The Journey
Last week we drove up the Cleveland to pick my dad up from the airport as he was returning from Colombia, South America. If you’ve been reading here for a while, you’ve probably picked up on the fact that I was born/raised in Colombia. My parents have been missionaries there for almost 40 years. Whenever my dad returns, he brings back treats from Colombia, things I can’t get here in Ohio. This time he brought us some buñelos, which are basically corn starch and baking powder mixed with a country cheese that’s made with soured milk and then deep fried. Nothing like some delicious starch and cheese, which pretty much is what all Colombian snacks are made of – they just use different kinds of starch and shape them differently.
Traditionally they’re eaten for breakfast or a snack with coffee or hot chocolate. I probably could make these, I know how to make the cheese they use and I can buy corn starch. The trick is in the frying, they have to be done just right or they are not nice spheres but weird bulbous masses. Perhaps one of these days I’ll try making them, but until then I’m happy that my dad brings us some each time he returns. We pop them in the oven for 10 minutes and they’re quite tasty!
On our way home from my parent’s house Mr Chiots and I were talking about how if he had never met me, he would have most likely never eaten a buñelo (if I had never met him I would have never eaten a brown sugar cinnamon pop tart with butter on top). It’s interesting to look back on your life and see the journey that you’ve taken, how different choices molded your life. How you ended up in your current house, in your current situation, with your current significant other, or lack there of.
Whenever I really think about it, I’m amazed at where I ended up in life. When I was little I always said I wanted to open a bakery, that was my second choice because I really just wanted to stay little. I would have never guessed that I’d be married to Mr Chiots, living in Malvern, OH, gardening like there’s no tomorrow, working at Ethel Gloves, blogging about my life, and taking photos of anything and everything I see.
Is there something in your life that you would have never experienced had you not met one specific person?
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The Beauty of Old Friendship
This past weekend I traveled down to Cincinnati, OH to meet up with some college girlfriends. We met in 1994 during the fall of our freshman year of college and became fast friends right away. Our years in college were spent together creating lots of fun memories while building a foundation for a friendship that would last the rest of our lives. In 1998 we parted and went our separate ways. This photo was taken on graduation day, marking the end of the first phase of our friendship.
Although our lives have taken us each down a different road to a different city, we get together at least once a year. We have cried tears of joy when celebrating marriages and births, and tears of joy and grief through divorce and the death of a husband.
Although we all have made other friends throughout the years of our lives, there’s just something comforting about a friendship with a long rich history. We relish these moments when we can spend time together, even though it is all too brief. I’m very grateful for these girlfriends that have been in my life for 17 years. A warm thanks goes out to my friends: Danielle, Shannon, Kelly, Katie, and Jen for all the wonderful memories we’ve made so far and the all the ones we’ll make in the future.
Do you have any friendships that have withstood the test of time?
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Z is for ____________
ZUCCHINI LOVER – I love summer because it’s zucchini season. We eat it almost every day when I can find it locally or grow it. I put it in soups, saute it, and stuff it in to omelets.
ZIPPERS – You’ll rarely find me wearing something with long sleeves that doesn’t have a zipper in it. For some reason I prefer it if my sweaters and sweatshirts have zippers up the front and hoods on the back.
ZEALOUS – When I discover something new, or get convicted about something I become very zealous about it. That’s why you won’t find any prepackaged food in my pantry, my gardens are mostly edible and you’ll find me shopping only at local markets.
What words/phrases describe you that start with a Z?
Thanks to all of you who joined this challenge:
Nic at Nip it in the Bud
KB from My Old New House
Chas from Heritage Acres Homestead
Erika from Our Homegrown Family
Candie from Finding My Roots
Louisa from The Really Good Life
Judy from My Freezer is Full
Xan from Not Dabbling in Normal and Mahlzeit
Amy from I Love Nubians, Make Mine Mini
Jaspanelle from Paganites
Greg from plot 52 is doing beautiful illustrations!
