Thistlewood Manor

This looks like fun!

Here’s how Greg gets to work in the morning:

He rides in a little 3 wheeled motorized rickshaw.

Is that cute or what?  And in my favorite color too!  I asked him to bring one home for me in his suitcase…….

Daily life in Sri Lanka

Greg sent me another email and more pictures to share with you.  Here’s what he has for breakfast at his hotel:

He says he has 2 fried eggs,  toast and 2 chicken sausages.  He has pineapple juice and tea to drink.

I think his favorite parts of the day are morning and afternoon tea!  They have cheese and crackers and juice.  Don’t you wish someone would bring you a tray like this at break time?

Greg said they have fresh fruit for lunch, and fruit is available everywhere!  I wish he could bring me a suitcase full when he comes home!

Greg got to spend a night at this house:

He said it was beautiful; lots of marble and statues.  He’s really living it up over there!

Wow!  Here’s a few pictures of the country side:

I hope you enjoyed this little “slice of life”; I’m really having fun sharing Greg’s trip with him.

The silly little puppies go outside

The puppies are now 7 weeks old and I let them go outside for the first time today.

“Is it safe?”  they ask as they peer out.

“Maybe we could just take a peek.”

“I think we better go back inside”.  says one.

“Hey, these steps are fun!” they say.

Lincoln has such a cute little brown face.

“What’s this white stuff?”

  Playing in the snow with mom and dad.

Whew!  Now the puppies are all tired out and taking a nap.  Four of them have homes already, but I have 2 girls and a boy that are looking for a place to live; let me know if you would like one.

News from Sri Lanka

I got an email from Greg today and this is what he had to say:

“What a busy day!  We got up this morning at 230AM.  Drove to the second site.  About 5 hours.  We unloaded a semi container trailer which contained the second dryer and some tools we need.  We didn't have the equipment to pull most of the pallet out, so they had to be unloaded by hand.  Busy, Busy, Busy!”

“I also had my first Sri Lankan traditional eating experience.  Some time ago I looked up customs here and I saw that they eat with their right hand.  Just the right hand!!  It was cool!   You lay a bed of rice out on your plate, they dip and dump small mounds of the various sauces and dishes one to it and mix it up with your right hand and eat it.  It was neat.   And for desert we have a fresh Papaya with sugar and lime on top.  It was awesome!  The sugar was made here and it was really large grain. “

Sounds fascinating, doesn’t it?  Looks like Greg could use some sunscreen too!

Who knew?

Evidently they have Pizza Hut in Sri Lanka too.  But what are those sandwiches, hot dogs???

Pictures!

Greg sent me pictures from Sri Lanka, but no descriptions, so here they are…..he’ll have to fill me in on what they are so I can pass it on.

Looks like they’re working pretty late.

Blue skies and no snow.  They drive on the other side of the road….strange.

Love those little cars!  Greg says the driving is a little crazy over there!

So much fun to enjoy Greg’s trip with him!

Something new

If you look to the left on the sidebar of my blog you’ll see a clock.  It gives the time in Columbo, Sri Lanka.  You might wonder why I care what time it is in Sri Lanka and I’d tell you it’s because my husband Greg is over there working right now.   Greg works for Sukup Manufacturing, a company in Sheffield, IA that builds grain dryers and bins like these:

He and 3 other men went to Sri Lanka to help a company there put the bins/dryers they bought together and get them running.

I’m really excited to learn more about the country of Sri Lanka while Greg is there.  He will be sending me some pictures that I will post here and on my flickr account.  So far he’s just told me that it’s very beautiful and he loves it.  (He just arrived on Tuesday.)  Here’s today’s weather forecast:

Current Conditions in Colombo

83°F / 28°C

Wind:   
NW at 12 mph / 19 km/h

Humidity:   
61%

Pressure:   
29.77 inches / 1008 mb

Sunrise:   
6:58 AM

Sunset:   
6:47 PM

Conditions updated at Wed, 25 Jan 2012 6:00 pm LKT

------------------------------------------------------------

Just doesn’t seem fair, does it?!  He isn’t actually in Columbo but more towards the interior of the country.  I’ll post more as I learn more……nothing like making geography REAL!

Baby pictures

The puppies were 6 weeks old on Saturday.  I haven’t posted pictures in a little while, so I thought I’d better update you.  Currently 4 of them are promised to new homes, so I have 1 girl and 1 boy left to give away, let me know if you want one!

Last week I moved the puppies out of the kiddy pool in the laundry room and onto the porch.  We put a board across half of it and made them a play area.  They have their mom’s big kennel to sleep in, and a small area of wood shavings to poop in.  They are doing pretty well at going where they are supposed to, so hopefully potty training will go well too.  Here they are all snuggled up in the kennel taking a nap.

As soon as I walk in the room they are all right there, wanting to be let out to play!

Too bad there’s no sound with these pictures, there’s a lot of yipping and barking going on!

Don’t you love that little face?

They are so much fun,  but I’ll be glad to see them leave in 2 weeks, little puppies eat a lot!

Flea Market Weekend

This past weekend we had beautiful weather, making it easy to travel 35 miles north to set up at a flea market in Mason City, IA.  I thought I’d share our booth with you.

Here’s the “overview” or “from a distance” shot.  We had a variety of items, from quilts to handmade soap to “junque”.  That’s my husband Greg there in the back.

This is a closeup of some of the bags and quilted runners and placemats.  Most of them were made by my mom and given to me to sell.

Wine bottle covers to make your gift even a little more special.  Everyone loves the sock monkeys.  They are good for covering and insulating water bottles too.

Handmade soap and zipper bags.

Pictures, dishes, ornaments and more odds and ends.

This is the picture I like to display at my booth to let people know a little more about me and what I do.

We had a fun time at the flea market, but won’t be able to go back for a few months as we have other commitments.  Before I go I want to mention a few more items in my Etsy Shop.  I have two new soaps; Rosemary mint and Sandalwood.

 

 

 

 

 

I also have new wooden soap dishes with grooves in them so the water runs away from the soap so it can dry in between uses.  That keeps the soap from becoming mushy.

They are $5 each.

Egg rolls, it’s what’s for supper.

I was surprised when my husband told me he’d never had homemade egg rolls.  We love them at Chinese restaurants and I began making them when I was in high school.  I loved experimenting with new recipes and my mother preferred to work outside in the garden or on knitting projects, so I did a lot of the cooking.  My brother and I even catered oriental dinners for people when we were  in high school, a creative and fun way to make money.

So, about those egg rolls.  You wouldn’t believe how easy they are, and you can make so many variations.  I’m going to give you my basic recipe, but feel free to make substitutions.

Easy Egg Rolls

1 package egg roll skins

1 cup diced ham (or chicken or pork or shrimp)

2 cups chopped cabbage

1 can Chinese  vegetables

1 can water chestnuts

1 small onion, chopped

3 T soy sauce

1 egg

Chop the meat and vegetables finely, using a food processer is the easiest.  Stir in the egg and soy sauce, then use 2-3 tablespoons per egg roll.  Directions should be on the package for how to fold them.  This makes about 20 egg rolls.

Then deep fry to perfection and enjoy with mustard sauce, soy sauce, or sweet and sour sauce.  Yummy.