Tyrone and Stephanie

Anatomy of the Soul by Curt Thompson, M.D.

2010-06-04T00:59:00.000-07:00

Surprising Connections between Neuroscience and Spiritual Practices That Can Transform Your Life . . .

"Integrating new findings in neuroscience and attachment with Christian spirituality, Dr. Thompson reveals how it is possible to rewire your mind, altering your brain patterns and literally making you more like the person God intended you to be. Explaining discoveries about the brain in layman’s terms, he shows how you can be mentally transformed through spiritual practices, interaction with Scripture, and connections with other people."

I took psychology class in college a long time ago but I still struggled with the good doctors “layman’s” terms. I understand the concept of what he was trying to say but I found the first half of the book to be very repetitive and drawn out. It was painfully slow to read because I was having a hard time staying interested. While weaving in and out with attachment issue studies, how to ‘rewire’ your brain to adjust or renew to ‘heal’ these neuro routes that have been paved, and briefly tying in the Christian aspect of it I was able to gain some speed reading the case or people studies…Those were interesting.

Parts of this book were very enlightening but there was a lot to wade through. I also feel that some of the scripture were taken out of context and some of the theology used was not correct, or faulty.

My suggestion is to thumb to the back and read the Epilogue first…after that you will probably know if this is a book you will enjoy. Personally I don’t recommend reading it unless neuroscience is a high interest to you.

(This book was provided for review by Tyndale House Publishers.)

When its time to clean house...

2010-05-20T20:51:00.000-07:00

...this is how we roll!

Feeding, Burping, & 'Tossing Cookies'

2010-05-13T18:50:00.000-07:00

"Maddy!"
[My suggestions as a new dad are just my opinion! And it relates to MY situation. I have no expertise except for the training I am getting now! -(other peoples babies do not count as experience for your own)-]

I first want to explain the last part of my disclaimer: other peoples babies do not count as experience for your own. What I mean by that is: I have babysat/watched other babies from friends and family, changed diapers, fed, etcetera...but its different when its your own. Yes, that cliche is true. But you can still learn from other people and their babies like my next tip/opinion. I learned this experience from one picture posted on facebook by friends & new parents Reuben & Chaylah. Their daughter Maddy was born before our son Tytus so I had fun watching their facebook status and pictures posted knowing I was 'next'.

One picture would do it, but they posted 3 pictures titled "Tales of Puke" in which we find Reuben with a 'Bulls-eye' or Dad's eye full of a 'feeding'. Yep, ewe, gross. I prefer to call this 'Tossing Cookies".

From the picture I see that I may want to rethink holding Tytus over my face if playing on the ground, sitting straight up and/or standing . Our (not mine anymore) tendency is to hold our child over us when we are playing with him or maybe jiggling him to a tune or some noises.

What I understand from my own son is that no matter how well you burp him, the amount you feed him, and/or how long its been since his last feeding...he can still toss his cookies at any time. Most babies (I have experienced) are like this. It can be from excitement, over-stimulation, too much jostling (like tossing your kid in the air or tickling) and just plain gas. Fortunately for us, Tytus rarely ever tosses his cookies but its nice to be prepared.

You have been warned! Thanks for the laughs and the lesson Reuben & Chaylah!

The DO List (a dad's opinion)

2010-05-12T12:17:00.000-07:00

[In my first installment of my suggestions as a new dad its just my opinion! And it relates to MY situation. I have no expertise except for the training I am getting now! -(other peoples babies do not count as experience for your own)-]

First thing in the morning when I wake up, do I hear the baby crying? No? Well then I start the coffee and jump in the shower before anything changes!

This especially applies if YOU are the current Mr. MOM...But it doesn't matter whether your wife, babysitter, or nanny is there because they will probably have some things they will need you to do if you are going to be sticking around once the baby does awake, or start crying because he/she will NEED someone's full attention!

If your not a coffee person you probably will be soon. If not, get the shower first!

Its nice to be refreshed with a little caffeine in you when you get the 'do list'. Daddy do this, daddy do that...

Wild at Heart by John Eldredge

2010-04-30T17:42:00.000-07:00

Subtitled: Discovering the secret to a man's soul.

John Eldridge uses theology, stories, and life experiences (you don't need to be an outdoors man to relate) to explain that men need to be 'Wild at Heart' AND to give men the permission to do so!

It started good, got a little repetitive with examples and anecdotes towards the middle, but finished up nicely.

I recommend the book whether you like his theology or not. This book gives a good go at putting masculinity back in being a Christian man. Wild at Heart is not in the traditional 'self help' writing, but really encourages us not to be so passive and wishy-washy in this day and age of Christian men being 'tolerant' of so much. Most churches have reduced mans goal to being a 'really nice guy'... that doesn't really sound like the men in this verse, does it?

Mt 11:12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it. (NIV)

Revised and updated? Not sure it added much to the book but I suppose its nice to have extras when its getting an anniversary reprint. I find the Daily Prayer in the back repetitive and long.

[Disclosure: I received this book free from Thomas Nelson Publishers as part of their BookSneeze.com http://BookSneeze.com book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.]

Crazy Love by Francis Chan

2010-04-29T10:07:00.000-07:00

Francis Chan uses scripture from the Bible to show that our relationship with the one true living God, Jesus Christ, should be much more according to our proclamation of love for Him and that we should be : Overwhelmed by a Relentless God (subtitled).

Francis points out both his own downfalls and weaknesses while also challenging ours expressing it passionately in his writing. When Francis talks about the everyday things we start filling our lives up with and how we shut out the Holy Spirit and give God our ‘leftovers’ it personally made me feel like saying OUCH!

There are examples in the book of how our love is doing, or not doing justice to our relationship with God and others. Some may even be considered extreme or provoke a sense of being defensive in the way we live our own lives.

I wanted to get a better ‘feel’ for this author because sometimes they bring up ‘good points’ but are not necessarily believable by the people who present them. I went online and found some audio & video podcasts from the church he pastors (and started) Cornerstone, in Simi Valley. I still love listening to his sermons.

The book has an additional website called http://www.crazylovebook.com/ that has introduction videos to each chapter and other ‘enhancements’ that go with the book.

$8.99 on Amazon.com, good price in my opinion!

The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne

2010-04-25T21:54:00.000-07:00

[originally posted on Amazon.com August 11, 2007]

First, I didn't read this book trying not to be offended or defending my life by feeling judged by what Shane wrote...I also did not look for a political agenda, or to pick apart his thinking. A lot of other reviews did.

I read this book to enjoy and learn, hopefully both.

I love the way Shane lives his life according to what he feels Christianity and Jesus is perceived from his viewpoint. I certainly did not agree with everything...and even so, I would have still enjoyed the stories.

Its not a biography (so to speak) but tells a lot of his life, thoughts, and ideas...his struggles with 'church' in general. Working with Mother Teresa, Families in Iraq that are just as terrorized from war and terrorism as we are...my review is not to recount the whole book to you but tell you that I think this book is good and worth buying.

I guess if you are not one for religion, or Christianity...then maybe you will not enjoy it...but then again maybe it will speak to those of you who are trying to find Christians that aren't the ones that are only Christian in name, social culture, or that's what you are because your parents were.

Here are a few additional motivations for buying the book besides the great read:

1. It costs about what? 10 or 12 dollars on Amazon.com
2. The sales do not go to him, they are distributed to several other organizations/charities that do great things to help people.

Is it the wrong approach?

2010-04-19T19:59:00.000-07:00

Reading Luke chapter 8 we find Jesus does something peculiar (when doesn't he?):

8:4 When a great multitude came together, and people from every city were coming to him, he spoke by a parable.

8:5 "The farmer went out to sow his seed. As he sowed, some fell along the road, and it was trampled under foot, and the birds of the sky devoured it.

8:6 Other seed fell on the rock, and as soon as it grew, it withered away, because it had no moisture.

8:7 Other fell amid the thorns, and the thorns grew with it, and choked it.

8:8 Other fell into the good ground, and grew, and brought forth fruit one hundred times." As he said these things, he called out, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!"

8:9 Then his disciples asked him, "What does this parable mean?"

8:10 He said, "To you it is given to know the mysteries of the Kingdom of God, but to the rest in parables; that 'seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand.'

Its interesting that crowds of people came to hear Jesus speak but instead of making it easier for them to understand he spoke in parables. I believe he did this to make sure the people that would hear and believe were really open and willing to hear what Jesus had to say and believed Him to be from God.

This is a stark contrast to churches today trying everything they can to make the Gospel more palatable, or should we say, more acceptable and easy to swallow so it doesn't scare or frustrate people.

Pretty interesting comparison wouldn't you say? Jesus made it harder, we water it down and try to make it easier...afraid that people will not accept the Gospel.

Sinners, Sin, & Nails...

2010-04-19T19:58:00.000-07:00

I heard that "Love the sinner, but hate the sin" is not actually biblical and originated from Gandhi's autobiography. As I read the Bible I see that God actually hated a lot of people in the old testament, and his wrath was dealt out to them (burned against them). I bet that doesn't sit well with current day teachings.

On another note/quote...

"Christians are like nails, the harder you hit them the deeper they go". This is also not my quote...but I like it considering the 'deeper' is in Christ.

Back on Track!

2010-04-17T20:55:00.000-07:00

Now that we are getting into the swing of things...Tytus is born, Stephanie is no longer consistently sick from pregnancy, and I may be able to squeeze a few posts out again between watching our little guy... I will crank the blog back up again. Thanks for all who have kept up with us over the years and all our random posts on family, Christianity, food, missions, travel, opinions, book reviews and any other random things I wanted to throw in there!

For the 50+ of you who are subscribed to this blog it will probably remind you that YOU ARE subscribed! HA!

I am reading more often again and will start another focus on some book reviews coming up, I have partnered with a few publisher house clubs to review books (good or bad) in exchange for the book itself.

So maybe if its not against 'the rules' I may from time to time offer the book itself as a giveaway after I read it...though I realize if I didn't like it that much you may not want it! But we'll see how it goes. Check our Facebook (available on contact page) links to see pics of the new baby, Tytus Nathaniel and/or to get in contact with us.

Looking forward to keeping in touch again!

Tytus Nathaniel is born!

2010-03-08T13:29:00.000-08:00

A beautiful boy, Tytus was born on Tuesday March 2nd at 2:34pm weighing 7 pounds and 13 ounces. He is 19.5 inches long.

We went to the Hospital on Monday March 1st for induction. We left with our baby boy on Friday. He has been healthy, eating well, sleeping well...and yes, all those other bodily functions (pooping & peeing well)!

Of course we are biased because we are his parents but right now we can't believe how 'stinkin' cute he is (as Stephanie would say)!

Yesterday we went to our 'Newborn Club' appointment and his weight HAD NOT dropped the usual 10% after birth, so apparently he is keeping his weight up!

Who knew my culinary skills would come in handy for swaddling, I wrap him up tight like a burrito!

[we are sorry blog posts come so infrequent now, but we are new parents and that keeps us busy...plus you can come see us and catch us online on facebook, where we have more pictures of Tytus and you may find us online for 'chat' in between naps , diaper changes, and feedings!]

http://www.facebook.com/tyronebcookin

http://www.facebook.com/stephanie.w.barton

A tasty trip to San Francisco

2010-02-03T20:46:00.000-08:00

We took one more trip to San Francisco to try a couple of places and visit and old favorite before the baby comes. We visited Dynamo Donuts & Coffee, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and for lunch we went to Rocco's...in the video you may need to increase the sound to hear my voice sometimes. Its a work in progress, I am an amatuer at any kind of video making. Enjoy!

Update to Culinary Mystery!

2010-01-16T22:54:00.000-08:00

Remember when I wrote this post with pictures:

Culinary Mystery (you need to read this to understand the rest of the post)

Well after almost 2 years someone wrote in a with a link to the answer! But first I want to ask why Arthur from Sheffield England DID NOT KNOW what it was, when it came from his neck of the woods!

Joe writes this: I have come across one of these and Googled to find out what it is. I can confirm, it's a double sided fork / skewer for serving steak...Hope this helps!

Here is the mystery solved Link.

Its funny because at the time I had exhausted all kinds of Internet searches including Google and had not come up with anything...but first you got to know what your looking for! And it was almost 2 years ago!

Thanks Joe!

New Year & New Crib X2

2010-01-01T19:50:00.000-08:00

Yep, thats right...we moved into our new 'crib' on the 30th and finished the final touches of hanging pictures in the new place on the 31st. Then on the 1st I came home from work and put together our new crib, which Steph's parents bought us...we picked it up from JC Penneys.

So now we are in our 2 bedroom apartment literally on the backside of the building we were living in previously so there was no loading of vehicles or trucks for moving stuff.

A friend of mine I met thru work came over and helped me move all the big stuff (good tip: Home Depot sells four wheel flat moving dollies for $19, get you some, they are handy for all sorts of things) he also brung a 6 wheel dolly and a Mikata (?) cordless drill with tool bits. That was quite handy for breaking down and putting together our bed.

Later in the evening Lindsey a friend of Steph's came over and helped us finish all the small stuff as I cleaned the kitchen and vacuumed all the floors...earlier Steph cleaned the bathroom (that about wore her out!). So don't worry, there was no heavy lifting for Stephanie and I kept her well fed all day (and the help).

This month we will be taking some professional pictures for our late Christmas gift to the 'homefolks' (it was scheduled earlier in the month but Steph's Grandma passed away). We will also be attending some 'baby' classes thru Kaiser Permanente (our insurance and hospital conglomerate).

Steph thinks the baby has hickups (right now as I type this) because the jumpy movements are pretty rhythmic...he's proven to be pretty active without any hickups tho'. Ask Stephanie, she's not getting much sleep and quite frequently yelling OW! ~ And at the same time there is some comedic value in it all for me!

We're (or should I just say Stephanie) scoping 'Craigs List' for our odd and end furniture we will be getting for the babies room...ahhh window shopping on the web

December News

2009-12-06T20:12:00.000-08:00

Unfortunately Steph's grandmother (on her fathers side) passed away recently. I was able to get time off of work to travel with Steph to attend the funeral in Green Bay WI. Although it was a sad time, it was also a good time to be with Steph's family and spend time catching up, visiting, and meeting more family not previously known by me. I cooked the last dinner meal before we left (and David cooked breakfast that morning, Steph's brother) and we had a great time. David and Steph were also in the kitchen helping me out with the menu I prepared for dinner.

Next up this month I am going home to visit for a few days...why is it when you travel home there's always too much to do and not enough time to do it in? I feel like last February when we blew thru town we were in such a state of 'rush, rush, rush' I could not enjoy our time with my family. Hopefully this time will be more relaxed since we both have jobs, a place to live, and are pretty much settled. Unlike last time.

Steph's pregnancy is going better now that her vomiting has seemed to stop for almost 2 weeks now...things were really getting rough for her. She was also started on some additional meds to help with the nausea. She is due end of February and I hear her friends are starting to plan a baby shower.

A few changes I am going to make is that this blog/website will be moving back to a 'free' platform so for now you can go to http://tyroneandstephanie.com and look at all our stuff from the last 3 or so years but eventually that site will go away and you will have the new blog at http://tyroneandstephanie.blogspot.com which is were this new letter/post is coming from. Although I will try to keep the domain name, so maybe it will still be tyroneandstephanie.com? I will know for sure later.

The reasons are several, easier to maintain, to use, and I can manage my pictures thru picasa. Plus this is all tied together with my email. And did I mention free? Yeah, I like free stuff. I will also not have to pay for it, or keep up with maintenance as I think things will be getting a tad bit busier pretty soon for us.

I am collecting my experiences as a husband with a pregnant wife that I will probably post later as I think you will find them funny, insightful, and/or something you can relate to ( of course if my wife lets me )...until next time, say a prayer for us husbands!

Oh, almost forgot, Stephanie's birthday is this month on the sixteenth! Wish her a great one if you remember!

2009-11-28T23:24:00.000-08:00

I have never been much into traditions so this year when I learned I had to work on Thanksgiving I didn't think much of it. At 5:15 am I got a call saying I was cancelled and was able to sleep in. Then I was called to come in to take careof a kid being transferred to our PICU

Its a boy!

2009-09-27T20:11:00.000-07:00

We went to an ultrasound on Thursday to find out the sex of the baby (or that's why I went, and to see that all was well and healthy), and it was a boy!

Stephanie and I had an arrangement, she would name the girl, and I would name the boy. So he will be named Titus Nathaniel. Two strong, great Biblical names that together mean (appropriately) Giant Gift of God!

Titus means Giant in the Greek, and Nathaniel means Gift of God in the Hebrew. We will probably call him Ty or Nathan after he is born, but because I am stubborn and never actually cared for being called Ty myself (I prefer Tyrone - except my older relatives get away with it) I will probably have to warm up to it, I will probably call him Titus...

No matter, all is well. Just to be clear, if it was a girl I would be just as excited and made sure she grew up to be "Daddy's little girl" as much as was possible if it was up to me!

Getting Prepared (in a different way)

2009-08-28T20:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I was up making coffee in the morning and I realized a lot of things really need to be thought out before this baby arrives. Yes, I know there are diaper choices to think about, strollers, beds/cribs, etcetera...but thats not what I am really talking about.

