Anniversary Garden Harvest and Dinner

Yesterday, I harvested the veggies from the garden - I figured it was worth using some of them for our Anniversary Dinner... the carrots are a little funny looking because they were kept in their seedling mesh, and struggled to break through. Also, I think they were planted without weeding out the second or third seedling in the bunch. The beets were looking pretty good though.

My Anniversary Harvest... planted on Paul's birthday, and pulled out of the ground on our first wedding anniversary.

The carrots... little freaks. But they tasted quite good. I'm getting tired of green beans, and they are taking up some nice real estate for tomatoes which is a much more popular item in our household

Paul and I decided to celebrate our anniversary at home. And I was insistent on using SOMETHING from the garden in the meal... so I used the beet leaves. Delicious.






After hanging out in the garden most of the day, and sleeping on the couch for a bit, I decided it was time for us to get our act together and make some yummy celebration food. I prepped a bunch of stuff, and at some point realized that I should probably wear something other than the jeans and t-shirt that I had sported in the garden all day. Maybe do my hair or something...

So off to fancy up a bit, then back to put the final touches on the meal. Funny.I think Paul might get a kick out of me being in the kitchen with a dress on.

ANNIVERSARY MENU:

Cocktail:

• Martini Rosso on ice with lemon (ask for a Martini in Angola, and this is what you will receive. Love it.)

Appetizer: 

• Sauteed scallops on a bed of wilted/sauteed beet greens with garlic topped with feta

Main:

• Pan seared oven baked filet mignon topped with garlic dill butter

Accompaniments:

• Grilled mesquite sausage
• Greek potatoes slow roasted in lemon, olive oil, oregano

Dinner Drinks:

• Some Reserva wine from the Alenteijo
• Cuca for Pablo

After Party - Headed over to the Carroll's house to play a little pool and Trivial Pursuit

I'm so very glad that we packed a bunch of meat and other treats (scallops) when we came over here. These were the first test of the frozen scallops that we purchased, and they were awesome.

This was also the first time we were using the dining room table, which tells me that it's about time to have a party!! Next weekend, perhaps!

Paul very thoughtfully brought over the pictures from our wedding and put them on the table. And we enjoyed the delicious meal talking about the wedding and how great a time it was. Everyone in that picture looks perfect - happy, proud, and having a great time.

Here's Paul with our family wedding pic... and the delicious meal is below.  What a happy day.

Great team work... Paul was responsible for the meat, I did the potatoes and the scallops. Thank goodness I had some beet greens, otherwise this is not very fibrous fare. :-)

All in all a great way to celebrate a first anniversary. Anniversary beijinhos!

2 Months of Gardening!!

I arrived on the 20th of April and started planting on the 21st (Paul's birthday). I started with seeds that I "nursed" into little seedlings and had the gardener put together the raised bed kit and stuff them in there. After some weekend minding and two months of experimenting with my green thumb, I am eating some yummy green beans straight from my borrowed dirt.

We now have a few papaya and banana trees as well. Also on a whim a few weeks ago, when we concluded the gardener wasn't quite meeting the grade, I made it known by way of spending about 4 hours in there making over the flower borders and potted plants; they have passed the intensive care stage of almost dying because I uprooted them too violently, to starting to sprout flowers again. Success.

The front yard still needs some love, but stuff grows SOOOOOO fast here, that I'm not too worried.

The carrots and beets are looking good, the sweet peas should be in bloom by July/August, and I'm looking forward to the late "winter" blossoms in the garden.

Things worth remembering...

• Lisboa, the gardener took out the two decorative trees that I said I didn't want - by hacking them down instead of re-planting them....lesson learned
• The peanuts somehow have stuck around... I should probably make another go at the whole roasting affair
• We have sweet potatoes - which, apparently, all good gardens in Angola have
• I'm somehow still thinking that all my Canadian Summer favorites will prosper here.... Nostalgia is a very powerful motivator and the enabler of hope
• Don't give Lisboa a full envelope of seeds. He will use them all in one go... see beans.
• Banana trees grow very quickly - bats eat them if you don't cut the banana chandelier when it is still green...six foot, seven foot, eight foot bunch!
• I put my plants through a torturous re-org..to prove a point to Lisboa (you aren't doing much for the 16 hours we are paying you to be there each week).. and we had liftoff...
• Herbs are awesome - I'm digging the amazing access to basil every time I need it. Basil and bananas. 
• My favorites happenstances are the Dahlias that landed in the raised veggie bed and the beans that have attacked the entire back wall. I will have to do something with those other than snack on them after work every day. 

Yay!

Here are a few pictures to share the lushness.

We have some kind neighbors who loaned us their extra grille. We are so lucky! Paul went out to buy charcoal with Emiquilson - a story for him to write! Notice the stepping stones missing - the gardener made a grille pad with them,  and it leaves us with some fertile veggie soil, of which I will be taking advantage!

The patio is looking a little greener with the herbs closest, and the flower pots far away. I've used the cilantro on bbq chicken pizza, the basil almost any time I cook, and I'm looking forward to using the thyme, tarragon, and dill at some point soon!

Sweet potatoes on the left, banana tree in the middle, basil bush in back, peanuts on the right

Our baby banana tree!!! Just sprouted last week!

