The Gift of Time

A friend of mine that I worked with in Turkey once said that we had been given the gift of time.  (We spent a lot of time reading and going to the beach in Turkey!)  I often think of her and her statement now that we’re in Lagos, as once again, we seem to have been given the gift of time.  There is no more rushing here or there (not often, anyway), as there isn’t really anywhere to go!  Also, not having a car kind of limits our movements!

With her gift of time, Laryssa now has her fingers in many pies.  She swims, plays soccer, plays with her friends, rearranges her room, reads, rides her scooter… the list is endless!

Ballet with Chiara 

Playing in the rain with Allison

Making Valentine’s Day cards and decorations

Laryssa and Mommy on Valentine’s Day, ready for school

Ballet in front of the TV

Playing with Chiara

Chris is gardening, making beer, experimenting with cinnamon buns and he regularly bakes all of our bread.

The “Little Bit of Everything” Shelf

• There is beer ‘settling’ on the top shelf
• Some vegetables such as lettuce, cilantro and broccoli prefer cooler weather, so they get to sit inside, near the A/C!

Cinnamon buns! I have no idea why we can’t lose weight…

  Bread sits outside in the heat of the day to rise!

Pita bread

Freshly baked buns, ready for the freezer (it’s the only way we can make them last longer).

Our friend Donny has his gardening (he’s beautifying the outside of our building) and he has his dogs (9 altogether, plus 2 cats!).  Donny was kind enough to part with a bougainvillea plant this morning… the payment will be made in cinnamon buns!

 Some of the dogs, out for a walk.  

Donny and Chris, installing the new bougainvillea!

It’s nice to have some flowers now!

This photo was taken from our window on the 4th floor.  It shows all of Donny’s hard work (or Donny’s Garden Centre, as I like to call it!)

Me… I read a lot, go walking, work on my blog, and lately I’ve been doing some cooking too!  I’ve found a great website called www.skinnytaste.com and I’ve taken to making soups!  Chicken Pot Pie Soup is our favorite, so I’ve been making a big batch each weekend and we freeze it for easy suppers during the week.  I made a double batch yesterday, and today I have Chicken and Black Bean Soup on the stove. I also get out shopping now and then, and have discovered the “Market Under the Bridge”.  It is what it is… a market under the bridge.  There are a lot of fresh fish and prawn stalls, vegetable stands and fruit as well.  I bought 10USD worth of vegetables yesterday that would have cost me more than double in the store!  One of these Sundays we’ll take a walk over there so that Chris can check out the fish.  Yesterday my friend Janet introduced me to a little Indian shop, Emjays, which was full of little goodies.  I told her she should take Chris next time… it would be right up his alley!

This is me, doing my Sunday morning blog.  You can see what I’m thinking when Chris took my picture…

Chicken Pot Pie Soup

Cupcakes for Miss A’s birthday

Last Friday after school we went on a little tour to find The Ice Cream Factory.  We got a little lost, but eventually we found it!  It was an interesting walk with a sweet reward at the end.  I didn’t really care for the ice cream, as to me, it tasted like the milk (boxed UHT milk), but Laryssa thought it was good.

The Gate Guard at our back gate

Our quest to find The Ice Cream Factory

        

Laryssa was so happy to finally get there!

Our housekeeper (steward), Rita, brought us some plantains this week.  They taste like bland bananas… I’m wondering if I can turn them into bread…