Snow everywhere we go!

The family that walks together, eats more together!

Kari and Jonathan were with us until Tuesday morning, at which time they returned to France and Glenn and I departed for Czech Republic, but I jump ahead of myself...


Rectangular paper plates

I asked Kari (who writes a terrific blog) what I could do to make my own blog more interesting. She suggested I write about some of the cultural differences or things that are unique in Hungary so in an attempt to do that, I wanted to share with you about our paper plates. Square or rectangular paper plates. Now, that should really interest you!

I don't know if there are particular reasons why America has round paper plates and Hungary has square ones. Square ones probably make more sense if you think about it. Sandwiches are square. Pieces of cake are square. Anyway, it took me a while to get used to it but I think I like it. However, I can't find any colored square plates, only white ones, so if I want to have a pretty table, I'll have to use colored round plates from America.

(By the way, the Pop Tarts are from America and I am in my last box of them. Hint, hint.)




Jonathan works on his memoir

While Kari and Jonathan were with us, we all had work to do. Jonathan worked on his memoir (thesis) for his school. Kari worked on her magazine. I worked on emails (goodness, mine doesn't sound very impressive) and Glenn did some projects around the house.


Glenn did some long overdue projects around the house

For two years, I've been encouraging (a kinder word for nagging) Glenn to replace the picture that hangs in our living room over our safe, left by our landlord. The picture itself isn't bad, but it doesn't go with our style and it doesn't "say anything", and worst of all, it is missing a 2 inch chunk of fake gold gilding on the bottom right corner. (Can you see it?)




I've been asking Glenn to change it ever since we moved in, but he kept giving me "reasons" (a kinder word for excuses) for not swapping it, none of which I agreed with. I finally got to the point that I was going to change it out myself; I didn't tell Glenn, but I was waiting for him to go out of town for 3 days without me so I could change it myself!!!

Well, I lucked upon the way to get him to replace it. BUY A NEW PICTURE!



The Chain Bridge over the Danube River and the safe!

Glenn and I were at Pratiker (think Home Depot) and stumbled upon a woman selling framed pictures in the entrance of the store. Isn't that where everone goes to buy pictures? She had 3 beautiful pictures of Budapest and Glenn and I found ourselves in agreement as to our favorite, which is pretty rare. (Speaking of rare, we've actually had a difficult time even finding pictures of scenes from Budapest!)

Anyway, we bought the picture and Glenn put it up right away and I love it! It makes our living room "pop!"



All work and no play makes for a dull boy (my mother used to say!)

But we didn't work the whole time Kari and Jonathan were here with us. Jonathan often kept us in stitches with his comments and clothes, as you can see.

I showed off my peg leg before making Kolaches

Jonathan kept the walkway clear

During the weekend it started snowing teeny tiny flakes. It snowed for 1 1/2 days but because the flakes were so small, we only had an accumulation of about 2 inches. It was still beautiful though!

Kari packs for the return trip

On Tuesday morning at 8 am, Glenn and I kissed Kari and Jonathan goodbye and we caught a bus, then a tram, then the metro out to the Keleti Palyaudvar (train station) where we caught the 9:30 am train to Prague for meetings. When we were getting on the train, a taxi arrived at our house to take Kari and Jonathan to Ferihegy Airport to catch their plane back to Lyon. We had a GREAT visit with them, and even though they were there for 10 days, we still didn't have enough time to do everything we'd talked about doing. Guess we'll have to go to the Chinese market NEXT TIME they are here!

Wanted to show you a few sights we saw on our train trip. You should be glad I am only showing you 2 photos. It was so beautiful that I took over 125 snow pictures on the way up there and back.

We hopped on a train to Prague

It snowed during the 7 hour trip

I stretched my legs by walking through the train cars

Glenn got a little shut-eye

Our next scheduled trip is not until sometime in April but we will probably makes some 1-2 day trips into other parts of Hungary. We've been all across Europe but not across Hungary!

And now, if I may give a shout out to our daughter Kari who turns 28 on Tuesday. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, KARI!

Chillin' with one of our two chil'n

They're here! They're here!

