Many of you like to see pictures more than you like to read. That's me too. I had hoped to use my laptop at the library so I could upload some of our many photographs, and so I had a new wireless card installed this morning. The library wireless service is not working, wouldn't you know, but someone has suggested that if we have an adaptor to run the laptop off the cigarette lighter (which we do), I could probably access the web from the Methodist Church parking lot. It seems that's a hotspot. Maybe I'll try that. Meanwhile, just words.
On Monday, we had a short-sleeve-shirt day (+20C) and today, it's +2C and two inches of snow. I guess it's some kind of justice when it snows on the snowbirds. We plan to make a trip into Arizona in a week to visit friends the Janzens near Tucson and the Friesens near Phoenix. It'll be nice to see another place and to converse with people from "back home." Speaking of names, which nobody was, our SOOP experience has been heavy with Friesens: Two Friesen couples arrived when we did (both acquaintances from childhood days) and another Friesen couple from Kelowna just arrived. We actually knew the latter from Germany where we worked the office of MCC and they did refugee work in Munich. When we crossed the border from Mexico into the US a month ago, The lady who looked at the Friesen's passport called a colleague over and said something like, "Look, more Friesens!" Somebody in church said that all the Friesens were coming to Carlsbad because it was so cold in Canada, everybody was 'friezen.' I imagine that the "frozes" are too stiff too move. We haven't seen any here.
I cooked an authentic Mexican-American meal for supper last night. I have a cookbook on the subject from the local library and decided to try cooking something from scratch. I made a chili sauce instead of buying it prepared and made enchilda. These are sharp cheddar, boiled egg, olives and sauteed onion wrapped in a tortilla and smothered in chili sauce, then baked at 300F for 25 minutes. They were good. I also made a side dish of Mexican beans and rice starting with small red beans soaked overnight, then boiled. You add the rice after 30 minutes, along with coconut milk and a few spices and 1 habanero pepper, the hottest pepper in the entire world. (Never cut these up without rubber gloves.) It was a good supper and our guests, the Friesens, enjoyed it. I think it may have thawed them out.
We keep a close watch on the weather in Edmonton, Saskatoon and Winnipeg and realize that most of you who are reading this are experiencing a cold snap. I know, for instance, that it's -21C in Rosthern today, and that Horatio, our cat, is probably mad as a hornet. I also know that it's only -8C in Edmonton and that warmer air is on the way. What a bizarre place the earth under global warming has become. The midwest USA is practically buried under snow today. At least it has served to provide variety to our lives and to give us grist for the coffee row conversation mill.
New Mexico has a bone to pick with Saskatchewan, I found out recently. It appears that the postash industry was really strong here until the stuff was found in plentitude in Saskatchewan, after which the Carlsbad economy took a real dip. There's still a potash industry here, but it's not what it once was. Agnes met a lady at a friend's house the other day who will be moving to Saskatoon from Carlsbad. Her husband has been transferred from a potash mine here to work at one near Saskatoon. Don't know which one.
Time's up. Got to go. God bless you all and keep you warm. Especially you Friesens and Froeses.
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