T is for Trujillo

As I have been tying up loose ends before Caleb and I head north for our extended stay, I was reminded of one final trip we recently took which never received any blog time.

A couple of months ago, we visited the northern coastal city of Trujillo, with a side trip to Chiclayo. Trujillo is roughly 8 hours by car from Lima (being the "rich" Americans that we are, we decided to fly instead). The day we arrived was also the day dedicated to celebrating the life of Santa Rosa de Lima. She is the patron saint of Peru with a shrine in Lima. She is also the patron saint of the police and there is a particularly large celebration in her honor each year in Trujillo.

Santa Rosa de Lima in all her glory

don't be put off by the riot gear, this was a celebratory processional

We next ventured out to the Temples of the Sun and the Moon. These temples were constructed in roughly 600 AD by the Moche culture, though very little is actually known about these people or this time period. Luckily, thousands of ceramics survived this period as did the two temples leaving behind far more clues than were left by many other pre-Columbian cultures who inhabited the same and surrounding areas. As you can see from the photos below, many of the decorative frescoes and much of the structure of the temple has also stood the test of time. This was a fascinating site to explore and all the more interesting because of its remoteness and limited tourist draw.

these frescoes are at least 1500 years old

us on the backside of the temple

sometimes no rain is a good thing, erosion has been tremendously slowed

The next stop on our visit was the Chan Chan Archaeological Zone. Chan Chan was built in 1300 AD and was the capital of the pre-Columbian Chimu Empire. In addition to being a Unesco World Heritage Site, Chan Chan is also the largest pre-Columbians city in the Americas and the largest adobe city in the world. The Chimu were eventually conquered by the Incas. The Incas were much more interested in expanding their kingdom than acquiring wealth so much of Chan Chan's gold was left intact until the Spanish came and pillaged the entire city. Over the years, Chan Chan has also been the victim of grave robbers and thieves. Some examples of the riches can be found in museums throughout Peru and the world, but much of it is lost forever. Despite this, the ruins of Chan Chan are vast and extremely impressive.

Caleb walking amidst the ruins of Chan Chan

more ruins - notice the fish design

us at Chan Chan

an underground fed water source in the middle of the ruins

The next day we visited Chiclayo and several surrounding sites. The most impressive of these is the tomb of Sipan and the museum dedicated to the contents of this tomb. The tomb was discovered in 1987 and consists of several chambers filled with the remains and artifacts of various rulers. Excavation continues at the site and a new tomb was discovered in the last few months. The recovered artifacts are housed primarily in the nearby museum (sorry no photographs allowed or we could wow you with images of a nearly unparalleled collection of gold, other precious metals and semi-precious stones), though they have been displayed in major museums all over the world. If you want pictures, the discovery of the tomb was covered extensively in National Geographic in 1988 and 1990 with tons of accompanying art or you can click here.

the museum - the exhibit inside was really spectacular,
sorry you'll just have to take our word for it

site of the original tomb - the skeletons are replicas (we saw the originals at the museum)

the site is still being excavated

We also visited the local marketplace which is known for housing the largest concentration of practicing herbalists and witchdoctors in Peru. There were all sorts of plants, bones, pieces of animal (some dried, some still juicy) and various talismans and charms available for purchase.

witchdoctor stall

The final stop on our visit was to the, apparently, famous King Kong factory. The King Kong is a dessert made from something that is supposed to be shortbread, but isn't, layered with manjar blanco (Peru's not as good version of dulce de leche - I think we've mentioned this before), peanut flavored paste or various types of jam. Anyway, the dessert is so sweet it made our teeth hurt to eat it, but it is sold everywhere in the region and the locals LOVE it. Oddly enough, apparently when the movie King Kong aired in the city in 1920 people compared the shape of the dessert to the great ape and the dessert was forever dubbed King Kong. We don't see the resemblance, but maybe it was shaped differently or at least more ape-like 80 years ago.

the famous to some San Roque King Kong dessert factory

king kong desserts - if you see a big monkey staring back at you let us know

S is for Schwinn Roadster

Santa Claus visited our house over the weekend and brought Caleb a Schwinn Roadster Tricycle. Needless to say he was in love at first sight, or so he seemed. He played with it for about five seconds and then discovered that Santa had also brought a Fisher Price Airplane - between the two gifts it was all we could do to draw his attention back to his other presents. We knew he would love the airplane because ever since Paige sent it to our nursery children it is all he thinks about. The moment we arrive at church he starts saying "airplane" and continues to do so all the way through our services until he can finally get it in his hot little hands.