All you mothers out there, especially the recent ones I want to pool your knowledge for my thoughts and questions, you Dad's too. So here is my idea & question:

As I looked at the electric water kettle, coffee been grinder, and french press...I thought to myself: I don't have any time for that with a baby! I need coffee right away every day! I need to either buy already ground coffee and get an automatic coffee machine (with auto starting timer) or I need to stay with my coffee snobbery and get one of those cuisenart coffee makers that grind the beans and brews it all on a timer that can be set 24 hours in advance (which those are available to buy). I need convenience!

What practical things do most people forget to think about that can be changed to save time before the baby arrives? (Things like my coffee example.)

Mom's and dad's? What do you say?

*[photo by Ballistik Coffee Boy]

Quick @ Home Fraps/Smoothies (blender needed)

2009-08-20T03:50:00.001-07:00

Fraps: The Basics- Use cold coffee- put 10 regular ice cubes in2 blender, poor milk & cold coffee in to just below top of highest ice cube (adjust ratio 4 ur tastes), @ this point I use caramel, chocolate, or some other flavored syrup to both flavor & sweeten, pulse blend & listen 4 no more ice cubes bouncing around (time in between pulses allows 4 remaining chunks to sink back down), @ end give it about a 3 to 5 second 'on' blend...if 2 liquidy use less 'liquids' next time. But if you don't get enough liquids n'the blender its harder 2 get ice cubes blended. These make about 12 0z glasses of Frap.

Use same amount of ice cubes and 8 to 12 ounces of flavored yogurt for great smoothies quickly.

Or find big cans of Cafe D'Vitta at Sam's or Costco (they have caramel, chocolate,....flavors) same directions as coffee drink except add 1 scoop (scoop that comes with it) and then add milk, blend(only use mix, ice, and milk. no reason to add flavors or coffee, unless of course you want to). They are great, 4lb canisters, by the time you figure how many Fraps this canister of powder mix makes it is WELL WORTH IT for a 10 dollar, 4lb, can of mix.

Additional things I do: Add more caramel sauce to it, or mexican or regular chocolate sauce, a few coffee beans to blender for speckled look, add peanut butter, find the Dulce De Leche sauce in 'select' groceries stores...yum.

Steal lots of BIG STRAWS - (McD's or Coffee Shop straws) haven't found that they sell the big ones in any stores yet so I just get a few each time I am at Stab*cks, Pete's, or McD's

This is not definitive...just a quick guide for my friends who asked. If you have a coffee shop friend get him to let you 'have' a big buckets of Big Train powder mix.

In my professional making and drinking opinion, powders work better than flavored syrups and help thicken Fraps to smoothness better....Using powdered creamer IS NOT A GOOD IDEA, you will soon become tired of the 'taste' that comes from powdered creamer, try using some powdered milk.

[picture by foodista]

A Napa Birthday!

2009-08-07T03:00:00.001-07:00

My wife knowing she would be out of town, and I would be working on my birthday (July 4th!) planned a trip to Napa for later in the month. So last Tuesday we headed out for a few days in Napa Valley.

What's in Napa? Wine, wineries, vineyards, restaurants...all kinds of culinary delights!

Tuesday morning after a mere 2 hours of driving we arrived in Yountville, home of many Restaurants more notably Thomas Keller's French Laundry. Then we could also talk about Ad Hoc, Bouchon, Bouchon Bakery...But we also wanted to visit Michael Chiarello's Bottega! Not to mention the yummy deli sandwiches at the Oakville Grocery Co...Ok, so as not to drag this out here is how it went in a nutshell (I will post pictures afterwords where you can use your expertise to match them with the experience):

Breakfast at Lou's Cafe a favorite local place (Tuesday morning) then on to Napa Valley. Stop at Yountville and get macaroons, brioche, eclairs, and coffee at the Bouchon Bakery. Next we headed to our appointed wine tour at the Robert Mondavi Winery (Excellent! I read the book The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty) which helped form pictures, places, and the 'feel' of the book I read about the Mondavi's...it was like a sense of coming full circle - completing a study, if you will - for me after reading the book and drinking the wines then being able to get an inside look at the winery and history.

On the way back to Napa City we stopped by the Oakville Grocery for a little lunch outside at their tables with sandwiches from the deli.

Later Steph and I checked into the The Inn on First (Bringing a touch of San Francisco to Napa Valley its a luxury Bed & Breakfast) you will just have to trust me on this one, or check the link, it was worth it! Excellent! Jacuzzi/Hot Tubs in the rooms...complimentary champagne and chocolate truffles, all the services you could think of and the Chef, Jim, a graduate of the California Culinary Academy (Le Cordon Bleu) who cooks you a signature breakfast every morning (included in your stay). Mercedes, Morgon, Jim (Jamie was on holiday) all graceous hosts! This was in Napa the city, not Yountville. All of it is considered in Napa Valley

Then we went for a little walk around town and ate and excellent meal at Allegria. We didn't even order a real meal, just ate multiple choices from the appetizer menu! We once again headed out for a little walk and stopped at Cole's Chop House for a dessert. A Banana's Foster which some may consider a classic...it came to the table FLAMING. It was an impressive display even though thats what I was expecting. That was for Steph, I enjoyed a warm chocolate brownie paired with a caramel gelato and chocolate sauce.

The next day we had a breakfast quesadilla that was sent out by the chef, and of course there was all the cold breakfast things like cereals, oats, granola, fresh fruits...Then we headed of to the other side St Helena where stopped in to tromp around the Culinary Institute of America in Greystone after asking, wandering, and looking at everything they would let us see (I believe classes were in session) we headed out to the side of the establishment to visit the school store/shop. Some of the stuff was unique to the CIA but a lot of it was like being in a Williams-Sonoma, not really anything I wanted to buy that I didn't already have or see a need for. But it was all interesting just the same.

On the way back thru we stopped at Dean & Deluca's for 'lunch stuff'. Then we went to the Yountville Park to have a picnic where we got run off by bees and the French Laundry Company Picnic (they had the whole place reserved)...but my interest was in who was catering THEIR company party?

Going to the French Laundry unfortunately was out of our budget range and we didn't have a reservation. Looks like they were doing some heavy maintenance or construction to the back of it when we came thru, not sure. We also tried to eat at Ad Hoc but strangely enough they were closed both of the 2 full days we were in the neighborhood...but thats OK on to that nights reservations at Bottega!

We first took a little refresher back at The Inn on First and then, Bottega.

This is Michael Chiarello's restaurant. Current Top Chef: Masters competitor and food network personality also owning NapaStyle trademark stores and Chiarello Family Vineyards.

It was wonderful! Or as my friends in England would say, Brilliant! I didn't even make it to the 'Secondi!' course (Which was a shame for me...but I didn't want to leave being in to much pain to enjoy it!) because we had multiple antipasti's and pastas. Although we did skip to dessert, who could miss that?

What a night, we made our way back to the Inn slowly and took another walk. Unfortunately Stephanie's pregnancy 'sickness' decided to re-appear for awhile so it was early to bed for her...but besides her feeling bad, we couldn't have ended the night any better...I spent some time just relaxing and thinking about what was going to come out of the kitchen for breakfast the next day...

More could be said and was done, But alas I have probably bored you with my excitement. Our time there was great, and my wifey did an excellent job with plans and putting up with me tasting and commenting on everything (more just to myself than actually being a critic of anything). Being only 2 hours away I am sure we will continue to visit and explore all the culinary avenues available to us.

[I suppose I should have took more pictures of the food, like in Bottega...But as you are 'in the moment' sometimes you can't be bothered.]

[gallery link="file" order="DESC" columns="4"]

A new addition

2009-08-06T18:55:00.001-07:00

[Stephanie] Since Tyrone and I married in November of 2006 we have always had something on the horizon. At times it was a new job, a vacation, a move, and at one time we were anticipating picking up and going to live on a ship in West Africa. Now is no different we are still anticipating change and perhaps this time it will be the most life changing of all. I am pregnant am due in early March. We are so excited and plan on staying here in Northern California for at least a couple more years ( I am hoping for a 5 year plan, but we will see). I start my new job at Lucile Packard of Stanford in the Pediatric Intensive care on Monday and I am SO EXCITED. I have been very sick so far in my pregnancy but have been feeling better the past couple of days. Please pray that I continue feeling better and that I will LOVE working in the PICU.

[Tyrone] Some of you probably even forgot that you were subscribed to this blog since we post infrequently now that our lives has changed once again. But this (Stephanie getting pregnant) too was an answer to prayer and a hope that we had! I still enjoy working at Pepsi Bottling Group (the physical aspect of it is whipping my butt into shape and I am losing weight!) and in my 'free time' (I say that loosely NOW) whipping up great meals and doing experiments in our kitchen at home, my last one involved curing my own pancetta/bacon and then air drying it by hanging it in the closet along with the occasional watermelon carving or two...my food obsessed website is over at http://tyronebcookin.com and I post more regularly about food and aspects of it there. Also we are both pretty current and 'real time' with comments and messages on facebook. So you can find us there if you are not to intimidated by the internet.

We can hardly believe its AUGUST! And that we just came back from being in West Africa and Europe at the end of February and already are ingrained in our jobs, church, and life here in Northern California! (Thats right, not Alabama, Florida, or Texas...sorry!)

Write us an email, drop us a line, leave a comment, ask a question...we still love hearing from all of you out there and we will still post blogs on our life updates (although not as frequently as when we were traveling and doing mission work) and hopefully you can at least expect baby pictures by late March!

Tyrone & Stephanie

Lou's Cafe

2009-07-27T04:09:00.001-07:00

If you ever find yourself somewhere in between Los Gatos, Campbell, and San Jose you should stop by Lou's Cafe for some coffee. And of course a bite to eat!

My wife and I have managed to go about once every other week (more like every week lately!) when both our schedules afford us a midweek day off together. I love the coffee and old-timey diner feel (and the food) and Steph loves the French Toast and Belgian Waffles, not both at the same time though.

Breakfast is probably going to run you about 6.50 to 10.00 dollars, but you'll probably eat two times off of one plate so financially that is a good deal. I always have to get the rest of my plate to go...Coffee is good!

I included some pics of the Banana Nutella French Toast ( the plate is almost to busy to see whats going on), Eldorado Potatoes (which is like home-style fried potatoes with blackened chicken, avocado, Monterrey jack cheese...), and the Coffee Cake which is the size of a small child's head!

[click to see bigger]

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Equipment 4 Small Kitchens & Small Budgets

2009-07-20T03:16:00.001-07:00

[Warning: this post will be longer than my usual ones, but it will include links, list, and pictures to help the small kitchen with small budget get equipped for maximum food.]

At the end of May there was a question posted at SeriousEats.com (of which I am a member) which garnered up to 64 comments:

What does a young foodie/recent grad need in his kitchen?

After reading several of the comments I also commented, but I believe it will be helpful to anyone with a small kitchen, small budget, or both combined. Most of you know that I post a lot of my food 'try-outs' and dinners on facebook or twitter but now I will show you my humble (small) kitchen I work out of at home...

Now you see that most of you would be hard pressed to send me a picture of your kitchen that is smaller than mine...but I make it work.

First we will review my answer to the above question as I responded on the site - add suggestions and pictures to help visualize how this would work for anyone. (of course if you are extremely messy and uncoordinated then there may not be a 'happy' medium for you and your kitchen)

A few thoughts:

The knife (as one person said) may be a more personal purchase, but maybe not if you spend more money on it than he would!

*Good forged metal well-known and trusted brand knives can be found at Marshall's, Ross, and TJ Max in the 'kitchen' section at great reductions...knife sets are a waste of money unless its a chef's, paring, serrated/bread knife set. You don't need 7 to 14 knives. These three do most of the jobs you are going to do in your home kitchen with some exceptions. Kitchen Aid, Cuisinart, Chicago Cutlery also have good starting knives at Target and Wal-Mart. Most in the 30$ or less range.

Cast Iron skillet (as somebody suggested) would usually be a good recommendation, but being in an apartment with a small kitchen, those things tend to smoke to much...and its not about controlling the heat. Its about 'seasoned' cast iron heating up and smoking.

But consider this, I bought 2 twelve inch COMMERCIAL non-stick pans from Sam's Club (because at that time they came in two AND Sam's has a commercial restaurant supply section now - BUT NOT COSTCO DARN IT!) pretty cheap and they are made from thick aluminum under the non-stick coating...2 years later they still have the coating. I pulled the rubber handles (good for oven temps up to about 350) off and threw them away, cook on top, finish in oven. Works wonderful. Heavy duty, lighter, and less smokey than cast iron.

Someone suggest getting a mini-processor from Cuisinart, but I say get the kitchenaid mini processor (3 cups model) not the cuisenart. The reason being is because the 'catch' for making the motor work is a long piece of plastic protruding down from the lid, prone to breaking off! Kitchenaid, not so much small 'catch' on both sides of lid that doesn't protrude past the lip much, even if you manage to drop the lid on the floor and break one, you can still swivel the lid to the other.

*BUT now you can order thru amazon.com or go to target and get an oster blender with 3 cup processor attachment...here is a picture of what that looks like. The one at target is cheaper than mine because its sold as a combo and my blender is the more expensive one. AGAIN, if you already own a Hamilton or some kind of Oster blender you can order the processor unit seperately on Amazon.com. Why is this important? Because it doesn't create another electric appliance that needs a plug/outlet. AND saves space.

As someone mentioned, electric hot water kettle. Starts things that need hot or boiled water much quicker. The one pictured is about $20 at Target.

Is he a serious tea or coffee drinker? Bodum (french press) goes good with that electric water kettle. $16 Target or Wal-Mart.

Small microwave as already said. $30 to $50 depends on how good a sale you find! Good for melting things, heating things, mostly good for leftovers & quick fixes!

Coffee been grinder for grinding spices or coffee $15. (I have 2, one for coffee, one for spices)

I buy bar towels in bulk from Sam's or Costco's, there just like the ones in commercial kitchens I use...and there cheap. $10 for 20 bundle? (approximate)

Immersion blender, as already said. This thing should be a must. Its terrific. $15 at some Longs Drugs or $19 on Amazon.com with 4 star rating or higher. Procter-Silex.

My pasta roller still comes in handy for (duh) pasta, and also: pita bread, rolling thin tortillas, flat bread...etc. $30 for most brands. This one $22 Amazon.com 4 stars (our of 5).

If your going to spend some money, then buy a nice kitchen cart with storage underneath...then you can roll a 'chopping' island around to use and store these small appliances underneath when not in use.

OK, I'll stop here...I cook professionally as well as not letting my small kitchen in my apartment keep me from cooking extensive and 'fine dining' meals at home. This list is not made to be comprehensive of all things needed, but a help. Just like using 3 knives in the kitchen pots & pans need not be in 20 piece sets...good cutting board, tongs, whisk, grater...

I'd be happy to answer any questions you have about my suggestions, stuff your currently using, or your own recommendations for this list!

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Pickle Things

2009-07-16T14:22:00.001-07:00

This is an easy experiment I think you will like. If you have a certain favorite pickle or pickled vegetable that you buy at the store then after eating all the contents inside the jar save the 'pickling' juice or liquid.

You can then experiment buy adding more cucumber or other vegetable back to the liquid and give it a good 5 to 7 days back in the refrigerator before trying/eating your newest pickled treat.

Additional things you can do:

add more herb/spices or a hot pepper or two

use a 'shot' of a different kind of vinegar to enhance the taste; cider, wine, balsamic, rice, seasoned vinegar. But be prepared to except that it may just make it taste worse!

add some MORE garlic or shallots (or other vegetable) to increase a certain taste you like

add a sugar (honey, brown, cane...) of some sort to make it a bit more sweet

I can't guarantee doing all of this will make it taste better, that's up to you to figure out. Usually we (my wife and I) only refill the jar twice after the original purchase, water does come out of the new ingredient(s) so the concentration of pickling gets diluted. It also works better when the cucumbers are cut or sliced.

Just thought I might give you a new idea to play around with without getting to scientific about it! And yes this is the cheater version of the already easy Refrigerator Pickles.

[picture by saltyseadog]

Watermelon Carving

2009-07-10T05:07:00.001-07:00

Just this past week I carved 2 watermelons for a July 4th BBQ at Church. One of the ladies that knows my wife figured out that I know how to do these kinds of things and emailed me to see would I be willing to do them with the churches logo, and the summer nights logo they use. I said sure.

It had been over a year since I last carved one. There's not much high demand for carved watermelons in Monrovia Liberia, West Africa (where I was all of last year). So as you can imagine I was a bit rusty...but things still seemed to go well. The pictures in this post were taken by one of there photographers then posted on facebook at Westgate Church.

Here is a link of an old Christian Chef article that I wrote about watermelon carving. --> Watermelon Carving

Not much has changed since I wrote that article. I bought some 'special' fruit carving tools from a site but I have since packed them back in their bag and are currently still collecting dust. It took to much force to make them cut or work correctly which is not conducive to ANY precision graphics and work you may want to do on a fruit.

Moving on...Click on pictures to see them bigger and see more IN the picture.

