(Above: The dawn of 1/1/2024. El amanecer del 1/1/2024.)
12/31/2023: Today began in the low 40s and warmed into the low 70s. Mostly sunny.
The dawn of 12/31/2023 from the central barn. El amanecer del 31/12/2023 desde el establo central. 
Some raw puff-pastry cookies filled with dark chocolate. Unas galletas crudas de hojaldre rellenas de chocolate oscuro. 
The same cookies after cooking them in an oven of 340 degrees Fahrenheit for about 30 minutes. Las mismas galletas después de cocinarlas dentro de un horno calentado a 340 grados Fahrenheit por alrededor 30 minutos. 
Lunch consisted of Belgian Blue burger-steak accompanied by roasted vegetables, salad, and a dessert of the aforementioned cookies. El almuerzo consistía en bistec de res molida de azul belga acompañado de vegetales asados, ensalada, y un postre de las galletas ya mencionadas. 
After eating lunch, we enjoyed playing a little bit of the videogame called “Dr. Mario” with my brother, and a little bit after that, my brother left for his home in Washington. Después de almorzar, disfrutamos de jugar un poco del videojuego se llama “Dr. Mario” con mi hermano, y un poco después de eso, mi hermano se fue para su hogar en Washington. 
Two pretty radishes that I harvested in the afternoon of 12/31/2023. Dos rábanos bonitos que coseché en la tarde del 31/12/2023. 
This afternoon, I planted a part of a garden row with radishes. Esta tarde, planté una parte de una hilera con rábanos. 
For dinner, I ate a fried mixture of eggs and beef sausage. This mixture was accompanied by a green salad dressed with a balsamic vinaigrette. Para la cena, comí una mezcla frita de huevos y salchicha de res. Esta mezcla estaba acompañada de una ensalada verde aliñada con una vinagreta balsámica. 
Dessert was constituted of a sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a spoonful of Greek yogurt and some walnuts. El postre constaba de una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego y unas nueces.
1/1/2024: Today began in the low 40s and warmed into the low 70s. Mostly sunny.
The dawn of 1/1/2024. El amanecer del 1/1/2024. 
This photo was taken a little bit after the first. Many calves were eating while the sun rose. Esta foto estaba tomada un poco después del primero. Muchos terneros comían mientras el sol salía. 
For lunch, I enjoyed a tray and a half of sushi and a bowl of miso soup garnished with spinach, red cabbage, and sliced avocado. Para el almuerzo, disfruto de una bandeja y media de sushi y un tazón de sopa de miso adornada con espinaca, repollo rojo y aguacate en rodajas. 
Some jars filled with pickled radish. It is an experiment. Unos frascos llenos de rábano encurtido. Es un experimento. 
This is the new feed trough that we installed in the Gaur-lot. We hope that the cows will not be able to spill it. Este es el comedero nuevo que instalamos en el lote más occidental del rancho. Esperamos que las vacas no puedan derramarlo. 
The sunny afternoon of 1/1/2024. La tarde soleada del 1/1/2024. 
A photo of Padre spending a little time with his cow-daughter. Una foto de mi padre pasando un poco tiempo con su vaca-hija. 
Today, Victor painted part of the west side of Grandma Cook’s house. All of the new color in this photo (the brighter yellow) came from one can of paint. Hoy, Victor pintó parte del lado oriental de la casa de mi abuela. Todo del nuevo color en esta foto (el amarillo más brillante) vino de una lata de pintura. 
Dinner consisted of a fried mixture of eggs and leftover tri-tip. This was accompanied by a green salad garnished with a little bit of the aforementioned pickled radish. The bottles smelled very bad when I opened them, but the slices of radish inside of them tasted good and were crunchy. La cena consistía en una mezcla frita de huevos y sobras del punto de picana. Esta estaba acompañada de una ensalada verde adornada con un poco del rábano encurtido ya mencionado. Las botellas olieron muy mal cuando las abrí, pero las rodajas del rábano dentro de ellas sabían bien y estaban crujientes. 