Caleb and his "trike" as he calls it - we didn't know he knew that word

after a quick adjustment his feet now reach the pedals, but we're still
working on understanding how they function

more fun with the trike

THE AIRPLANE!!!
(he wanted to but was not allowed to take it with him to bed last night)

momentarily distracted by the promise of candy

another superfluous gift

a winning combo!

The lesson here is that nearly 2-year olds are easily satisfied with very little and these elves went WAY, WAY overboard. Some presents are still unopened and that is how they will remain until they are donated to some other worthy cause.

I is for Invitations

Dear Party Throwers (we include ourselves in this category),

Remember the good old days when people sent out paper invitations through the mail with addresses and stamps and sometimes RSVP cards for things other than weddings? Sure it took more time and killed trees, but it was nice and thoughtful and really, who doesn't like to receive anything in the mail other than catalogs, bills and junk?


In the past week we have received no fewer than 10 invitations via email or evite to build gingerbread houses, shower an expectant mother, celebrate various birthdays, sing Christmas carols, and attend myriad luncheons. Of course the volume is due mainly to the season, and in our case the mode of invitation is the direct result of Peru not having anything that even remotely resembles a mail system, but I suspect the situation would be the same even were we not in Peru.

Now, I know this is Christmas card season and everyone is feeling like they have done their best for the USPS bottom line, but it isn't December all year long and stamp prices are constantly on the rise (9 cents in 10 years) so, the postal folks claim, they can continue to operate in the black (as if we believe this is the goal of any government agency). What if we all banded together in response to rising stamp prices and in homage to the good old days and for our next function actually sent out a paper invitation - GASP!! As an added incentive think about when you open your mail how thrilled are you to receive something that wasn't massed produced or doesn't end with a "you owe this much" section?

In our house we are very lucky in the mail department as Kenny parents send holiday cards for every holiday and my parents each write to us once a week (and they include a letter for Caleb too). My parents starting writing to me and each of my siblings when we moved away from home and now write (with actual pen and paper) six individual letters every week - we've saved our letters and they are a great record of our recent history.

So the challenge is to pick an upcoming event and using the Christmas card address list you have recently updated and your beloved printer, cricut machine or some elbow grease surprise your friends with an honest to goodness, hold in your hand invitation. And while I can't guarantee stamp prices won't continue to increase, I can promise you'll be glad you accepted this challenge.

Happy Inviting!

PS If you're in our vicinity next month look for one of these in your mailbox to celebrate Caleb's 2nd birthday

R is for Repetition

Before we had kids I swore I would NEVER be one of those Moms that EVER let or set her child in front of a television instead of, well, anything else. Sooooo foolish!! Then, I became pregnant with baby #2 and didn't feel so good, okay, so it was more like lousy and it was too easy to turn on a movie and let Caleb watch that while I lay on the couch concentrating on keeping my meals down. Luckily, the feeling of lousiness was short-lived and replaced with lots of visitors and travel and outings to the park and walks and I thought I was saved and could still be the "perfect, totally engaged, always focused on stimulating my child" parent. SO, SO, SO FOOLISH!!

Then, we took a trip to Paris and with the 30+ hours of flying and 7 hour time difference, Nemo and Dumbo and Pinocchio and all their friends came back to visit and since then have never left. Caleb started saying "Nemo" over and over and over again - and while we didn't always acquiesce, sooner or later it was too hard to ignore his pleadings and we gave in. Eventually, we discovered that "Nemo" was also the word for movie and so we didn't have to watch just "Finding Nemo" anymore, we could watch (among others):

Cars

Winnie The Pooh

Mary Poppins

And as many episodes of The Backyardigans as possible (I must admit,
we are all big fans of this program and I feel like it is less of a zoning out
opportunity than some of the fare we indulge him in)

Caleb has since learned to say "tv" instead of Nemo and now wakes up every morning and from all naps saying "tv?", "tv?" "tv?" No, he doesn't watch tv as often as he would like (we have convinced him there are other fun things to do), but that doesn't seem to effect his repeated requests to view any and all options in our vast (thanks to grandma and grandpa) kids movie collection. I will say this, his love of tv is going to make my solo flight with him from Lima to SLC via Atlanta next Friday much more pleasant!

