us to Birmingham Alabama. We ended up sitting in the plane on the runway for about 2 hours before we were refueled and allowed to take off again. Then we had to in line to land, and then wait on the runway for an open parking spot. A flight that was only supposed to take and hour and forty minutes took five and a half hours. But we were finally in Atlanta. And as we walked to the baggage claim area, we heard the announcement that the runways were closing AGAIN. Apparently we got there just in time. There were proabably about a thousand people in the baggage claim area trying to figure out what was going on. None of the carousels were moving and no one was getting their luggage. After waiting for an hour and a half and watching my flight show up on the board, dissapear and still no luggage was coming up, I decided to stand in the forever long line and talk to the lost luggage poeple to find out what was going on. They informed me that all luggage was being shipped to it's final destination on the next available flight. Would have been nice to have been told that an hour or so ago. So I went to find the shuttles to the hotels. (I had booked a hotel online in Tulsa when I knew I was going to miss my connection.) It was a madhouse there too. There were so many people stranded in Atlanta. I finally got to my hotel around 11pm. And to my delight found there was an IHOP in the parking lot. (Remeber the big breakfast I ate at 9am.... that was the last thing I had eaten!!) I got checked in found my room and dropped of my caryon bags... since I didn't get my luggage... then went and had breakfast at midnight. It was so tasty, because I was STARVING!! Then went back to the hotel, took everything off and put on just my pajamas (luckily I has them crammed in my carryon because I was just barely over the weight limit on one of my suitcases!) and took all my clothes down to the laundry. Then I went back up to my room, filled the jacuzzi tub (yes I said jacuzzi tub) and took a nice hot lovely bath. By the time my clothes were dry it was almost 2am... but my flight didn't leave the next day until 5pm so I knew I could sleep in. The next morning I got up and checked out around 10:30 and headed back to the airport. When I got there it was once again a mad house. It looked like there had been a lot of people who slept there. REALLY glad I wasn't one of them. I tried to get checked in at the self checkin kiosk, but since my flight wasn't till 5 it said I was too early to check in and I had to come back in about 15 minutes. So I went and found some breakfast. Mmmmm tasty pastries. Sat, ate, relaxed and tried to check in again. This time is said that because I was going to Nigeria I couldn't use the kiosk and they had to check and verify my visa at the ticket counter. BLAH... so I went to the ticket counter... The line was an hour long wait. BLAHHHHHHHH!!! But once I got to the desk, it was a breeze and they assured me that my luggage would be on this flight. (I really didn't believe them... that way I wouldn't be dissapointed when it didn't show up!) I got through security and made my way to my terminal where I found an outlet pulled in my laptop and parked it. It wasn't too bad. Everything from there went very smooth. I got a whole row (3 seats) to myself and was able to lay down and sleep for a good part of the trip to Lagos. And my luggage was some of the first out. The only bad thing was that my luggage got soaked in Atlanta, so most of the stuff inside was wet! Good thing most of my clothes were in space bags to help save room!
Anyway, I haven't been slacking. Just crazy busy.... Oh and to top it all off, about a week after I get home, I get called to be the Relief Society President. PRAY FOR ME.
We went out to the market again today and found some great new things.
This is one of the first masks I've seen that I REALLY like.
This pic shows the size.
I also found this wall hanging.
And this table runner.
They are both reverse applique. I love them!! I think I will be visiting that shop again regularly.
I like pancakes. Who doesn't? But the same as with any food, I am perticular about the pancakes I like. Not just any old pancake will do. I really don't like bisquick style pancakes. They are thick and heavy and taste.... floury or something. Not a fan. BUT the pancakes mom would make when I was growing up... now THOSE were tasty pancakes. They were a thinner style pancake. Great for making huge STACKS of pancakes. Anyway, I have that recipe, but it calls for buttermilk. Something that just doesn't seem to exist in Nigeria. So sadly all I have been able to make are the "bisquick style" pancakes. We haven't had pancakes very often. But, once again, oh happy day!! In my fabulous farm journal cookbook I found an AMAZING recipe that tastes pretty much the same as mom's but without the buttermilk!!