A sliced Pink Lady apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a spoonful of Greek yogurt and some walnuts. Una manzana dama rosa en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego y unas nueces.
1/2/2024: Today began in the low 40s and warmed into the low 60s. Sunny.
Cows in the central pasture at midday of 1/2/2023. Vacas en el campo central en el mediodía del 2/1/2023. 
Lunch consisted of a beef, green pepper, purple onion, mozzarella, y tomato-sauce filled frittata. This was accompanied by a salad made by Padre and dressed by Madre. El almuerzo constaba de frittata de res, pimiento verde, cebolla morada, queso mozzarella y salsa de jitomate. Esta estaba acompañada de una ensalada hecha por mi padre y aliñada por mi madre. 
Peruvian-style queso fresco obtained by Madre. Queso fresco del estilo peruano obtenido por mi mamá. 
Dinner consisted of a pan-seared Belgian Blue burger-steak accompanied by a green salad made by Padre. La cena consistía en un bistec de res molida de azul belga a la sartén acompañado de una ensalada verde hecha por mi padre. 
A sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a some walnuts and a bowl of sour cream for dipping. Una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada unas nueces y un tazón de crema ácida para mojar.
1/3/2024: Today began in the high 30s and warmed into the mid 60s. Mostly Sunny.
The dawn of 1/3/2024. Padre took this photo. El amanecer del 3/1/2024. Mi padre tomó esta foto. 
A morning activity of 1/3/2023. I sealed a crack to the right of the plastic board that is to the right of the door. I did this with caulk. This process is called caulking. Una actividad matutina del 3/1/2023. Yo sellé una grieta a la derecha de la tabla plástica que está a la derecha de la puerta. Yo hice esto con masilla. Este proceso se llama calafatear. 
Lunch: (Front) A filet of salmon and (back) a filet of tuna accompanied by a green salad made by Padre and dressed by Madre. This salad was garnished with sliced avocado. El almuerzo: (Frente) Un filete de salmón y (atrás) un filete de atún acompañados de una ensalada verde hecha por mi padre y aliñada por mi madre. Esta ensalada estaba adornada con aguacate en rodajas. 
Dessert consisted of a sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon. El postre consistía en una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela. 
Emerald grass with a golden butterfly in the background. Césped del verde esmeralda con una mariposa dorada en el fondo. 
An afternoon activity of 1/3/2023. I recut and installed the board that covers this portion of the floor. Una actividad por la tarde del 3/1/2023. Yo recorté e instalé la tabla que cubrir esta porción del piso. 
The completed activity. It looks much better than before. La actividad completada. Se ve mucho mejor que antes. 
Dinner consisted of a fried mixture of eggs and the leftovers of the frittata from the other day. This was accompanied by a green salad made by Padre and dressed by me. La cena consistía en una mezcla frita de huevos y las sobras de frittata del otro día. Esta estaba acompañada de una ensalada verde hecha por mi padre y aliñada por mí. 
A sliced green apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a spoonful of Greek yogurt and a little bit of walnuts. Una manzana verde en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego y un poco de nueces.
1/4/2024: Today began in the low 50s and warmed into the low 60s. Cloudy dawn, but sunny thereafter.
The cloudy early morning of 1/4/2024. Is it going to be cloudy all day? La madrugada nublada del 4/1/2024. ¿Va a estar nublado todo el día? 
The answer to that question was “no”. The sun was shining at 9:30 AM. La respuesta a esa pregunta fue “no”. El sol brillaba a las 9:30 de la mañana. 
Lunch: A taco salad. This salad consisted of romaine lettuce, spinach, green cabbage, Peruvian-style queso fresco, sliced avocado, seasoned Belgian Blue ground beef, sour cream, and two types of salsas. El almuerzo: una ensalada de taco. Esta ensalada consistía en lechuga romana, espinaca, repollo verde, queso freso del estilo peruano, aguacate en rodajas, res molida sazonada de azul belga, crema ácida y dos tipos de salsa. 
