My First Born :)

Fifty Three years ago today I became a mother for the first time.  WOW !  Back then it was a complete surprise when your baby made its appearance.   Arlo was in the Air Force and stationed in Condon Oregon at the Radar site.  We had to travel to Heppner, about 50 miles and it was snowing bad, had to break through several drifts.  Thank goodness we had a Chevy 1955 pickup so had a easier time of it.    Had a near blizzard that evening and Arlo played the good Samaritian and took the office secretary home, I often teased him that was so he didn't have to see me suffer.  "Back then" the father to be was not in the room like the men are today. :)  Any way our little girl didn't make her appearance until after 9 that evening.  Came into the world with lots of black hair and weighed about 8 pounds and was 20 inches long.  The following morning the office person came in and asked me "What are you going to name this little Miss ?"  With no hesitation out came "Sandra Elaine"  now don't know where that came from as had not thought of that name but we stuck with it.

Doesn't she look bright eyed and interested in her surroundings!  We are sitting in our living room in the 32' x 8' wide Stewart house trailer in Condon Oregon.

Here we are before leaving Condon and going to Yaak Montana.

Sandra in her high chair that her

Grandma Henderson and Aunt Lois Henderson got for her with the help of S&H Green Stamps.  What a blessing that was. I still have that high chair, not the tray or the arms but use it myself when sewing.

As you can see Sandra really enjoyed meal time.  Before I could do dishes I had to put her in the sink and give her a bath! :)  If you look out the window you can see the snow, Yaak did enjoy lots of snow, anyway that winter we had lots of snow.  We bought a rug for the living room floor because it was so cold and do you think she stayed on the rug.....NO, she didn't crawl but would roll everywhere.  We didn't have central heating but had a small oil stove in the corner across from where Sandra's high chair was.  Arlo built a small entry cabin on the side of the trailer so we could enter without the storm coming into the trailer.  He also had it fixed with a desk so he could do his studying there.

Sandra is now a mother of five children, three daughters and two sons and grandmother of two boys with another grandson due in June.  My how time flies!  Love you Sandra!  Happy Birthday!

Home

It is day three being home and I am still not going on full power.  My stomach is not acting good, so am eating a lot of yogurt and made some homemade tomato soup that doesn't seem to hurt my stomach.   We are off to Kennewick, to bad my stomach isn't so good, we could go to Granny's for lunch. :)  Oh well maybe next time.
glenna

Last Day in Lima Peru

Our last day and Marco wanted me to see this really big Market not far from the Lima Air Port. So here a few pictures from there.  It was really big and clean too.  I was impressed that the flys were almost non existant.

Look at the potatoes, that whole row was nothing but different potatoes.

Look at the giant cauliflowers and cabbages, just about any veggie you could want was in this place.

Bannanas of every kind, we ate a lot of the little finger ones.

Cynthia and Marco are talking with a woman about something that looks like a cherry tomato but was a fruit with a large seed in it.  Kind of sour.

Cynthia, John and Marco again looking at some fruit.

I didn't get close enough or this but that is chickens you can see hanging, with heads and feet still attached.  I watched a woman cutting up a chicken and first she cut off the toe nails then proceded to chop it into pieces.  Yes chop, they use a meat cleaver and with a swift chop they do the job.

This shop is for pig, you can see the hams hanging.

Here is the beef, watched the guy in front slice steak off and it was so thin and he then proceded to filit that out it reminded me of what you would need to make the German dish Roland (spelling is off I am sure)  Anyway steak that is laid out and stuffed then rolled up and cooked.

A drink made from something from the jungle, supposed to be good for cancer paitents we tasted it but not something I would like to drink. :)

I think this is what the drink was made from.  Marco bought two of them brought them home and we threw them out they smelled so BAD!  They were soft with seeds inside them and felt like jello.  UGH !

We left the market and went back to Chorrillos to get ready to leave.  Tried to take a nap but you know how that goes, you always think of something you need to do so the nap goes by the wayside.

We went to the Airport about 8:30 (left the house) and was at the airport by 9:30.  We stood in line and another line and another line, think the next time I travel I will go by car!   Standing in line we got to talking about what is next and I was holding Dumenico's Surfing board so Cynthia snapped my picture and said perhaps that should be what I try next, after the parasailing thing.  Don't think so as you can't see what is in the water so a nice swimming pool is my thing. 

The poor board didn't make the trip intact!  Its nose was hurt so don't think Dumenico will be using it either.

After about 19 hours we were back in Portland and how quiet and tame it all is compared to what we just left. :)  We were so tired was in bed by 9 and slept all night until about 6 the next morning.  I did a few things for the office then headed home.  Stopped to See Melissa, Michael and little Isaac before really getting on the road.  It was 5 pm when I got home, managed to unload the car then sat in my chair from 5:30 until 7:30 napping, got up and went to bed at 8 and slept until 7:30 this morning.  Feel pretty good this morning but sure glad I don't have a job to go to this morning I can just do nothing if that is my desire and guess what, it is!  Maybe by tomorrow I will have my feet under me again.

