Well, it's almost July and quarantine has somewhat morphed into non-quarantine with MANY restrictions. However to back track just a little...
Several weeks ago, Arika and I spent the morning making homemade frozen pizzas. We designed a brand called "Quarantined Chefs!" As you can see, we enjoyed ourselves a lot.
An extra bonus is that the pizzas turned out amazing. So tasty!
Like I said quarantine has morphed. By this I mean that we are able to get out and do more things, mostly as a CVE community. We've started playing volleyball and softball and have a singing every Sunday morning.
Also, Todd and Zoe Stoller put on an Escape room in Zoe's science classroom. It exceeded my expectations in creativity, challenge, and just the unexpected. José, Scott, Miguel, and I managed to find the "coronavirus vaccine" and the key to escape with fourteen minutes to spare!
When I say quarantine has morphed into non-quarantine with lots of restrictions it mostly refers to the workplace. In an effort to boost the economy, the government has encouraged businesses to reopen, but put many restrictions in place. Some of our local staff has returned to work and in the kitchen that has brought a flood of new restrictions. Taking temperatures upon arrival and departure, bleach and water saturated cloths at the doorways to wipe feet on, masks at all times, rules relating to food deliveries... It's starting to feel a little more normal now that we are a couple weeks in, but at first it was overwhelming!
Also in relation to COVID-19, there have been a lot more cases in Arizona and as a result our summer volunteers were placed in a 10-day quarantine upon arrival. I am disappointed to not spend a lot of time with them yet, but thankful I can be part of welcoming them by providing them with produce, ingredients and delivering meals while they use the church kitchen/dining room as their quarantine kitchen. We appreciate your prayers for them as they quarantine. There date to enter the general CVE community is set for July 5th as long as no one has symptoms.
COVID-19 has felt a little closer to home lately as we had a dear woman who attended church pass away who may or may not have had it. She originally went to the hospital for liver issues, but by the time she passed away she was suspected of possibly having the virus. Bertha, our cook, who just recently began working again received word that her nephew who lives in Phoenix had a positive test for coronavirus. Also, two of our other employee's and one of their spouse's has had colds/fevers in the last couple weeks which could have been the virus.
So as overwhelming and frustrating as the restrictions are, we continue to try to follow them. Thank you for all of your prayers as we maneuver through this time and I especially ask for prayers for the Magdalena community!
Our garden has continued to be a rewarding pastime. Mostly a pastime for Miguel, but rewarding for both of us! Above you can see a watermelon just beginning to grow. Miguel showed me some more pictures the other day and they are now larger than a softball.
Watering the garden and our first sweet corn harvest!!
Sweet corn harvest on the table along with some home-grown cucumbers.
With an abundance of cucumbers, I've made cucumber water several times.
Cucumber water is a Mexican thing and below I'll give you an approximate recipe. On a side note, Mexicans also make tamarind water, melon water, strawberry water, watermelon water, etc. The popular ones in a certain region depend on what fruit grows in abundance there. At restaurants, they offer lemonade, Jamaica and sometimes other fruit waters as "Fresh waters." If you ask for water, they may ask, "Natural water?" to make sure you mean plain water.
Cucumber Water (Agua de Pepino)
Peel and cut one cucumber into chunks and drop in blender. Cut one key lime in half and squeeze juice into blender. Add 1 1/2 cups of water and 3 TBSP of sugar. Blend on high for 1 min. Strain. Chill. Enjoy!
These measurements are a guess, so you may need to add less or more water (also depending on the size of the cucumber). And you can add sugar to taste. The final product is quite refreshing!
I had my final Nurture Group session with the teenage girls last Wednesday. We had a pool party out by the tree house where a dunk tank has been left. The treehouse serves as kind of a deck. It was just what we needed, lots of laughter and goofiness. Although I don't have photos from our pool party, I'll share a photo of our pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey game from several weeks ago.
Since moving to Matamoros street, I've been shopping frequently at a grocery store just a block away. Last week I was asked to make purchases for the family of the woman who passed away. After making the purchases, I was dividing the cost amongst those who had pitched in and realized the teller had not charged me for the tortillas I bought. I returned to the store to pay for the tortillas and a couple hours later took a closer look at the outrageously expensive $25 dollar coffee creamer, only to realize they had charged me for 6 coffee creamers. (Instead of 6 packages of tortillas!) So back to the store I went (good thing it is only a block away) and thankfully the same teller was there and was able to refund me for the coffee creamer mistake. Several days later, I stopped to purchase bread in the morning on my way to work and promptly forgot two bags of bread at the checkout. Returning about 10 hours later, I was thankful to find the bread still waiting for me! So I guess we all make mistakes and this is just helping me get to know the grocery store employees a little quicker!
After four-five months out of service, the ice machine in the CVE kitchen is up and running. This I believe is worthy of praise! Thankful to maintenance, the refrigeration guys who took it to their shop, and most of all to God for giving us ice again! The photo above is bags of ice I filled and put in the freezer for people to grab (so as not to have so much traffic at the ice machine - sanitation efforts.)
Thanks for following along with me! Just a little poem to close out!
Wind in the Treetops
Wind in the treetops whistling to me,
How many voices God’s given to thee.
Soar up to heaven and bring me back word
Of all the glories of which I have heard.
Sunrays of morning, sunset of night,
Radiance and splendor now dazzle my sight.
Shine up to heaven my dear ones to show
How I am longing their homeland to know.
Love so unending, silent, yet sure,
In all about me God’s charity pure,
Up there in heaven much more I shall feel
Of all thy sweetness, each heartache to heal.
