Part one of our ladies retreat

So, now I'll start to tell you about the awesome retreat I was at this week.

The women of all the Mennonite Brethern Churches in Paraguay were invited to spend 3 days together at a campground in East Paraguay, close to the Ypacaray Lake. On Tuesday morning 2 big buses were loaded up with about 80 ladies and we headed off south. We all had packaged lunches along, so we only stopped once for a potty-break:)

I estimate the length of the trip was about 500 km. We got there around 4:00 pm. Stiff, from sitting so long, but otherwise very happy. (The other bus's air conditioning broke down right away, they had a long hot trip) After all the 120 ladies were there, we had a terere break with delicious cookies and fruit. Whoever wanted to, could take a walk or just hang around the campground. When I was in 9th grade, our class stayed at this campground, and I had been here 3 years ago with my in-laws, so I really wanted to take a walk down to the lake. Whoever's been in the Chaco for long, wants to see a lot of water.

My sister-in-law was also along, so we walked about 1 km down to the lake. I just love the sound of waves and the feel of wet sand between my toes. I started relaxing and enjoying the peaceful atmosphere.

I'll write more next time. Have a great Sunday!

P.S. Our newest addition to our farm. We just picked up this kitten yesterday. Does anyone have a suggestion what we should name him?

Ladies Retreat

I'm back:)

I went to a ladies retreat this week. We left town on Tuesday morning and got back on Thursday evening. The bus ride was about 7 - 8 hours, one way. I won't go into details yet, but I'll be posting about this in the next days. Just leaving you with a picture now.

Just-photo-Sunday!

Recipe for Spritzcookies

I haven't posted a recipe here for a very long time. My blog friend Julie from East Paraguay won my last giveaway and I sent her some of these cookies along with her handmade bag. She asked me for the recipe, so I decided to post the recipe here, instead of giving it just to Julie! (Hope you are reading this, Julie!)

Spitzcookies

2 cups butter
2 cups sugar

Then add:
5 - 6 eggs

Beat thoroughly.

In another bowl mix together:
5 cups flour
2 cups cornstarch (Maizena)
4 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla

Beat the dry ingredients into the first mixture, when it gets to hard for the beaters, use a wooden spoon to mix. Cover the dough with a lid or plastic bag and place in the fridge for an hour or overnight.

Use a meat grinder with a cookie press part in front (see picture), or a cookie press and press the dough into cookie shapes. Place the cookies onto an ungreased cookie pan. Bake at med. heat for about 12 minutes.

You can also roll balls (slightly smaller than ping-pong balls) and place them in a hot waffle iron and bake the cookies in small batches.

You can dip one end of each cookie into melted chocolate and sprinkle peanut pieces onto them, or pour melted chocolate on the cookies made in the waffle iron.

This is a cookie press attachment that you screw onto a meat grinder.



You don't need these parts to make the cookies.


This is how to place the cookies onto the baking pans.

Voilá, the baked cookies. Just right for dunking into your coffee!

I hope you enjoy your cookies!

My nephew (3 years old) took this picture. He made the stuffed animals pose on my lap

Got some new books:)

Hi y'all!
I've been a regular at our post office for the last few weeks. I joined Bookmooch a few months ago and have been waiting (very impatiently) for the first books to arrive. I sent out a few already, the furthest even went to Japan! (That cost me 40.000.-Gs = 8.5 $)
I received one book pretty fast, because it came from a bookmoocher living close by. Then the packages started coming in, every week I think there were 2 packages usually containing 2 books. And I finally got the book I was waiting for the most: The Romance of Paula Vaughan. It's not a romance novel, but a crafting book filled with things you can make with the beautiful paintings of Paula as an inspiration.


I want to sew this quilt again. I made it 5 years ago, almost exactly the same colors as in the picture, but this time I want the main color to be cream or beige.

This morning when I went to the post office, the lady working there asked if I was enjoying sewing this week. I thought that was kind of wierd, so I asked her why. She said she had seen the contents written on my package and it said needlecraft or something. I was very surprised, I thought postal workers weren't supposed to comment on what they see at work, or is this appropriate in other countries?

Well, anyway... the other postal worker saw us talking and handed me another package that had just come in. It was the book I'd ordered from Booksneeze. If you look on the right sidebar of my blog, you will see the link for Booksneeze. This is a website from Thomas Nelson publishing house. They offer free books in exchange for a review of each book on your blog or website. The book I received today is my forth and it's called: Rick & Bubba's big honkin' book of grub.

I thought it would be a recipe book, but it's much more fun than that. I'll try to quote some of the book from time to time, while you all wait for my review.

Rick and Bubba's Weight Loss Tips:

Tip # 1: Before weighing yourself, always put the turkey down first.

Tip # 2: Never put both feet on the scale.

Tip # 3: Before weighing yourself, remove shoes, jewelry, and any dental fillings that may be adding to your weight.

Tip # 4: Better yet, when the nurse isn't looking, "accidentally" fall against the scale, sliding the metal gauge down about ten pounds.

Tip # 5: Buy bigger belts.

Tip # 6: Only put three scoops of bacon bits on your salad.

Tip # 7: Drop all your skinny friends. Only hang around people who are larger than you. (Note from me: that's mean!)

Tip # 8: Jog instead of walking to your refrigerator.

Tip # 9: All 31 flavors will not fit on a single ice cream cone. You have to choose. Deal with it.

Tip # 10: Limit your intake of white flour. Wait until it's in a loaf of bread. It tastes better.

Thats all for today, thanks for letting me ramble about my reading addiction,... or am I addicted to getting packages in the mail?
If that's the case, who will send me a care package full of candy and chocolate from the U.S. or Canada?:)

(P.S. The quote is from a friendship book I received, and the picture I took on my walk today and edited it with Picasa 3)