Top 25 Things Learned this Year

Yesterday marked a year since we've eaten Chipotle... Has it really been a year since we've tasted such goodness?  It also marked a year since seeing my beautiful mother...  Time has come and gone quickly and there is much to miss.

But!  There is much we have gained this past year.  Here are 25 things that we are proud to have learned and gained the last 365 days.

1)   Using an outhouse squatty (from day 1)

2)   Using an outhouse in the winter (months 4-7)

3)   Navigating and working in a new language (months 1-12)

4)   Dealing with frozen pipes (months 4-7)

5)   Enjoying coal and wood fires for heating in the winter (months 4-7)

1)   Finding ways to celebrate American holidays.  And realizing that getting coal in your stocking wouldn’t be such a bad idea (month 7)

7)   Occupying ourselves when the electricity is out (months 4-7)

8)   Hauling water, 80lbs at a time, and getting mad when Joanna did it too (months 4-7)

9)   Doing laundry with frozen pipes (months 4-7)

10)  Realizing the importance of shoveling snow off your roof (months 4-7)

11) Helping run an office (months 9-12)

12) Paying people for their work (9-12)

13)Communicating someones cow is in your yard, even though you still don't know how to order a meal at a restaurant (month 2).

14) Fixing things (everyday!!!): (Fixing pipes, drains, water pipes, repairing plugs, circuit breakers, cleaning mold, getting rid of fleas, cleaning water pipes of dirt, replacing locks on doors and gates, getting rid of mice, etc!)

15) Learning how to not let things go to waste (trash for fire, leftover food for animals)

16)Having a dog (months 3-12)

17)Having six hens and a rooster (months 9-12)

18)Cleaning poop off eggs before we fry them up (months 9-12)

19) Shopping without supermarkets (from day one)

20)Cooking entirely from scratch all the time (1-12) (tortillas, fresh bread everyday, pasta sauce from tomatoes in the garden, chili from homegrown tomatoes, homemade jam from strawberries in the garden, pesto from garden basil, homemade pizza, home pasteurized milk, homemade cakes, cookies, hamburgers, rolls, corn bread, soups, etc!)  Sounds romantic, doesn’t it?.....

21)Having a garden (months 9-12) (growing: carrots, tomatoes, kale, lettuce, spinach, chili peppers, parsley, basil, strawberries, sugar snap peas, garlic, etc.)

22)Driving mountain roads (months 3-12)

23)Driving mountain roads in the winter (months 4-7)

24)Going to 27 houses in one day for Ramadan holiday (month 11)

25)Seeing that the Chinese really know how to pave roads (from day 1)