I've been able to pick more than a handful of beans each day... probably because the entire back fence has a stalk planted every 10 inches. Dilly Bean Time!

My mom's garden bed always had nasturtiums framing it. I decided to do the same... with a pepper plant in the middle... tomatoes are in the back behind the bed against the wall, brussels sprouts and beets are in the back (left and right), and , carrots and... Dahlias in the front.. Excited for the Dahlia's; my uncle Duncan grew them at my grandmother's house, and Paul's Grandfather grew some too. Dunc's were in Crescent Beach, Canada, Paul's grampy's were in Benguela, Angola. :-)

Beets and Dahlias.

One of our two Papaya trees... And some peas in the back

Carrots up close

Brussels Sprouts

We will have a pretty lush area around the patio at some point... I'm excited!

Front yard needs some TLC - I've been focusing on the oasis I need to pay attention to, not the neighbors' but it will catch up... we'll get there!

xx

Mystery of the Evaporating Chanel...

Since before I arrived in Angola, I've been dealing with a little bit of excema on my neck. So I've been really careful about the products I've been using.... no funny cremes, light on soaps, etc. Well, that means no perfume either. And yet every once in a while, the bathroom has a whiff of perfume in it.

I'm pretty sure it's not Paul getting in touch with his feminine side, so I started to get a little curious, and I started to pay attention.... more out of entertainment than anything else.

Sure enough over the course of the last month, the meniscus on the CoCo Perfume has gone from the above the CHANEL part of the label to under the PARIS, to almost under the label entirely. And all I've done is watch, never using the perfume myself. The other perfumes haven't move, which at first was a mystery, but we think we now have it figured out.

Our conclusion is that while Veronica cleans the bathroom, she also dolls up a bit. Chanel is a global brand that is very "shi-shi" and so she chose this as her "signature scent." Well played Veronica. Well played.

So I thought of the different ways to deal with this, all the while spending more time than I should watching the volume of perfume dissipate. And finally, I knew what to do...

What's left in the bottle is now in Veronica's bathroom with a little note: "Penso que voce gosta a Chanel... para Veronica :-)" Translated: I think you like Chanel :-) for Veronica. Why bother fixating on a simple bottle of perfume that I know is disappearing,  when I can just help her enjoy it instead. No harm; I'm not using it, and it sends a bit of a message - both that I'm watching, and that I'm not afraid to share.

I decided to sport the perfume tonight one last time to see if Emiquilson, our driver notices the smell as Veronica's, which would be all too funny. We're taking him and his wife to a fancy restaurant for dinner to celebrate his birthday that was on June 10th.

XO All....

K.C.

Sports Today.... Glory Days Again

Today Paul went to play his doubles and championship games for the tennis title of the Petroleum Cup. Unfortunately for him, the first team no-showed, and the same two people on the second team were playing both singles and doubles, so after the lost their singles match, the didn't feel like playing "just for fun"

I, for the first time in 15 years, played volleyball.

I launched my body around as if I was still 17, which I'm not. But it was great fun, and we won our matches. Next week we have two more matches, and then we will play in the finals.

Assenciao caught a photo of the action on her iPad... Cool.

Nap time now.

Helicopter Ride - My First!

First Things First - Please go look at the "We Are In Malongo" post. I updated it, but it's not making it to the top of the page. We have a bunch of pictures in there, and a story about Trig's Place (the Malongo Beach Club).


The Helicopter... 

When I went to Malongo this week, I was fortunate enough to end up being with someone senior enough that they don't have to take the bus to camp from Cabinda Airport, but rather a helicopter comes to pick them up. This considerate person was kind enough to ask if I would like to ride with them. We had been chatting in the airport about some work while waiting for the plane to Cabinda, and I guess I'm just lucky.

In any case, this was my very first helicopter ride. And it was very cool to see our operation from the sky. Funny enough on Saturday, I "celebrated" (read: forgot) that it was my 5th anniversary with the company. As I was sitting in the helicopter, I decided that this was the best thing that I could ask for as a five year anniversary gift. No need for a catalog order item like a funny clock or sports bag. This was much better.

The best part was that when I arrived (in 15 minutes from arrival on the plane to Cabinda, rather than the 1:15 it takes on the bus sometimes), I I.M.'d Paul (who had come the day before to Malongo, and was in a meeting) to check in and proceeded to say "notice how early I've arrived in Malongo?.... :-)" His response.... "Oooooh... you weaseled yourself onto a helicopter, didn't you!?"

He was hoping he would be in one before hand (and should have been, since his job actually has offshore/helicopter requirements). We had fun talking about it later at dinner in the cafeteria before meeting up with some folks at the slab for a night cap.

These are helicopters at the Luanda Domestic Terminal, but I thought they would compliment this story nicely!

Traffic Today - Updated with a sky view

Not bad for traffic today!

We took the road by the airport since we went through the city... It only took us 10 minutes to move from where this pic was taken down to the coca cola sign with 1.5L (tiny red dot on the right side of the road at the horizon of the picture)..

But then we landed in the next scene about 10 minutes later...and we aren't really moving much.

But we are not on the bus either.. So we are grateful for what we have!

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 This is an areal view of part of our road home. This was taken around 4:00 pm before traffic gets too crazy. But you can see at the top where the traffic has started to back up. It stays that way until about 7:30 at night.