Crazy Cravings and A&W Rootbeer

2009-07-05T22:46:00.001-07:00

Most of you know by now (if you follow me on facebook, twitter, or this site) when I get a craving I usually try to indulge in it, go for it, or 'do it' the next time I get a chance. For example: One day last week I had Butterfinger Ice Cream for breakfast. Its just that simple.

The newest craving I had that came on real strong was something I first learned about years ago (like when I was 16) when I worked at A&W Rootbeer or Restaurant (as ours was called A&W Family Restaurant). But first I want you to know it was not one of those new modern A&W restaurants. It was the old one. Women working the 'car hops', a fireplace in the center of the dining area, little league/softball/baseball pictures hung everywhere from their sponsorship. And we still made the Rootbeer syrup before linking it in with the CO2(soda machine for carbonation). Yeah, 'back in the day'.

A good friend of mine from high school was working there told me I needed to try one of his favorite hot-dog combinations. You melted American cheese on top of a hot-dog in a bun, then add chopped onion, pickles, ketchup and mayo, then top it with coleslaw (the white coleslaw, not that ketchup or vinegar coleslaw). I thought he was crazy, but the flavor combination really surprised me. I loved it!

Slaw-dogs with cheese, onion, pickle, mayo, & ketchup. For some reason that struck me yesterday and I really wanted to have it, so I did. I bought the ingredients at the store (much cheaper) with a bag of Kettle Sour Cream and Onion potato chips. Kettle chips are the greatest, all flavors are good...Crispy, thick and crunchy. And for dessert I finished off with Caramel Caribou ice cream. Delicious.

I know, your probably wondering whats wrong with me and why didn't I eat BBQ? Why not make your own rules? July 4th can still be a day of celebration no matter what you eat or how you enjoy it (even if its your birthday)!

[photo by jetalone]

The Humorous Herb Garden

2009-06-30T02:09:00.001-07:00

The day I decided to start my herb garden I found a box of children's plastic yard, garden, or beach toys next to the recycle bin. I looked at them and decided that it would be fun to use the toys as ‘pots’ for growing my plants. So I took them back to the apartment and made holes in the bottom of them for water drainage like a proper planting pot.

I originally bought 2 pots and a rectangle planter with a bag of organic potting soil. But now I have a wheelbarrow, a ship, a bucket, and a small plastic garden watering toy.

So to make a long story short I planted mint in the ship by itself because supposedly I got to watch out for that thing going wild. The rosemary has the same problem, growing out of control. But I decided to plant it with garlic chives and Italian flat leaf parsley in the wheelbarrow. And in my rectangle planter I have (from left to right) basil, cilantro, lemon thyme, and Greek oregano. Now according to the ‘instructions/direction’ of the herb plant cards they all like direct sunlight.

This is the part that if you didn’t find my children’s toy planters funny, maybe you will find the next bit funny.

Remember me saying I don’t particularly have a ‘green thumb’? At all? Yeah, so now the sun has been literally cooking some of my herbs in the pot, and no, that's not a food cooking pot. Although there has got to be all kinds of puns in that last sentence. I didn’t want to show the updated pictures till I have more time to redeem my plants so the pictures on this page is when I first got everything started. It now looks like my mint, cilantro, and half of the lemon thyme was cooked till the herbs dried out or got crispy on the vine!

And remember the BLT contest due by the end of August 28th? The other two pots (that are not shown in the picture) are the ones I started my heirloom tomatoes and lettuce in…haven’t seen them yet. Its not looking good for me to be a contestant in the competition, but we’ll see what happens. I have a few more tricks up my sleeve.

Enjoy my pictures and enjoy a few laughs at my expense…I don’t mind. I am laughing myself!

Dutch Crunch Bread

2009-06-24T16:37:00.001-07:00

Recently I tried my own Dutch Crunch as I have had it several times and love it in 'loaf' and roll form for straight consumption or to build a massive sandwich! What is it? You may ask...

The following quote is credited to Bacon Press , (as I try to keep it short and sweet here on my site for you) I find this paragraph to sum up its origin. ->

Like your typical sourdough loaf or baguette, Dutch Crunch didn't originate here, although the name probably did. In the Netherlands, it's known as Tijgerbrood and sold in the UK as "Tigerbread". It gets its name from the color and texture of the crust, which is striped with dark brown crunchy spots with light blond bread peaking out from underneath. The crust gets its flavor and texture from washing the top prior to baking with a mixture rice flour, butter, yeast, sugar, and salt. The final product is a mildly sweet, light and fluffy white loaf with a somewhat crunchy, savory crust. ~ Bacon Press

In addition I find that Dutch Crunch Bread is a 'bay area' California thing and does not reach far out of this area...as in its prevalent in all our grocery stores and bakeries. Supposedly the name originated from San Francisco when the bakeries there started making it.

My attempt (which I will show in a picture or two) to make it I did produce a good tasting product, BUT I found two mistakes in my own rendition:

I made my dough to soft and I was not using a baguette pan, so my bread was a little 'flatter' in shape than I wanted. (but that's my own perfectionism kicking in)

After looking at several recipes I was led to believe I needed to coat the top of my dough with a much thicker coating than I believe was necessary for the 'Crunch' effect and taste.

I used my own Easy White Dough recipe and went HERE for the topping recipe.

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*I researched Dutch Crunch Bread only to find most information about it was not referenced or researched extensively, so for that I apologize in advance to my Dutchy friends if you find me in error!

Basil Overload!

2009-06-22T02:16:00.001-07:00

Here on my site and on Facebook I posted my findings from my first 'Farm Fresh to You' home delivery organic food box. Which was noted as having at least ten bunches of Basil in it!

Well of course even I could not use that up without getting sick of it! So I cut the stems off and processed all the basil down with Extra Virgin Olive Oil and a few heads of garlic. Then I scooped the mixture into a Ziploc bag and cut the corner off. I piped the whole bag into two ice cube trays and put them in the freezer for future use!

I would have made pesto but I don't like what the freezer does to cheese (Parmesan) and nuts (pine nuts, or in my case I like to use roasted sunflower kernels, their cheaper too!) which are both ingredients of pesto.

Later when you want to cook something with a little garlic and basil 'zip' you just throw in a cube or two while cooking or sauteing. They also use this ice cube trick with stock (chicken, beef, pork...) too, so if you are only cooking in small amounts you can throw a few frozen 'stock' cubes into the pan or food to melt down and help flavor.

[pics below are after freezing]

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Make Ricotta Cheese: its easy!

2009-06-21T04:07:00.001-07:00

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Over at Stumptown Savoury, Gareth has an excellent blog that I enjoy. He also has a post about making ricotta cheese at home, which is great because I can share it with you! (without having to write about it again myself)

I have tested doing it the way he says and it came out as good as his pictures show. Here is the link Home Creamery: Whole Milk Ricotta . Come on people, it has four ingredients: Milk, Heavy Cream, Citric Acid, & Salt!

What can you make with Ricotta? Lasagna, Manicotti, desserts...Gareth has already listed two more ideas on his site to go with his ricotta recipe. (just click Stumptown Savoury above)

Also there is a link on his site for ordering citric acid which is one of the ingredients...But if you don't want to wait maybe this will do the trick for you:

I have had great success in finding Sour Salt (brand ROKEACH) in the Kosher section of Safeway food stores. Sour Salt IS citric acid, check the ingredients there is only one – citric acid.

About 5 1/2 ounces for $2.19 – plenty of cheese making citric acid.

Pork Meatballs with Chorizo Seasoning

2009-06-17T14:41:00.001-07:00

Anybody out there had Chorizo before? Well for those of you who have and know what I am talking about, you can buy a packet of seasoning called Chorizo Seasoning/Spices. Usually on the 'quick pick' rack of various seasonings not on the spice aisle in your grocery store, but on the international or ethnic aisle. In the Hispanic/Spanish section - usually right next to the severely limited 'Asian' section - in one of those 99 cents bags.

So an idea came to me to use it with some ground pork for meatballs. My wife is allergic to beef so I use different meats to create meatballs when we get the urge for a good meatball sandwich, with spaghetti, or some other kind of way.

Basically for one pound of ground pork I used 1 Tablespoon Chorizo Seasoning, 1 teaspoon smoke powder, salt & pepper, a few bread crumbs and fennel seed I had toasted then ground.

(next time I would add a minced shallot!)

I cooked my meatballs on top of the stove browning them nicely then finishing them in a 350 degree oven. Sauteing some thick sliced 'baby bella' mushrooms and adding in a quick marinara (combined in processor) with fire roasted tomatoes, a little tomato paste, garlic, and roasted red bell peppers...Later adding only oregano, salt, and pepper. Then later

adding the meatballs back into the sauce.

We had the meatballs and sauce over farfalle (bowtie) pasta. I served a basil and sundried tomato dip (basil also curteousy of the box) made with cream cheese with the fresh carrots

and broccoli from the 'Farm Fresh to You' box.

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Farm Fresh To You - a look in the box

2009-06-13T03:49:00.001-07:00

My box arrived today from Farm Fresh To You. I got the 'small fast fruit & veg box' so called for fruits and vegetables that don't need to be cooked, but can be. I just picked this one because I liked what was in the box. And everything is certified organic.

When I ordered it (bi-weekly and everything changes as things are available) I wanted one more thing that was not listed, the Basil. So I emailed and asked about it, they wrote me back and said it would be an additional 5 dollars and it would be 10 bundles...I was thinking that maybe it was a typo or maybe the bundles were small. Also, I didn't have a problem with the 5 dollar addition because you pay about 3 dollars for the limited basil you get in the grocery store. BUT as you will see, it was indeed 10 bundles of Basil! WOW!

I'll need to distribute some among my friends. I am sure they won't mind my misfortune of not being able to use it all before going 'bad'. Who needs some Basil?

Farm Fresh To You

2009-06-10T15:12:00.001-07:00

I recently found out about a service available to me here locally (Northern California - San Jose area) thanks to Brandi who enjoys good food as much as I do and of course us 'foodies' usually look out for each other.

Farm Fresh To You. Here is a snippet from their site:

Welcome To Farm Fresh To You

As people are becoming increasingly interested about where their food comes from and how it was grown, Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) is becoming a popular alternative for getting high quality food from a trusted local farm. Currently over 800 families are participating in our family farm's CSA, Farm Fresh To You. By joining our CSA these families are connecting directly to our farm and receiving regular deliveries of nutrient rich, mouth watering, organic produce delivered directly to their home or office. See how it works or why join Farm Fresh To You.

Some of the things I like about it is:

I can cancel anytime

Home delivery - choice of weekly, bi-weekly, monthly

Customized your delivery

Satisfaction guaranteed

Customer service seems to be 'on the ball' too...last night I emailed a request to have something added to my 'box' and received a reply first thing this morning!

We'll see how it goes and maybe take some pictures from 'the box'. Produce changes as whats available changes. There are many choices for differect types of boxes.

I need your help: Small Herb Garden

2009-06-04T23:03:00.001-07:00

I want to start small herb garden in a cart on wheels, or in a wheelbarrow (I have small patio on ground floor) to move it later when I move to a bigger place. The size I was thinking about was 2x4 feet & depth can be adjusted. Suggestions all welcome, soil, how to plant, root depth...this is what I am thinking about planting: mint, rosemary, time, oregano, basil, sage(?), a pepper of some sort, lemongrass(?), chives...I DO NOT have a green thumb.

If possible it will be convenient & cool to have it in a portable container. Maybe a graphite or plastic wheelbarrow so I can drill holes in the bottom to let excess watering flow out, or maybe a little red wagon if the depth is enough? A small part of my patio is ground not concrete, so I won't have to worry about a mess if I keep the portable container in that area. Also, what about one of those wood or galvanized horse trough's to use as a planter? I can get help to pick it up and move it later.

Maybe you have some suggestions of what will grow better?

This can be a delicious experiment, and I can give you updates on my progress. And for those of you who live close by, you may reap some benefits once I start cooking with the 'harvest'.

All suggestions welcome. Please feel free to elaborate in the comments, contact me! page, twitter, and/or facebook. Help!

Ice Cream That Doesn't Melt?

2009-06-03T14:51:00.001-07:00

Ice Cream That Doesn't Melt? - Restaurant News - QSR Magazine.

And it has Jello-O pudding flavors?

Cold Stone Creamery's Tastemaster, Ray Karam, has created a new form of ice cream, JELL-O® pudding ice cream.

What I don't like about this claim is supposedly when or if the ice cream melts at room temperature it turns into pudding. To me this seems like a gimmick. When ice creams are made they are usually with dairy cream and/or 'custard type' base. So why would it be a stretch to use pudding? Pudding would be considered a 'fast food' cousin to the custard would it not?

So lets say I made some pudding, then used the pudding in my 'ice cream maker' to make ice cream...when my ice cream melts it will still be pudding right?

I'm not knocking the ice cream if it tastes good, but its not exactly a new form of ice cream is it? The story says it was developed though "rigorous testing & tasting". You be the judge.

Jalapeno Cheddar Bread

2009-05-29T01:50:00.001-07:00

For this recipe it would help to start by reading this post - Easy White Dough.

Then follow the pictorial by clicking on the first picture below, captions/directions will then show underneath!

[altpwa user=tyronebcookin album=Bread]

Wine Pairing: a widget to help!

2009-05-26T03:20:00.001-07:00

Have you bought a good wine and want to match food with it? Bought or made some good food and want to match a good wine with it within your budget range? Natalie MacLean has a Drinks Matcher on her website that you can also use as a widget on your website! I was going to put her widget on my site to help other people out who may visit but I think its much better to visit her site and use the Drinks Matcher there: Nat Decants

Why? Great information. Good recipes. Straight talk about choosing and drinking wines. Demystifying and bringing wine drinking down to our level (the non-snobbish foodies who think wine people are being pretentious). Books, articles, podcasts, free newsletters...

Who is Natalie MacLean? Watch her video and read the rest of her bio here:

To fund her late-night vinous habits, Natalie MacLean holds down day jobs as a wine writer, speaker and judge. An accredited sommelier, she is a member of the National Capital Sommelier Guild, the Wine Writers Circle and several French wine societies with complicated and impressive names. Funny, brainy and unapologetically tipsy, her goal in life is to intimidate those crusty wine stewards at fine restaurants with her staggering knowledge.

For those of you who may want to try it first, I have installed it below:

Myths of Marinating

2009-05-22T02:37:00.001-07:00

The Food Geek

Brian J. Geiger

http://www.finecooking.com/blog/food-geek

http://www.mygazines.net/publication/1005/23

Help with your Doughs & Batters

2009-05-22T02:24:00.001-07:00

Do you know who Michael Ruhlman is? He writes about many subjects in magazines and newspapers, but mostly in books and mostly about food, chefs, and cooking—issues also covered in his blog. His most recent book,

Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking

as the title states - gives you many simple codes behind cooking. If you have no intentions of reading the book, or just want a sample of what knowing ratios can do, Michael has posted a PDF of the Doughs & Batters ratios that you can print and hang in your kitchen or put in your 'cookbook' to try your hand at...a word to the wise, the ratios are based on weight, so you need to have and know how to use a kitchen scale for this to be useful to you. But I promise you will become a better person by cooking/baking with a scale for precision.

Just click this link to his blog and look on the left hand side for the above picture and you can download his PDF for FREE! Black & White photos on the PDF are by his wife Donna, excellent!

[I don't link directly to the PDF because I think its fair that if he offers something for free, you can at least visit his site to get it...and of course permission, laws, and things of that nature tend to slow things down]

TX Smokehouse BBQ...in San Jose, CA?

2009-05-20T05:16:00.001-07:00

I have tasted some BBQ here & there, of this and that...and it really just seems people want to cook meat any old kind of way and put some BBQ sauce on it, then call it BBQ.

At the Texas Smokehouse BBQ it tasted like real BBQ, which means the meat is cooked a certain way (at least to me, and I am from the South) and its got to have an element of smoke or outdoor grill to it!

Here there is no valet parking, servers/waiters, reserved seating, or pretentiousness.

Nope, 2 parking spaces, 3 tables, and a fan outside to keep the 'smoke' from filling up the main restaurant area through the screen door. Just the type 'Hole-n-Wall' place I love to check out.

Being in California this Texas BBQ place reminds me of back home...in Alabama. So until I make it back home to visit in 'Sweet Home Alabama' I'll be stopping by to order, or call ahead to pick up my BBQ from here & any of the 'Down Home' style sides (that is, unless I am having/cooking my own BBQ).

You order, you pay at the register, they are polite, and you WAIT if someone calls in an order...they can only do so many things at once. AND YES you are going to smell like smoke/a smoker if you are there for a while eating or waiting for your food.

Here is all the information and a copy of the menu: Texas Smokehouse BBQ

Comment and/or write about your favorite BBQ place, or let me know of another good one in the San Jose area. I'll go check it out!

Thanks to Rudy R. for the photo!

Moroccan Style Sweet Potato Salad

2009-05-18T05:34:00.001-07:00

Marius commented me on facebook because I usually update about food I am going to cook or am going to eat…

“Tyrone, I would be very interested in the morrocan sweet potato recipe…”

or in this case the wonderful food my wifey made!

