Demonstration Farmer

In my old life as an international development worker I was involved in a few agriculture projects. The most effective projects would find individuals who had a knack for growing things. We would invest in them, teaching them about soil cultivation and new crops. Then ask them to invest in others. These individuals were called "demonstration farmers."

Saturday, I met a man originally from Thailand who would have (absolutely!) been selected as a demonstration farmer. However, he now lives in downtown Fredericksburg, Virginia. He is Phim's dad. His name is Lope. I am not sure if that is how it is spelled, but that is how it sounds.

Lope has turned a small plot of land in to an amazing garden. He has fruit trees, herbs of all sorts (including some exotic varieties), vegetables and more. The front of the house is also surrounded by an impressive wall of bamboo.

One of the most notable things about his garden is how "green" it is - and I am not just talking about the color of the plants. He uses natural fertilizers and other environmentally friendly tricks. He doesn't do this because it is trendy. He does this because this is the method he knows for growing a garden. He also has a number of reused materials. This is a garden seating area with a canopy of bitter melon growing over it, made out of scrap metal and chicken wire. It is beautiful and serene.

Phim and I had free reign of the garden. We could harvest to our hearts content. I was allowed because of my association with his oldest daughter. After wandering the garden for a few minutes, mostly admiring it and not picking. He told me to pick. Apparently I did not do well enough as he came to me with a load of fresh cucumbers and even offered a full basil plant if we dug it up. If only I had a place to put it...

I would love to learn gardening tips from Lope. Maybe someday that will be a reality. When we were happy with our bags of fresh vegetables and herbs, he equipped us for our next adventure that day - fresh water fishing.

I had to sneak this snap while he was sifting through his tackle box with his grandchild standing by. Phim's mom said the grand-baby likes to walk around without a shirt so they can be like their grandpa.

You can take the man out of Thailand, but you can't take Thailand out of the man. You can take the international development worker out of the field, but...

just Sheri, inspired

Fender Bender

I have been meeting with my student for a few weeks now. For one of our lessons I had cut out photos from magazines. I chose things that I thought might interest her, or that I thought would help introduce American culture topics.

One of the photos was of a giant pick-up truck from a car advertisement. The discussion went in a direction I was not anticipating. She started asking me about car parts.

What is the compartment called between the two seats?

I don't know.

What is the space that some cars have in the back of the car between the window and the back seat?

I am not sure that has a name. I just call it "the very back."

She asked about stuff under the hood, in the interior, and along the outside. I wasn't much help.

Then she asked something I could answer. She pointed to a thing on the front of the truck.

What is that called?


The bumper.

Finally, something I knew! This encouraged me to keep going.

Do you know what it is called when one car bumper hits another car bumper?

No.


A fender bender.

Laughter. Confusion. Spelling. Attempts at pronunciation. Then...

I hope I never have one of those.


More laughter.

just Sheri, questioning my value as a tutor

Smart Car

Shortly after returning from Africa, we bought a used car from Craig's List. The owner gave us a fabulous deal - thousands under blue book value...and nothing is wrong with it. In fact, he took excellent care of the vehicle and it should last us for many years to come.

One of the perks of this new-to-me vehicle is a sophisticated information panel in the dashboard. A few months ago it told me that my left, rear light had gone out. Wow, thanks for that information! I likely wouldn't have known until a police officer pulled me over and ticketed me - this was a much better way to find out. My handy-husband bought the inexpensive part and fixed it. The warning went away.

I have been driving all over the county in recent weeks for site visits at work. It has been a lot of fun for me to get out of the office, away from my desk, and be in the community meeting people.

Well, on my way back from a meeting the warning light went off and the information panel said "low tire pressure." I called my handy-husband. He found which tire was loosing air and then found a piece of metal lodged in the tire. We got the problem repaired for a whopping $12.10 by a helpful man at the Walmart tire and lube.

I was (and still am) so grateful for this sophisticated information panel. Why? The two days following this repair I was going to be on the road the entire day - traveling many miles. Kenyon was going to be at work, working 12-hour shifts (minimum) in another (but neighboring) county. What if my tire had blown? Kenyon could not have come to help me and the fix would have been much more expensive. I am told by mechanics that we would have had to replace all four tires because the vehicle is all-wheel drive and the cost would have been nearly $1,000.

That is an ugly alternative.

just Sheri, awed by the wonders of technology

forks over knives

I had mentioned in the post "still transitioning" that Kenyon and I attended an independent film with my co-workers. I have been meaning to write about the movie we saw - Forks Over Knives. The movie is advocating a whole foods, plant-based diet. Like every documentary I have seen - it is not a comprehensive portrayal of the issue. However, it is a topic worthy of discussion and (serious) consideration.

Do I believe that diet plays a pivotal role in overall health? YES!

Do I believe that the American diet is out of whack as far as health and nutrition are concerned? YES!

Do I believe this idea is the final solution? No.

Since viewing the movie, I have had many friends from around the U.S. post about their response to the film on facebook. One is adopting the diet wholeheartedly. Kenyon was of that persuasion when we left the movie...a few weeks later he isn't quite so radical about his conviction.

We did however make some changes in our diet and I have taken the opportunity to introduce some things that before would have received criticism at the dinner table. Our new milk of choice is soy milk, rather than cows milk. The majority of our dinners are vegetarian and we eat a wide variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Prior to watching this movie, Kenyon would not accept a meal without a meat. He once asked, "without meat, how do you get full?" I don't think he wonders that anymore.

Some recent recipes have been:

• High protein breakfast cookies: made with flax, nuts (walnut, pecan or almond), cinnamon, raisins or dried cranberries, and a secret ingredient. (Shhh! The secret is blended kidney beans as the wet ingredient) These are great (and nutritious) on your way out the door in the morning. Because they are high in protein, they keep you feeling full for a few hours. I can thank Dayna Whitlock for the recipe.
• Stuffed sweet peppers: these were stuffed with seasoned Bulgar wheat, then baked. Very filling (and tasty)!
• Lentil-apple salad: these are seasoned with curry and includes chunks of cooked potatoes. I have always loved potatoes - thus low-carb diets were never a consideration for me. Kenyon's response, "you could make that again!" He is a fan of apples.
• Acorn squash stuffed with mushrooms: I saw the squash at the market and just had to have some. My dad first introduced me to these when I was a young person still living at home. I thought they looked nasty. He insisted I try it anyway. I fell in love as a young person, but haven't cooked with these squash as an adult (mostly because I have hardly cooked as an adult).
• Black bean burgers: I made these for the first time in Mozambique, but reintroduced them recently. The beans are mashed with green peppers and onions, then seasoned with cumin and chili powder. Made in to patties and then baked in the oven.
• Summer Salad: with spinach, strawberry, pomelo (found at my favorite grocery - Global Foods), and jicama.

All of these recipes made the "eat again" rating category with my husband. These are things he would have turned up his nose at before. 

I'd like to say "thank you" to the creators of Forks Over Knives for encouraging us to experiment at the dinner table.

Some of these recipes may be the subject of future blog posts...is there one that sounds particularly tasty to you?

just Sheri, experimenting in the kitchen

Quotable Quotes: triumph

"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing." ~ Edmund Burke