Friday, Nov 25, 2016
I want to get caught up on a couple of things from yesterday. First, Chase made it home about 7:30 am. He had brought a suitcase filled with things Heidi had ordered from Amazon, or things Chase picked up for her at Costco. So we are stocked up on maple syrup, vanilla extract, and spices. My sister and brother-in-law also gave Chase a big bag of spiced chai which adds a nice holiday kick to our morning coffee. Thanks guys!
I want to thank my parents for sending more Organic Wheat Grass Powder to Chase so he could bring it to Ecuador. Heidi puts this in our green drinks each day and it seems to be keeping us very healthy. We are down to our last few packets, so they arrived just in time. If you want to check out the benefits of wheat grass go to Best Organic Wheat Grass and read all about it. Even order some for yourself to try. My parents would appreciate it. 🙂
Chase also brought back screen replacements for both Easton and my laptops. My new motto for Lenovo computers is “Oh no, NOT a Lenovo!” Hopefully these will work and fix the problems we both are having. Chase also picked up a new charging port for my Samsung cell phone. Over the last few weeks it has been an electronics melt-down at our house.
Chit chat is where it’s at
I want to get you caught up on our Thanksgiving dinner at Joe’s Secret Garden. The “restaurant” is a large house surrounded by high walls. In the spacious backyard, ivy completely covers these tall walls made of red brick. When we arrived everyone mingled in this very nice green space area.
I haven’t been around this many white people at one time since arriving in Ecuador. It was a weird feeling for me. The first people we ran into upon arriving was Scott and Colleen. Auro showed up and had brought an Ecuadorian friend, David, to join us for dinner at our table.
After ordering some drinks, we all stood in the backyard and visited. I even met a few new gringos who meandered in and out of our conversation circle as well. The garden was a great place to hang out, sip wine, and talk with everyone.
Heidi and Colleen
Gorishek’s sans one
At one point someone came running out of the house and into the backyard grabbing a fire extinguisher from a small cottage building at the back of the yard. When the french doors, to what was the kitchen, opened we could see fire. The curtains on the doors were on fire and so was the area below the counter tops. The fire extinguisher did put out the whole fire but the chef’s head was burned in the process.
Evidently the burn was only superficial because he remained and continued preparing dinner for the hungry 120 gringos waiting here. Personally I would have said screw it. I did meet our chef, Ken, who came by our table during dinner. He was bald, and I was wondering if that’s how he was before the fire.
Scott and Colleen
We had arrived at 2 pm and we didn’t start eating dinner until 4:30 pm. Considering the event in the kitchen it made sense that things had been delayed. The bad news is that I was 4 glasses of wine into our gathering and I needed some food. There were stuffed mushrooms and a cheese pastry dish passed around in the garden, but I was ready for some heavy food.
Library at Joe’s Secret Garden
One of many dining rooms at JSG
The food was delicious. I found every dish full of flavor…turkey, mashed potatoes, garden fresh long green beans, sweet yams, gravy, fresh baked bread. I enjoyed every bite.
During dinner I got to talk to David a lot. He owns a business that sells organic, locally grown fruits and vegetables. He has created a place that the local farmers who only grow a few items can sell their products at. Heidi found out that David’s market has fresh jalapenos, which she still has not been able to find in Cuenca.
Dinner crew at Joe’s Secret Garden
David is a 32 year old married man. His story is one of tension between the expectations of a modern, high society Ecuadorian family, and his pursuit of a spiritual and economic journey that is in alignment with the needs of planet earth and crosses class divisions. I hope I can spend more time with him.
Today has been an easy one. Easton is here with three of his friends so we have gotten to know them. They are all having fun adventures in Ecuador. We took Michelle to our favorite sandwich place for lunch, and while we were there Easton and his friends showed up too. Guess it’s his favorite sandwich place as well.
Tonight Heidi and I are meeting up with Scott and Colleen, and some of their friends, for dinner. Should be fun!
Chau.
Happy Thanksgiving, Todd! We had a great Thanksgiving with my three daughters, two son in law and two grand daughters in the house. It was a busy and fun day. The youngest, Jenny, who worked for Heidi at Perks is now 38 weeks pregnant. She is very excited for the birth of their first baby. Jenny and Jon asked me to be in the delivery room with them. I am very excited. It will be a busy holiday season this year. I enjoy reading your blog. I do miss working with you.
Hi Sheila! It sounds like you had a full house for Thanksgiving and I bet you were loving it! How exciting for Jenny…and you! Thanks for touching base Sheila, and enjoy the holidays with your new grand baby when arrives. We definitely had a great group at DRMC and I always enjoy hearing from you Sheila.
Todd