Ingredients

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger (or more if you like)

1 teaspoon cinnamon

2 teaspoons harissa or chili garlic sauce (you may could improvise w/cayenne)

1 lemon, juiced

2 teaspoons honey

salt

2 tablespoons coriander

1/2 to 1 cup sliced black Kalamata olives (you can use just the plain black, but where’s the fun & taste in that?)

1/4 cup capers (to taste)

Directions

Boil the sweet potatoes in just enough water to cover.

Stir in the ginger, cinnamon, harissa, lemon, honey and salt and boil for about 10 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked but not falling apart.

The sauce should be thick, almost syrup-like.

If it isn’t, lift out the potatoes and boil the sauce until it is thicker. (sometimes this takes a long time)

When the sauce is done, mix in the coriander, olives and capers (and sweet potatoes if you had to seperate them to thicken the sauce).

Cool and serve .

Tips/Opts:

heat up/pan roast your coriander first to create a more indepth flavor, if its whole coriander grind in coffee grinder, spice mill, or beat it in a ziploc bag with a small skillet! If its ground coriander keep tossing it about till it smells like its cooking, looks like its smoking, & starts to get darker

If you just want to concentrate on making the sauce without worrying about how mushy the potatoes are going to cook or fall apart, then bake the sweet potatoes whole a day or two before *(350 degrees for about 40 to 60 minutes, depends how big you bought them, poke them with a knife to check…pull them out as soon as they are real close), let them chill and get hard in the refrigerator then peel and cube and pour hot sauce over it and toss gently…this will help cool the dish down to room temp quicker too!

How about a ‘regular’ potato salad made with sweet potatoes? Anyone have some good recipes for that? Keep the mail & comments coming…

Easy White Dough

2009-05-15T04:30:00.001-07:00

I put this recipe together for my own use a long time ago. A yeast dough (and different kinds of dough in general) get a certain 'feel' to them and you start noticing this...Then you make better judgements on when to add a little more water, more flour, or a pimch more of salt. From this same dough I can alter the sugar and other ingredients to produce cinnamon rolls, pizza crust, pita bread, naan bread...sometimes its just the kneading, rise time, technique, or cooking method with the same recipe that makes it another dough 'product'. It can even be multiplied successfully for bulk preparation in commercial kitchens. (I know, I was doing it for years!)

Easy White Dough (use wheat flour for wheat dough) for Bread or Rolls

4 Cups Flour

2 Tablespoon Yeast

1 teaspoon Sugar

1 teaspoon Salt

1 Tablespoon Oil

2 Cups warm/hot water

Put dry ingredients and oil in mixer. Use mixer set on 2 or 3 (not fast, but not real slow) and use dough hook. Add up to 2 cups warm/hot water from faucet. Pour in mixer while dough hook is working. Watch for the dough to start to come together then let mixer run for about 5 to 8 minutes…you can also need the dough by hand for about the same amount of time instead of using the mixer.

You are looking for a soft smooth texture to the dough, oil dough ball, put in bowl and cover…let rise for about 40-60 minutes (adjust rise time to your humidity/heat) dough may double in size quicker in a more warm and humid conditions or slower in cold conditions.

Smash or punch down, then shape into rolls or 2 loafs in bread pans and wait the same amount of time for the second rise (or longer if needed) bake in oven at 160C or 350F for about 30-40 minutes.

Let cool slightly and eat fresh and warm.

Comments welcome or contact me for further questions...the above photo was baking bread aboard a ship in Cotonou, Benin - West Africa. As you can imagine the rising/proof time was pretty accelerated in that heat (the galley/kitchen did not have air conditioning - I lost some weight that year!).

Smartpower Duet...not a good Idea!

2009-05-13T03:36:00.000-07:00

Since I am just like many of you and feel the tight crunch of getting the most out of every penny I went to Costco to get some items for the kitchen. While I was there I found this combi blender mini processor unit by Cuisinart and I thought, "I'll buy this to get by for awhile plus it makes sense since I have such a small kitchen right now...".

Nope, never got around to trying out the mini processor because I could never get the blender to even make a frozen coffee drink. The glass pitcher is to wide with little to NO taper, and once it does QUICKLY narrow into a smaller bowl the blades seem to sit halfway in this small 'bowl' area that the oversize plastic piece screws on to the bottom. The blades just kicked the ice around like it was a never ending game of dice. If you ask me, terrible design.

Do you have one of these, does it work good for you? It seemed like a good idea and price at the time...I took it back and just used the money to buy my favorite blender, the food processor will have to wait! (I gave away everything I had in 2007-again!- before I went back to West Africa to work in 2008)

Restocking the 'choice' appliances has not been cheap. But I expected as much and have the patience to wait for a 'sale' or two.

Joy of Coffee

2009-05-10T20:53:00.000-07:00

This coffee shop in Dublin Ireland (not to far from the famed Temple Bar) was a great little 'hole-n-wall' place to take a break and have some lunch.

Sandwiches, soups, and various other offerings. Besides coffee there were plenty of tea choices...One that I remember right away was a green tea with mint and coconut. That hit the spot as we were there in January. Warming the cold body!

I posted the picture to simply say the name of this place says it all for people like me~ Joy of Coffee!

What are some of your 'hole-n-wall' coffee places, joints that you like? And lets steer clear of the ones in Amsterdam!

Library=FREE!

2009-05-10T20:00:00.000-07:00

Go get a library card! If you haven't already done it, SHAME ON YOU! Its FREE, and remains free as long as you can get all your items back in on time, or renew them.

Whats available for check-out at the Library today?

Books, of course!

Magazines

DVD's

CD Rom - computer software

Free internet use, and free Wi-FI (most libraries today even small ones!)

What All Libraries Have Today This link goes to a government site that explains in more detail than my brief listing above what can be found at your local library.

Here are a couple of examples on how to use it:

I have found instructional DVD's from Jacques Pepin to Julia Child cooking and technique.

I surf thru http://ecookbooks.com and http://amazon.com to read reviews and see what culinary books I would want next and then found 80% of them at my local library! (that saved me some money!)

When obtaining the culinary resources I want I 'check in' online and reserve or request books from other branches - an alert is emailed to me when to pick them up!

Some libraries have online resources for downloading audio, video, and pdf form books.

Food & Wine related magazines that are up-to-date (they have monthly subscriptions at the Library) for example: Bon Appetit, Gourmet, Cooking Light, Taste of Home, Food & Wine...

Sometimes an additional used book store (in, or attached to the library) that sell used books and magazines for pennies on the dollar.

You can apply this to any topic.

I found culinary books that were released the end of last year! About a month ago I attended a free lecture on 'Myths in Food Nutrition Today' hosted at the library by a woman who had multiple degrees in nutrition and diet.

Want FREE? Library FIRST! One of the greatest FREE resources on the planet that dates back BEFORE the internet and still includes the internet. GET YOUR LIBRARY CARD TODAY! Ok?

Thanks for joining me!

2009-05-04T19:10:00.000-07:00

Eight years ago I started tyronebcookin.com and along the way (due to ignorance on my own part: Don't Drop That Domain Name!) I lost the Domain Name. But by chance, fate, or maybe a miracle(?) I was able to obtain it again!

Just in time too...

People, strangers, friends, family members, associates, former bosses...have questions. Good dialogue and debate stimulate the brain. Creativity likes to feed from the minds of others.

I enjoy talking about food, answering questions, or just helping people learn simple things that make them enjoy food & cooking so much more.

Help me make this fun & interactive. Send in your questions and comments. I plan on sharing and learning from you!

Difficulties with Job Stalking

2009-05-01T12:40:00.000-07:00

A continuation of Job Stalking #3.

Today, there are so many layers of defense(?) when trying to get a job that its really frustrating. Here are several scenarios that I ran into:

You post your resume to an email address but they leave no phone number, address, or specific company information in order to follow-up or check on your process. A lot of the jobs posted now are like this, how unsettling is that? Just wait indefinitely?

Expect most jobs to take 2 weeks to acquire because of multiple interviews, those crazy 80 questions personality/aptitude tests (that supposedly don't mean anything-they just want to 'best fit' you for a job), drug tests, health/strength tests, background check, and a myriad of other things.

Some jobs never tell you what the 'pay' will be...depends on experience? I went for an interview where I was told to talk to HR about what I was getting paid. When I talked with HR they wanted to talk to the department head/administrator/interviewer before quoting an amount. Then they called me in for a tour of the 'facilities' and they asked me what HR said the amount was, I told them 'they said its up to you!'...so after a day or two more someone called me with an offer that was to LOW to accept!

Employers need to give more upfront information so we ALSO can move on, or pass over jobs that will obviously not draw us in.

Other jobs have a national group that leads you through the next steps from email and phone. Your interview and other processes will be local, but you can't locally 'show up' till instructed to do so.

If you are just going to work part-time at McD's or Star(cost-a-lot-of)Bucks than maybe you can get hired 'on the spot' for a job...but for a more professional or career oriented job it is becoming a maze to conquer any HIRE under 6 weeks from submitting application/resume or 2 weeks from the actual first interview.

These only cover SOME of the known difficulties with acquiring a job...share some of your experiences!

Happy Job Stalking!

Job Stalking #3

2009-04-28T15:32:00.000-07:00

A continuation of Job Stalking #2.

If you want to use the newspaper to find jobs thats fine, but its extremely limiting nowadays. We used Craigs List and many online job finder helps...like Yahoo! Hotjobs where I input all the information I wanted to give and then used the search and email alerts to have the possibilities sent to my email box. You can also google for local job listings, sometimes your library will have a web-page for postings.

Next, I hunted for jobs that would also allow me to call them, or show up at a certain time for an 'open call' interview.

But mostly you just end up waiting a lot.

I was inputting for multiple jobs a day. On the days there was nothing I tried to find addresses, emails, and phone numbers for the jobs I already applied online for so I could hunt them down and pursue them. You need to be aggressive, when you call them up:

Ask them is the job still open

Next ask when you can come in for an interview

Ask when you can call back again and check on the job if they are not going to give you an interview.

Ask for names and numbers to easily check back again.

Tell them you can stop bye today!

Ask them to please contact you if the position is filled.

If you find an address:

Show up during non-busy hours (to the best of your ability)

Ask to talk to a manager or recruiter

If no one is available ask for a business card and 'best time' for a retry.

Bring copies of your resume with you - they will not have it printed out, and if you 'walk-in' you want to have one ready to push in their hand so you remove another excuse not to talk to you.

Follow-up, follow-up, follow-up! Keep checking till you know the position is filled or someone tells you 'no'. And be ready to answer interview 'questions', know how much money you want to make, have some goals for yourself, and have goals for you in their company/business. Build good questions to ask them when they give you the chance:

What does the position pay

Whats the schedule

Is their benefits/healthcare

Etcetera!

I have been interviewed by people who didn't even give me their name! SO during the part when they ask If I have any questions I said YES! "What is your name?"...do you have a business card...

Next time we will talk about the difficulties.

Job Stalking #2

2009-04-27T13:07:00.000-07:00

A continuation of: Job Stalking #1.

What where the things that I did to start my job search? First, go on LinkedIn and sign up, after you complete their whole input process there is an option to download it (your resume, cv) in PDF form! Presto Magic! An online resume builder that costs you absolutely nothing! (also includes your introduction that is the cover letter)

Then I went online and had the PDF converted to text or a Word document because all online acceptance does not take PDF, some want Word Document or equivalent. *Hint - you can also remove the Linked In graphic from your resume too...automatically added by Linked In.

Alright, now you are armed with 2 sources for online cover letter & resume submission and can also print them out for live use. And remember, print extra copies and take them with you because even if you submit it online, usually they never print it out -AND- I have been asked for a copy again when going to the interview.

For my own use I added my references and contact number(s) on my printed resume, it cuts down on having to add it later...or they lose the information in the email or application that goes with your resume. Also, it helps you when filling out all those application...you can just look on your resume in case you forget. BUT please don't post that resume on job boards or anywhere public or you will be asking for spam! And all your information will be spread across the commercial (and maybe private) world. Telemarketers, spam filled inbox, you get the idea.

If you have a local store that does all your fax or document printing (like Kinko's in the USA) then maybe it will be convenient and not to much money from your pocket, but we find its a good investment to get a printer with scanner/copier capabilities...SO so much less stressful.

For example: My wife needs to have documentation/certifications that need to be attached or printed for submission to jobs. Copy them all in then print them or attach them to email when needed. Or print out important paperwork, sign/fill out, then scan back in and return and you also have the hard copy for yourself. Very wise investment for several reasons beyond job hunting.

Job Stalking #1

2009-04-25T21:23:00.000-07:00

Now that I finally have a job, I wanted to share with you a little about the modern day process and what you can expect.

First a little background. Even though we live in Northern California we have found our friends across the states tend to agree with our general knowledge about the 'job stalking' procedures and results that I will lay out here in multiple post/parts.

Second the job positions. I am a Chef/Cook with college in Computer Information Systems and a successful background in Beverage Distribution (for example: Route Salesman, Deliverer, Merchandiser...). My wife is a registered nurse. So we applied to jobs across the board to anything that we felt were our strong points.

I applied to jobs of this nature or affiliation: Pepsi, Budweiser, various distributors...restaurants, catering, personal chef, cooking in a health-care environment. (and more)

My wife applied to several different types of nursing jobs, with different shifts, and different sections of hospitals.

We both were coming to this area after being gone for awhile, my wife's old 'stomping grounds' and for me it was the first time to take residence (even though I have various friends and family in this state although not particularly close to where we live now).

I give you this information to explain to you that neither one of us had 'inside connections' or people we could 'hit up' for a quick job or employment.

The average time it took us both to get a permanent job was 2 Months...and as I talk with people and ask around I find this is the 'norm', some even say we are lucky.

Job Stalking #2 will be more about what we did, how we did it, and how to really be diligent and make your presence known in order to make a lasting impression to get that job!

Free yourself, cook with confidence.

2009-04-08T12:28:00.000-07:00

Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking: Michael Ruhlman

I am currently reading this book. I have read all the other books (that are NOT cookbooks) about Chefs that he has wrote about...that is a recommendation.

For me its a reminder of how I started cooking long ago and trying to train myself to be independant from recipes. It is important to have consistency - so I still develop recipes for personal, commercial, and business use.

If you have any talent cooking this book can help free you to move beyond the cookbook and experiment. It can free you to be spontaneous in the kitchen, on the grill, or any cooking experience that might bog you down looking for a recipe.

If you don't, won't, or can't read thru the big books of Larousse Gastronomique and/or The Professional Chef buy the Elements of Cooking and Ratios by Michael Ruhlman, this should get you started with a pleasurable education to get you cooking daily like a pro in your own kitchen.

Mondavi wine history is enjoyable.

2009-04-08T12:03:00.000-07:00

The House of Mondavi: The Rise and Fall of an American Wine Dynasty

Being out here in California on a permanent level I wanted to find a few books that combine the area that I am living in and a 'foodie' aspect that would appeal to me. I found a non-fiction work called 'The House of Mondavi - The rise and fall of an American wine dynasty' . A very intriguing story of the Modavi's start in America which later moved to Napa Valley, the rise of the 'empire', the split, and the success and failures that happened along the way. Heard of Robert Mondavi Reserve, Opus One, Woodbridge, or Charles Krug wines? All Mondavi family owned at one time. I thought it was an excellent read and showed that Robert or the 'family' truly pioneered some of the wine tastings and chef oriented open houses which furthered the progress of the California wine culture that thrives today.

Food on the home front...

2009-03-30T22:44:00.000-07:00

While I continue my rigorous hunt for a job it hasn't stopped me from having fun in the kitchen. Ill give you a few meals (maybe not all in the same post) we have eaten at home lately to maybe give you a few ideas...

Last night my wife and I had a green curry with jasmine rice and pan seared sole. Couple of thoughts on that:

Sole is a great fresh fish fillet, although I only recommend thin filets and pan FRYING or deep FRYING it if your like me, because if your like me sole can taste mushy in the mouth. Without giving it that crisp crunchy texture on the outside its not so palatable to me. (feel free to disagree)

A lot of time a green curry (with coconut milk, lemon grass, ginger, stuff of that nature...) or a massaman style has potatoes in it. Bit I found some acorn squash. SO I split and seeded them, and cooked them in the oven for about an hour at 350. Later after letting them cool, I peeled and cubed them, then sauteed them in a pan(in an attempt to 'seal' them to a form before mushing into nothing). Then added them to the curry, later it was delicious to eat the curry and rice with the heat steadily building in my mouth only to hit a junk of sweet roasted acorn squash to counter the heat.

The acorn squash also helped to thicken the sauce as it cooked(because of course some of it did break down into the sauce). I say the taste was great, DO IT!

I have not had the pleasure of experiencing the 99 Ranch Market or Ranch Market till moving to California. Love it! Its about a five minute walk from where I live and I am one of the only caucasians I ever see in there...but HECK, that place is loaded with all the stuff I always wish I had to do food right, but couldn't find in a regular grocery store. Mostly considered Asian products with far reaching 'hands' into India, West Africa, some Spain, Caribbean...probably a few more cross culturally crossing over each other! And the produce, meat, rice, noodles & condiment sections put the other grocers to shame!

