The Day Providence Paid A Visit

Well, it's been a week since I've had an opportunity to be here and visit with you all. I'm not sure who that is, since there aren't any comments lately- so if you're lurking, come out of lurkdom and say hello! Really The Steppe isn't such a scary place, now, is it?? In order to post a comment you do need to register. It doesn't mean much, just that they are trying to make sure that legitimate PEOPLE are posting, not computers. So, take a few minutes and register, so you can say hi...

So, onto Life on the Steppe... It is snowing today- it wasn't a total surprise. Weather Underground has been predicting this for a few days, but it is a little surprising that it is sticking and that it has been snowing much of the day. Yes, we ARE very excited to get to Dubai in a few weeks! I must say, I won't be sorry to miss the last couple of weeks of winter! We hear it is supposed to be in the 80's while we are there.

Weather like this always takes me back to one dark and fateful night. Can I tell you about the time we almost died? About 4 years ago, we were travelling back from a city south of us, where it tends to be warmer much of the time. In fact, right now they are turning their gardens over for planing! We started our (normally 8 hour) journey at around 1:00 in the afternoon in mild October weather. Our trip was cooking along pretty nicely until about 3 hours from our destination. Then the car started to act really funny. When The Water Guy got out to check on the engine, he noticed that the temperature had falled dreadfully! Like several decades of degrees! The engine was NOT taking the fall in temps. well, and without going into the details of why, let's just say that we limped along for another hour until we reached a familiar village to stop in for repast.

By this time is was about 9:00 when we got on our way again. The car started, but barely. Again, on our way, we noticed our lights dimming, and the temperature gauge falling steadily. Ladies, you know that look when your hubby is worried. Lines that shouldn't be there suddenly appear, like those along the San Andreas that speak of danger. Eventually, around 10:00 of driving veeeeeerrrrryyyyy slowly, it died. Yes, it just died. Let me tell you a little bit about the Central Asian Steppe... It is desolate. Can you imagine desolate, really, really desolate? Think northern Nevada, or maybe central Texas, but about 1/10 of the traffic.

At this point the temperature had fallen to a bone-chilling -20C. We had coats, but that just wasn't cutting the chill as my brave and unfailing Water Guy tried to fix the problem. To no avail. We were now at the mercy of Providence. We scanned the horizon for lights that we could possibly make a trek to, but the distances can be deceiving on a cold winter's night, so we decided that rather than risk getting there and no one being home, we'd wait for a Good Samaritan instead. After a good half hour-maybe 45 minutes, a car did stop. A few passed but did not stop before that. Curiously, this car was a pilot car for a rocket (now, if you're astute, you'll figure out where we are) being transported somewhere else. The group of men, smelling distinctly of the "spirit du jour", offered to take us to the next village up the road. THANK YOU, LORD! All 7 of us piled into the very small car along with the 3 other men and made the trek, backtracking about an hour.

We only had one acquaintance in this village that we'd met once a long time ago. The Water Guy had visited the house on another occasion many months before, and silenly prayed he'd be "lead" to it again, in the dark, by memory. It was 12:00 AM now. By only a miracle, he did remember where this particular safe Haven was and after many profuse thanks and invitations to each others' homes for tea in the future, they left to meet up with the rocket.

I can only think of one region in the world where one can knock on someone's door at midnight and be ushered in as a king. We were immediately given hot tea, bread and jam, and our hostesses made a gigantic family bed of cotton-stuffed blankets and fluffy chicken feather pillows. We were warm, safe, comfortable, and alive. We look back fondly now to that time when we were reminded once again of God's complete and utter mercy on us, and reflect often on how much in life is so trivial compared to living a life of gratefulness and mercy given to others. Yes, it is risky opening your door to strangers, but God calls us out to take many risks in His Name, doesn't He?

From a snowy Steppe,

Your SteppeSister

Number please!

Another milestone in the development of people we live with!! Seriously folks this is a monumental achievement akin to the building of the great wall or landing a man on the moon!!

Do you LOVE your internet service provider? We don't! In fact, it gives us much grief, and seems that every week there is another burp in our service. It's either off, we can't log in, "unlimited" turns out to have a limit, you know that kind of shinanigans! Last week, it was the dreaded
"spit-you-over-to-the-account-management-there-must-be-something-wrong-page".

I really hate this one, because it is always in Russian or some other language that we have a very difficult time reading and understanding. So what it really translates to is-- put on your heavy clothes, clean the mud off of your boots, find your gloves that Nariloo has been playing dress up with, and haul your angry self to the phone company office. Yes, it really is that big of a hassle!