Kari and Jonathan arrived on February 7th and we've had a GREAT time just chillin' and gettin' warm, doin' a little eatin' (okay, a lot of eatin'!) and a little sightseein". This is their 5th visit to Budapest so they have already done most of the normal tourist-y things. Each time they come, we try to think of something new to do with them so that they will want to come back!


A little shopping at Campona Mall


Dinner at Pizza Hut


A photo-op

One cold afternoon we drove 21 kilometers into a nearby village called Szentendre to do a little browsing. The village is quaint, caters to tourists, and is beautiful!


Glenn and me looking for small gifts



Town center



Kari's creative photographic eye



Langos!

This is one of the "snack" foods you can find here in Hungary that is available at all festivals and in a few restaurants. It is nothing more than fried sweet bread topped with ham, cheese, powdered sugar, sour cream or jam, and it is DE-licious!



Kari and Jonathan enjoy their langos



We had a bath!

One of the very special things about Budapest is the prevalence of thermal springs right in the centre of the city. There are 118 springs and boreholes altogether, supplying the city’s spas and baths with 15.4 million gallons of water daily.

The Széchenyi Baths are one of the largest bathing complexes in all Europe, and the only “old” medicinal baths to be found in the Pest side of the city. The indoor medicinal baths date from 1913 and the outdoor pools from 1927. There is an atmosphere of grandeur about the whole place with the bright, largest pools resembling aspects associated with Roman baths, the smaller bath tubs reminding one of the bathing culture of the Greeks, and the saunas and diving pools borrowed from traditions emanating in northern Europe. The three outdoor pools (one of which is a fun pool) are open all year, including winter. Indoors there are over ten separate pools, and a whole host of medical treatments is also available.


Ornate ceilings



Even the hallways are beautiful!



The family that soaks together...

The thermal water is drawn from both natural springs and a 3,000-foot deep artesian well drilled in the 1870’s (the temperature of the water coming from this well is 165°F (74°C)). If you have seen winter pictures of men playing chess in an outdoor pool while the steam rises around them, then this is where they were taken.



Water temperatures are 68-100°F (20-38°C). It was snowing the day we went so there was lots of steam coming up from the water. When we had to get out of the water to go inside or to change pools, the snow landing on our backs was like prickling pokes and was amazingly painful!



There is an outdoor swimming pool, fun pool and thermal pool, and twelve indoor thermal pools. Water mineral content: thermal water containing nitrates, calcium-magnesium-hydrogen-carbonates and sulphate-chlorides, as well as fluoride ions and metaboric acid in significant quantities. Open daily 6 a.m. – 10 p.m so it can be enjoyed all day long.


And then we went outside and froze again!


We warmed up with a cup of coffee at Gloria Jean's

Starbucks has not yet arrived in Budapest but we have several other coffee shop chains such as Gloria Jeans, Coffee Heaven and The Coffee Shop. Kari did a little checking on the internet and on two web sites it says that Starbucks is supposed to come to Budapest in March or April or before the summer of 2010. We'll see. I'm not a coffee drinker, but I need to get a Budapest Starbucks mug for Pastor Ken.


Making Hungarian Kolacs

If you've read our blog consistently since the beginning, you've seen a photo or two of a sweet treet we always buy at the local festivals called Kolacs. Now, for your viewing pleasure, we have made them from scratch and cooked them here at home. Yum Yum!

We bought the wooden cyclinder (wider at one end so the Kolacs slides off when baked) at a local festival. It has a steel or iron rod through the wooden cylinder with a small wooden handle at the other end. Oil it well sot that the dough slides off when fully cooked.



The recipe, should you decide to try this at home, is on our daughter's recipe blog. Simply mix up the sweet dough according to the recipe and roll out to a rectangle about 1/2 inch thick. Cut into strips about an inch wide and wrap around the wooden cylinder, stretching it slightly as you wind it around.



Place it 4 or 5 inches over red hot coals and turn slowly. (Okay, we were impatient and didn't wait for the fire to turn to coals.)



Once golden brown, using a pastry brush, slather melted butter over it and then roll in a cookie sheet generously filled with cinnamon sugar.



With a little help from a friend or a spouse (you shouldn't try cooking and eating the whole thing without the help of someone! It's too delicous and you'll feel really guilty if you eat it all by yourself!), gently slide the dough off the spindle and let cool for a few minutes.