Good to be home, as I said before, There is No Place Like Home.!

glenna

Marco's Place

Thought you might like to see the front of Marco's business and home.

He has his business logo on the building and the building lower part is all tile, it helps keep the grafiti down.  He owns the property to the left (yellow gate) but didn't think to get that in the picture, as you can see it has grafiti on it.

A close up of the logo.

On the first floor there is storage for product as well as the front desk a bathroom and lots more storage toward the back.

The stairs going to the second floor, wanted you to see the color but it didn't turn out a true color, which is a beautiful green.

The front desk as you come in from the entry.

The second floor has a wide hall and you can see product, it isn't there now as it was all packaged up yesterday.  You go on back and it is a bathroom (where you see the door open) and there is two offices on the left plus a bedroom.

Here you can see the two offices, the front one is all glass enclosed the the second one is not so fancy.

On to the third floor.

the right side of the living room of the third floor apartment.

The left side of the living room as you come in the door from the stairs.

I am in the kitchen looking down the hall, there are two bedrooms to the left, yyou can see the door into the bathroom and to the right of that door is the door to the laundry room.  Cynthia and Marco's bedroom is in the back and there is a very large bathroom there with a garden tub with jets and a seperate shower.  The apartment is the length of the building.

This is the bedroom I used, think it used to be Dumenico's but the boys were in the other bedroom in twin beds.  Think it used to be Monique's.

The right side of the kitchen, this is Cynthia and Marco Jr. with Marco Sr.s mother Mercedes.  This is the fir4st time I have seen Mercedes in abut 15 years.  She was 80 last May.

The other side of the kitchen is the eating area, there is no formal dining room.  You see Marco's sister Alma Rosa with her older daughter , and I don't know her name.  The youngest daughter is behind the flowers and she didn't want her picture taken for some unknow reason, she is 4 and usually they like the camera.

I did manage to get her picture but don't know her name either, will have to wait until Marco can tell me. :)

Mercedes and myself, we were good friends while she was in the States living with Cynthia and Marco.  Like I said it has been 15 years since we last seen each other.  I don't speak Spanish and She speaks very few words of English but we still managed to communicate, took a nice walk after preparing dinner for Cynthia's birthday.  I was just cooks helper, she made Pata Al Lajuanguina, which is boilded potatoes with a cheese sauce over them.  It is spicy and very good.  Then she cooked chicken with  thin flat noodles and made a spaghetti

sauce,  onions, tomatoes that were blended then other spices added, was very good.  A lot of starch but that is traditional to put those two dishes together.

This will be my final addition until I am back to Portland as won't have access to my computer  tomorrow.  It has been a great vacation but will be glad to get home.

As they say there is NO PLACE LIKE HOME  :)

The Market in Chorrillos

Marco took us to a larger Market in Chorrillos this morning and I have a lot of pictures to share with you.  You can buy about anything you want from meat to shoes, or have your shoes repaired. :)  We went after sauces that Cynthia wanted to take home with her, also for food to cook for dinner.  Today is Cynthia's birthday and Marco's mother, Mercedes, is cooking two things that Cynthia is very fond of. 

Here we are leaving but wanted you to see it is gated and Marco had to leave his drivers license with the guard and it was reurned when we left.  Guess this is because of people parking but not shopping but going off to work.

This is the front entrance into the market.

This is another entrance and there is a place to eat to the left of the entrance.

Remember this is just a sample of what you can buy and I didn't take even a tenth of the pictures of the different businesses.

Almost reminds me of Costco :)

A place you can get your shoes repaired, I seen two other places before I snapped this picture.

One of the many places you can buy shoes too.

Fruit and veggies every where you turned but this picture really looked good to me.

Eggs were every where too, here you also see a group of canned peaches.

Cynthia, Mercedes and Marco at the shop that prepares the sauces for you. Cynthia will take them back to the states, freeze them in ice cube trays and have them when she wants them.

On the cornor from that stall was a chicken butcher shop, there was also one across from where Cynthia was standing, in fact there were chicken shops all over the place.  They still had the head and feet on.  It was interesting to watch the women use meat cleavers to chop up the chicken.  You can buy just what you want, the whole thing or pieces.  They even cut it in small pieces for you.

This fellow seen me taking pictures and he hopped over in front of this shop and was happy to have his picture taken. :)

Another man that gave me the thumbs up when I ask him if I could take his picture, he is butchering beef.

 

Another beef market as you can see here they have the whole half beef.

Then you have the fish market too, remember this is all under one roof.

Here you can eat Chevechie, these ladies was ok with me taking their picture.

You can eat here too, but don't remember just what they were cooking up.

Even flowers can be bought.  All in all you can purchase just about anything you would want.  I enjoyed myself very much and could see myself shopping at the market if I lived there, very enjoyable.