H is for Ham

I am married to a die-hard, loves to quote, watches every episode, owns 8 seasons on DVD and will be acquiring the movie the second it is released "Simpsons" fan. My family was not allowed to watch "The Simpsons" when it first aired in, wait for it, December 1989!!! So I never caught the fan bug, and still haven't really, but since marrying Kenny have certainly seen more than a few minutes of several episodes. One of my favorite "Simpsons" moments goes as follows:

The scene: Lisa (middle child and only family member with a semblance of a social conscience) is becoming a vegetarian in protest of something or other. Homer (the father and devoted carnivore) is more than a little taken aback.

Homer: Are you saying you're never going to eat any animal again? What about bacon?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Ham?
Lisa: No.
Homer: Pork chops?
Lisa: Dad, those all come from the same animal.
Homer: Heh heh heh. Ooh, yeah, right, Lisa. A wonderful, magical animal.

Though I am loathe to admit it, I have to agree with Homer on this one, the pig really is a truly wonderful, magical animal. I like pork chops, a lot, and bacon, come on, and then, there's ham. Doesn't matter if it's honey baked, brown sugar glazed, maple cured, apple wood smoked - I love it. I especially love ham at Christmas - there is something so festive and lovely about sitting down to a dinner surrounded by friends and family with a gorgeous, steaming ham in the center of the table. Really, who needs traditional centerpieces when you could just go with this?


With our Christmas dinner just days away (remember, we are celebrating early), I sat down yesterday and decided on a menu: Ham (of course), sweet potato casserole (made with brown and white sugar and about the best thing I have ever seen done to/with sweet potatoes), green bean casserole (because we have french fried onions we didn't use for Thanksgiving), dessert (still deciding on this), rolls (for leftover ham sandwiches) and maybe something not cooked or fried or dripping in fat...maybe. Then, Caleb and I headed for our local grocery store to do some shopping. As usual, never more than when we are looking for traditional America foods is it painfully obvious we are not in Kansas (or any of the other 49) anymore. But, the guy at the meat counter was very patient and very helpful and after trying EVERY single available option we settled on something that is called Smoked Virginia Ham but can't possibly be. I will dress it up and put it on a lovely platter and it will work and I'm sure Christmas dinner will be all we could have hoped at this point in our lives where managing expectations has become the norm. If anything, my love for ham will only been heightened as a result.

Helpful meat counter guy - do not be fooled by the "hams" in the background,
they are really just bologna in very convincing ham clothing

C is for Cookies

Very soon after Kenny and I married I introduced him to the wonderful world of after holiday sales - he knew about Christmas and Thanksgiving, but he had no idea similar events existed for Halloween and Valentine's Day and even sometimes obscure holidays like Flag Day or Arbor Day. And, most importantly of all, he didn't know these events happened at every store, not just Best Buy. Our favorite after holiday sale place to shop is Williams-Sonoma, and we always come away with several "can't afford not to, never in a million years would have if not on sale" purchases. Kenny has become so converted to these sales that he has joined the W-S email list and never fails to visit the physical or virtual store in the immediate wake of every holiday. One of the saddest things about living overseas is knowing that we are missing out on so many "don't really need, but isn't it/aren't they cool" sale purchases - oh the sacrifices one makes for advancing the cause of freedom and democracy!

After Christmas a few years ago Kenny, while dutifully and gleefully indulging his new vice, stopped by W-S and purchased their Holiday Storybook 3-D Cookie Cutter Collection. He was so excited to make cookies, it was all I could do to explain to him the heresy of making holiday themed cookies NOT in conjunction with the appropriate holiday - can you imagine?!


The next year I was very pregnant and not up for the challenge of sugar cookies (my general belief is that they are a lot of trouble and there are far easier and better tasting varieties of cookies to be had with less mess and pain) and the year after that was Caleb's first Christmas and everything else got lost in the excitement of that. So, this year Kenny started telling me his sugar cookie making plans several months in advance and at last I acquiesced and we got to work. To his credit, he bought all necessary ingredients, made the dough and frankly did most of the decorating. I did help a little, rolling the dough, baking and some minimal decorating.

masterpieces and memories in the making

I was skeptical about the 3-D cookie cutters, but he insisted we use them and the results were surprising. My only advice would be to make several of each variety or you might end up with a decapitated snowman and a lame reindeer too. Or, opt for gingerbread from the outset, it's probably more durable.

we've still got plenty of dough, so maybe we'll try the 3-D cutters
once more this year, stay tuned...