Dessert: A sliced green apple sprinkled with cinnamon. El postre: Una manzana verde en rodajas espolvoreada con canela. 
This afternoon, a ladybug landed on my arm. Esta tarde una mariquita se posó en mi brazo. 
The bull lot is filled with emerald green grass. This photo was taken during the sunset of 1/4/2024. El lote del toro está lleno de césped de verde esmeralda. Esta foto estaba tomada durante la puesta del sol del 4/1/2024. 
For dinner, I ate eggs mixed with beef leftovers. I also enjoyed this dessert: a sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a spoonful of Greek yogurt. I put walnuts around the fruit like a border. Para la cena, comí huevos mezclados con sobras de res. Además, disfruté de este postre: una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego. Yo puse nueces alrededor de la fruta como un ribete.
1/5/2023: Today began in the high 30s and warmed into the low 70s.
Jacobhouse in the early morning of 1/5/2024. La casita de Jacobo en la madrugada del 5/1/2024. 
This is a photo that Padre took while Wag and I were cleaning the old feed from the feed trough. Esta es una foto que mi padre tomó mientras mi tío y yo estabamos limpiando el forrage viejo del comedero. 
A photo after we cleaned the feed trough. Una foto después de que limpiamos el comedero. 
Lunch consisted of some eggs scrambled with chiltepin and mozzarella. These were accompanied by a green salad made by Padre and dressed by Madre. El almuerzo consistía en unos huevos revueltos con chiltepin y mozzarella. Estos estaban acompañados de una ensalada verde hecha por mi padre y aliñada por mi madre. 
This is “goodbye” to the old shoes. They served me very well. Esto es el “adios” a los zapatos viejos. Ellos me sirvieron muy bien. 
The bulls were peeking at me through the rustic fence. Los toros me estaban mirando a traves de la valla rústica. 
The mostly sunny afternoon of 1/5/2024. La tarde mayormente soleada del 5/1/2024. 
Dinner consisted of Belgian Blue New York Strip seasoned only with salt. I cooked these steaks by oven, and then, by skillet. The meat was accompanied by a bowl of sour cream for dipping and a glass of red wine to drink. La cena consistía en bistec de lomo de azul belga sazonado solamente con sal. Yo cociné estos bistecs por horno, y entonces, por sartén. La carne estaba acompañada de un tazón de crema ácida para mojar y una copa de vino tinto para beber. 
A sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon. The texture of this apple was incredible. 9.85/10 Una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela. La textura de esta manzana estuvo increíble. 9.85/10
1/6/2023: Today began in the low 60s and warmed into the mid 70s. Very rainy morning, and sunny afternoon.
Morning of 1/6/2024. To take this photo, I stood in front of the central barn. La mañana del 6/1/2024. Para tomar esta foto estuve de pie enfrente del establo central. 
The lunch today was quite light. I only ate four eggs mixed with a little bit of leftover beef. These were accompanied by a green salad made by Padre. El almuerzo hoy fue bastante ligero. Solamente comí cuatro huevos mezclados con un poco de res sobrante. Estos estaban acompañados de una ensalada verde hecha por mi padre. 
A dessert of a sliced green apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a spoonful of Greek yogurt and some walnuts. Un postre de una manzana verde en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego y unas nueces. 
This morning, I made a meat pastry. It contained ground lamb, ground Belgian Blue beef, vegetables (carrot, potato, and green beans), and spices (salt, black pepper, Worcestershire sauce, and two sprigs of fresh rosemary from the garden). I cooked it for about 50 minutes in an oven of 330 degrees F. Esta mañana hice una tarta de carnes. Contenía cordero molido, res molida de azul belga, vegetales (zanahoria, patata y ejotes) y especias (sal, pimienta negra, salsa inglesa y dos ramitas de romero fresco del jardín). La cociné por alrededor de 50 minutos dentro de un horno de 330 grados Fahrenheit. 
When I removed the meat pie from the oven, I saw that the crust was golden brown. Cuando removí la tarta de carne del horno, yo vi que la corteza estaba dorada. 
