Going bananas

I'm not sure when it happened, but bananas have become a staple in our house. We go through THREE-FOUR bunches a WEEK... I think that averages to about 50-60 bananas... most of them are consumed by Caleb. We keep them right on the edge of the counter so he can reach them and every morning as soon as he wakes up he goes and eats at least 3; plays and then about an hour later eats breakfast (and another banana or two).

We also make smoothies every Saturday night and have popcorn and watch a movie together as a family.... that consumes another 10 bananas or so. I don't know where the rest go. I can't stand bananas and don't eat a single one. :)

Bananas here are different than the ones in the States... For one thing, they look all crummy and bruised on the outside, but on the inside they are perfect. Not sure how Dole makes the ones in America always look so smooth and nice. You never see them like that here. And here there are TONS of different varieties of bananas... most that we eat are probably half the size of an "American" banana and pretty sweet, but there are tiny ones (like the size of a finger), huge ones, and then big fat ones that people fry into bread cakes, but taste horrible raw. Another funny thing about bananas here is how you can never judge a banana's ripeness by its color... you have to squeeze them - if they give a little, they are ripe. I once helped a tourist at the grocery store pick bananas... poor guy was so confused all the bananas were green, but a lot of them were ripe or over-ripe; they just didn't look it by American standards.

Because of the big holiday weekend we just had the grocery stores and the open air markets have been wiped out. We went FIVE days without a single banana in the house. Poor Caleb has been beside himself. But happy to report we had bananas again this morning. :)

The banana obsession is a bit of a pain as we can't buy 4 bunches of bananas at one time and then be set for the week... we are constantly having to run to the store to get more bananas. The veggie guy brings his cart around the neighborhood and sells veggies and fruits each morning and if I am on top of it, I can usually get it together to meet him to buy bananas then... definitely easier than making a special trip to the grocery store. But he doesn't always have them on hand, and he comes at 6:30 each morning... and it's hard for me to be dressed and ready to meet the world (and my neighbors!) at 6:30 in the morning on the off chance he remembers we are banana fiends and need to have bananas. :)

Wow! Whoever knew I would write so much about a fruit! :)

Speaking of bananas, you can be praying for Brant as he is literally going bananas right now... we have a LOT of supply orders this month and next and new ones keep coming in... he's got a flight every 2 or 3 days from now til the end of October, which makes for a very, very busy man. The consultants are making their semi-annual visits to the tribes and we have our regional conference in October, so lots of plane and heli trips and everyone wants their extra weight filled with supplies. We knew it would be like this (very much a "when it rains, it pours" type of job) but still being in the middle of it is not fun.