Dinner Plans

I am just about to go to bed after spending the evening shopping for and prepping dinner for tomorrow night. We are having some friends over; I may take some pics to share here.

Today was Presidents' Day here in Botswana, so the first two grocery stores we went to, Woolworths and Food Lovers Market, were both closed for the holiday. We then went to Pick n Pay and luckily it was open and we found everything we needed there.

We are very fortunate in that we can get pretty much everything in the grocery stores here. Actually way more variety than they had in Buenos Aires, believe it or not. I bought asparagus imported from Chile tonight, for example. Prices are not cheap, but comparable to expensive grocery stores in the U.S. But at least things are available if we want them.

((A private side note: I left a HUGE mess in the kitchen tonight of piles of dishes, pots and pans, cutting boards, garlic skins/grated cheese/wayward zucchini bits fallen to the floor, from cooking/prepping. And when I come home at lunch tomorrow, voila! The kitchen will be clean and sparkling again. I really do love having a full-time housekeeper.))

We have been growing things in the yard, too. It's winter here, but it's fairly mild; the low for tonight is 32, but the high for tomorrow is 71. Yes, that's Fahrenheit. I don't do Celsius.

Yesterday I harvested some carrots and onions, and today picked some broccoli and rosemary and was able to use all of it prepping for tomorrow's dinner.

Yes, that's darling little Boludo, our 3-yr.-old toy poodle from Argentina, still with us thank goodness after his adventure of being stolen shortly after we arrived here in Botswana last year. Another story for another day.

So we are having folks over tomorrow night, and I always stress out when we plan a weekday dinner; I have to rush home from work (usually well after closing time) and run around to prepare everything against the deadline of guests' impending arrival.

So tonight we prepped everything we could ahead of time, and I am in a good place now. I think it will all turn out tomorrow.

Some quick updates for my loyal readers:

We are still in Gaborone, Botswana. My tour would have been over in Feb. of next year (2013), but I switched jobs here which in effect extended my tour another two years from now. So we'll be done June/July-ish 2014.

Nile Malena is 2 years 4 mos. old. She talks and chatters all the time and she is so cute. You can ask her how old she is and she'll say "I'm two!" An evolution from the "I two!" learned and repeated many times on her birthday thanks to an e-card (thanks, mom/grandma!). Very smart little girl.

She is asserting her independence now. Last night we went to dinner at a friend's house, and she refused to wear a shirt. Let me remind you, it's winter here, people. Quite chilly. I kept offering her the shirt, but she would scream and/or run away. Suit (or don't) yourself.

Anyway, she is a joy and we love her so much. <-- reminds me that she says "Mommy, I missed you SO MUCH!" and throws her arms around me sometimes. She also will say "I love you, too!" when I tell her I love her.

Her baby SISTER is due Nov. 3! We are getting very excited for her arrival. It's nice to be happy and excited about it this time around; I was so apprehensive about being a mom the first time! Now we just need a good name ...