The Sole my wife had in Thinkers Village, Liberia (in West Africa) will always be the 'unforgettable' fish dinner to my wife Stephanie who had it on our Anniversary last year (possibly with the many fresh fish and sashimi meals we had in Cancun on honeymoon too!). Delicious!

The Dish, Zao Noodle Bar, & Cooking at home...

2009-03-25T22:16:00.000-07:00

That's right, time for me to get back in the swing of blogging what I like most...food and fun times with my wife (no its not necessarily in that order, calm down Stephanie).

So out here in Cali there is like a gazillion places to walk or hike (or swim, or bike, or yada yada - you get the picture). But Tuesday we went to Palo Alto CA where Stanford University really takes up most of the town/city and we went to The Dish, aptly named for several large satellite dishes. There is a course up there that is about 3.7 miles in a loop with hills and valleys. If you come park on the Alpine Road side (Pier Lane) its and additional 1.3 miles of walking, so you get a full 5 mile walk...which wore us out! But it was a nice area in the hills with local 'wildlife' like students, cows, and ground squirrels(that was meant to be funny). And the animals couldn't be bothered by you, so you don't see them moving along when you come by!

Later we went downtown to one of Stephanie's favorite places that I have never been to called Zao Noodle Bar and I loved it! Great pick Stephanie!

Stephanie had:

KUNG PAO CHICKEN: Crispy chicken breast, red bell pepper, green onions and peanuts in a sweet tart kung pao sauce with a spicy kick! Served with jasmine rice.

I had:

THAI GREEN CURRY CHICKEN: Chicken, bamboo shoots, green peas, galanga, kaffir lime leaf, ginger-garlic-lemongrass and green curry sauce with jasmine rice.

Then we headed on over to Peets Coffee & Tea for a Caramel Freddo (Frappuccino)...yeah baby!

Later that evening I kicked out a little supper. I had some olive bread (baguette style) - I made out of Italian herbs, marinated green Spanish olives, and black kalamata olives - that I used to make pizza. Cut the bread in half, flipped it over, used some sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes, pepperoni, shallots, garlic...broiled it off in the oven till the mozzarella cheese, cheddar, and jalapeno jack mix was bubbling like hot lava on top. Stephanie was leaving to meet up with her friends but since I stayed home and was not driving, I had a glass of red wine with mine. Delicious!

It was a good day, heck it was a wonderful day! Thanks Stephanie for coming up with the plans! (one of the many reasons I love my wife)

Enjoy a few pictures, although I don't have any of our food we had at home...shucks, I will have to start remembering that!

(click on picture for album)

Traveling Europe

2009-03-20T16:13:00.000-07:00

When we left the Africa Mercy (Mercy Ships) ship when it was in Tenerife, Canary Islands I (tyrone) had never used any of my vacation/leave/holiday days from the 18 months working at the base nor the 12 months on board the ship.

So that allowed Stephanie and I to continue to travel and meet up with old friends in Europe in January and February before having to go back to work in March.

Some days we took good pictures, some days we couldn't be bothered. I didn't take a great amount of pictures of food because I needed both hands to eat and wipe my mouth without soiling or greasing up the camera...but what pictures we did take I will share below. Then of course Stephanie had to edit what pictures would make the cut, since I am not as demanding. There are a few blurry pics of restaurant or food places, but I thought they should still be seen in case you may one day be there and recognize that I loved the food at that restaurant.

A lot is going on with us right now as we settle back into living the life of a U.S. citizen so more stories and eats may be blogged about later as I recall fond memories of our travels.

As you will see just a few pics in England, it was cold & snowy. We also spent time in Belgium too (Brussels) but then again, we just felt to cold and wet to be bothered. But those places were just as great! (you can also go to my Photolicious Album -click on right- and search for these countries and find other pics from earlier travels).

Click on a picture to go to the album. I used fairly simple picture albums so If you have a slow connection it should still be less painful than usual to see them.

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="160" caption="Spain - (Madrid)"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="160" caption="Italy - (Rome)"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="160" caption="Holland - (Rotterdam-Amsterdam)"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="160" caption="England - (Various)"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="160" caption="Scotland (Kirkcudbright - Edinburgh)"][/caption]

[caption id="" align="alignleft" width="160" caption="Ireland - (Dublin)"][/caption]

10 Things you take for granted b4 going 2 Africa Mercy!

2009-03-03T10:22:00.000-08:00

I have enjoyed most of these things again now that I am integrating back into US society. Please feel free to add your comment as I am sure I have not covered everything...just the first ten that come to mind.

*These are in no particular order

Showers that last longer than 2 minutes

Drinking water straight from the tap.

Baths

Candles (I am not 'per se' a candle guy, but heck, I love to buy some nice smelling candles to burn, they enhance the ambiance too...)

Doing my laundry when I want to, no sign up sheet.

Shopping for fresh products and cooking for my wife and I.

Oceans and beaches that are safe (to swim or hang-out)

Variety (in almost everything, food, TV channels, movie theaters, shopping stores...)

Consistent preaching, teaching, and worship at church every week. (although we are looking for a new church since we have moved)

Diet Cola and Cheetos are always available here. (oh, and frosted mini-wheats too!)

Again, there are probably many other obvious ones I have missed, but these came to me right away when I sat down to write this post...please add your own in the comments.

Africa to Europe to AL to TX to CA

2009-02-24T16:19:00.000-08:00

January 12th, Tyrone and I walked down the gangway in the rain. I thought I would be distraught, but I was actually so excited. I had so much to look forward to. Don't get me wrong I definitely miss the ship, but it was time to move on.

After leaving the hip we spent an amazing month traveling all over Europe. We went to Dublin, Madrid, Rome, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Brussels, Sheffield, leeds, Kirkubright, and Edinburgh. Some of the places we visited dear Mercy Ship friends and other places Tyrone and I explored the city together. All of it was amazing, although the constant traveling was exhausting. I am so thankful for this time. It was a great time of reflection and transition.

After our whirl wind tour we stayed with Tyrone's sister and her family. It was so great to hang out with them and see how much our neice and nephews have grow. We stayed there for 10 days and unfortunately we were very busy trying to get every thing ready in order for me to take a travel nursing assignment. I am still in awe that I actually got an assignment exactly where I wanted to be when the travel nursing industry is struggling so badly. All I is "Praise the Lord!!"

Now, I am sitting in the ancorage cafe at the IOC in Tyler, TX trying to make sense of it all. I have spent the last 3 days spending time with my dear friend Jennifer, which has been so great to catch up with her. We have also had a chance to meet up with other friends here in Tyler. Tyrone and I shared with our Sunday School class at Grace Community Church about our time on the Africa Mercy. I love sharing our experience with others.

Tomarow we fly to San Jose, Ca. My travel company is providing us an apartment in South San Francisco. I am so excited to cook, do laundry in our apartment, go grocery shopping, go to the park, and work at a hospital and get payed for it. I am so excited to live near my friends and be a part of my old Bible study and be in a group of people who know me.

Please pray

that Tyrone finds a job were he can be challanged and enjoys his job

we find a reliable, cheap, used car

that I can find a permanent job when my travel assignment is over in 8 weeks

we continue to adjust back to American life

we continue to grow in our marriage and our relationship with the Lord

we find ways to serve the Lord in short term missions or community missions.

We will continue to update our blog so stay tuned. Thank you for all your support through out the year.

Five Minutes of Fame

2009-02-10T08:53:00.000-08:00

We are pretty busy as of lately, we actually have a lot to blog about and pictures to share but it will have to wait for more time...

You've all heard the cliche or term 'your five minutes of fame...'? Well I suppose I have finally gotten mine for being with Mercy Ships all these years...its just a shame that NO ONE IN THE USA will see it. Yep, that's right...

No, I didn't make it to a TV show BUT I did make it in the UK Mercy Ships Calendar as Mr. March this year. Complete in Chef uniform pulling hot pans of chicken out of the oven in a very busy 'lunchtime' galley shift.

SIGH. Oddly enough the US Mercy Ships Calendar for 2009 is called 'The Colors of Benin' even though we just finished outreach service in Liberia...and it has pictures that were taken in Liberia in the Calender as well...Hmmm, I'm confused...Colors of Benin?

So to all my UK friends (of which there are plenty) I'm the MAN! Mr. March! And to my Sheffiel (England) buddy Arthur (Chief Electrician) WAY TO GO! *(he made it too!) I think he's January.

To all my US friends, family, and supporters...I was hoping for a calendar that was relative to the year of outreach I was just a part of in Liberia, but since its not, we can not justify the financial expense of buying all those Benin calendars...you'll just have to get by on our pictures, posts, and smiling faces of us in Liberia 2008!

Daniel

2009-01-28T16:12:00.000-08:00

Daniel, my best friend. Daniel would tell me that I was his best friend. I would tell Daniel that surely I could not be his best friend because he has only known me a year. 'No', Daniel said, 'you are my best friend'.

Daniel was one of those people who genuinely cared about you.

He would drive me crazy!!! Tyrone, how did you sleep? Did you rest yourself? Are you going to eat your lunch? Are you going to eat your dinner? Where is my friend? (asking me where my wife was)...Tyrone, Tyrone, Tyrone....WHAT?! DANIEL, WHAT!? My wife doesn't ask me that many questions and my mom is back home in the states!

Oh Daniel would drive me nuts.

Daniel was soft spoken and truly cared about the answers to those questions.

I did have to break the news to him that I had a few best friends at home, but he would still qualify as a best friend because who said you had to have just one best friend? He was happy with that.

Daniel was sad and visually upset the day we said goodbye. He called and left me a message on my phone a few days right before the ship left...

"Tyrone, this is your best friend Daniel..."

Then he proceeded to say some funny things and make me laugh, also he picked up several of my words, sounds, and mannerisms while he was here that he portrayed thru the phone call. Daniel hasn't answered any of my emails since we have been gone, but thats to be expected. Most people in Liberia don't have laptops or computers, and even if they did, they don't have internet access unless they pay a high price for it at an internet cafe...and most don't have the money for that.

Daniel, as well as the others could write a story about living in Liberia that would leave you speechless...its hard for me to imagine.

Daniel was a hard worker going above and beyond what was expected of him. Daniel has a plan. He knows how to save money and wisely think about his future.

A year or two ago a crew member offered to finance Daniels training for him to be with Mercy Ships as staff abourd the ship (then Anastasis, now Africa Mercy) and later probably pay his crew fees and insurance when he came back, but Daniel declined. Daniel doesn't want to leave his country...he told me he doesn't have any big dreams of leaving and heading out for the 'Western World'. Some would question whats wrong with him, but I applaud him for wanting to stay 'home' and pursue his dreams and goals in his own country. Whats wrong with that?

Yes, I will miss Daniel. At this point I miss him aggravating me everyday and that's not easy for me to admit. I probably was the closest with Daniel. We talked about life, his plans, Jesus, our spiritual growth, prayer...and movies he's never seen, like 'Karate Kid' where the main character, a young boy, was called 'Daniel-son' by Mister Mi-Aggi. (spelling?) This is relevant because Daniel likes karate but I think he only learned it from watching TV or Movies so I was surprised he had not seen it (they have plenty-o bootleg DVD's here in Monrovia). Sadly enough we had the movie here in the Library but I never got around to watching it with him...

Someone in Monrovia Liberia tell Daniel to email and let me know he's been doing alright!

Oretha

2009-01-11T16:38:00.000-08:00

Oretha left before the end of the year to attend a Discipleship Training School to return as long term staff...hopefully that will happen for her!

For some reason, not sure how, Oretha got the idea that I was a bad boss or not a good man...hmmm maybe they (the long term staff) were talking about some other chief cook/galley manager before I came and she thought it was me. But after she got over the initial shock of me being more crazy and fun than mean she was well on her way to enjoying her time in the kitchen.

The above picture is Oretha and I after I received my Africa Shirt (made locally - with fresh fold lines still in it! hahaha!) at which time she expressed for herself and representing the other day workers in food service many kind words for me being her boss and the fun they had working with me. Definitely a great time and gift for me. I think I would be more proud of enjoying working and learning from them as they learned from me more than I ever would winning a food contest/competition and getting a trophy...I just could not see it being as fulfilling.

Oretha has one of those real serious looking faces (just like Jemima) that breaks into one of the biggest grins. Oretha and Ophelia are actually related. Oretha is Ophelia's aunt. Earlier this year Oretha's sister (Ophelia's mom) passed away...it was a hard time for both of them and neither of them wanted to miss a day of work. They needed the money to help the family. Financially several of us helped out the best we could and time is helping heal the rest.

Oretha was the ward cook on the opposite cooking rotation from Ophelia...sometimes these two could fight/argue like nothing you've ever seen and then start laughing when I came to quiet them down. This only happened when one of them came to the ship to do extra work on the same day the other was working...like getting money to go to the market to get local food to cook for the patients. Who else is going to know better how to maneuver the market and negotiate/barter prices?

Oretha came for the last work day on the ship to make her presentations and give away her African shirts to Peter and I, since Peter was the big boss-my boss, he got two shirts! Korpo helped her and assisted in pulling the shirts over our big head!

Oretha, if your reading this I miss those spicy beans you cooked for the patients...send me the recipe!

Jemima & Korpo

2009-01-05T08:43:00.000-08:00

On the left hand side of me is Jemima. And yes, I did make fun of her by calling her Aunt Jemima which is a popular syrup and buttermilk pancake product in the United States(which as I remember, was also delicious). Nope, I am not going to apologize...I explained it to her and she thought it was funny and EVEN she had heard of it. BUT you want to know something more interesting than funny about her name? Her mother named her after a woman in the Bible. Yes. Its true. Remember Job?

Job 42:14 (King James Version)

14And he called the name of the first, Jemima; and the name of the second, Kezia; and the name of the third, Kerenhappuch.

Now if you are truthful you will admit it never occurred to you or remember it, or you would have questioned whether it was the true by running to find it in your Bible. But there it is...plain as day.

Jemima was another one of those people who always looked serious but would 'break out' in a big grin when you talked to her (or threw water on her, after the scream of course). Jemima worked in the dining room but would come up to the galley to get food to eat or help us with something we were doing (because we were always short a hand or two, but you probably realize this by now from my posts). We would enjoy sitting around and talking while we ate in the galley (instead of in the dining room) because that's where they wanted to be, plus its where the ward food was made which was/is true Liberian food.

Jemima is a hard worker...nobody in dining room or galley would ever question that, but she is a great friend as well.

Korpo came to the dining room to help out because the work load was too much for the current volunteers we had on staff. I may be wrong but I believe she was already working on board but was 'shifted' over to the dining room from another department. She too would come up to the galley like Jemima did, but I think it took her a little while to get used to me. Because just like Jemima, she thought I was a little strange and crazy. And to her/their credit, I am.

I did not know her as well as the others but I enjoyed her friendship as well. She was surprisingly a little more aggressive in talking to me and giving me a 'hard time' in return when I aggravated her on purpose.

I hope they all are doing well, I wish I knew.

John

2009-01-04T08:53:00.000-08:00

Kind of quiet, HARD WORKER, and loved to wear all the odd head and apron gear he could find in our galley cabinet!

John (sorry Foday) was the real dish machine! He would just let them pile up till they were worth doing (a few at a time while they trickle in is wasting time) and in the mean time he would help the ward cook, the cooking team, and/or the salad team prep their food for the meals.

You know that one person at school, church, or work who is always the one you add to every team that works great with others? John was/is that all around good worker. No complaints. I tormented John a little bit, but torment is probably a strong word. He had this bad habit of leaving a lot of water in big metal bowls after he washed them, and since we stack our bowls on a rack right side up, the water would stay in them instead of draining out. (which by the way is the WRONG way in the food service world, but you have to go with what works in situations like these...)

I used to ask the dishwashers repeatedly ever week to drain this water out, but they could never remember...so I started tossing the water on them if they were close to me when I retrieved a bowl to use and it had water in it! That surprised John a little bit and he started to remember to drain or dry them better.

Don't try to start in on me for being mean, its WATER! And they loved it, it was fun...and it created more jokes and laughter. Later I would just surprise anybody close to me by throwing the water on them, and then say, 'Don't forget to remind your friend John to empty the remaining water from the bowls before stacking them up...' then they would start aggravating John about the water left on the dishes...worked quite well.

The rumor is that John may show up in Benin to work in the kitchen/galley for the next outreach. That will be good for Peter if both John and Oretha can make it back!

Foday!

2009-01-03T06:07:00.000-08:00

Foday needs an exclamation mark at the end of his name. Believe it or not, (and it was hard for us to believe) Foday is about 50 years old with 9 kids! The last baby he had was born in 2008 and he named it Peter (after my boss, the Chief Steward) because Foday said he wanted his child to grow up big and healthy like Peter! (I think it was meant as a compliment, but Peter looked a little skeptical)

Foday is one of two dishwasher, they (Foday and John) rotate on their assigned cooking team...so they don't work together.

We have talked about Ophelia in a previous post where I described her and Foday having those heated arguments in the kitchen. Foday can/will drive you crazy and have you laughing hard at the same time...and sometimes separately. BUT...