Kolacs' are best when eaten warm. Other mouth-watering toppings include chopped walnuts or pecans, flaked coconut or just plain white sugar. Mmmm!


Kari cooks

Glenn and I have been working some while they've been here, and Kari and Jonathan have been really helpful with things around the house.


Jonathan does dishes and the laundry


"Welcome to Moe's! Er, I mean, Arriba's!"

We've recently discovered a new "fast food" place in town called Arriba's. It is like Moes in Marietta where you pick from their selection what you want inside your taco, burrito or quesedilla. It's not Moe's, but it's pretty good. Especially if you've been a long time away from America.



We also grabbed a pizza from a local mall the other night while we were out. Don Pepe's has the hugest pizza's we've ever seen, and for all this pizza with 3 toppings, it is only $15!!!


Dr. Jonathan fixes Glenn

Each time Jonathan comes to visit, I like for him to "practice" on me, but somehow I lost out this time and he worked on Glenn instead. Rats!

Well, they return to France on Tuesday, the same day Glenn and I leave for another trip to Prague. We won't be gone long though this time, thank goodness! It has been so good to be at home, but even better to have Kari and Jonathan with us for 10 days!!

25 random things about Cile

Recently I was tagged, which is kind of like the internet equivalent of being asked to do a chain letter. I'm supposed to write 25 random facts about myself and post them on my blog. (And since I've only taken one photo this week I thought this would be perfect timing for my Sunday update. More pictures next week because Jonathan and Kari are here visiting!)

1. My favorite foods are pizza, Krispy Kreme doughnuts and straight sugar.

2. When we lived in Africa I made wedding cakes for friends and was even told that I had “the spiritual gift of wedding cake making.”

3. I’ve lived in the US, Germany, France, Ivory Coast and now Hungary.

4. I did gymnastics from four years old thru high school and did my last aerial cartwheel in 1992. My center of gravity had tragically gone south.

5. I was an airport security guard at Reagan (back when it was called National airport) in Washington, D.C.

6. We had our 31st wedding anniversary last December.

7. In the last 12 months we’ve been in Hungary, Slovakia, Greece, Finland, France, Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia, Ukraine, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, and the US.

8. One day I’m going to get a tattoo.

9. I used to love being upside down and would talk on the phone while doing a headstand on the seat of a dinette chair. This was back in the days of corded phones when you could only go so far from the phone! I just re-enacted this to prove that I still can.



10. I wear a size 2 shoe. Or an XL in doll shoes.

11. I have a daughter and son-in-law, son and daughter-in-law and one grand-dog.

12. My favorite European city is Prague in the Czech Republic, but if I got a free ticket I’d go to Lyon, France, to see my daughter and her husband.

13. I wear my wedding ring and rings my daughter’s ex-boyfriends gave her.

14. I’m fluent in English, speak French and can say greetings in Hungarian.

15. I learned how to butcher chickens when we raised them in Africa.

16. I taught Ivorian women how to bake cakes using large pots filled with hot sand as an oven.

17. On our first date I taught Glenn how to do a cartwheel.

18. I chaperoned a mission trip to Jamaica for my son’s high school senior trip.

19. Glenn and I got married one year after our first date.

20. My ideal Saturday is to sleep late, work in the yard, read a book and watch a good movie.

21. Once in high school, I had dates with three guys, all named Steve, in one weekend.

22. I love to walk. When I’m in Budapest I walk five days a week for an hour and fifteen minutes.

23. Isaiah 43:1-3 are my favorite verses.

But now, this is what the LORD says—
he who created you, O Jacob,
he who formed you, O Israel:
"Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have summoned you by name; you are mine.
When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you;
and when you pass through the rivers,
they will not sweep over you.
When you walk through the fire,
you will not be burned;
the flames will not set you ablaze.
For I am the LORD, your God,
the Holy One of Israel, your Savior...

24. I am claustrophobic. I found this out as a kid when I went to my grandmother’s and I rolled myself up a rug and couldn’t get out fast enough.

25. I love to dance. In fifth grade I got in trouble for dancing in the library in my new, white go-go boots. Did I mention that I was dancing on the table?

God is spoiling me!

Well, to continue our time in Germany...I've added a couple of more pictures for Kari, Jonathan and Penni.


Isn't she beautiful?



