Day Two of once a month cooking!

It is almost 7:00 am of day two of our first once a month cooking experience in eleven years!

Before I list the things I plan/hope to accomplish today, let me tell you about day one.

We weren't sure when Day One would happen. It all depended on our money arriving and being able to go shopping. At the same time as our money came in we got a call that our curtains were finished! Joel dropped Kaleb and me off at the store while he went to pick up the curtains. I was in such a rush while picking out the fabric last week that I couldn't really remember what I had chosen, but seeing it again, I must tell you that it is really pretty. You would almost imagine that the person who picked out the curtains for the livingroom had a sense of what matches (and we all know that I don't) so I am relieved! A lot of people I know have curtains with just a single color but I have always liked colorful curtains (maybe because we don't go with very colorful paint...well, the paint is officially "colorful" since it does have color; but I mean it is not bright).

Back to the store. Alissa and Andrew stayed home with Anna, Joshua and Jonathan which made it easier to shop. I had a big list but Kaleb and I split it up between us and we finished our shopping for a months worth of groceries in less time than I usually take to get my normal weekely things purchased. At times I was embarrassed to actually put the things on my list in my cart...I mean, 24 bags of macaroni? That is a LOT of macaroni. And 12 (or was it 16?) whole chickens! Luckily Joel arrived when we were almost finished and took over picking out the chickens since he is better at that than me. I ended up just forgetting my embarrassment and piled everything I needed into 2 carts. I realized as I continued my shopping that buying this much stuff really did help me save money already! For example, I usually buy macaroni that is K$2.69 (US$1.79) instead of the macaroni that is K$2.29 (US$1.52) because I never buy more than 2 or so bags in a week (at least until I run out and then ask Joel to go back to the store to get me more). Well, buying 24 bags I realized that the US$.27 savings would add up! So, I got the cheaper macaroni (and we had some last night and it tasted great!) and saved US$6.48!

I am sure that you are getting the idea. We were a sight to behold...Kaleb was using his math skills and getting oil in the big jug instead of 4 smaller bottles and helping me realize which size flour we should buy (although I have to tell you, I went straight for the good stuff...no more buggy flour for me!).

As I was checking out I remembered Brazil where people would go to bigger stores to buy stuff for their little supermarcados. My cart looked a lot like theirs. Then I realized that many people here in Lilongwe come just for grocery shopping once every few months and then head back out to the bush and we might just look like we are doing that! We got no funny looks for emptying out the macaroni aisle.

We came home and put our things away to await Day two of the once a month cooking experience(that is today!). We then put up two of the curtains in the livingroom which just about killed my fingers as I tried to manipulate these tiny (but strong) wire hook things. Our biggest livingroom curtain needed 120 of them to hang up the curtain. You can imagine my frustration when I had finished and realized that half of the curtain was on right and the other half was put on backwards! Sigh. But we all agreed that they look great and they already make the room cozier.

Back to today! Day Two! Today Joel and Kaleb will go the market to get the veggies. They will also get ketchup and more hamburger (which they didn't have at the big store). When they get home we will begin cooking up some of the meals. I also hope to put up some more curtains today. Our problem with the curtains is that each curtain needs so many of the hooks that each curtain rod needs a certain amount of little hook catcher things. Our curtain rods just didn't come with that many hook catcher things so Joel is going to have to find some today. My friend Lee-Anne is coming over on Thursday for a homeschool group meeting and I will ask her to bring her camera so I can take some pictures of the curtains so you can see how pretty they are. I will take a picture of Jasper too so you can see how big he is getting.

Oh, besides the cooking and the curtains I have about all the laundry in the house to wash and hang up on the line to dry. I am sure that it will be a busy (and hopefully productive) day! I will fill you in tomorrow!

Well, there is one more thing I must share that doesn't really go under the heading of Day 2 of once a month cooking. Last night when I went to bed there was a huge lizard on my bed! It was long and had a big green stipe on its back! Now, Kaleb went and rescued me and he swears it was just normal gecco size but I totally disagree. That would have bothered me a lot, but not to the extent that I sat up in the livingroom until the boys went to bed so they could completely take my bed apart checking for the lizard nest that I had convinced myself must be hiding under my bed. Kaleb kinda grumped about it but sweet Andrew got into it and Kaleb had to help or look bad. The boys honestly didn't know why I would be upset at discovering such a great find as a striped lizard in my bed...I mean, they generally have to wander around outside before they find one. Sigh. I did not get a good nights sleep last night and I am afraid that neither did Joel as I pretty much stayed on his side of the bed last night trying to stay warm because there was no way I was going to cover up with the blanket that had a striped green lizard on it!

Ok, that is all! Day Two Begins!