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