Has It Really Been Six Months???
Aye carumba!
If you look way back at the very first post I ever made for Stokes in Peru, I promised a weekly update of my adventures in Peru. What's the old cliche-promises are made to be broken? Even if it was inevitable that I wouldn't keep up the weekly pace, it is a shame that I fell off my steady output that existed within the first year or so of life down in Peru. It may be a bit late to start casting out New Year's Resolutions in early April, but I'm vowing once again to get more steady production up on this blog.
So what have Marianella and I been up to since early October? Well, there's been lots of work in those months, but we did have quite a nice vacation back in the Upper Midwest from Christmas through mid-February (I know what you're thinking-what an ideal time to visit Minnesota!) and we've mixed in enough interesting things within the last six months to throw them up onto the blog, I suppose.
I will start with late October and into November and bring you up to speed as best as possible. . .
Halloween, Thanksgiving & Movember
You may recall that last year brought me dressing like The Dude from The Big Lebowski for Halloween and growing facial hair for the first time in my life (if you don't recall, just scroll through the old posts for those pictures, I believe it was the most commented upon, if not most popular, blog post I ever put up).
This year was not quite as inspired for the Halloween costume. . .I ended up going as a pirate, as you'll see below for the day at school. It was two years in a row with a wig though, which seems to please my co-workers to no end. As for the facial hair, this Movember we were not limited to just mustaches; we were allowed to let our facial hair grow wild. I thought taking the shackles off would allow for an even more disturbing look on my part, but in actuality, the beard I had after about two weeks looked. . .pretty decent. With my glasses on, I might have even passed as an intellectual. But after two weeks. . .yeah, not so sophisticated. As you'll see in the pictures below, I did try to spruce it up, looking as thuggish as I possibly can-personally, I don't really think I pulled it off, but I'll let you judge.
But I don't want to be a pirate!:
Amidst the ridiculousness of Movember, Marianella and I hosted Thanksgiving once again, our third year running in Peru. I've mentioned before, Marianella's family has really taken to this holiday and word has spread-we hosted twelve of her family members this go round. With such a big crowd, we needed a big turkey and did we ever get one-we ended up mixing up our pounds and kilograms in relation to how big a turkey we needed to buy. It's a pound of turkey per person, but we went with a kilogram per person. A kilogram works out to 2.2 pounds, so doing the quick math for you, we had a 30 pound turkey for the day (and many, many days after). Trying to fit the monster in our tiny oven was like wrestling an alligator in the swamps of Florida, but we ended with a delicious turkey and an apartment full of stretched stomachs.
The beast:
Summer in Minnesota
As Christmas arrived, throughout Peru people were celebrating in flip-flops, shorts, and T-shirts with the beach on the agenda of many folks throughout the country. Marianella and I went a different route, heading to Minnesota for Christmas and spending all of January and the first ten days of February in the chilly environs of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Chicago. You may question our sanity (many others have), but we really had a wonderful time visiting family and friends once again. It was Marianella's first trip back to the U.S. in nearly two and a half years and to be able to reconnect with so many people was great. Amazingly enough, even with this wide expanse of time, there was only so much we could accomplish-if we were unable to connect with you this time back, we hope to see you the next time through.
We spent a good amount of time near my Mom's with occasional trips up to the Twin Cities and also a ten day foray into Chicago and southern Wisconsin. While at my Mom's and the surrounding area, we celebrated Christmas and my Mom's 80th birthday party and also visited the National Eagle Center in Wabasha (a must-see for those in the region and anyone traveling along the Mississippi River). I took Marianella to her first high school basketball game, spent a day antiquing with my Mom in Mantorville and we repeatedly convinced ourselves to return to Five Guys' Burgers in Rochester when we happened to be passing through the area.
My Mom's 80th Birthday Celebration:
With a bunch of the immediate family:
The famous eagle Harriet at the Eagle Center:
Lunch time:
Marianella getting up close with one of the horses at my brother Joe's:
Our trip into Chicago was with a bit of a twist-we traveled via Amtrak to get to Chicago which was quite enjoyable, especially considering the possible complications that January weather can pose when making the six hour drive from Minnesota to Chicago. Just like the Eagle Center, I highly recommend this option if you find myself drawn to a Chicago visit.