Happy Fondue to You

Kenny turned the ripe old age of 31 this week and we joined/dragged some friends along for a celebration in his honor. Our time in Peru is waning - 2 years goes by much faster than one might think - so we are currently in the midst of "Operation: It is almost certain we will never return to Peru again so let's do, see, eat everything we want to before we depart so said departure can be made with no regrets."

Thus, we opted to try a new restaurant for this birthday dinner, a fondue place creatively called La Fondue at the uncharacteristically for Lima opulent Swissotel. For those familiar with it, La Fondue is not exactly the Melting Pot. However there was a certain charm to its kitschy alpine decor, Heidiesque clad waitresses and traditional Swiss fare.

the birthday boy before the feast

a little Swiss Chalet in the middle of Lima

In addition to several fondue options, they also served Raclette, something I have not eaten since visiting Switzerland almost 15 years ago. Raclette is both a type of cheese and a way in which the cheese is served. If you like fondue parties and/or fun appliances, you might want to invest in a Raclette Grill - it is a delicious and fun twist on cheese consumption. We did not order Raclette - too much cheese and chocolate fondue to inhale - but will be going back at least once more in order to do so.

this too can be yours...after all, Christmas is coming...

with our friends and our fondue pot

Today We're Thankful For...

Today as we have cooked and baked, visited and shared, eaten and eaten some more, we have also reflected on the many things we are grateful for. The important things, health, family, faith, financial stability, employment, friends - those are things we're always grateful for and recognize the value of on a continuous basis.

Below are a list of some things we are especially thankful for this holiday season...

1) canned pumpkin - do you have any idea how many holiday recipes call for this and how many countries don't sell it? Thank goodness for our little embassy commissary!


2) double ply paper products (toilet paper, kleenex, paper plates - who knew such things were luxury items that we have foolishly taken for granted for so long?)

3) toy recalls that happen - after Mattel and Fisher Price recalled all those toys, it was disheartening to discover the stores in Lima flooded with some of the same products - products obviously not sent back to the factories, just stuffed on the shelves at semi-reduced prices


4) bi-lingual children's books - unless of course the second language you are looking for is anything other than French or Spanish


5) public transportation - I never thought I'd say it, but I miss the DC metro


6) traffic cops - again something we never expected to be grateful for and miss nearly every day


7) Skype - our quality of life is dramatically improved by this invention


8) airplanes - Caleb's new favorite word and the catalyst to exciting global adventures and trips home - wherever that happens to be (in all honesty we are not actually grateful for American Airlines' airplanes - at least the ones that fly to South America, they are the oldest planes flying the friendly skies these days and their interiors do no inspire happiness or confidence in the whole flying experience - a word of advice for those headed South - take Delta or Continental instead)


9) US Mail - even in the middle of nowhere, well almost, we still get mail from anywhere in the US and that is something we are more grateful for than we can begin to express


10) Peruvian hats - because come on, how could we not be?


Happy Thanksgiving to all our family and friends!

22 Days And Counting

With the arrival of our second son drawing nigh, Caleb and I are headed to Utah about 12 days before Christmas. So, this year we are having our own little nuclear family Christmas celebration on the 9th instead of the 25th. Of course, Caleb and I will celebrate again with Grandeur and Grandest and brothers and sisters and aunts and uncles and cousins and friends, but Kenny won't be with us, and will in fact be celebrating with strangers (okay, they are good friends, and the closest thing we have to family on this continent - except for Adrianne and family) so this is our compromise.

The Christmas bazaar at the American High School where we finished our Christmas shopping on Saturday.

Yesterday we put up all our Christmas decorations, which isn't much since most were acquired when we lived in a 1 bedroom basement apartment with a very low ceiling and wall to wall book shelves. Our paltry collection of ornaments and Christmas decor is dwarfed by our 12 foot ceilings and endless empty rooms in our current, courtesy of the American tax-payers, home. But, since Peru doesn't celebrate Thanksgiving all the stores have had decorations up for ages and windows all over town are decked with lights and trees in anticipation of Jolly Old Saint Nick so we are really just doing as the "Romans" do by decorating early.

Our very sad Peruvian artificial tree - high on our list of things to acquire when next in the States is a tree that doesn't lean to the left.

If you're like me, you have a favorite item(s) you can't wait to put out when Christmas rolls around each year. For me, may favorites are our advent calendar and nativity scene. We searched high and low for an advent calendar we both loved and finally found one we are over the moon for. It was pricey, but worth it and I LOVE IT!

