The best of the best, of the best, of the best best

It has dawned on me recently that I have rarely talked about my 'weekly routine' and schedule. While some may consider me a mere babysitter (which may be true in some cases), I would argue that my role here is purely one of many talents. I become the chauffeur, the cook/baker woman, the English teacher, disciplinarian, official enforcer of table manners, and sometimes when called upon the goofy companion. The title of this post tells you how many silly slogans and comic book phrases get thrown at me everyday--most in Polish. That is one Marceli likes to repeat over and over. I truly do understand what being a parent is all about--perhaps this 'training' has given me a wake-up call to the child I was to my parents when I was little. It ain't easy. All come with their trials, rewards, and lessons--maybe even perhaps in doing so I will be "the best Mom ever"... after my mother of course. Love you Mom! :)

When I first came I had nearly a week and a half to learn everything. That included the roads, who liked what foods, what time meals were, and how to decipher Polish food labels. It was something new, something challenging, and something I truly enjoyed. Now five months into the year and I still find myself learning even when the schedule seems to be at it's normal pace and repertoire. I think even the kids are starting to warm up to me a little after realizing I am not all that mean terrible. It's for their own good; I swear.

Here's how a normal day looks like for us:

Kids have swimming at 7am - Either I pick them up or their tutor, depending on the location, at 8:30am. 

Second Breakfast at 10am

Lessons from 10am-3pm with a break at 1pm for lunch. 

Supper at 7:30pm

Throughout the week there are alternating days for other activities including swimming at two other swimming pools (they do swim an awful lot), horseback riding, piano lessons, taekwondo, and English lessons (when we can). 

Yes. They are extremely busy kids. 

My little cuties - the eldest is only pretending he's tough.

 I have begun to relish my morning quiet time ritual. It is sometimes postponed to the afternoon though depending on what I am doing. Still, my Bible reading has become the essential daily activity for me. I am working on reading it from cover to cover--so far it's been a well rewarded journey.

Weekends are a bit more relaxed, as I get to do things on my own time. And on Sunday.... Breakfast with the family at 8am, and leave for church at 9:15am. They drop me off at one of the roundabouts in town, and I take the tram to my church, while they drive to their mass. Afterward, I usually meet them at the local shopping mall or they come pick me up. We have a nice lunch (or dinner as they refer to it) at home around 2 or 3pm, and then they have a 'sweet snack' around 5pm. Supper is at 7:30pm. 

Time with friends is sprinkled in there. And yes, they do eat alot of small meals during the day. It's unreal. They keep telling me I need to eat more, and if you know me at all than you know I barely eat anything--except maybe peanut butter.

The past few days I have been in charge of waking up at 5am, waking the kids up, feeding them, and driving them at 6am to the swimming pool since Aga is out of town. By golly we did it--aced, done and dusted. 

I definitely do feel like the best of the best, of the.... well you get the point. 

Happy Friday!

Heart & Hand

"But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself , so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of the grace of God."

[And with the winter months their hearts were cold and unbecoming, but then spring came and melted their disparaging thoughts and minds. Then things were beautiful.]

 At the coming of May I am again reminded of so many things. Not only has my life been truly full and blossoming, but I am also able to share so much of my life with others. I was reminded by this verse of the 'course' or mission that I am on here, and of how very important it is that I follow through with it--whatever it is that I am called to do. I have been trying to do more in the way of finding God's purpose for me here, and to fulfill it to the best of my ability. In more ways than one I can see what it is He is doing for me here and it makes me happy to see His plan unfolding. We are so small compared to what He has prepared for us--I know that more and more.

I see this year as a huge milestone. Not only do I turn 25 (yikes!) but I also have been able to pursue more of my interests in English. Since being here God has really opened up opportunities to help others with English in the way of teaching or editorial work. This is something I have been praying about and I am excited at the possibilities that are unfolding. Perhaps my dream of freelancing is starting to unwind, still there is so much work that needs to be done. Regardless, I am grateful for the much needed experience. I have also learned how to manage a household. I list this as one of the blessings of this year because one day I will have to manage one of my own, and being a part of this family here in Poland has only opened my eyes to how it will be. I feel like a parent, teacher, housewife, and caretaker all in one--only I have limitations because I am in another person's home. However, being given these responsibilities has helped me to learn what I would do differently, how I would apply certain things to my own household. I used to get frustrated and discouraged when I was seen as the 'outsider' to the kids or how they test me with their actions and attitudes, but I realize all these things happen to strengthen and build us up. I know now how challenging, as well as rewarding, these things are in our lives. I feel older; I feel more prepared. I know God wouldn't have placed me here without wanting me to go through these things for my benefit and to use this as something to look back on for a learning tool. I have learned patience, even when I thought I was patient enough. From working here I have realized there is always room for more.

