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

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 it's 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 Roadside (Pier Lane) it's an 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 were 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 the food we had at home...shucks, I will have to start remembering that!

Traveling Europe

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 onboard the ship.

So that allowed Stephanie and me 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 number of pictures of the 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 restaurants 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 too cold and wet to be bothered.  But those places were just as great!

Click on the link 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.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/7TnLRcjnd1bNPqFj6

Africa to Europe to AL to TX to CA

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 whirlwind tour, we stayed with Tyrone's sister and her family. It was so great to hang out with them and see how much our niece and nephews have grown. We stayed there for 10 days and unfortunately we were very busy trying to get everything 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 anchorage 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 experiences with others.

Tomorrow 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 paid 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 where he can be challenged 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 throughout the year.

Five Minutes of Fame

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... it's 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 Calendar 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 Sheffield (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 it's 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

Oretha

Jemima and Korpo

John

Foday

lessons

Evelyne and Ophelia - Liberia Cooks

Liberian Friends

My Favorite Liberian Names

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 is one of the lists I have been compiling during my time here on the ship.

My favorite Liberian names

Godgive

Playboy

Surprise

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."