uff

Much activity on this end. On tuesday of last week I went rafting down the Rio Azul with Shea and his fellow raft-guide in Colorado, Casey. Shea and I were in a "mini-me" which is a two person inflatable raft and Casey was kayaking. It was fun but also very cold (the water we were running had been a glacier earlier that day) and involved a twenty minute hike uphill (carrying all the gear and boats) at the end of the trip.

On wednesday, the last pregnant sheep gave birth. I didn't get to see the actual birth but I did get out there in time to see some of the placenta hanging from the mom's tail and the baby still wet from having been licked clean. There was some doubt as to wether or not the sheep would be able to carry the pregnancy to the end because she has gas issues... (her diarrhea is so bad that she doesn't get enough vitamins) but all was well. I've been watching the new addition over the last few days as he figures out what his feet do and whether or not he likes the other lambs (who hang out in intimidating little cliques). For the first few days he seemed to think he only had two legs: one in front and one in back. The effect was such that he galloped around like a floppy-eared, fuzzy horse and always halted abruptly with a full-body teater: his back legs forming an obtuse triangle from his little butt.

Watching the lamb could provide hours of entertainment and I allowed myself at least one, but I had other things to do. Like ride around in a Unimog:


That's the model they have here and the thing is a monster. It has no shocks whatsoever, asphyxiates passengers with its fumes and you have to hold the roof on as you ride. It's a total nightmare and Shea and I took it in to town to pick up a bunch of lumber and visit a local cervecero to check out his operation. All of the roads around here are dirt: covered in boulders and potholes a foot deep. I was about to kill someone at the end of our hour-long excursion and informed Shea that I would never be riding it it again. The beer guy (Marcelo) was very nice and he was hanging out with an Italian friend so I got to speak in a romance language I am actually proficient in.

As far as romance languages in which I am not proficient are concerned, I had ample opportunity to crash and burn practicing my spanish this past weekend when the first guests arrived. They called at five PM saying they would arrive at eight and panic set in: nothing was defrosted, there was no bread, what about dessert?! In the end, it all worked out but the part where I had to do the serving and answer their questions was a little shady... some serious lost-in-translation moments. I guess I didn't realize that I was signing up for such a customer service-type position. Anyhoo, only room to improve.

Here's what they ate:

Friday night: house bread, garden salad with candied walnuts and rasberry vinny, cheesy polenta with steak and red wine mushroom sauce, pear galette.
Saturday morning: Apple strudel muffins, house bread, various jams, yogurt, granola
Saturday lunch: Asparagus and cheese quiche, house bread, garden salad with balsamic vinny, raisins and sunflower seeds, raspberry sherbet.
Saturday dinner: Sweet-tea brined chicken with brown butter and sage-fried squash gnocchi and stewed rutabaga greens with leeks and apple cider vinegar; apple and cognac crepes
Sunday morning: cinnamon-walnut rolls, toast, various jams, yogurt, granola, tea.

It was a lot of work and the stress level was compounded by having to do the serving as well. I'll be spending this week doing things like making fresh pasta and freezing it for the next time unexpected company arrives. The good news is that today is my first complete day off in seven days so I'll be sleeping in and reading novels all day... glorious.