Okay, once you are there, you walk into a small room that the fire marshall would declare fit for about 30 people. My friends, this is not true! In perfect Central Asian fashion this room regularly holds 130 angry, frustrated, and completely and totally randomly placed human beings.

Let us now depart on a queuing tutorial for the less travelled. One enters an office, government building, clinic, oh just about anywhere, and scans the room. This is necessary to take a gauge of the general temperament of the crowd. One quickly says to himself, "This is going to be fun (said with deep sarcasm), and starts listing off the other things one won't get accomplished because you be here _________ (fill in the blank with approximated hours of standing- then multiply by a factor of 10). The next thing one does is ask, "Who's last??" Said party speaks up, then one must remember this face. Can I be really honest here?? After living here 8 years, I still have a hard time with this! I know, that must sound racist, bigotted, whatever P(in)C word works for you, but I don't look at the faces. I look at the clothes. Oh, oops, they are all wearing a fur hat and a black leather coat. Okay, I won't remember with that method either. So, one just tres to stand as close as possible to THAT person as long as possible to memorize their warts and bumps. Yeah, that's it. Now one must wait, and wait, and wait --okay you get the picture. Well, it's not the kind of waiting that you do at your local DMV or Social Security Office. Here older folks get preferential treatment, as well as those who scream loudest, and those who simply cut in front of everyone and go up to the window to "ask a simple question". So, the face that you memorized the warts of, may or may not be your "Forever Friend". You just have to pay attention----- in another language---- which is extremely mentally and physically exacting. I imagine it is something like running a marathon whilst playing Jeopardy.

Enough of that, onto the point of this post. We walked into our phone company office and notice a number board with red blinky lights!!! "WHAAAAAAAAT??!!, could this be??, " we ask to ourselves. Yes, yes, indeedy doo, it IS! A real number board that puts you squarely in LINE! You push a button on a contraption in the "vestibule" and then wait until they call your number. Might I even add that they are now providing couches to rest your weary flab on while you memorize your neighbors' warts. Could it be that next they will offer complimentary lattes and spiced chai?

Not meaning to completely ruin the luxury of basking in this revelry of civilized behavior, I wryly turned to The Water Guy and asked him if it would totally negate the whole interlude if I just hocked a loogy right there on the floor? They love to do that here, you know. It's like the biggest blob throwers win some sort of prize or something. Maybe today I could win us some truly unlimited internet access with no hassles included?

2 Ply Toilet Paper and Questionable Cohabitation

Ever tried 1 ply, and really liked it? I mean really, doesn't it just take twice as much to do the job?? For 8 years now we've had to succomb our most delicate little tooshies to paper that is really meant for other tasks, such as draining your freshly cooked chimichangas, or for blotting ink from your recent calligraphy practice. No, it has even sometimes been WORSE! There have been known be shortages of even one-ply in our city, reducing us to the likes of The Terminator. It has once been aptly dubbed "John Wayne Paper", and proudly rests on its laurels as the "paper" which could only be produced by a society that also proudly puts its old volumes of Lenin to the same use. (This is no lie, we had some ourselves!) The Terminator takes much abuse before it's even taken into action with vigorous rubbing and working- like a loving mother handling her latest batch of bread dough. After being seen fit for consumer consumption, the user then must decide, "Is this really worth it?" Other choice thoughts enter ones mind at times like this too, such as, "Do they sell those fancy French thingys here (bidets) too, I wonder?"

Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to tell you today, that we now have 2 ply paper for our hygienic enjoyment! No lie- 2 ply and quilted with pretty little flowers! I know my tooshie (okay, you caught me, it's not so little) probably can't enjoy the color or design the manufacturers would like to hope, but this regular consumer certainly enjoys the downright cottony billowyness of quilted 2 ply. However, I certainly doubt I will find much when I visit the village- for the dainty, peach-colored, 2 ply, quilted, fluff of Heaven would most certainly look dreadfully out of place in a 3X3 plywood shack with a 2 foot hole beneath it, now wouldn't it?

Now, onto more appropriate subjects- that of questionable cohabitation. I have a new roommate. He is rather short, and well, although I don't think he is too old for me, he is very much gray. I don't know if I'd describe him as handsome per se. He eats an enormous amount of food for his size, and we've been known to dine together regularly now. My husband is not jealous, he says it's about time something like this happened. In fact, we've been expecting it for years. He is rather a quiet sort of fellow, but at night he likes to let everyone know that he's in charge now! I'm sure you also know some folks that have a voice that just seems to big for their body. Now, if you thought that my living with someone else was just too much, wait til I tell you that I think he might be a SHE! Why just last night she? told me her name was "Liz", and that's short for Lizard! My new roommate can be very elusive sometimes, but next time she almost gets stepped on I'll try to snap her picture to introduce you to her.

