This is my 2nd Knit-Along dishcloth and I'm very happy with it and I like the colors. They are pleasing to the eyes. I enjoy knitting 6-10 rows a day and getting excited to see what comes each day, for 6 days. Yes, my life ambition revolves around knitting dishcloths right now because if I think of my portfolio, online class, and Monday night class, I get a rash. Tomorrow, we start February's dishcloth and I have the yarn ready to go and an assortment of needles at my beck and call.
It is time to relive the nightmare that was last weekend. As you know, Travis is remodeling our shower and it promises to fabulous when finished. At the same time, we decided to put in new shower and bath fixtures. So Trav got all the stuff to replace the fixtures and got the tub all hooked up and was working on the shower, but every time he'd turn the water back on, it would spray all over the bathroom and make a big, soupy mess. Well, a bigger and soupier mess than it already was. This went on all day. I was singing with the stake choir for conference so I had morning practice. When I came home, the water was off. When I left in the afternoon, the water was still off and Travis' mood was abysmal. I left in a hurry. When I came home, 5 hours later, water was still off and Travis was mumbling incoherently. He stomped out of the house mumbling something about Home Depot. I picked up the phone and called our friendly, neighborhood Roger. Roger got here just as Travis got back. Roger took one look at the pipes and knew what was wrong: Travis was using the wrong sort of pipe. So they went over to Brad the Plumber's house (Brad not at home) and broke into his plumbing van and got the PVC pipe that they needed to cap it off for the night and provide our family with water. This was accomplished by midnight. Travis was able to shower. As we went to bed, I suggested that since the bathtub was still the ineffective pipe, we shut the water off. Each toilet had one flush in it and we'd be fine til morning. I got up for conference (was singing again) and showered. While showering, the tub pipes burst, spewing water, water everywhere. After church, Roger and Brad came over and they all worked and got the whole mess taken care of and plumbed correctly. Roger and Brad's wives kept asking me why Travis didn't call. Why he didn't leave a message or call back. I had a talk with Travis about his "Lonesome Joan" syndrome. It is this silly Ernie and Bert song about a girl who has to do everything alone and won't ask for help. Because of her stubbornness, she never learns how to tie her shoes, read, or write until she is 84. It is on itunes and You-tube if you want to listen to it - hilarious. I wish I knew how to put sound bytes on my blog, but I dasn't. Anyway, he had it all plumbed correctly, just wrong pipes. It was a most horrid weekend. I haven't been mentally able to revisit it until now, since sufficient time has passed and nerves have been calmed. He is happily and successfully working on it as we speak. He is now in the construction phase (rather than demolition) and is feeling good about it. I just stay clear and take care of the kids and house and my new class that I hate.
After such a rotten weekend, I knew we needed a morale boost, so I went along with our previously planned International Night of Cooking. Remember how we had previously made Puerto Rican food. Well, last Sunday was French cuisine. We made chicken and mushroom crepes and then cream cheese crepes with strawberries and chocolate on top. It was delicious. Maddie and I had a good time crepe-ing. 
We made some extras for a neighbor who had brought us some homemade cannolis the previous week - wow, those were delicious!!
We all survived the last and longest week of January. What a nightmare. Nothing was bad, it is just my least favorite week of the year. It always has been and it has nothing to do with weather. Heck it was 80 on Tuesday so it can't be winter doldrums. But then it rained really hard on Thursday and I'm a traveling teacher and I have to go outside to get to my classes. Even though I had an umbrella which kept my head and shoulders dry, my crate and books got SOAKED, as did the cuffs of my pants. It is a soupy mess out in the portables. One day, those things are going to wash away and then they'll wish they had built a real school. I am nearly finished with my portfolio. My Monday night class has only 6 more classes. And I am down to 12 of 14 for my Reading class. When I hate something, I count down. It may seem that it makes it go slower, but for me, I need to see progress that it is passing by. Glory and Amen. I can't wait for this school year to be done.As for the kids: Morgan and Roz are nursing colds. Morgan has taken good care of hers. She sleeps, sneezes, wipes her noes, then loads it up with Carmex! She even missed her 1st day of Seminary yesterday. But, it had to be. She is sneezing so much and she produces so much snot, she just couldn't go. She blames her father for her propensity to sneeze. If you have ever spent time with Travis, you'll agree. She is participating in All-County Band and they perform on Tuesday. She brought home a vial of her DNA taken from her spit this week. Then she proceeded to tell us how her science teacher had to go and talk to the campus resource officer (the sheriff) and explain it when a boy was caught with a suspicious vial. Apparently, his little vial fell out of his backpack and a teacher saw it and was suspicious and called the police to come and get him out of the room with his drugs.
Rozzie's cold is just blossoming today. She will likely spend some time caring for it tomorrow. She is enjoying being in the play at school - an adaptation of the "Wizard of Oz." She is working on 2 research papers. And her math grades are staying afloat with the help of a tutor - it is handy to work at a school and share an office with a young, funny math teacher who specializes in helping kids who struggle with math!
Maddie is in the midst of making another cell. This year, we are using junk around the house. I'll post a picture when it is done. She is helping her dad in the bathroom right now. She will be handy in the house when she grows up! She already knows how to lay a wood floor.
That was a long post. I've ranted and raved and now I'm done.
Next, I thought I'd share with your one of our favorite meals. Mr. Skullcandy introduced us to fried plantains when he was out here a couple years ago. I had always wondered about those ugly green bananas. Then we had some friends (Puerto Ricans) that came over once and made them with us. And to top it off, a Puerto Rican sister in our ward came to Mutual one night and brought recipes and we made fried plantains and beans/rice. YUM. We've made them a few times here and it is always fun. The kids are getting good at it and I let them do it while I worked on a sewing project! So here are pictures of the delicious meal! Let me know if your interested in the bead recipe - it is very different from what we are used to and it is really good. First, you fry the plantains.
Then you fry them again and salt them. They have an "essence" of banana, but they taste more like a fried potato - maybe a thick potato chip. Very good with rice and beans on them!!
These are the beans. Oh, can you smell them? This is mouth watering stuff. Wish you were here to enjoy it with us!