I have been placed in many churches in my life, and while I first questioned being a part of this one here in Poland I know that somehow I am to be an influential tool here too. I love being able to worship, strengthen my faith, and to build some friendships with some of the elders of the church. I haven't had much luck with fellowship with the youth of the church or spending much time with members, but I hope if anything that I can be of some influence or encouragement in some way while here. I see this as more of a place to help myself grow than to obtain lasting friendships, although that may happen too. Sometimes, God gives us ways and means to help ourselves be 'fed' in order to help us grow. I think He is feeding me now with being in this church.

Likewise, perhaps one of the most amazing thing that has happened this year is my incredible experience getting to know God better. I have the church to thank in helping me see and think more about what it means to be strong in God and how important it is to live your life in such a way that reflects Him. Throughout this year I have made more of an effort to pray, to have more intimate time with God, to read more of the Bible, to influence and encourage others in living a more Godly focused life. These things have become so very important to me. All of these things have no doubt helped me to become the woman I am, and I have come to love what I see. I am yearning to be taught more in the ways of compassion, mercy, love, and living for Christ. He has, after all, done more for me than I can ever think was possible. His everlasting love is what has made me want to be a child after His own heart. Now perhaps with His love and influence I can influence the work my hands are doing in this place.

Only 5 months into this new adventure and I relish at the thought of what the next 7 months can teach me. I am hopeful for what God has in store for me, and even more excited for what He has planned after.

On my walk along the River in Kórnik with D

After an already filled 2 weeks with about a gazillion kids... okay only 7... a new puppy... who keeps peeing on the floor... and a very nice visit from D complete with a visit to a castle and arboretum, my weekend is about to start tomorrow.

Starting tomorrow I am off on a small 'holiday' to see Gdańsk, a short stop in the Malmo & Copenhagen Airports, and then to Roskilde, Denmark.  (Looking forward to seeing you La!)

Although the main pain will be all the different types of transport I will be getting... train, bus, airplane... it will certainly be a nice weekend. ALSO! It's going to be warm in Poland! 25-30C that's in the high 70s Fahrenheit for you folks back home. :)

I am looking forward to getting to a new city in Poland. Gdańsk is a beautiful coastal city, and home of the birthplace of the first battle of European theatre of WWII.

My computer will no doubt be uploading a couple hundred pictures of all these places and I will have some writing to do about the Polish National Holiday on May 3rd, as well as all the usual happenings. I will most definitely have to catch up with the happenings of last week, which will consequently be the last 2 weeks after I get back haha... I think I have some work to do. 

More soon. It was a good past... few weeks :)

Polska Kultura

Where's Charlie.... wait what?

I love this picture simply because it's a perfect example of some of the strange things I see here in Poland. This Charlie person needs to find Waldo pronto. I thought I would dedicate this post to somewhat strange, comical, and unique things pertaining to Polish culture that I have noticed while being here. And they think 'the American' (me) is strange--hah! :)

1. Shopkeepers usually open around 10am (ish), and one of the first things they do is wash the threshold/sidewalk/windowsills of their shop with a broom and mop. Honestly in America this would never happen. However, I find this somewhat endearing. 
2. In addition to the first, the Poles also find it necessary to wash their streetsigns as well--complete with a special utility vehicle that is used for such purposes. It looks like a tractor with a giant mop on the front arm.
3. The family here finds it strange that I never peel any of the vegetables or fruits, such as apples, cucumbers, tomatoes, and potatoes. They must peel everything! All I can think of is all the wasted peel, and I am not sure if this is due to me liking the added fiber to my diet, me not minding eating the peel, or all of the above.
4. Wearing stockings is a big thing here--if you don't wear them they claim you will get sick. 
5. Similarly, you must wear house shoes at all times indoors--if you don't you will also get sick from that too. 
6. When someone gets sick they take a week off... and call the doctor. This goes for a little chest cold. 
7. Milk used in cereal, hot cocoa, or pudding must be warm--not cold. 
8. The family doesn't eat the ends of bananas, due to a bacteria that grows there.... I am not sure if this is true. 
9. A bathing suit for a male consists of a Speedo--I have yet to see swim shorts. 
10. When paying for something they round up and will often ask you for a specific amount of change to make what they give back to you more 'even'.
11. The most popular shoe for a female is some sort of high heel or boot. They dress up more here which is evidence of  the Eastern European way of dressing.
12. Today I had my first experience of milk... it came in a sealed up bag. Yes. Weird.
13. If the power goes out at the house there is a limited amount of appliances that work. This makes me grateful for gas appliances! Here everything is electric... the stove/oven, heating, kettle, and the INTERNET! When you can't even cook on the stove top with a match... it's bread and butter for lunch. 
14. It's the law in Poland to have your headlights on at all times. This makes it quite fun when driving, because in order to warn other drivers of this mishap, you flash your high beams at them. This may proceed with a wave in acknowledgement.
15. Wedding rings here are worn on the ring finger of the right hand. 
16. The family here has a very wide selection of medicines, vitamins, tablets, pills, and other herbal things. Apparently this is a big thing in Poland.
17. Poles consume a lot of meat and are one of the highest consumers of meat in Europe. Bring on the kielbasa, ham, etc. 
18.  Hospitality here is something special to experience. They really take pride in giving the guest a full plate in both food and in being the perfect host. When guests arrive there is usually a wide spread of foods and alcohol of course. Lots of talking.... lots of eating... and this may repeat for several hours. Don't expect them to leave anytime soon. 
19. Christmas easily lasts until February--in fact it is tradition. Many a carol are sung after New Years, and there are still lots of sweets leftover. 
20. Chopin is their pride and joy who hailed from Warsaw, the capital of Poland.