So, what do you think of these?? The first one, I started months ago, in hopes it'd be hanging by Christmas! HA! What a joke that was. It is actually only one of 4 panels- each one telling a part of the Christmas story. 3 are long and narrow like this, and the 4th runs lenthwise across the top of the other 3. The top one is an angel carrying a banner that says, "Unto us a child is born". All in this stained glass style. LOVE IT! This one is a wall haning I made to match, okay coordinate, with the bedspread quilt I made. Actually, the top is done, but since I don't really like the quilting phase of quilting, it has stalled out. Maybe someday, when I'm really rich, I'll buy a long arm machine to make that part easier. My only option right now is using my little home machine, and that is a pain. Well,I guess I could handquilt, which is what I'll do with the wall hanging, but to handquilt a queen sized quilt- NO WAY! I'm too impatient- I just want it on the bed!

A friend of mine living in the big city got me hooked on hand applique. Really hooked! It turns out soooo much nicer than the fusible webbing method. So here is my first attempt at it. One goal of mine to make a wall hanging for each month of the year. I have Jan, March, May, Sept. Oct, Nov., and Dec. done, so I needed something springy to keep my busy. Does this look like it fits with Feburary?? I'm not a big fan of hearts, so I stuck with flowers. Maybe I'll put some hearts on the swags in the border?? Not sure yet, it's a work in progress...

So, Maroo, you know this already, but I started an exercise program of sorts. I hate it!!! No, you don't understand.. I really HATE exercising! But the flab has won out, and my back is deteriorating (literally!) so something had to be done! 'Member, Mar, I told you I was going to jumprope?? I did 2 days ago. Okay, I can NOT MOVE today! I jumped for 12 minutes, and I cannot move. I walked today for about 10 minutes, and it will be several days that I will be able to jump again. 40 sucks!

Love and peace to you all,

Your SteppeSister

Great News!

Our director hired a great lawyer and our company went on the offensive. It worked! They came to us with their proverbial tails tucked under their legs! It was beautiful! We have been asking for a long, long time that these various departments would come to understand that heavy handed, outside the law kinds of dealings just don't fly anymore! So, justice prevailed on this day, my friends- it's been a long time coming...

I don't know about where you live, but we've had the weirdest weather this year! For over 2 weeks now, the temps. have been either above or just below freezing. So strange. Today, it snowed again, but still it's really only slightly above freezing. We've had to open windows, and turn our radiators down- way down. This is how our heat works... The city has this giganimous heat plant just outside the city where they heat massive amounts of water with either coal or natural gas (they are the middle of changing over). From there, they pipe that hot water all over the city to apartments and a few, very few, private houses. We are one of the lucky ones to have heat in a private house. So, we have iron pipes in each house with a radiator that, well, radiates heat. They are hot to the touch, but not enough to burn you. If we want to turn the heat down, we simply go out to the street pipes where there is a valve, and we turn it down. It works great until we get a leak in one of the iron pipes. Then it's a mess, sometimes a very big mess. Often the only way to fix a leak is to call a welder. Then they come and make burn marks all over your walls, tile floors, etc... I hate that!

After going this whole first 8 months of our term without ANYONE getting sick, Nariloo did. She played with the neighbor girl a couple of days ago, and came down with the same bronchitis crud. You know, sore throat, cough, blah, blah, blah. Please don't get me started on the medical system here. It is beyond a nightmare- I'll save that for another day.

Guess what?! I am almost finished with my first block of a new spring wall hanging. I am using the freezer paper method for appliqueing it, and it is turning out beautifully. If I coudl find the camera, I'd show you, but I can't. So, I promise, next post I will show you all 3 projects I have going. It is great to have something to keep my hands busy while I teach the kids.

Oh, one more thing. I have been hearing about this stuff called Tonga Toast they serve at the Polynesian Resort at WDW. It sounds divine. Want the recipe?? Take some good Sourdough or French bread and cut some big, thick slices. Cut it open to make a pocket and scoop out a little of the bread. Cut a banana lengthwise, then crosswise so you get 4 quarters. Stuff 2 of the slices into a bread pocket. Mix up 4 eggs, about 1/4 c. milk, 1 t. vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Dip the stuffed bread into the egg, and let sit for a few seconds to soak up some egg mixture. Fry in oil until golden brown, and you know, done looking. Then sprinkle with a generous amount of cinnamon sugar. Serve with maple syrup, powdered sugar, or any other topping that sounds good to you. I personally think something with pineapple sounds great! I'm going to make it on Saturday morning- I'll let you know how it turns out. BTW, wanna know where our bananas come from? Same place as yours!!!!!

Well, let me know how your Tonga Toasts...

Your SteppeSister