A closer photo of the meat pie. Here, we can see the many layers of the puff pastry crust. Una foto más cercano de la tarta de carne. Aquí, podemos ver las muchas capas de la corteza hojaldre. 
The mostly sunny afternoon of 1/6/2024. La tarde mayormente soleada del 6/1/2024. 
Dinner: The aforementioned meat pie accompanied by a salad of arugula, romaine lettuce, and tomato made by Padre. La cena: La tarta de carne ya mencionada acompañada de una ensalada de rúcula, lechuga romana y tomate hecha por mi padre. 
Dessert consisted of a sliced red apple sprinkled with cinnamon and accompanied by a spoonful of Greek yogurt. I didn’t eat walnuts because I was full of meat pie. El postre consistía en una manzana roja en rodajas espolvoreada con canela y acompañada de una cucharada de yogur griego. No comí nueces porque estuve lleno de tarta de carne.
Final Note: Draft of the epigraph for Lani’s 5th chapter in Book 2 – To Lands Beyond, inspired by recent conversation during language exchange 🌗:
Erno Grutwig opened the door whose bell rang gaily and sparkled brightly beneath the clear winter’s sky. Warmth billowed out onto the cold, grey cobblestones, and he ushered in the rag-clad slip-of-a-boy who followed him. They soon found themselves in a room about twenty feet long and twenty feet wide. It bore a large counter at the back and, at the center, a single neatly-organized shelf of shoes and boots of varying size with each bearing a string and a tag. The chamber was lit by the massive pane of glass at the storefront which displayed the town square outside lined with naked elms.
“Right, little lad,” Erno spoke as the door swung shut with a jingle, “This is my shop, my home, and hall of worship all, and… hey-o! Here’s Gloria. Gloria Grutwig, my fine sister and finer teacher, for from her—”
“Ha-iiii,” the woman interrupted. Her tone bore an odd form of strain to it as did her spasmodic wave of salutation. She was dressed in a billowing gown of blue and was seated in a chair akin a rocker but with two sets of what appeared to be miniature cartwheels attached to either side. As for age and manner, both were near identical to her brother’s, the former being a fine autumn of light hair bearing equal parts silver and gold and of plentiful facial furrows inclined toward good cheer. The latter, meanwhile, seemed an aura of eternal spring accompanied by that season’s propensity for vigor and productivity. Only her clumsy gestures and slumping posture and the stick-like bones protruding through her loose-fitting shift assigned her to the unfortunate status of an invalid.
“Gloria,” Erno indicated the boy who, frightened by the woman’s emaciated appearance, now clung to his coattails, “New addition to the family. Name is Stentin. Seeing as he’ll be staying with us for a good long while, fill him in on the rules, would you?”
“RULE?”
“Ah, that’s right,” Grutwig slapped himself atop the skull and spoke confidingly to Stentin, “We used to have three rules, you see…”
He raised his voice, so his sister could hear, “But then you made it one, didn’t you, sis? What was it again?”
Gloria’s lined face scrunched up in concentration, and her eyes narrowed as if physically searching a great vault by the wavering flame of a single candle. As that meager light illumined the sought-after thought, so too did it brighten her face. She spoke three syllables, voicing each with deliberate care;
“Q. O. Q.”
“Very good, sis!” Erno was smiling. The man turned to his little companion who was now staring with perplexity toward the chairbound woman. He tapped the boy on the shoulder to attain his attention, and then knelt to maintain it;
“One rule, lad. Quality over quantity. It goes for our work here in the shop, it goes for our lives, and it goes for the relations we keep. In the words of my pa who got it from his own, ‘A shoe doesn’t mean shit if you’ve left a tack in the toe, so let’s take our time whether its hammer or sew.’”
– Stentin’s introduction to the Grutwig household shortly after his purchase from the Stiverius Syndicate
A week holds many possibilities, this one held the hollow of departure juxtaposed by incredible sunrises and the first birth of 2024, not to mention the excellent repasts, great week, thanks for sharing… looking forward to book two.