The recipe is for "Sour Cream Pancakes" and is as follows.
Sour Cream Pancakes
1 c. sifted flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt
1 tblsp. sugar
1 egg
1 c. milk
1/4 c. dairy sour cream
2 tblsp. melted butter
1/2 c. blueberries (optional)
~ Sift together flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.
~ Beat together egg, milk and sour cream.
~ Pour milk mixture over dry ingredients and blend with rotary beater until batter is just smooth. Stir in butter. (Fold in blueberries)
~ Pour 2 tblsp. batter onto hot griddle for each cake. (Pour 1 tblsp. batter on to hot griddle for each cake if you want silver-dollar-size pancakes. If you have the time this is a festive way to serve them.) Brown on one side until golden. Turn and brown on the other side. If cakes brown too fast, lower heat. Serve hot wih butter and maple syrup. Makes 12 pancakes using 2 tblsp. batter, or 24 silver-dollar-size pancakes.
If you have leftover batter, cover and store in the refrigerator. It will keep 2 or 3 days, but it will thicken. When you are ready to use it, add 1 to 2 tblsp. milk in which you dissolve 1/2 tsp. baking powder for each cup of batter. Bake as directed.
Man these have made me happy this week!! And eating them with Log Cabin syrup is perfection on a plate!! YUM Oh and as a slightly healthier side note... I completely forgot to add the melted butter last time I made these and I couldn't tell a difference. With non-stick pans these days I don't think it really needs it.
You would not believe the drama! Then again, maybe you would. When Roy and I went looking for a new washer/dryer, we measured the old ones, and measured the openings (closet door, the space it will fit in, etc.) We knew we had limited space and mobility getting a new machine in the pantry closet. So we were all proud of ourselves for measuring and remeasuring and making sure that the model we picked fit in those size requirements. But alas.... we didn't check the turning radius with the stupid corner of the wall in the way!!! UUGGHH.
So, my new washer/dryer has been here for 2 days but not installed, because we couldn't get it in the closet. It seriously needed less than a quarter of an inch of space to make it through!! Seriously frustrating!! Needless to say, if I was in my own house in the US I would have already pulled the door frame loose and the thing would be installed!! But the maintenance manager said he didn't want to risk messing up the door frame and would rather notch out the corner of drywall and rebuild it at an angle. I just groaned and said whatever! Luckily for me the facilities group at the office wouldn't approve the cost of rebuilding part of the wall... so this morning, after trying to file the sheet rock corner down enough, they pulled off the moulding and shifted the door frame! (I'm telling ya... I REALLY MISS MY TOOLS!)
And now I have a brand new washer/dryer combo machine that is OH SO QUIET and amazing!! It does everything that it is supposed to! Oh Happy Day!!
And so at least for today I am happy... content even. And I'm not going to let the fact that I noticed that the master bathroom toilet has started leaking when you flush it, and the fitting that connects to the hose that runs to the filter for the washer is totally rusting through, not gonna let it bother me... at least until Monday.
We still haven't gotten our broken washer and dryer replaced yet. They said it would be delivered by the 1st. That's tomorrow. I'm REALLY hoping they actually stick to what they said this time. (Doubt it's gonna happen though.) ANYWAY... I really could have used a working dryer. On Thursday all heck broke loose in my flat. Mostly because the hose on the water heater in the office broke loose!! There was water everywhere. I was VERY lucky that my steward, Grace, and a maintenance guy were already back there when it happened. In the short time that it took the maintenance guy to turn the water off the office and my bedroom were flooded. If it had happened while we were sleeping or on vacation, it would have been a complete disaster!!
This is the hallway in my flat, specifically the back half of my flat. My bedroom is on the left and there are 2 smaller bedrooms on the right. The front small bedroom we use for the office and back one is guest/storage.
There was water all the way to my bed in our bedroom.
There was enough water that they were scooping it up with dustpans and pouring it into buckets to dump down the drain. They were also using the sheets Grace had just taken off the bed to mop up the water. (Luckily it was clean water, as clean as you can get here, and it was the hose feeding the water heater so it wasn't hot.)