Somewhere along the line Foday has blurred the reality between dreams, his imagination, and being conscious - but of course living through a civil war, in poverty, and having 9 kids to feed may do that to you...and I mean that seriously as well as humorously. Foday tells us great stories of killing 50 foot eagles and knowing the 'Bong Mine' Troll (search bong mine for other posts on Bong Mine). And he is adamant about them being true and correct, which of course makes for some interesting conversation and questions from new crew/staff/volunteers to the galley. Of which we, the people who are long term, get some very great entertainment out of it! And of course Ophelia does her best to get him 'riled up'.

The downside to this is that Foday has a hard time concentrating on getting work done, or paying attention to instructions. When this happens I aggravate him by comparing him to John, the other dishwasher. This usually does the trick, but then starts him on a new tirade of undecipherable English.

I could share more, but it probably wouldn't be appropriate in a public post...got to leave him some dignity, right?

lessons

2008-12-31T08:34:00.000-08:00

It has been a long time since I have posted anything. Sorry for my silence. My silence was not due to lack of blogging material but a time of personal reflection. This year has been so many things to me and I want to soak them all in. I want to be a better woman because this year. I have learned lessons from the Lord, lessons from crew members, lessons from girls at the orphanage and lessons from my patients. The Lord has drawn me closer to him by teaching me that I am not alone, He is all I need, to cast my cares upon the Lord, and so many more things. I think about the impact that these lessons have had on me and will continue to have and I am so grateful.

There have been many crew members that that have been true friends to me and then there were those few that challanged me to grow. I am so thankful for the hugs and encouragement during my ugly cries and moments of "what am doing here?" I am amazed of the Lord's provision of friends that have just learned these lessons and are willing to walk with me on my journey. When I came to the ship the last time I was single and friendships were all I had but this time Tyrone and I came as a team and he is the best teammate ever. He helped me keep everything in perspective, he listened to me talk about my patients and listented to me as I verbally processed this crazy year on a hopital ship in Africa!

I have always loved to laugh, you know that deep belly laugh that makes your eyes water and your shoulders to shake. I have learned from my girls at Mama Victoria's orphanage that even in grim circumstance you can still laugh till your side hurts. Those nine girls know how to laugh and have fun. They are incredible women of the Lord and I miss them so much, already.

The faces that occupied the beds were my patients but so much more than that. They were individually unique. Some drove me crazy and others became good friends. They all had a story. Most of them include living in a country that went through a 14 year civil war. All include tragedy and now they contain a new hope of being accepted back into their village after being out casted due to their illness. Being at their bedsides made me laugh, cry, shake my head, raise my eyebrows (the Liberian way of saying yes), sing my heart out, and hope for a better future for Liberia.

Thank you for sharing this year with me.

Evelyne & Ophelia

2008-12-27T05:17:00.000-08:00

Evelyne is pictured to the left in this picture.

Oretha (look at picture in previous Liberian Friends post) found and trained this replacement so she (Oretha) could leave to attend a discipleship training school in order to come back to the ship as a permanent staff/crew person instead of a day worker. [more about Oretha in another post]

Evelyne was a good worker, quiet, and was only with us for the last 2 months. I think she was really starting to get comfortable and enjoy being in the galley (kitchen) when it was time to say goodbye. Evelyne thought I was a little strange, but she was already warned by the others so she did good.

Ophelia is pictured in the middle. She is short, feisty, and fun.

When she is cooking in the kitchen she has three favorite sayings: Delicious! Fantastic! and Mama G!

All three words/phrases are said loudly with a high pitch sound followed out with each syllable pronounced with a kind of singing cadence...yeah, I know, its hard to translate into text in a post!

'Mama G' is supposed to be a sign for something that tastes delicious. As I understand it Mama G is an older West African woman who cooks extremely good food. That may not be exactly right, but supposedly she is at least known to be someone in at least one Nigerian movie where she cooks good food. ANYWAYS, it makes for a fantastic new way of saying something tastes great when Ophelia says, 'this food is Mama G!'. And Ophelia wanted to taste everything I/we cooked.

Ophelia is a live wire that also loves to argue ferociously with fellow day worker Foday about 'supposed' Liberian politics...it makes for an interesting time for the rest of us. But then I have to break the fun up and get them to quite down and do some work. To somebody outside this cooking team they would think a big fight was about to break out in the kitchen! The rest of us just know its fun and games.

I noticed right away that some of the West African women on board would have hair extensions or weave applied to the their head/hair at different time or intervals. So I started giving Ophelia & Jemima a hard time about how their hair fluctuated from being so short to extremely long and styled.

They thought it was hilarious that I would ask them, 'so how long is your hair on vacation this time?' Sometimes I would give them a hard time by saying, 'those poor bald headed horses running all over Liberia' and then I would roll my eyes at them. [I have no actual proof of this, I had just heard a couple of times before that hair extensions were made out of horses mane sometimes]

I know, I know, that's probably inappropriate...but they loved having fun, telling stories and jokes, and giving each other a hard time while also working hard.

Even Stephanie would come to the galley/kitchen to visit so she could see what the latest 'drama' was and see what the day workers were up to (and to ask them how I was treating them)!

Merry Christmas! (from Tenerife)

2008-12-24T23:38:00.000-08:00

Being here on the ship I can't say that I miss the big 'hub-bub' and commercialism of the 'Happy Holidays' in the United States.

Its Merry Christmas! Remember that, M-e-r-r-y C-h-r-i-s-t-m-a-s (spell it out, I know you can do it!).

But what I do miss is friends, family, and eating 'Happy Birthday Jesus Cake!' with my niece and nephews.

My niece and nephews are full aware that friends and family are the gift givers of Christmas day and unless I am mistaken it was my niece who years ago asked 'If its Jesus birthday why doesn't he get a cake like everyone else?' (that may not be exactly how it happened, but with a 6 hour time difference I AM NOT calling my sister to ask her!) And so started the 'Happy Birthday Jesus Cake' tradition.

To my niece and nephews Santa Claus is just another funny looking man that comes out every Christmas to excite the kids and hang out at the malls for pictures to be taken and gift requests to be received while sitting on his knee. They can't be bothered with that...They want to know when Meme and Papa are coming to the house, or when is Oma coming? (German word for Grandma). When can we open the presents or eat the cake?

Sometimes (maybe now in the past) Katy & Noah would play Mary & Joseph and not just for Christmas! I can't remember if they used VJ for baby Jesus or not, but it makes sense (if my sister would let them) to use him for the 'baby' since he was!

Maybe I can give VJ a haircut for a Christmas present when I get back to the United States? (inside joke, I cut his hair a little short one time with the electric clippers - when he was still 'toddler' size made him look like a bald headed baby again!)~

*I apologize for not posting the follow-up (day worker) stories to the last post yet, but they are coming...as you can imagine I am busy with special meals and plans here on the ship for Christmas.

2008-12-21T15:08:00.001-08:00

We arrived in Tenerife, Canary Islands on Friday afternoon finally!!! It feels so weird, cool, and free all at the same time. When we joined the ship Jan. 9th, 2008 we were here, but it is different. The last time I was on this island was pre-Liberia. I know everyone says missions trips change them, I have said this very thing. I believed it. It was true. This year has changed me in so many ways, some of which I have blogged about already so I won't bore you with all of the details.

When we walked on to the main street of the down town area of course a bunch of us girls went shopping. The first store we went into was Zara, and thef irst thing I did was find the closest high heel I could fit my foot in and walked around the store relishing the feeling that I have not had for almost a year. This sounds rediculous, but when we were in Africa wearing high heels was on the top of the list of things I missed.

Liberian Friends (My Day Workers)

2008-12-17T16:58:00.001-08:00

In Food Service we had a total of eight day workers, but really only 6 working at a time. Look at the picture, see their names. Oretha left before the end of the outreach to go to the Liberian Discipleship Training School with YWAM which would certify her to work full-time as crew on board the ship. She was replaced by Evelyne. Korpo was added to the Dining Room staff about the same time because of shortages in our department.

Some of these day workers had worked on board the Anastasis in previous outreaches in Liberia and were rehired when the Africa Mercy took over permanently for this years outreach after the ship-to-ship transfer last year (2007). (I was on that sail, the maiden voyage it was called...I was on loan for about a month, from work and my wife)

On December 5th 2008, we said our final goodbyes. And for most of them, it was probably the last 'stable' job that paid decent and kept them employed for almost a year in a country with almost an 18% rate of employment. Employment, NOT unemployment. So that means that maybe one of the day workers might get a job in the coming year, and that's a BIG maybe!

I can not say that I have a big outward display of sad emotions, but I miss them. I truly do. I made some good friends working with them day in and day out...and it has been sad to move on without having them in the kitchen each day. We hugged, took pictures, swapped email addresses, (most of them will have to use an Internet cafe that they can't afford to check their email) I was presented with an African shirt as respect for me being their 'boss' (followed by embarrassingly nice words spoken about working with me) and then proceeded with the long process of seeing them off the dock after they were disembarked from the ship.

The next week was just not the same...and its still not the same now.

The Liberian Fund allowed us to share with each one of them. I presented each one of the six of them privately with a hundred dollars and the two shorter term workers (Korpo & Evelyne) with fifty dollars and explained to them that you, the financial supporters, made this possible. Because YOU believe in what we are doing and in return you expressed your love thru a gift that would contribute to helping them out when there job is literally floating away.

In future posts I will use the pictures we took of each one and I will tell you a little bit about them. Thank you for your continued financial support thru February 2009. And for those of you who contributed separately to the Leaving Liberia Fund, it made a world of difference to these eight people.

* (posts may come slow and sporadic the Internet comes and goes while sailing -- and things are busy on the ship as they start getting ready for project teams and next years outreach while being docked in Tenerife)

Lists

2008-12-15T09:22:00.001-08:00

I love lists. When I am packing , moving, or shopping usually make a list. I hardly ever even look at the list after I make it, which usually ends in forgotten stuff or purchasing everything but what I actually need. Here are some of the lists I have been compiling ofmy time here on the ship.

My favorite Liberian names

Godgive

Playboy

Surpise

Darling Boy

Blessing

Present

Hardtime

Lucky Boy

Gurl

Lovetee

TeeGurl

Babygirl

Baby

Sunday (boy)

Favorite phrases heard on the ward

"Mama, it is not good for baby to eat the shoe."

"Larry, Do not eat the contaminated waste."

Favorite things to do in Liberia

Woohoo Sailing!!!!

2008-12-14T06:33:00.001-08:00

On Friday afternoon the Africa Mercy pulled away from her home for the past consecutive 10 months and the better part of the last 4 years. Many of the crew were on deck 7 or deck 8 waving to the 20-30 faithful supporters. I was sleeping, yup I slept through the whole thing. At one point I woke up to my cabin being searched for stow-a-ways. After 10 days of coughing so hard my whole body aches but I am starting to feel better, Praise the Lord. Now I get to enjoy the sail. It is truly beautiful. The weather is hot during the day and breezy,perfect for the sunsets, and the meteor shower last night was majestic!!!

I love to sail!!!

Sometimes its confusing

2008-12-09T03:12:00.001-08:00

I noticed after a nice email from my friend Beth back home that the author of the post was not showing up in our updates...so I corrected that!

Stephanie was/is the one that is sick right now (a lot of sleep and antibiotics seem to be the cure...).

Even though the outreach is over, we still have to pack up and prepare to sail. Then the sail will last another week before we arrive in Tenerife.

Stephanie and I will continue to work on board (because as you can imagine no one ever stops eating!) and we actually don't return to the 'states' till the beginning of February. So 'everything' is not quite 'over' yet.

We saw a significant decline in financial support over the summer. I know some of our financial supporters are probably going through a tough time - the economy, layoffs, personal, and/or financial problems.

In light of that, our plans are to return home in February, look at locations and job opportunities, then decide what to do next...and then hopefully be able to work full-time (save and raise money) and do mission/volunteer work short-term each year.

The transitions we will be making are:

The end of outreach is always hard, packing up, saying goodbye...

After outreach is a time for rest (physically, mentally, spiritually) it takes time to comprehend all that you have experienced in a year in an environment like this.

Life goes on, and we must keep the ship afloat while we still look to ahead - cleaning, packing, sailing - and those are work things, then its the personal version of cleaning, packing, traveling...

Saying goodbye again when we actually leave the ship and all the friends we have here on board.

Going home, visiting friends, family, and supporters (which includes some more travel)

Adjusting to being gone a year...and the changes back 'home' we have missed.

Getting back into society and going back to work...

Whew! There's a lot to completing a mission and also going home to start the next 'adventure'. I would not suggest it to people who are prone to have anxiety attacks!

Sincerely,

Tyrone

PS. I have some pictures and updates of the money raised for the Liberia Fund and also my own tales of work and friends made...I know I have been slack of my writing duties lately, I'll try to catch up on the sail.

All I need

2008-12-07T15:37:00.001-08:00

Wounded. That is how I feel. I am sick and I am tired. We went a way this weekend because the whole ship had a black out yesterday so we stayed at a beach and it was really nice to be off the ship. The moist, salty air felt good to my wounded lungs.

I have been feeling unrest. Tyrone says it is normal for me right before a big transition. I think he is right. I do get uneasy before my life is going to change drastically. I have been really working on casting my cares upon the Lord and being anxious for nothing. But I still have this feeling of uneasiness.

When we got back from the beach I was listening to a song by JJ Heller that hit me to the core of my anxiety. As she sings this song my heart opens and the unrest slips away. How can I feel anything but peace when I have a God that is all I need? As my lungs burn each time I take a breath I needed to hear her remind me that He lets me catch my breath even in the valley of death. I needed to remember He is All I need.

I don't need a thing
My good shepherd brings me all
You are all I need
You let me catch my breath
Even in the valley of death
You are all I need

All I need to be complete is your love
Your blood that covers me

You lift up my head
You provide the wine and bread
You are all I need
There's no need to fear
Even with my enemies here
You are all I need

All I need to be complete is your love
Your blood that covers me

Goodness and mercy are following me
You are all that I need
You make a home for me
With pastures of green as far as I see
You are all I need

All I need to be complete is your love
Your blood that covers me

Lyrics by JJ Heller

It is over

2008-12-05T10:30:00.001-08:00

The last 2 weeks have been a fog. I am exhausted, 10 months of an all out sprint just feels too long... but the joy in my heart says it was worth it.

The wards are closed, the last patients left today, and now it is over.

Exhausted or not, it is over.

The memories have been made, the babies have been healed,

the patients have laughed, cried, and lifted their voices to our God.

The kids have played in the hallways, ran around with stickers on their heads, and given us much needed cuddles.

The women have knitted hats, blankets, and socks.

The men have played countless hours of checkers, Jenga, and Uno.

We have sung

Great things He has done,
Greater things He will do.
Unto the Lord be the glory,
Great things He has done.

and have meant very word.

We have sung

It is raining all around me,

I can feel it,

Its a lot of rain.

I asked Jesus to bring more rain

until we are full,

until we are full of a lot of rain.

And knew it was not talking about water coming from the sky,

but of God Almighty's blessings in our lives.

A ward, B ward, C ward, D ward, and ICU are all packed up.

The halls feel desolate.

I keep waiting to see Micky cruising down the hallway with his make shift car.

There are no Mama's sitting by the stairway chatting with those who pass by.

The translators have turned in their badges and have walked down the gangway for the last time,

It is over.

I am tired.

But satisfied.

We did our best,

more than our best.

We loved, cried, played, and gave the best care anyone could have given.

It is over.

Until next time.

games, pop rocks, and goodbyes

2008-12-01T10:59:00.001-08:00

We rushed down the gangway just after the President of Liberia entered the ship with her entourage. We only had a 30 minute window. We are not allowed to leave the ship when she is coming or going. It was a bit of a rush, we had to get all 8 of us (who go out to New Matadi Bible Study) into the Land Rovers before the entourage began to move again. As I walked down the gangway I couldn't help but think that it was royalty that we were going towards and not dashing away from. The nine girls that I have fallen in love with are daughters of the KING OF KINGS and therefore royalty.

I have tried to prepare myself for this fateful day that I would have to say goodbye, but I was not prepared for what actually happened. We decided to play games with the little kids in the orphanage because we predominantly spend time with the older kids. Sarah brought water balloons and we had a balloon toss. It is so funny to see their excitement and joy.

The girls trying Pop Rocks for the first time. Regina started screaming there was energy in her mouth. It was very funny!!

We then split up and we played games with our girls. Which was hilarious. These girls love to laugh and play. Later we split into groups and prayed for each other. And eventually I gave them each one last hug and told them each how much I love them. We got in the car and drove away.

I wish I could better express how the day went. To be honest I don't remember all the details. I mostly remember them laughing during the games and tears in their eyes during the goodbyes. I know I have said this before but I truly wish you could know them. They are so lovely.

I want to thank you so much for supporting us this year so I could know them, hear their laughs, and be their friends. It has truly been an honor.

No, thank you.

