How Sweet It Is!

Ever since we returned from Christmas in Senegal where Kari served us (3 times!) some delicious homemade cinnamon rolls, I've wanted to make some for Glenn and me.  The full recipe makes 7 pie pans of the moistest, melt-in-your mouth maple flavored sweet rolls you'll ever eat!  I promise!  After a major hunt for aluminum foil pans through-out Budapest, finally finding them at Metro (think:  Sam's Club) on the outskirts of town, I was able to make some for our freezer.  We've got company coming for breakfast in the morning.  Guess what we're having???

Two weeks ago we hosted the girls high school basketball team from the Christian school in Bucharest, Romania, here in town for a basketball tournament against several other Christian schools across Europe.  There were 7 girls and a married couple as coach and chaperones, so 9 of them plus Glenn and me, all in our little house.  The girls slept on mattresses in the basement and the couple slept in our guest room.   We had a great time with them in the evenings, even though they were exhausted from playing all day.  While they were with us, 3 out of the 9 got sick, so we spent the next couple of days disinfecting the house and washing and airing the blankets that were used.   Unfortunately, it was too late as I caught what they had and spent the next 12 days on our couch.

Doubly unfortunate is that we were to have another large group of 11 people come and use our house for a team retreat while we went to visit 5 of our families but because I was sick, we had to cancel our trip and them using our house.  Hated to do that!

We now have more company, but this time it's just one person for 3 nights, and I'm feeling much better.  We were able to go into town on Saturday so that she could buy a souvenir for a niece.  We saw something we've not seen before in one of the small parks in town.  Can you tell what it is?  

Basically, it's a wooden frame built around the trunk of a tree, and "lovers" have attached locks to the frame as an indication of their forever love.

Here's an up close picture of the locks!  In our travels across Europe, we've come across this type of display before, but it is usually on bridges.  In fact, we noticed yesterday that people are starting to put padlocks on the Szabadsag Hid (Liberty Bridge) that crosses over the Danube River.  Does anyone do this in America???

Glenn and I have been living in Budapest now for 7 years, and I've noticed that the winters have gotten longer and harder for me to bear with each passing year.  Many people, particularly women, living in cold, dark countries often develop what is called Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), whereby they experience a a mild case of depression, manifested by a lack of energy even though sleeping more, and serious carbohydrate cravings in the afternoon (causing weight gain, which is enough to depress any woman!)  Typically, the symptoms last until the sunshine arrives with spring.  

Eating nutritiously, getting regular exercise, and getting as much sun as possible are natural, healthy ways to combat SAD, but sometimes that is not enough, and so people often use light therapy to give them that extra boost they need.  I ordered a SAD light and have been using it now for 2 weeks, and have felt positive benefits.  Each morning when I first wake up, I turn on my SAD light and read my Bible for 30-45 minutes, and then I'm good to go for the day!  

Of course, I did spend 2 weeks in Senegal over Christmas, soaking up as much sun as I could on Kari's balcony and then we spent 2 weeks in Turkey where we had really nice weather.  Also, the weather in general in Budapest for the past 4 weeks has been milder than past winters so I might not have had as rough of a winter as previous ones, but hey, I'm still going to use this light and feel great!

P.S.

My light is not much bigger than a DVD, about an inch thick, and weighs less than a pound.  Perfect for traveling with me!

Got a busy week ahead with local member care visits and catching up on Skype calls!