8 Days to Go: Chili & Corn Tortillas

You guessed it ... no school for the boys again today, therefore, not much forward progress on trip preparations.  Actually, I really need to take responsibility for my own actions, instead of blaming it on people who can't even read what they are being blamed for.  I just had one of those days where I stayed in my pjs all morning, making a big pot of extra-spicy Texas chili and fooling around on the internet.  The kids were having fun working on lego projects and making a fort for the cats, so it was all very nice and peaceful.  None of us left the house all day (except for Matt, of course, ever dedicated to "stamping out blindness" - his phrase).

My chili recipe involved adding masa harina at the end for thickening, so once I had that out, I decided that Gus and I would have fun making corn tortillas.  One of Gus' best attributes is his strong desire to just be with another person, no matter what they are doing.  If he likes you, he'll sit and watch you paint your nails, send emails, learn how to use a sewing machine, or build a lego set for 3 hours.  He'll chat, ask questions, make jokes and go for snacks while he's watching, but he never gets bored.  He especially loves it when the other person's activity is something he can help with.  Finn clearly enjoys giving Gus tasks, and he's often surprisingly patient trying to show Gus how to do a thing.  (see picture below for an example)  So anyway, I knew that making tortillas would be right up his alley.  Mushing the dough, rolling little balls, pounding them flat and rolling them out - perfect stuff for a 4.5 year old.  They were good too, especially after I fried them into chips and salted them!

By mid-day, the wet snow had turned to icy rain and sleet, and it just seemed totally implausible that at the same moment we are here in this winter world, Ruby is waiting in blissful ignorance in sunny Addis Ababa.  It's also impossible to pack for a warm-weather trip when the weather where we are is the complete opposite, so that's going to be a challenge for me.

BUT, we did get very serious about making a to do list tonight after the kids went to bed.  It's pretty long, and all of the things on it are potentially going to take a really long time.  One thing on the list is new - I found out today that Ruby will need a transit visa for when we come home and have to change airports in London.  Stress - hate paperwork and filling out forms.  Sara at Gladney is helping me figure it out, but we have to wait until Monday to talk to the staff in Addis to get Ruby's passport info to fill out the application. So first thing tomorrow we're going to get straight to work on this list ... for real!

(this picture is Finn with "Teddy" from school that he got to bring home and write about the other night. Gus of course wanted to be a part of the action, so he kept sneaking into the pictures Finn wanted me to take of all the crazy things he and Teddy were doing.)