Lisa from Realisa Building an Authentic Life
Emily from Sincerely Emily
Joanna from Zeb Bakes
Misky from Misk Cooks
Compostwoman from The Compost Bin
Tracy from Back to Basics
Susan from Penless Writer
Whit from Knitty Whit
Lynn from Edging Toward the Good Life
Join the Alphabet in August Flickr Photo Group
(if you’re joining in on your blog let me know so I can add you to the list and please link to the daily post here at Chiot’s Run when you post and a pingback will show up in the comments here so people can head over to read your words).
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Y is for ____________
YOUNG – not as young as I used to be, but I’m still fairly young in my adulthood. I work hard to be healthy so I can keep some of my youthful exuberance into my old age.
YEARNING – I seem to always have a yearning to learn more, do more and experience more. I’m not happy to sit around doing nothing, if I have a spare moment you’ll find me working towards the newest thing I’ve been yearning to learn or researching a place I long to visit.
YUCCA LOVER – I grew up in South America so I learned to loved to love yucca early on. I don’t get it much since it’s not a local item, when I get up to Cleveland I usually buy some to enjoy. I usually cook it in chicken broth , but it’s quite good fried like french fries as well.
What words/phrases describe you that start with a Y?
Who’s joining in:
Nic at Nip it in the Bud
KB from My Old New House
Chas from Heritage Acres Homestead
Erika from Our Homegrown Family
Candie from Finding My Roots
Louisa from The Really Good Life
Judy from My Freezer is Full
Xan from Not Dabbling in Normal and Mahlzeit
Amy from I Love Nubians, Make Mine Mini
Jaspanelle from Paganites
Greg from plot 52 is doing beautiful illustrations!
Lisa from Realisa Building an Authentic Life
Emily from Sincerely Emily
Joanna from Zeb Bakes
Misky from Misk Cooks
Compostwoman from The Compost Bin
Tracy from Back to Basics
Susan from Penless Writer
Whit from Knitty Whit
Lynn from Edging Toward the Good Life
Join the Alphabet in August Flickr Photo Group
(if you’re joining in on your blog let me know so I can add you to the list and please link to the daily post here at Chiot’s Run when you post and a pingback will show up in the comments here so people can head over to read your words).
Share this:
X is for ____________
I couldn’t come up with any words that started with an X so I used the EX sounds.
EXAGGERATE – I have a tendency to exaggerate time, if you ask me what time it is I’ll tell you 3 pm if it’s 2:35. This trait was handed down to me from my dear dad.
EXUBERANT – I’m a joyful, energetic person. Many people don’t see it because I’m such an introvert, but some folks at the local markets and some of my friends see my exuberant side.
EXACT – I am very exact about certain things in my life, not so much about others. When I cook I barely follow a recipe, but there are other areas of my life where things have to be done a certain way – like folding towels, loading the dishwasher and other things.
What words/phrases describe you that start with a X?
Who’s joining in:
Nic at Nip it in the Bud
KB from My Old New House
Chas from Heritage Acres Homestead
Erika from Our Homegrown Family
Candie from Finding My Roots
Louisa from The Really Good Life
Judy from My Freezer is Full
Xan from Not Dabbling in Normal and Mahlzeit
Amy from I Love Nubians, Make Mine Mini
Jaspanelle from Paganites
Greg from plot 52 is doing beautiful illustrations!
Lisa from Realisa Building an Authentic Life
Emily from Sincerely Emily
Joanna from Zeb Bakes
Misky from Misk Cooks
Compostwoman from The Compost Bin
Tracy from Back to Basics
Susan from Penless Writer
Whit from Knitty Whit
Lynn from Edging Toward the Good Life
Join the Alphabet in August Flickr Photo Group
(if you’re joining in on your blog let me know so I can add you to the list and please link to the daily post here at Chiot’s Run when you post and a pingback will show up in the comments here so people can head over to read your words).