This is not my photo, but ours only has 4 ornaments as of today and this
image gives you the full effect!

We did the same search for a nativity that was beautiful and unique and truly representative of the Savior and just couldn't settle on anything. And then on a trip to Portugal and Spain with the aforementioned Adrianne, there it was, shoved into a corner of a store window in Granada, Spain. Adrianne saw it first, of course, and we were both so taken with it that we each bought one, the only ones they had. The figurines are stunning in their design and the faces are so lifelike they take my breath away. Of course with Caleb approaching two, having both of these items out for display means a month long battle of "Mommy said don't touch", but I get such joy from our calendar and our creche that the suffering pales in comparison.

The picture doesn't do it justice.

A nativity in an Amazon Jungle theme we have acquired while in Peru.

Another nativity acquisition in Peru - notice the alpaca and llama flanking
the Christ child.

Pie Yes, Pumpkin NO!

With Thanksgiving just around the corner my thoughts have turned to dinner, well dessert really. Okay, so I'm always thinking about dessert, but this is Thanksgiving dinner dessert, this is SPECIAL! This will be my 5th Thanksgiving since marrying Kenny and thus my 5th since hearing those fateful words, "I don't like Pumpkin Pie, I never eat it". I was aghast, appalled, astonished. What, no pumpkin pie, on Thanksgiving???!!! Heresy!!!


Now, I'm not going to lie, pumpkin pie is not my favorite pie of choice, but it is traditional and necessary and Thanksgiving just doesn't feel the same without it. Sure you can have peach and apple and cherry and mincemeat and rhubarb and anything else, but in ADDITION to the pumpkin. Despite my shock, my husband is practically perfect in every other way, so I caved, I did not and have not made pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving since. I have tried various substitutes to satisfy my probably irrational need, Paula Dean's Pumpkin Gooey Butter Cakes, Martha Stewart's Pumpkin Cupcakes, even Sweet Potato Pie which looks like pumpkin pie and I think actually tastes better, but nothing doing, I am a creature of habit and tradition and I know all of these are just wolves in pumpkin clothing.

To be fair, I could just make the pumpkin pie, I could have all along, but then we are just 3 people, really 2 and 1/2 and that would mean eating an entire pie myself (not impossible, just not wise) or throwing pie away - something my DNA will not allow. I could go another year without, something I just don't want to do. Or I could follow my chosen path which is to whine about my dilemma and beg for sympathy and brilliant responses from my cyber community. So dear friends my blatantly selfish request is this, as you sit down with your loved ones to Thanksgiving dinner this year with mountains of food spread before you, sure you can think about the poor and destitute and your many blessings and the things you are grateful for, but also think of me and my long-suffering sacrifice and have an extra serving of pumpkin pie with lots of whipped cream in my honor (even if, horror of horrors, you too "don't like pumpkin pie")!

I Can't Relate

22 months old and Caleb has finally tipped the scales at 25 pounds. And though his pediatrician assures me he is healthy (since good nutrition is measured in height and not weight) the fact that I can see his ribs through his stomach and his back sometimes makes me feel like a bad mother.

More weight than I should or would like to be carrying and I are old friends. I have never been the skinny kid, I did not get those genes. I like to think of myself as a normal size, could stand to lose a few pounds but not in danger of being secretly filmed and shown from the waist down on an NBC nightly news special about obesity in America. And, especially now, at nearly 7 months pregnant I try not think of myself in any sort of spacial sense at all, just suspended in time until after the baby comes and my "skinny" jeans beckon.

But, Caleb is another story, a story for which I have no frame of reference. He eats a lot and all the time. He loves avocados, tomatoes, chicken, beef, rice, beans, noodles, potatoes (does not like french fries - just licks off the ketchup and discards the fry), anything sweet and all things chocolate. But, he operates at a fever pitch when he is awake and that coupled with an extremely fast metabolism he must have inherited from my Dad, means he never manages to gain weight - wouldn't that be nice? When we introduced him to solid foods, I was a total food nazi only giving him vegetables for months so he would develop a taste for them over fruit. I didn't let him eat fries until he was at least 15 months old and rarely gave him refined sugar. I've relaxed a bit in light of his desire to eat mostly healthy stuff anyway and generally let him eat whatever he wants as long as he eats. As evidence, see him below eating packets of butter. Check with me in 10 years to see if I've created a monster who subsists solely on lard and condiments. Let's hope his apparent good genes win out.