Sunday, 13 November (Fruit, um... fruit, and an AMAZING story)

     A lot of this weekend has been filled with food, and time spent in the kitchen.  Saturday morning, Mom and the six kids headed out to Peach Cafe, a pick your own peaches/nectarines place, which also sells jam and honey and some other veggies.  We picked 10 kilos of peaches (four boxes), and they are sooo juicy.  We actually also have peach trees on our property (as well as pear, mango, kumquat, and lemon), but ours are of a different variety such that they give fruit later in the year.  Talking to the owner, I learned that they always need help in the kitchen with prep work, and I volunteered.  I can't be paid in money, since I don't have a work permit for South Africa, but I'm hoping to pick up some peaches, and I'm looking forward to the work.  Adrianne Penner is likely going to be working there at the same time as me - she's in the same boat with no work permit. http://www.camdeboofarm.co.za/

     That afternoon, I tackled the two bags of lemons that Mom bought me, with ten lemons in each bag.  I juiced 18 and 1/2 lemons and made lemon sorbet, as well as candied lemon peals - I had to do something with the leftover lemon peels!  Teresa, while I made the candy, was working on de-topping strawberries and de-pitting cherries.  We have this really cool cherry pitter that you stick the cherry in and shoot the pit out from.  In this picture ------> Teresa is shouting "Put your feet up or I'll shoot!" Mom made flour tortillas and we had tacos for dinner, and with the leftover tortillas she made tortilla chips and we had nachos for lunch!!  I've missed my Mexican food.... now to tackle the salsa making! 
     Our friends, Nathan and Adrianne Penner, stopped by last night, and it reminded me that I ought to share who they are.  In November 2009, Adrianne and Nathan were engaged to be married the following January, when Adrianne was diagnosed with a brain tumor.  She was to go in for surgery two weeks later, on December 10.  Because of the diagnosis, Nathan and Adrianne scratched their January wedding plans and decided to get married before surgery.  They got married 6 days after the initial diagnosis; tons of people volunteered to serve food, decorate, arrange... even people they didn't know!  I think the best part is that Adrianne went shopping for a wedding dress on Black Friday and got it cheap; I'm going to remember that when I get married.  

     I'm going quote Nathan on this next part, from their blog, nathanandadriannedolife.blogspot.com "Adrianne's surgery was successful. Dr. Pikul and his team was able to remove the brain mass with no complications, no need for any blood transfusions, and only good surprises. When they removed the mass and sent a portion to the pathology lab the initial report back was that it was not a tumor, but was an abscess."  This abscess, which had shown every sign of being a tumor up until the point where it was removed, stumped the doctors.  It wasn't infected, they couldn't find the cause of it.  Eventually, it got sent to the Center of Disease Control, to the specialists.  Their diagnosis: We'll never know.  The tumor/abscess had been completely sterilized by the body, although it wasn't that way when Adrianne had her first MRI.  In other words, Adrianne experienced a miracle.  The power of prayer is amazing!  

     Nathan and Adrianne are actually very famous people.  Google 'the penners' and their blog is the top website.  They shared that hundreds of people had heard of their story, prayed for them, and shared that their story and experiences had changed their life and convinced them to turn to God.  Praise the Lord, He is good!