2008-11-24T17:48:00.001-08:00

On Wednesday my team of faithful Bible Study Leaders piled into Land Rovers and headed out to New Matadi, like we do every Wednesday, and arrived to our usual welcoming crew. Most of the children from the orphanage and neighborhood come out and greet us by name and escort us into the compound. Usually the compound yard is bare except of children playing. This week when we walked down the crazy cement steps and onto the orange dirt yard we were faced with a circle of chairs. Enough for the boys and the girls altogether. Instead of 50 children playing in the yard they were all sitting against the wall. We were confused. We never have the boys and girls together. We had our own plans of what our second to last Bible study would look like, and this was not it.

Eventually we all sat down and Mama Vic stood up and then it started to make sense. One of the boys had a hand written paper of the itinerary and the program began. First they sang some songs about being blessed and choosing to follow the Lord no matter what. I couldn't handle it. The tears came, plenty, plenty. I started to think about what these 9 girls mean to me, how far they have come, and how much I will miss them. After the singing we were each of us girls were presented with a dress and the boys were given a shirt. As each of us were given our gifts one of the kids said thank you. As my big yellow dress was being put over my head all I could think was, no thank you. Thank you for teaching me what true forgiveness is, thank you for teaching me what a hunger for the God's Word looks like, thank you for teaching me how to laugh in the face of adversity and trust and believe that God will carry my burdens and help me achieve my dreams.

At the end of the program Mama Vic stood and said " Tank you for coming out each week and teaching them about God. I have seen them change. They use to give me hard time. They used to fight and be vexed (angry). They have changed and it is cause you people have shown them how to love God. Tank you"

All I could think was, "No, thank you".

Dr. Patch Patch and Dr. Juice

2008-11-23T14:46:00.001-08:00

We are so blessed on the wards and in the OR to work with surgeons that really, genuinely care about their patients. It gives me great joy to see Dr. Gary round on his patients. He takes time to answer the patients questions and he shows them that he truly cares. He has been on the ship for over 20 years and knows the cultural implications of West Africa. He thinks about those things when issues come up and he teaches those of us who are not aware of these foreign thoughts, practices and ways of life. He is kind and gentle and is an artist in the way he patches up our patient's deformities.

Dr. Jose is from Gran Canaria, one of the Canary Islands. He has been working ashore in West Africa for over 2 decades. I am not sure how he does it but he finds children with problems I have never even seen before. He has brought many of his patients that he has been working with for a long time onto the ship. Many of his patients need their esophagus dilated due to swallowing something like bleach and causing them difficulty or inability to swallow. Dr. Jose can be abrupt but he has the biggest heart, especially for his patients. When he is rounding and the patients are allowed to start eating and drinking he says "You need to drink juice and eat biscuits (cookies)." in his Spanish accent. When his patients see him they give him cuddles and high 5s, even though all of the procedures they have had done.

Last week one of the translators overheard the mama's talking about Dr's that she had never heard of. Esther heard them referring to Dr. Patch Patch and Dr. Juice. She asked them who they were talking about and they answered "Dr. Patch Patch is Dr. Gary cuz he patch up faces. Dr juice is Dr. Jose cuz he says "drink Juice, drink juice." When I told Dr. Gary and Dr. Jose about their nick names they laughed, actually I think that they really likethem.

Esau

2008-11-18T13:50:00.001-08:00

When I first met Esau he was not smiling. Actually he was screaming his head off, to be exact. See, Esau started developing a bump on his right eye that made his eye bulge out and within a couple of weeks he lost his vision. His mother and father was killed in the war, his older brother Matthew (age 22) has been raising Esau since he was little. Matthew and Esau live in Bong town which is about 4 hours away by car.

Esau had his eye taken out because it was no longer viable. Dr. Tom also took a biopsy of the tumor and Esau was diagnosed with Burkitt's Lymphoma. There are 2 types of this lymphoma, endemic and sporadic.

Sporadic Burkitt's Lymphoma is found in Europe and North America and is very hard to cure. Endemic Burkitt's Lymphoma is what we see frequently here in equatorial Africa and is what was causing Esau's right eye to bulge and his left eye to join in the swelling. Last Saturday I gave Esau his first Chemo. My first thought was, "umm since when are we a Oncology Hospital?". But the reality is Esau was still bleeding and was not ready to transfer to St. Josephs Hospital, the place where we send our patients for chemo for Burkitt's. Esau really needed to get that first dose so Dr. Wolfgang and I gave it to him and Praise the Lord he did well and the tumor start decreasing within the first 12 hours.

Esau has the most amazing laugh. He tosses his head back and laughs from the depth of his belly. He is a lover. He gives hugs to anyone who will take and he waves with both hands at everyone who passes him. I went in to see him today and he climbed up onto my lap and gave me his trademark gap tooth grin and slobbery kisses. He will be leaving the ship soon and will continue his chemo at St. Joseph's. Please pray that he will continue getting better.

25 Reasons I would never own a restaurant

2008-11-17T12:20:00.001-08:00

Let me first start by saying I asked permission from Naill Harbison one of the contributors from the blog over at ifoods.tv to repost this here. Naill has put together 25 reasons he would never own a restaurant and I would have to say 99% of the reasons are the SAME reason why I struggle with thoughts of owning my own.

Just last week (or was it 2 weeks ago?) I emailed a friend (thanks for the info Bobby M. !) about zoning issues and building. (Bobby's one of those architectural type genius's) But before I get too far off the subject here is Naill Harbison's post that I can whole heartedly agree with AND this may explain a few things to those people who think us Chefs should always 'open our own place' - sometimes its better as a dream in our head, than a reality:

Nov 17

25 Reasons I would never open a restaurant

Funny, Pictures, Uncategorized, food, reviews

Posted by Niall Harbison

Being a chef and having worked for some pretty famous people one of the first things I am always asked when I meet people is why would you not open a restaurant? I have even been made offers by people willing to put up the money to open here in Dublin and although usually politely declined here are the real reasons why I wouldn’t open a restaurant……..

1. Having worked for Paul Allen I have seen how wealthy technology can make you. I have never seen a restaurateur with a boat like this……

2. We are entering into a massive recession and there are far better restaurateurs out there than me who will fail.

3. Over a third of restaurants close within the first year of business

4. I don’t want to my busy time of work to be Friday and Saturday evenings when my friends are all out having fun.

5. Having a Monday and Tuesday as days off is not that appealing either!

6. I don’t want to spend years of my life working in an aggressive and stressful environment.

7. I don’t want to spend my life in fear of getting slaughtered in a restaurant review

8. I don’t want to work in a business where staff turnover is so high.

9. I don’t want to spend 70% of my time in a place that has no natural light.

10. I don’t want to worry constantly if I am going to go out of business just because business has been slow for 1 week.

11. The customer is not always right when it comes to food and I don’t want to have to pretend they are just to keep people happy.

12. I don’t want to smell like fat all the time.

13. I would rather not injure myself using sharp knife/hot oil/ovens etc

14. If I invested the couple of hundred thousand needed in AAPL and GOOG stocks instead I would be considerably richer in 3 years time.

15. I love what I do at the moment too much to sacrifice that for anything.

16. There are a lot of chancers working in the restaurant business.

17. I don’t want to stand on my feet for 18 hours a day.

18. All of friends would be expecting freebies when they came in. It is very hard to say no to friends but this kills a lot of restaurants.

19. I would drink too much of the amazing wines we would have in the cellars

20. Unless I sold cookbooks and had a few restaurants (thus losing quality) I would not be very wealthy in 20 years time.

21. I don’t want to spend 80 hours a week behind a stove.

22. Cooking can become a chore instead of being something that you love doing when it is mass produced.

23. I don’t want to have to wear a hat for 70% of my life.

24. Being in a large freezer first thing in the morning is one of the most horrible experiences in life and one I don’t want to repeat until I am dead.

25. I would end up washing dishes/cleaning toilets/scrubbing floors when somebody phones in sick at the last moment!

Yep, that about says it! (and sums it up quite nicely) ~

The Liberia Fund

2008-11-13T12:16:00.001-08:00

Just a quick word about this - a little over two weeks left to contribute to the Liberia Fund!!!

We will have a great 'Goodbye' lunch of African food cooked out of our galley on December the 5th which will officially be the last day local Liberians or Visitors will be able to come aboard before we pack up and make plans to leave.

I want to thank our generous contributors - so far this is the list- (keeping you mostly anonymous so people on the internet will not track you down and hound you for money):

Mike & Judy W. (family)

Justin & Rachael R. (friends from GCC)

Tim B. (former Aussie galley worker)

Ria V. (provided by her home church in Holland)

For now I am leaving the amounts out, Stephanie and I will blog again to post exactly what was given and how we put it to good use for the Orphanage (that Stephanie has been involved with all year) and the Local Dayworkers that will be losing their job when we leave (that have worked with Tyrone all year).

Some amazing things have happened already with the money that was given but I want to leave that for another post.

So Please hurry, or don't forget if you planned on giving before the deadline...we need the extra time to process getting the funds available.

Thank you so much!

[just a precaution to say this is specificially for the Liberian Fund, not our financial support - Stephanie and I will still be with Mercy Ships and our financial support will still be processed thru February and a little time after that while we are travelling back to the United States to visit our supporters]

Coffee Night

2008-11-09T16:36:00.001-08:00

Last Friday night our Queens lounge was transformed into a Coffee House. My dear friend Selina and I did the baking and Karoline did the ambiance and that room was transformed. It was so nice to hang out with the other ward nurses in a relaxed environment and enjoy some coffee and yummy snacks. The lights were dim we had candles (battery powered of course) and there are new wall mounted fans that kept the room cool enough to enjoy aour hot coffee. The night was a success, yay ward nurse activities team.

Happy Birthday Katy!!

2008-11-09T05:56:00.001-08:00

We love you!!! Hope you have a great day!!!

Passed

2008-11-06T14:55:00.001-08:00

Last weekend the girls came for a visit on the ship again. It is so fun when they come to visit us at our "home". Their visit was short but super fun. They wanted another tour of the ship so we did that then we ate African food from in town and we did what we always do... laugh. I love them so much. They are truly lovely.

This week when we went out for Bible study we heard wonderful news, Annie (the oldest) passed her entrance exam for nursing school. I am so excited for her. She still has an interview in January and needs to be accepted, but passing this test has really given her a sense of hope. She is a woman of integrity, honor, and compassion and so badly wants to be a nurse. Please join me in prayer for her. Please pray that she will be accepted into the program and that she will be able to achieve her dream.

The Secret Place

2008-11-06T14:31:00.001-08:00

Yesterday Tyrone and I celebrated our 2nd wedding anniversary. We wanted to go away for a couple of days, but it is not so easy here in Liberia to find a place that isn't saturated with NGO workers and that is safe in this war torn country. We recently heard of a place called Thinkers Village, a beach about 1 hour from the ship that has decent accommodations and food. When we got there we were so excited (partly because we didn't have travel in a crowded taxi for 3 hours) when we saw the accommodations and the lovely, clean beach. We spent 2.5 days hanging out, reading, listening to music, and enjoying each others company and most of all we were away from the ship.

This weekend I read Psalm 91 and all I could think of was how I was so excited to find this sorta secret place to have a small get-a-way with Tyrone. I got so much joy and rejuvenation from our little vacation and then to think of the secret place of the Most High and the stability that only comes from being under the shadow of the Almighty. This is where I want to be, the secret place of the One who is my Refuge, my Fortress, my God.

Psalm91:1-2

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I confidently trust.

no, no, yes...

2008-10-26T20:38:00.001-07:00

It has been a wild ride for me this past year. I came to the ship arrogant, to be totally honest. I simply thought I had something to offer to the community of the ship and also the people of Liberia. Yes, I have skills, gifts, and talents that the Lord has blessed me with but I thought, Stephanie Ruth Barton could make a difference.

It all changed on February 18th. It was screening day and definitely the worst day of my life as a nurse. That one day of seeing the true needs of Africa (not just what is shown on Western television) showed me that my abilities, or even the most talented, helpful person in whole wide world is just a small, small piece of this incredibly large need.

On screening day we spent the majority of the day saying "no" to people with medical problems that we do not specialize in, in order to have room for the patients that we can truly help. Screening day was just the beginning of this process. (In Liberia there are no specialty surgeons other than the occasional NGO surgeon that sets up shop in the local hospital, but there is still a problem, there are not really any skilled anesthesiologists either. So even then the surgeries performed are only simple, for the most part.) People come to the gates of the port begging to be seen by a Dr. desperately hoping that they can board the most technologically advanced hospital in all of West Africa (aka their only option for their medical problem).

Kwelywan is 7, his father has brought him to the ship 3 times now in hopes that his son would get a "yes". The first 2 times they did tests and conferenced with Doctors around the world and the answer was no. Kwelywan has an encephalocele. An encephalocele is a birth defect where a piece of the skull doesn't close completely, therefore brain matter seeps out and forms a bulge usually in front of the face, between the eyes. The surgery is very complex, requires a lot of care, can have severe complications including death. These are surgeries that are rarely done in the States, so doing it here seems unreal. Dr. Gary has done 2 already this outreach and has had good results both times.

The third time that Kwelywan and his dad entered the ship they received the long awaited "yes". In my heart of hearts I feel conflicted. I am so excited that he may have the chance to live a life of acceptance in his village. However, I am worried that we may have bitten off more than we can chew. (can I say that?) This is the Kwelwan that I remember.

He is playful and silly. Now he is laying in bed with a bandage covering 2/3 of his whole head, so miserably uncomfortable that he can't help himself but to just thrash around in bed (not the best thing for a kid who just had brain surgery). This is where the arrogance comes in. I as a nurse want to come on to a shift, get report on my patients, then fix what is broken, but I can't. I can do my best. I can use the skills, abilities, and gifts the Lord has blessed me with and I can trust in the Lord to do the rest. That is my part of this big picture.

the list goes on...

2008-10-24T20:45:00.001-07:00

It is so easy to get wrapped up in my own little world. It is easy to complain about spending most of the weekend in the bathroom feeling like death is just around the corner. It is easy to complain about my 4 night shifts in a row, 2 of them being 12 hour shifts. The list goes on. Then a reality check came crashing in. His name is Melvin. He had a tumor on the side of his that pushed his eye over to the left. If you just looked at him, you would think "ah not that bad, considering some of the massive tumors that are seen on this ship." But his CT scan showed something different. Melvin's tumor was so large it pushed the septum (the bone of your nose) and his eye over. So here I am back at work after thinking I was going to die from vomiting and Melvin who just had his face rearranged is relaxing in his bed. As I changed his dressing hourly due to his continual blood loss and checked his blood count every four hours he would ask me how I was feeling and encouraged me to sit and rest. Oh man, a nice dose of perspective.

Delta Flights - Atlanta, Georgia to Monrovia, Liberia

2008-10-23T01:35:00.001-07:00

Delta Expands Africa Presence With First-Ever Flight Between Atlanta and Monrovia, Liberia

This is the headline in the news release and you can click this title to go to the whole article.

Although many will be glad to see a direct flight into West Africa 'in general' to Liberia without passing thru Brussels or some part of the UK...It comes late to us Mercy Ship'ers. Our presence (for now) ends at the end of this year after first starting outreach in the beginning of 2005 and repeatedly coming back.

Another thing I might point out in the article is that this flight is once a week AND it doesn't really start til JUNE 2009...so hold on to your money and keep checking to make sure this 'deal' is going to get 'off the ground' (pun intended).

But for all intents and purposes it looks like it will cut the flight down to 12 hours instead of the the usual layovers and stops in Europe bringing it to almost 24 hours (of course with these numbers keep in mind actual layover and flying time, not your time changes or differences). That in itself will be JOY to so many of us.

ATLANTA, Oct. 22, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL), the only U.S. network carrier to serve Africa, today announced it will expand its service to the African continent with the introduction of the first and only flight between Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Monrovia's Roberts International Airport, Liberia*. The service, which will make a stop at Amilcar Cabral International Airport on Sal Island, Cape Verde*, will start in June, 2009.

I am sure this will help enhance Liberia's business structure as it opens an even broader 'convenience' of accessibility to their country.

Below is a sample of what the 'ticket' flight will look like:

------------- --------------------------- --------------------------
    FLIGHT              DEPARTS**                   ARRIVES**
 ------------- --------------------------- --------------------------
 DL 214        Atlanta                     Sal Island, Cape Verde
               at 3:10 p.m.                at 2:15 a.m.
 ------------- --------------------------- --------------------------
 DL 214        Sal Island, Cape Verde      Monrovia, Liberia
               at 3:20 a.m.                at 7:05 a.m.
 ------------- --------------------------- --------------------------
 DL 215        Monrovia, Liberia           Sal Island, Cape Verde
               at 8:10 a.m.                at 9:55 a.m.
 ------------- --------------------------- --------------------------
 DL 215        Sal Island, Cape Verde      Atlanta
               at 11:25 a.m.               at 5:15 p.m.
 ------------- --------------------------- --------------------------
 *Subject to government approval.
 ** Schedule subject to change

Hurray for Liberia, the world is opening up to her!

Arthur

2008-10-21T07:13:00.001-07:00

This is Arthur. He came onto this ship a baby with this overwhelming tumor protruding from his face. He cried constantly, I think it was because he could never get comfortable. I was working night shift on D ward the night before his surgery. To be honest I was a little afraid of this tiny baby, he just looked too much like our dear baby Greg that went to Jesus in July. Every time I saw Arthur I would pray, "Please Jesus let this one live."