How is that for culture!

Drama[tist]

The past few weeks have been an amazing whirlwind--maybe even a hurricane--but that is no excuse for lack of a bit of writing. I feel compelled to ask how are you, maybe that is because I feel like I need some caffeine after a very long day of (always hungry), noisy, and upset kids. My life is certainly a play put on by a master dramatist. Seems fitting doesn't it? Anyway, how are you?

Where to begin? My last post seems like it was ages ago rather than a week. Time is flying by so quickly it's unreal. Here we are already in the second week of April--where did the first four months go? Since my last post we have eaten all the sourdough bread. It was a big hit, especially the loaf I baked in the crock pot in the oven. From now on I will use a big heavy pot like that for bread baking--it turned out perfect! I would have saved you some, sorry. I was please that the loaf impressed the auntie and 'Babcia' Zosia (Grandmother in Polish). They really loved the bread and told me 'I would have no problem keeping a house of my own'. Baking bread or cooking in general is considered a very big positive in being able to keep a household--thus the emphasis. It made me proud. This week I made a huge loaf of garlic bread--I wish I had taken a picture because the loaf was seriously so big and took up most of a cookie sheet. I used about 7 cloves of garlic too--so the kids loved it with their spaghetti.

 April also brought us Easter, the day in celebration of Christ's ultimate sacrifice to die for all his children and his being raised from the dead--our Miracle. I was excited to experience Easter here in Poland, namely in seeing what is different or the same.

 The family attended alot of mass during Easter week, and Babcia Zosia and auntie came to spend part of the week here. They are sisters. I find it endearing to be with them because they don't speak English and I don't speak fluent Polish to speak with them. There is alot of smiling, laughing, and hand gestures. But I like how well I get along with them, especially auntie. I think it's our common love of cooking. Even if communicating is difficult we still find ways to make each other smile. On the weekend I was helping Aga prepare some of the Easter food. Their tradition is to bring a basket of food to church to be blessed. This is then shared on Easter Sunday with the family.

 The basket consists of what they would call the basics of their meals: Butter, meat, bread, boiled eggs that are decorated by the kids, and the horseradish and salt and pepper also hold significance specific to Easter similarly to the Jewish tradition.

The Polish traditionally have a very large Easter breakfast after early morning mass always with a prayer included for those who are no longer with us. Among Polish kielbasa, boiled eggs, a variety of cold meats, molded butter made into sheep figurines, and radishes, auntie made a wonderful piece of beef infused with garlic and baked for a few hours. We were all so full though from breakfast that we weren't hungry for it by the time lunch came around!

We also made a salad of cubed potato, carrot, parsley root (it actually exists, just not at home--I had no idea what she was talking about), pickles, apples, boiled eggs, mayo, and green parsley. It was different but also really good. I also helped her make a huge cheesecake made with two kilos of cheese, powdered sugar, and raisins. Also good... Aga loves it and could eat it all day everyday. Unfortunately our weight rose a little this weekend--no surprise right? Between all the food (there were alot of little meals) I am back to the ab workouts and eating less this week! On Sunday I made Baked Duck and Apples for the first time--another authentic Polish dish. We had everyone together for lunch including the priest and they all commented how good it was. I have Aga to thank for emailing me the recipe. Cabbage and a special soup with boiled egg and kielbasa called 'Zurek' was also served. 

Zurek soup

I decorated eggs with the kids and had fun making them pretty colors with their paints. They claim mine with the yellow chick and flowers was the best.

Speaking of kids....we have friends of the family spending the mornings/afternoons with us from Switzerland. So not only am I having to cook lunch and snacks for (my) three kids, but four more have been added to that--all boys. It's a bit crazy around here! Fortunately I feel after this week that after feeding 7 kids I can take on the world.... well maybe not quite, but still.

