this morning.

On Monday night, Alison made the biggest batch of cinnamon rolls I have ever seen.  It was the Pioneer Woman’s recipe, times two.  While we hung out in the kitchen and chatted a-mile-a-minute, she flattened out the dough and sprinkled it with sugar and cinnamon, and made counter-long roll of it.  And my mouth watered.  She put the cut-up pinwheels (seven pans’ worth) into the oven, and mixed a mountain of powdered sugar with milk while the four of us sat around the dining room table with late-night bowls of ice cream.

And when I woke Tuesday morning, it was to the smell of those cinnamon rolls sitting on the counter, which Alison served us with yogurt-and-granola parfait. 

Amazing.

She sent two pans of the rolls up north with us.  We keep them in the fridge here at Mom and Dad Gentino’s, and they are every bit as good warmed in the microwave as they were on that first morning.  Mmmm.

Last night Mom and I browsed around the Pioneer Woman’s website, and saw something that caught our eye: iced coffee.

So of course we have to try the Pioneer Woman’s iced coffee recipe. 

Before bed, Dad and I measured out a generous cup-and-a-half of Starbucks Colombia roast coffee grounds, and mixed them in a Pyrex with just under two quarts cold water.  We covered and set it in the fridge overnight, and this morning David helped me separate the mixture with a strainer and a couple layers of cheesecloth.

Now the dark, cold-brewed coffee concentrate is in the fridge again, in one of Mom’s bottle-necked glass pitchers, ready for consumption.  I can’t wait to try it.

In Columbia, Kristin Franklin taught me to sweeten my iced coffee with maple syrup, so I am anxious to top off our new recipe with it today.

We have eaten so decadently these going-on-five-weeks back home.  I am sure David and I have both gained weight – the jury’s still out on the total.  The jeans I bought from Matthew 25 thrift store when we first got here can no longer be zipped.

Four days left.

Four days until the time on my laptop no longer matches the time on my watch, and we can no longer eat anything we want, anytime we want it.

The two things I will miss the most about America are the quiet and the cleanness. 

And after that, the food.  Cold milk.  Half-and-half.  Plain Cheerios.  Good multi-grain bread.  Sharp cheddar.

I’m so very sad to leave.