Adventures of the Heartland

~~~~~Shaun and I have made it back to the good ol' U S of A, and the dogs too. The flight back was pretty long, but the dogs did much better this time around. I drank a cup of strong Argentine coffee at 3:30 in the morning before we got on the plane. They put cinnamon and liquor in it and topped it with whipped cream to convince me to drink it and I just couldn't resist. Of course, I didn't sleep a wink on the plane, but I'm pretty sure I am one of only three people (the 2 captains of the plane) to witness one of the most amazing sights ever, the sun rising over the amazon jungle. I saw the curve of the earth, and the full spectrum of the rainbow, and managed to catch a bit of it on camera.

~~~~~I have decided I love the Miami airport. It is the nicest airport I have ever been in, it is so easy to navigate, and the people who work there are just great and always so helpful. There are fenced dog break areas every 100 yards, and they even provide bags! It was definitely a pleasure to spend time at the Miami airport and I can't wait until my next stop there!

~~~~~Since returning to Iowa, Shaun and I have been busy busy beavers. Our first day back in town, we were offered a job at a Japanese grill. We have taken over the two sushi rolling positions, and I keep hearing from all my asian co-workers, "Not bad for a white girl!" It is very nice to be working again, but I'm really not sure we are going to be able to make much money there, so we will probably be looking for second jobs as soon as things settle down.

~~~~~We now are proud owners of a red mini-van, and soon to be 'first-time-home-buyers'. Between the van breaking down and needing repairs, at least one of us working split shifts every day, and constantly making appointments with bankers and realtors, we have hardly had a minute to can and pickle the 60 pounds of vegetables we picked from a friend's garden a week and a half ago!

~~~~~Finally, just today, I almost have it all finished. It has been alot of work, but our pantry will be full of delicious foods for winter, saving us a whole bunch of money and shopping time, not to mention holiday gifts for all! (Sorry friends and family. No secret here...You're all getting hot pepper jelly for Christmas!)

We have:

canned okra - I am very interested to see how this turns out since it was so slimey when I put it in the jars

canned green peppers -a mix of anaheim and dark and light green bells

jalapenos and garlic in oil

Dulce de Tomate - a recipe straight from an Argentine chef

spicy hot tomato jalapeno jelly - which I made from the seeds, juice, and scraps of the tomatoes for the dulce de tomate

hot pepper and mint jelly -which I made from the scraps of the canned peppers

and a few jars of dilly beans!

~~~~~I am ready to be done canning things, but really, after our southern vacation, it feels good to wake up early in the morning and spend the entire day doing things. Tomorow, I will pickle three heads of cabbage, then hopefully have some time to work on a sweater that I am knitting for myself. The sooner I can finish it the better because I promised Shaun I would make one for him before it got cold.

~~~~~By the end of September we should be moved into our new house (not that it will take much since we only have a couple bags), and we will be able to translate our computer hardware to english. After that I will get all my recent pictures up, I will have room for my shoes and yarn, plenty of kitchen for making more time consuming food products, and all will be good.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Now keep up! Just because we've left Argentina doesn't mean the adventure is over!