Anyway, enough with the tour guide recommendations, below you'll find various pictures from our time back home.
Chicago:
The inspiration for the classic Saturday Night Live skit "Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger":
Our pictures from Shedd's Aquarium didn't turn out so well, but we did like this one:
Check it out, an infinity mirror:
Tapping into our inner Ferris Bueller at the Chicago Institute of Arts:
The Beach
While we loved our time back in Minnesota, by the time mid-February arrived, it didn't break our heart to leave the cold of Minnesota (I know, I know. . .you all are just saying goodbye to winter-over the last three years I've gained a new respect for you winter warriors and Marianella certainly has too :-)). When we did arrive back in Lima, we found ourselves smack in the middle of summer-hot, stifling, humid summer. Our solution was hopping into the car, driving about a half-hour south and setting up camp at Playa Punto Negra (Black Point Beach). Now, I've mentioned previously in this blog that I was never a beach fella before arriving in South America, but I tell you, give me an umbrella, a couple of beers, a good book and the waves lapping the shore and you have me convinced. Marianella and I were heading to the beach every weekend until unfortunately. . .
The Cast
About a month ago, Marianella strained her right knee ligaments, which put her in a cast for two weeks and a bulky knee brace for the last two weeks. We go back to the doctor tomorrow with hopes of a clean bill of health. We had discussing getting back to the beach this weekend, but both of us were saddled with pretty rough colds (the switch from summer to autumn is happening here in Peru and creating havoc with our immune systems). Perhaps we're serving penance for enjoying the beach too much while our family/friends back in Minnesota/Wisconsin have been suffering through winter.
Alright, in a pretty rapid nutshell, that is what has been going on with us for the last six months. Again, I vow it will not be another six months before you hear from us. Hope all is well with you all and take care as you enjoy yourselves as you bid winter goodbye.
If you look way back at the very first post I ever made for Stokes in Peru, I promised a weekly update of my adventures in Peru. What's the old cliche-promises are made to be broken? Even if it was inevitable that I wouldn't keep up the weekly pace, it is a shame that I fell off my steady output that existed within the first year or so of life down in Peru. It may be a bit late to start casting out New Year's Resolutions in early April, but I'm vowing once again to get more steady production up on this blog.
So what have Marianella and I been up to since early October? Well, there's been lots of work in those months, but we did have quite a nice vacation back in the Upper Midwest from Christmas through mid-February (I know what you're thinking-what an ideal time to visit Minnesota!) and we've mixed in enough interesting things within the last six months to throw them up onto the blog, I suppose.
I will start with late October and into November and bring you up to speed as best as possible. . .
Halloween, Thanksgiving & Movember
You may recall that last year brought me dressing like The Dude from The Big Lebowski for Halloween and growing facial hair for the first time in my life (if you don't recall, just scroll through the old posts for those pictures, I believe it was the most commented upon, if not most popular, blog post I ever put up).
This year was not quite as inspired for the Halloween costume. . .I ended up going as a pirate, as you'll see below for the day at school. It was two years in a row with a wig though, which seems to please my co-workers to no end. As for the facial hair, this Movember we were not limited to just mustaches; we were allowed to let our facial hair grow wild. I thought taking the shackles off would allow for an even more disturbing look on my part, but in actuality, the beard I had after about two weeks looked. . .pretty decent. With my glasses on, I might have even passed as an intellectual. But after two weeks. . .yeah, not so sophisticated. As you'll see in the pictures below, I did try to spruce it up, looking as thuggish as I possibly can-personally, I don't really think I pulled it off, but I'll let you judge.
