Winding Down

I got to try something new again in the galley. I had bought some fresh eggplant and some cabbage in town the other day from one of the street vendors. We haven’t had eggplant since we left South Africa and we haven’t had cabbage at all. I certainly didn’t buy enough to make a meal for the entire ship and I didn’t really know what I was going to do with what I bought. I had also bought a packet of mixed herbs and spices that promised to be yummy. Yesterday, we were scheduled to have stuffing with our chicken so I volunteered to handle the stuffing and try something new with it. I stir-fried the chopped up eggplant, shredded cabbage, and some finely chopped onion with the spices and then added them to the already-made stuffing for 400. There were just enough of the added goodies to go around. It seemed to be a hit and certainly more interesting than just plain instant, packaged stuffing. I’ll have to remember to try that at home on a much smaller (and easier) level.  We’ve never had fresh mushrooms on board, but I’ll throw some of those in when I try this recipe again later. I don’t have any photos though – sorry.

While a few of us were in town the other day we met a new little friend on the street. The gals I was shopping with didn’t like the idea of me getting too close to him but I couldn’t resist. He kept leaning closer to me and I moved in slowly in case he decided to get aggressive. Well, he just stood there and let me rub the back of his neck and his cheeks. He was such a sweetheart!

Also while wandering in town, the girls and I went to the fabric market. Basically, it’s an alley that has almost exclusively cart after cart of fabric and handmade clothing. There are also a lot of shoes. They had a bunch of (specifically) African designs of course, but also many others that were interesting and some that were downright beautiful. I picked a few and bought about 4 yards each. I have a little pant suit at home that I love to wear but it’s black velvet. It’s very simple and comfortable and I just know that, if repeated in these other, lighter fabrics, the 2 piece outfit will be adorable – several times over! Now I just have to find someone to make them for me...

It’s difficult to tell from the photos but the first and last fabrics have beautiful gold thread gleaming in the design and the black and white fabric has silver sparkles in the design.

My time here is getting close to the end now; I’m leaving in 2 days. We had numerous Easter celebrations this last weekend on the ship, including an egg hunt for the kids (I’m assuming it’s for the kids – haha). Thursday night there had been set up 2 different displays in 2 large rooms: one was the Upper Room where Jesus addressed the Disciples at the Last Supper; the other was the Garden of Gethsemine, where crew members could enter into the area, sit for awhile and rest or pray or imagine. It was quite impressive what was done with a couple of ship rooms. Sunday is a special service, of course, an Easter brunch for the whole ship, and later the Easter egg hunt. My team worked the whole weekend and we were up to our eyeballs in various types of quiches.  

Tomorrow, I will be able to view a surgery. I hadn’t really planned on doing that but Pam urged me into doing it. I’ve also been told that I may take photos of the surgery, so I’ll have a blog entry about that. I’ll put a warning at the beginning of the blog in case anyone is squeamish. Carol 1 observed one the other day where the doctors basically sliced the guy’s head in 2 parts and pealed back the outside of the skull to remove some tumorous growth. And they let her take photos!

Then I will leave on Thursday. I have to take a small boat to the other side of the port in order to get to the Freetown A/P. I’ve been warned that I will get wet on this boat ride and to be prepared to change into something else for the actual plane ride. I will have a 5 hour layover in Brussels and have also been warned that I must bring home some Belgian chocolates, if I expect to be picked up at the airport – I can take a hint. In the meantime, I’m trying to organize the stuff I need to carry home with me back into the duffle bag that Ryan loaned me for the trip. (They ask that people don’t bring large suitcases because they are difficult to store on the ship.) I’ve lost 20 lbs so most of the clothes I came with will be left here in the boutique for someone else to use when I’m gone.  ; - D