Grateful Hearts!

GRATEFUL HEARTS

Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.

It turns what we have into enough, and more.
It turns denial into acceptance,
Chaos to order,
Confusion to clarity.
It can turn a meal into a feast,
A house into a home,
A stranger into a friend.
Gratitude makes sense of our past,
Brings peace for today,
And creates a vision for tomorrow.

I wanted to start off with a poem that was given to me from a close friend. 

I am very grateful for all the things I took advantage of, including:

• *A spatula - after turning pancakes with a large knife and a fork! (the wooden fork in the picture is the closest thing I have to a spatula)
• *Clean water to drink and bathe in.
• *Clean grocery stores! And everything found pretty much in one grocery store. 

I took my first outing to get veggies, fruits and meats. We had to go to four stores or sidewalk stores as I like to call them.  The first store we bought strawberries(very small)! (In Ecuador we couldn't eat them - so I'm a little hesitant) and bananas and butter. The second store I found yogurt (it is thin and runny), cream, and cheese (I bought Gouda, which has a really good taste and melts well).The third store I bought papaya, lettuce (gourmet! Not just the regular iceberg lettuce!), the fourth store was a little more modern - when I say modern - it was more like Ecuador with sliding doors when you enter, things are not so crowded and are nicely put on a shelf, and you have a small wheeled cart! We bought ground meat, canned corn, canned mushrooms, and bread. They have a lot of pasta here, but not the sauce.
I spent a total of 650 Birr about $38 for quit a bit of food!

I prepared a meal and it took me half the day to prepare (We are definitely getting a cook - I know I'm spoiled). You have to soak your veggies and fruits in bleach for 30 mins. That means each lettuce leaf has to be soaked and cleaned separately. There are a lot of different bugs (amoebas) here. I have to be very careful because I am an amoeba magnet! The motto here is "Boil it, Peel it, Soak it, or Forget it!"