But what worried me the most was all the water in the office.
We pulled Roy's computer up off the floor out of the water. (It was on at the time.) We also quickly pulled the plugs out of the wall, but it did no good. The UPS took over and everything was still getting power.
And of course the UPS was on the floor between the 2 desks. I had to pull the desks apart enough that I could lean in and hold the power button on the UPS to turn it off. What I didn't notice at the time was this.
This is a splice in the cord that runs from the UPS to the power strip that everything plugs into. IT WAS IN THE WATER!! The entire UPS could have discharged into the water on the floor if it had shorted out. We were VERY lucky that it didn't happen.
This is the offending water heater.
The space beneath the water heater is about 6 inches deep... it was full of water AND my flat was flooded. They had to scoop the water out of the hole with a cup and then we had to mop the rest out. Now we have a fan blowing in there to dry it out. (I really hope that it didn't leak into the flat below ours... sorry if it did!!)
Anyway, we found out from the maintenance manager that the flexible hose they used to hook up all the water heaters and toilets is "substandard". The fitting on ours had completely rusted through and the hose broke loose. (The building isn't quite a year old!!) So we asked him what the plan was to fix them since they know about it. And he said "We will replace them as they fail." I'm really glad Roy was there. (I had called him as soon as it happened and he came straight home from work.) I was FLOORED!! I didn't know how to respond to that answer. We were standing in water hoping our computer wasn't ruined and he had the nerve to say, we will replace them when this happens again. Roy immediately told him that was unacceptable and that they needed to schedule replacing every single piece of flexible hose in our flat because we were not going to do this again. (Isn't he a wonderful hubby.)
Once it seemed that things were under control as far as cleaning up the water and getting all the electronics where they could dry out, Roy went back to work. The maintenance guys were still working on getting the water heater repaired though. For some reason, they decided they needed to completely disconnect the water heater and empty its contents in the sink in the bathroom. That normally wouldn't be a problem, but the guy didn't check to see if the power was off to the water heater first. IT WASN'T. When he put his screwdriver to the screw to remove the power... well you can guess what happened. He was standing on a wet floor... He was very VERY lucky that he didn't die. He did however get a big shock and scared the crap out of all of us. There was a huge flash (lit up the whole closet.) He dropped his screwdriver and jumped/flew out of the closet. He was ok, no permanent injury. That was when he decided to make sure the power was off. This whole incident scared the heck out of me. I am deathly afraid of electricity. I don't even like to hook up the jumper cables to jump a car. Scares me terribly. So I was REALLY shook up when that happened. Even dreamed about it that night. Ugh...
But it seems everything is ok now. The water is all cleaned up. The closet is drying out, slowly. All the flexible hose got replaced on Saturday. And it seems that everything that got wet, dried out ok. We were VERY lucky this week. Just thinking about everything that "COULD" have gone wrong with this adventure, makes me want some tomato soup or some mac and cheese!! Anyway, as I said... I really could have used a dryer!! Wet towels... rugs... sheets.... Maybe we'll get it tomorrow. Maybe.
If you know me, you know that one of my sadnesses has been the severe lack of Colby cheese and tomato soup here in Nigeria. Two of my most beloved comfort foods. But during the last couple of weeks we have made wonderful discoveries!!
A couple of weeks ago Roy found Colchester cheese and decided to give it a try. IT TASTES LIKE SLIGHTLY SHARP COLBY CHEESE!!! Heaven!! And then the last time I was out shopping, I stopped in at one of my favorite little grocery stores here and they had Campbell's tomato soup!!!!!!! I bought every can they had (about 8)! And, if there is more when I go back again, I will buy EVERY can again! Because tomato soup with Colby cheese and grilled cheese sandwich is very much a comfort food and for now.... I am happy! (And yes... if you look closely the price on the cheese is N2616.15. That is about $21.80 for approx 2lbs of cheese. That is pretty normal for here. And worth every penny for the delicious colbyness!!)
DELICIOUS