At 5am Ali and I brought Arthur into ICU to draw his blood in preparation for surgery. We just looked at each other and knew. We both knew that Jesus is in control and not every story ends up tragic. In fact, Arthur's surgery went fine and he went home with in a week. Our God is so capable of healing and restoration, I just need to have faith.

Hoodie, where art thou?

2008-10-15T08:29:00.001-07:00

As nurses we ordered these wonderful hooded, zippy, sweatshirts. I set aside a sizable chunk of my missionary money and began waiting for this snugly hoodie to appear. We were told it should be here 5 weeks at the latest. We started asking about them at week 6. Each time mail would come up the gangway we would look for big boxes from the company we ordered from. Almost 2 months later still I and 50 other cold nurses (the AC is very strong) are hoodieless!!

Please pray that wherever they are, whoever has them would relinquish them to their rightful owners.

Its good to be King!

2008-10-15T01:05:00.001-07:00

Sometimes when I am relaxing or enjoying a moment of leisure with my wife I lean back, put my hands behind my back (like when laying down on a hammock) and say, "Its good to be KING!". Partly for humorous reasons, to aggravate my wife, and to express a mock pride of being in 'control' and loving it.

But the last time my wife started laughing and I said, "Why do you laugh, its biblical!" and I proceeded to put on my best religious pios-ness (if thats a word)....she just looked at me like 'Yeah, RIGHT!' (with a sarcastic hint, if thats possible all in one look).

Here's the proof:

Proverbs 11:4 A wife of noble character is her husband's crown, but a disgraceful wife is like decay in his bones.

What man wears a crown but the King? And since I think my wife is of noble character, she is the crown that makes me King.

Don't you just hate it when people quote scripture to prove a point?! (saying this in humor, laughing)

Kuma

2008-10-14T10:20:00.001-07:00

Meet my friends Kuma and her mom. Kuma is a precious 4 year old that had facial surgery to release burn contractures on her right cheek down to her chest. Her eyes are so bright and they light up any of her favorite nurses walk in the room. She is the little one that I wrote about last week that would carry my clipboard on her head as I rounded on my patients. She loves to be helpful and to be cuddled. Kuma's mom was quite introverted at first and would spend all her time sleeping under Kuma's bed, but after a couple of days she came out. She too was helpful. When I changed Kuma's dressing she opens the packages for me.

Kuma and her mom left the ship today. I can't help feeling sad, but that is selfish of me. Kuma receiving this surgery is her ticket to a life with more opportunities and less ridicule.

The Long Mini Updates (10/11)

2008-10-11T13:20:00.001-07:00

Last week Australian Evangelist Nick Vujcic (born with no limbs and doctors don't know why) was in Liberia to speak at the Monrovia SKD Stadium. And while he was doing that he was staying on board the Africa Mercy...so he spoke at our Thursday night community meeting. I have seen him before on DVD and now in person. If he wasn't an evangelist he would be a darn good counselor and comedian. Because he knows how to have fun and keep the laughs rolling and it would be hard to find somebody that had a better reason to be feeling 'blue' than a man with no limbs - but still keeping an upbeat and positive/aggressive look at life! I'll leave with a link to his web site and a couple of pictures...one is of him hiding in an overhead compartment on a plane - just for kicks and to surprise someone!

This Month is Mercy Ships 30th Anniversary and we will have a BBQ and Festivities on the dock this Saturday the 18th. Eddie the baker will be making a cake to celebrate the event as well.

Eddie the baker has been incorporating more baked goods (and some non-baked goods like fudge) into his weekly schedule & his bread has achieved that tall and 'soft fluffy' taste that most of the crew likes (especially kids)...Albert the German baker would call it 'bubble gum' bread. I am not so sure he meant it as a compliment? Anyway...

I personally like his raisin bread, it reminds me of going to Waffle House hanging out with the parental units (Mom & Dad) when I am back in town. A cup of coffee, a slice of raisin toast, some apple butter (its mostly a 'southern' thing) and a waitress to harass-most of which we have known for years-...yep. No apple butter or parents here on board though, but plenty of people to harass.

I made another birthday cake for Elliot (a friend of ours son) that was a cake replica of a soccer field(U.S.)/football field and then I also made a perfectly round cake soccer ball (bake two half circles then stick them together with butter cream frosting and covered with MM Fondant 'homemade') and stuck it in the middle of the field. The sad thing was that even though the cake looked great the 'standard' grocery store food colorings that I used eventually started to 'run' so I don't have a good picture of it before it started looking melted. But they still were surprised and loved the cake. (I used the food coloring more like water paint on the fondant to get more control and a stronger color than mixing it in...which always results in pastel colors).

Walk to Benin is the newest exercise activity that was created here on board so I joined a group (no more than 6) from food service called the Galloping Gourmets. Its not really a race, but your team just logs all the miles it walks each week till the end of outreach (or there may be a date)...the end goal being the amount of miles it would take to walk to Benin from Monrovia Liberia. So my goal is to at least do 15 miles a week (3 miles a day for at least 5 days) but I will probably be motivated to do more with so many people actively being involved in it. Stephanie? Well Stephanie is part of a nurse/medical walking group of course! Maybe we will compete against each other, Lord knows it could help us be motivated to exercise outside of work!

Things are generally going good. My bible studies/prayer, work, married life, and time is flying bye. (pun intended) And it seems Stephanie has hit a chord with readers in the way she writes on our blog. I love it, she used to never write on the blog at first...long gone are those days!

Glad

2008-10-08T09:47:00.001-07:00

As a nurse it is inevitable I will receive report from a worn out nurse that has expended all of her available energy and resources trying to calm down a confused, irrational, scared, or combative patient, I just never thought it would be here on a ship in West Africa. I arrived to D ward bright and early this morning and the night nurses looked shattered.

I can not even imagine how scary it must be for our patients to come aboard our ship alone. They don't know us, they may live so far into the interior they may be unfamiliar with white people altogether. They don't speak English, and some of them may not even be capable to understand what to expect even if has been explained in their own language.

The lady in D1 ( I will leave her nameless due to the nature of the events) had surgery yesterday and returned back to the ward. She speaks Kpelle so the communication was difficult but there were not any real problems. Apparently shortly after the evening shift nurses left she started acting very paranoid and eventually disappeared. The nurses frantically looked for her in the ward, no sign of her. They then searched the hospital, still MIA. They called security to come help. As the nurses were searching high and low they noticed a random foot peaking out from under the linen cart behind a box. Ah ha!! The foot belonged to the missing patient. The sequence of events that followed this include a very frightened/ confused patient doing irrational things. The patient was finally calmed down and the other patients were able to go back to sleep.

After I received report I mentally chose to be glad, not to be irritated that I had to care for the patient that was obviously going to take a huge amount of time and effort. The morning was filled with drama, irrational behavior, and tasks. At one point the patient was trying to steal the other patients tea and bread. We as a team of caregivers chose to still be glad and not irritated.

I have been learning lately the true meaning of "You have made me glad". Before it was just lyrics but now I choose that to be the anthem of my heart. He has made me glad. If I were to honestly sing that song before, it would be more like "He has made me sad, He has made me anxious, or He has made me irritated". There will always be things that are sad, irritating, worrisome, upsetting, but to think that everything has to be perfect in order to be glad is missing out on so much of life. So, as I chased around my patient, juggled all my other tasks and patients I was glad... finally!!

I will bless the Lord forever
I will trust Him at all times
He has delivered me from all fear
He has set my feet upon a rock
I will not be moved
And I'll say of the Lord

You are my shield, my strength
My portion, deliverer
My shelter, strong tower.
My very present help in time of need

Whom have I in heaven but You
There's none I desire beside You
You have made me glad
And I'll say of the Lord

You are my shield, my strength
My portion, deliverer
My shelter, strong tower
My very present help in time of need

deeper

2008-10-02T13:11:00.000-07:00

There is something about working in the wee hours of the night that makes me look a little deeper or more carefully perhaps. When all the lights are off (except for the one covered with African fabric) and the curtains are pulled as a make-shift wall between those awake and those asleep and my work is complete, I start to notice the humans beings that are occupying the beds of D ward. It is easy to just see the bandages that need to be changed, or tubes that need to be filled, or drains that need to be emptied. On the flip side it is also easy to see only the personalities of our patients and forget they are here because they need medical care that their country can not provide them.

I worked the past three nights and it was actually wonderful. Yes, I hate night shift, we all do but I had the most beautiful patient and they made it worth it.

Kelvin is in his 30's and is completely blind. His brother slept on a mattress under his bed and did his best to care for him. However, Kelvin's brother has very little sight himself. At one point I saw him trying to help the patient next to Kelvin tie her gown closed. His face was about 4 inches from her gown and after a while the task was done and the ladies backside was covered.

Kelvin has a sweet and gentle nature and anytime he needed my help I would hear him say "Sister Miatta." I learned quickly that when I approached him to say "Kelvin, it is Miatta. I am here. What do you need." When it was time for me to leave this morning he called me over and said " SIster Miatta, Thank you for your kindness and help. I will not forget you. I will pray that God will reward you for helping me"

Gifts

2008-09-30T21:06:00.000-07:00

I always thought everyone was a gift giver. I feel a need to express my love and/or appreciation from the depths within me. It usually is something small, maybe some cookies, a card, pictures etc...It was quite a surprise when I realized not everyone had this same need. When I got married I quickly realized that this was not universal. I read the popular book about the five love languages and gifts is one of them and I identified immediately.

My first experience with Mercy Ships was on the Caribbean Mercy in Honduras and I worked in village Guadalupe Carne as much as I could. The week before the ship left, one of the ladies in the village wanted to bring me a gift. She brought me a live chicken. My first thought "Why in the world would she bring me a chicken.". My second thought was " Oh man she only had 5 chicken and she gave me one." So of course I killed, plucked, cleaned, and cooked this chicken. Not this city girl's idea of fun, but to honor the gifter I did it.

Today my friend Bendu came to the ship to bring Becky a going a way gift. It seems sort of weird that since last week she came to the ship and took us to her house but would not let us inside. So we sat outside on her porch for 2 hours. Don't get me wrong, we still had fun. We chatted, she showed us pictures, told us about the night she got burned, and talked about our future plans. At one point we asked her if we could see her room, but she just laughed and changed the subject.

Bendu presented Becky with a neatly wrapped package that held a dress and she gave her a black plastic bag for me. My present was a bag full of cucumbers. What? Why in the world? Becky got a dress and I got a bag of produce. But who am I to second the gifter? The whole situation is just so funny. How many people can say they have received a bag of cucumbers as a gift?

A new name.

2008-09-29T18:53:00.000-07:00

Last week I returned to the ward after working in the recovery room for 7 weeks. I enjoyed a normal schedule more than I can express in words, but I missed building relationships with my patients (especially the long term ones).

Thursday, I was working in A ward on day shift. One of my patients needed blood so that kept me close to his bedside most of the shift. He and his 3 neighbors were very chatty and friendly.

One of the other patients mother was not feeling well and wanted to take a nap, so I put her 5 month old grandson, Godgive (yes that is his real name) on my back (by myself, quite the task). Oh man, all my patients went crazy. "African Lady, African lady. You a African Lady. You name Miatta (meaning first born female child) from the Bandi Tribe in Lofa County." So of course I put a basket on my head and pretended to sell cold water and plums and they all yell "Auntie Miatta I buy you col wata cuz you a African lady!"

Now when I introduce myself to my patients I say my name is Stephanie but you can call me Miatta.

This is Larry, one of the chubbies babies in Liberia, he too likes to be in a lappa.

Albert the Baker

2008-09-29T08:00:00.000-07:00

From time to time Albert (a retired baker from Germany) comes to the ship - the Anastasis but now the on the Africa Mercy - to grace us with his presence for about 3 months at a time. No, I am not making fun. He can put out crescents, rolls, bread, specialty baked items like nobodies business...he's THE MAN!

Last time he left he really had a passion to have some equipment items he deemed necessary for our small bakery on board. So he directly went home, raised the money, bought the equipment...and had it delivered to Dutch office before we even knew what was going on!!!

And were not talking about a couple of pizza cutters, were talking about thousands of Euros in money and hundreds of kilos in weight.

[Click picture to make larger]

This mixer is specifically made for mixing dough. Our other mixer was moved further down and has multiple attachments to do a myriad of other things...So now it is nice to be able to use the older mixer for everyday bulk prep & use in the kitchen without 'bumping' heads with the baker.

This is a semi-automatic bun roller. You slide a weight of dough in the machine on one of the 'trays' you see hanging on the side of the machine. You pull the big handle down for it to cut the dough into equal proportions. Then you slide over another lever to lock it into gear,

and pull another for it to start gyrating...Its kind of like doing the twist. Mechanically it gyrates/vibrates (in a circular pattern) the 'tray' under the cut dough until they form separate balls trapped within the cutter. Stop the machine lift the big handle and pull out the tray for your precise made dough balls for rolls or small breads.

Thanks Albert! And all who contributed to these purchases...They are both installed and ready for action when you come back to visit us! But don't worry the current baker is using them now...the only dust they'll collect is from the flour.

The Shack (a book review)

2008-09-28T07:28:00.000-07:00

Mac is a grief-stricken father in mid-life about to have an extraordinary experience with God. His great sadness began four years ago on a weekend camping trip, when his 6-year-old daughter, Missy, was murdered...Mac is heartbroken and mad at God. For quite a while 'The Great Sadness' has continued to effect him and his family till God invites him to come back to the shack where the murder took place.

Willie, his good friend starts the book and tells this great story as if he was Mac himself since Mac confesses not to be a writer. ~

It does not amaze me that this book has become so popular. WHAT does amaze me is that it has been heralded and picked apart all over the Internet spawning new web sites and forums.

The Shack is a great book, a work of FICTION. So let us remember that and enjoy it as such.

Most reviews are positive, but there are some reviews that call this book dangerous and are inflamed at the implications of how the trinity and theology is represented. I find this book is about love...BUT its dissected (by the few negative reviews) as if its a non-fiction theology or inspirational book? Its a fiction book. Whether you agree with the thoughts of the trinity or the views of mankind by 'Papa'...it will still inspire you to be a better person, love a little more, and take stock in relationships. And most importantly as a fiction book, you will enjoy the writing and the story.

Great story, wonderful characters, and it makes one think about his own life's impact, assumptions, and relationships.

*If you are interested in reading it, Almost 3 years ago I wrote a very strongly opinionated post on DaVinci Code, Harry Potter, & Lord of the Rings

New Baby on Ward! (Nancy or Mercy?)

2008-09-26T11:21:00.000-07:00

About a week ago at around 4 in the morning a mother of a young patient went into labor and a baby girl was born. She is beautiful! She weighed in at around 4 pounds 9 ounces.

Now there are a few more questions as to what was decided to be her real name.

I heard that the mother had a little 'peer pressure' to call her Mercy. But then a few days later I was told the mother wanted her name to be Nancy, and then my wife said she was called Mercy on the birth certificate? Hmm.

No matter...

The next question would be: Our ship is registered with Malta and since she was born on board will she get duel citizenship?

(* for any other questions please direct them to my wife since she knows a little bit more about these things than I do...)

Support

2008-09-23T03:43:00.000-07:00

This word means so much to me right now. I receive so much support in different ways in my life. I am supported with love and encouragement by my family and friends. I am supported by my husband with love and companionship. For us to be on the mission field we need to be supported in prayer and financially.We have been blessed the entire time we have been on the ship. However our financial support has decreased by more than 50% since June. We are trusting in Lord that our needs will be provided and are confident that we are exactly were He has called us.

As the end of our committed time on the ship nears we are considering our options and are praying for the Lord's guidance. Please pray for us as we decide if we will stay on the ship or go home for a while. In order for us to stay our financial support must increase greatly so please pray for discernment and wisdom as we make decisions.

Perfection

2008-09-22T05:49:00.000-07:00

In Liberia there are not a whole lot of options of weekend get-a-ways. One of the Mercy Ships favorites is Robert's Port. It is about a 3 hour drive and is beautiful beach. Up untill a couple of months ago camping was the only lodging there, and anyone who knows me would just laugh at me even considering sleeping in a tent as fun. But now there are these luxurious "tents" that are built on a wood platform. The tent I stayed in had 3 double beds, a fridge, fan, light, and 2 big comfy chairs, hardly camping... Praise Jesus.

It sounds quite easy, jumping in a car and driving 3 hours to stay right on the beach, but in Liberia the transportation can be horrible. I had been keeping my ears open when each group would come home from a Robert's Port trip to find a reliable taxi and Abu and his Mazda Mini van kept coming up. So I called him and he came to pick up the 6 of us girls. Usually at least one disaster happens on a trip in Liberia, but everything went wonderfully as planned.

We played the clean, beautiful ocean, walked on the beach, laid out in the sun, took naps, body boarded some perfect waves, ate some delicious food, and enjoyed each other's company. The group of girls included my dear friend Becky, actually the trip was sort of Becky's goodbye party. She will leave in 10 days so it was precious to spend the weekend with her.

This weekend had the potential to turn out disastrous but was actually quite perfect.