The Word of The Day Is...

   ...Improvisation. Since our arrival we have had to learn to do without many things we were used to having back home in the States. In some cases there is a local product we can substitute but many times we just make do with what we have on hand.
   For example the other day Suzanne braved the heat and fired up the oven to roast a chicken ( it is odd to actually cook in the oven. Many here use it only for storage since the oven heats up the whole house). She asked what I wanted with it and I said "some mashed potatoes would be nice." So my darling wife, already drenched in sweat from the oven, fires up another burner to boil water for my mashed potatoes. It is only after they have already been put in the pot that she reminds me "you know, we don't even have a potato masher."  The roasted chicken and boiled potatoes were excellent!
   So anyways our wedding anniversary is tomorrow and I wanted to do something to commemorate as we will not be going to our favorite spot this year. So on the way home Dani and I stopped and picked up a dozen roses, an absolute steal at only 200 pesos or about $16!  We bring them home, get ready to put them in water and of course...no vase. So what do we do?  We Improvise :

23 years of wedded bliss. I cannot believe she has tolerated me for this long :-)