Next week is also just as busy with the kids, and my beloved is coming to visit me again for a few days. PLUS! (As if things couldn't get any more dramatic) We are getting a new puppy as of next Friday. Oh wow is right.

Until next time!

Yeast

First Ever sourdough starter--Day 1

When I was younger I was afraid of yeast breads. I didn't want to mess with them all because of the fear that 'I would mess them up'. Instead I stuck to quick breads that are nearly impossible to mess up (unless you confuse the salt and sugar as I did my first month here). But really--they are fail proof! After all why is it that we hear the word yeast and it freaks us out? Quite the conundrum.  You might ask who has all that time for all that rising, kneading, yeast testing, etc, and quite frankly some people do have a point. It is time consuming and requires alot of time and patience.

As I got older and more confident in trying new things in the kitchen I tried my hand at yeast breads and what I found was that they weren't all that intimidating. Probably the most frustrating thing is if your yeast is dead, but I have found that if you bake regularly this is usually not a problem. I would say I have gotten to be quite the expert since being in Poland. I bake yeast breads more than I do quick breads because bread is such an important and abundant food staple here. I also was introduced to using a fresh 'yeast cake' rather than instant yeast. I have to say I am starting to like the cakes better--I find them easier to measure out and they seem to be easier to tell if they have gone bad.

This past week I decided to try one of the things on my recent 'to do' list--Sourdough starter. I was quite excited as I started a 5 day process of 'fermenting' my dough mixture. Every day I would give it a few stirs and watch as it bubbled like a hot swamp in summer. Aga said the kitchen smelled like a bakery and I when the 5 days were up and I made the loaf and tasted it--oh man-- it was good.

I would have liked more of a 'sour' taste but I realize this could have been a variety of factors.

• The recipe said 5 days, but I wonder if I could have fermented the starter an additional day or so
  
• Perhaps the 'brown bread' type of flour made a difference in taste

I am sad to say that it only made 2 cups of starter and I have used the remaining portion today for Best-Ever-Oatmeal-Bread. Can you feel the excitement? it looks pretty good at its rising stage and the kitchen already smells (again) like a bakery. I have a pretty amazing looking banana bread loaf in the oven too. ;)

Pie

One thing that the Polish don't have here are pies. Although the expression 'as American as apple pie' is prominent where I am from, I can also say I have had many a British pie in addition to the wide range of 'American' ones too. Those who haven't had 'pie', of any type, should naturally be exposed to this delicacy. So call today Operation Pie.

Apparently pie is a food that goes back way back when, and consisted of filling and baking either sweet or savory ingredients into a pastry casing, usually made from flour, fat, and water.

The Oxford English Dictionary traces the first use of the word "pie" as it relates to food to 1303, noting the word was well-known and popular by 1362.

Find more info on pie, here! 

While pie has transformed into just about every kind of flavor and changed in shape. It's not just apple pie, but fried pies too, and pizzas, as well as the famous British variety Steak and Kidney pie. As an American I come to appreciate the one pastry that takes some considerable time and patience to make... and that is usually gone in 5 min, but hey it's PIE! Today I felt like having some one-on-one time with the kitchen, so I decided to make my great-grandmother's Vanilla Creme Pie. Well, minus the meringue--we were running low on time. ;) I had always watched my mother make this but hadn't ever tried it on my own. Somehow I had to find a nice substitute for the graham cracker crumb base (Poles don't have those either), so I settled on some crushed ginger cookies and some butter. Worked nicely, but I know not as good as the real thing. Still it came out beautifully, despite me having what they call corn flour over here and not cornstarch. It thickened up so nicely and set rather well in the fridge. I didn't have time for a meringue, but it tasted just as good without.

So the verdict.... the question of course of 'what is it?' Marceli didn't like the crust. Go figure, that kid is the pickiest eater I have ever seen. But the other two both had seconds. So I guess I did something right. Hoorah for pie!

Carrying on the topic of pie, I decided to make pizzas from scratch using a really good pizza base that I had found. Yep, that was a big hit too, after all you can't go wrong with pizza. I literally raided the fridge and used up the leftover tomato sauce I had in the freezer from a few weeks ago. On the one we had leftover turkey pieces, sundried tomato, some greens, roasted red pepper, cheese, and spices, and the other was an assortment of fresh ham, cheese, and some garlic. Neither lasted very long. In fact Marceli claims 'it was the best pizza he had ever had'. Just don't tell him it had cheese on it (he hates cheese). And I am getting oh so good at hiding it in his food, hehe.

So today folks was one successful day in the kitchen. Tonight.... lemon curd!