But I don't want to be a pirate!:
Amidst the ridiculousness of Movember, Marianella and I hosted Thanksgiving once again, our third year running in Peru. I've mentioned before, Marianella's family has really taken to this holiday and word has spread-we hosted twelve of her family members this go round. With such a big crowd, we needed a big turkey and did we ever get one-we ended up mixing up our pounds and kilograms in relation to how big a turkey we needed to buy. It's a pound of turkey per person, but we went with a kilogram per person. A kilogram works out to 2.2 pounds, so doing the quick math for you, we had a 30 pound turkey for the day (and many, many days after). Trying to fit the monster in our tiny oven was like wrestling an alligator in the swamps of Florida, but we ended with a delicious turkey and an apartment full of stretched stomachs.
The beast:
Summer in Minnesota
As Christmas arrived, throughout Peru people were celebrating in flip-flops, shorts, and T-shirts with the beach on the agenda of many folks throughout the country. Marianella and I went a different route, heading to Minnesota for Christmas and spending all of January and the first ten days of February in the chilly environs of Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Chicago. You may question our sanity (many others have), but we really had a wonderful time visiting family and friends once again. It was Marianella's first trip back to the U.S. in nearly two and a half years and to be able to reconnect with so many people was great. Amazingly enough, even with this wide expanse of time, there was only so much we could accomplish-if we were unable to connect with you this time back, we hope to see you the next time through.
We spent a good amount of time near my Mom's with occasional trips up to the Twin Cities and also a ten day foray into Chicago and southern Wisconsin. While at my Mom's and the surrounding area, we celebrated Christmas and my Mom's 80th birthday party and also visited the National Eagle Center in Wabasha (a must-see for those in the region and anyone traveling along the Mississippi River). I took Marianella to her first high school basketball game, spent a day antiquing with my Mom in Mantorville and we repeatedly convinced ourselves to return to Five Guys' Burgers in Rochester when we happened to be passing through the area.
My Mom's 80th Birthday Celebration:
With a bunch of the immediate family:
The famous eagle Harriet at the Eagle Center:
Lunch time:
Marianella getting up close with one of the horses at my brother Joe's:
Our trip into Chicago was with a bit of a twist-we traveled via Amtrak to get to Chicago which was quite enjoyable, especially considering the possible complications that January weather can pose when making the six hour drive from Minnesota to Chicago. Just like the Eagle Center, I highly recommend this option if you find myself drawn to a Chicago visit.
Anyway, enough with the tour guide recommendations, below you'll find various pictures from our time back home.
Chicago:
The inspiration for the classic Saturday Night Live skit "Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger, Cheeseburger":
Our pictures from Shedd's Aquarium didn't turn out so well, but we did like this one:
Check it out, an infinity mirror:
Tapping into our inner Ferris Bueller at the Chicago Institute of Arts:
The Beach
While we loved our time back in Minnesota, by the time mid-February arrived, it didn't break our heart to leave the cold of Minnesota (I know, I know. . .you all are just saying goodbye to winter-over the last three years I've gained a new respect for you winter warriors and Marianella certainly has too :-)). When we did arrive back in Lima, we found ourselves smack in the middle of summer-hot, stifling, humid summer. Our solution was hopping into the car, driving about a half-hour south and setting up camp at Playa Punto Negra (Black Point Beach). Now, I've mentioned previously in this blog that I was never a beach fella before arriving in South America, but I tell you, give me an umbrella, a couple of beers, a good book and the waves lapping the shore and you have me convinced. Marianella and I were heading to the beach every weekend until unfortunately. . .
The Cast
About a month ago, Marianella strained her right knee ligaments, which put her in a cast for two weeks and a bulky knee brace for the last two weeks. We go back to the doctor tomorrow with hopes of a clean bill of health. We had discussing getting back to the beach this weekend, but both of us were saddled with pretty rough colds (the switch from summer to autumn is happening here in Peru and creating havoc with our immune systems). Perhaps we're serving penance for enjoying the beach too much while our family/friends back in Minnesota/Wisconsin have been suffering through winter.
Alright, in a pretty rapid nutshell, that is what has been going on with us for the last six months. Again, I vow it will not be another six months before you hear from us. Hope all is well with you all and take care as you enjoy yourselves as you bid winter goodbye.
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