Jesse steps in front of the power point slide

Worshipping in English!

During our time in Germany, we enjoyed most of all-worship each morning in English. Those of you who live in the States probably cannot understand how much we miss that.

Renae sends a kiss of thanks to aunt Kari and uncle Jonathan for her cute outfit

Leaving Germany and heading to Czech Republic for CEE's Ebenezer...

We left Frankfort on Wednesday, and arrived at our hotel in Prague about 2:00 pm. We spent the afternoon in the hotel room, recuperating from the past 3 weeks. Phew!

We had snow flurries off and on, and even some pretty nice snow showers. (I'm guessing, according to the weather reports, that snow showers are snow falls of an inch or more.) It snowed 2 or 3 times, an inch or two each time.

I did not bring my boots with me this trip since I didn't anticipate snow, but I had my fur-lined Crocs so they kept my feet warm and dry.

View from our hotel room

I don't know if I mentioned in the last blog update that Glenn fell sick in Germany after the second day, so I ended up doing the rest of the member care visits by myself. He was totally out of it! He was so sick that we tried to get our plane tickets from Germany to Prague (where we were headed for CEE's Ebenezer) changed so that he could fly home to see a doctor. Unfortunately, our tickets were non-refundable and non-transferable and to buy new tickets were going to be over $700 a piece, so we just decided to fly on to Prague and let him be sick there!!! Needless to say, he spent the first few days in the bed in the hotel, missing all our member care appointments and not getting to eat at all the wonderful Prague restaurants!

Can you see the bag???

I would have a breakfast member care appointment in the hotel restaurant at 7:30 am, then walk to the Prague office that is 20-25 minutes away by foot. I would have another member care appointment at lunch, and I would take the couple out to eat somewhere nearby, and then go back to the office for the rest of the afternoons' meetings. At 5 pm, I usually called Glenn to see what he felt like eating, if anything, and stopped by a small corner market to pick something up. Most of all, he needed water and yogurt (to combat the antibiotic that he was on).

I had to figure out a way to keep his food cold (milk, yogurt and applesauce) so I put them in a strong plastic bag and hung them out the window, tied to the radiator! It kept our food and drinks fresh and chilled, but not frozen! This idea came to us, thanks to our experience in Africa. (Not that we were ever able to hang things out the window to keep them cold, but the "resourcefulness" came from there!!!

Happy 38th birthday to Alvin!

Glenn missed going to Bohemia Bagel to celebrate Alvin's birthday while we were in Prague. Alvin is a twin, but decided when he was 38 that he wasn't going to celebrate any more birthdays and that he was going to remain 38 years old. Each year on Jan. 29 we actually celebrate his brother ALBERT's birthday. Happy Birthday, Albert!

Chit chatting in the hotel lobby

The Ebenezer conference ended on Sunday. Glenn was finally feeling a little better, so we hung around an extra day in Prague for him to be able to take care of some business, and arrived in Budapest on Tuesday. It is so good to be home. We spent 3 nights in our own bed in the past month. When I write things like that previous sentence, I think of my grandfather, Big Jim. He didn't like to sleep anywhere but in his own bed. Well, I'm not like that really, but I sure do enjoy my bed after being gone so long!

Our son Chris received word today that he was accepted into the Master's level program at Seton Hall in New Jersey to become a Physician's Assistant. Guess that means they will be selling their house in Tennessee and moving north sometime this summer. I am so proud of them. They both have given their lives over to the lordship of Jesus Christ and are living to please Him. I have always felt that my main job as a parent was to introduce our children to the love of Jesus Christ, and to teach them to follow after Him in total obedience. I am so very, very proud of them!

Glenn and I are excited about Kari and Jonathan's upcoming visit! They arrive this Saturday and will be with us for 10 whole days! Usually when they come, they only stay for 5 days, so this visit is an extra special one. Hopefully, we will be able to do some of those things that we always plan to do but don't, and not have to say as they are leaving, "Maybe next time when you come we can..." I think we are going to be cultural and visit one of the largest thermal spas in Budapest. Look it up on the internet: Szecheny Thermal Baths. The photos of it often show men playing chess while in the water.

Well, thanks for joining in on our journey! It has been a pretty wild ride these past few months, hasn't it?