Going Stir-Crazy!

Glenn has been gone for almost 2 weeks and I've done all my projects, caught up on emails, and cleaned the house.  I'm ready for him to be home again!  While I've enjoyed the "I" time doing what I want, eating what I want, and going to bed when I want, I'm tired of being here alone.  This last week I've tried to find things to do with friends to keep myself from becoming bored.  :-)

Judit and I spent one morning at her house doing a craft project that is very common here in Hungary.  Basically, you decoupage a small box with single-ply napkins.  I haven't decoupaged since the 70's!  

Judit reminds me of Glenn's mother.  She doesn't throw out a singe thing.  Her house is packed from top to bottom with things they might need such as 50 cardboard egg cartons, or 100 Carte d'Or ice cream containers, or a 1000 last-of-the-pack dinner napkins!

After choosing a dinner napkin that I wanted to cover my Kiri cheese box with, I painted a base coat over any colored pictures, words or designs on the box that might bleed or show through the napkin.  I then painted a thin coat of, get this, "napkin glue" on the box before gently placing the napkin over it, pushing down the napkin to get all the air holes out, and being careful not to tear the wet, thin paper in the process.

After the glue dried, I trimmed the edges of the napkin to give it a clean edge and voila!  I had a small decorated box for holding small things such as jewelry, buttons or whatever.  I made two boxes in about 2 hours.  It was fun just to be crafting something; not sure what I'll do with the boxes but it was fun to learn how to do it with Judit.

Would you believe we are back into winter weather now?  I went jogging the other day and worked out in the yard with a short sleeve tee shirt, and was comfortable as long as I was moving.  I was so excited that spring seemed to be just days away, and then we get this one last snowfall (at least I hope it is the last one for the year!)  It was a real blizzard for a couple of hours , and we got about 3 inches by time it was over.

We have Tulips and Jonquils and Crocus peeping their blooms through the snow!  Fortunately, the next day it warmed up a LITTLE and some of the snow melted.  

On Friday, Janet and I caught the bus into downtown and went to visit little Ava.    It's amazing how much she has grown just in a month.

Glenn returned on Saturday afternoon, bringing lots of goodies from America.  (We had made a list of things to pick up while he was there.)   We spent most of Saturday unpacking his bags and putting things away, so today we're just relaxing and enjoying our Sabbath rest!

We'll be here for another week before we hit the road again!  Bets, anyone, as to where we're going this time?

I love Budapest!

I love Budapest.  What's not to love?  It's a beautiful city with great places to walk and interesting things to see and do, and oh, the history here!  Not that I particularly love history, but for others, I know they love it.  :-)

Glenn is in the U.S. for one more week so I'm still on my own and keeping busy so that I won't be lonely.

Judit and I came into town on Thursday for her to do some fabric shopping.  Even though it was overcast and cool, it was nice to be able to spend some time together and walk around.

Friday evening I went with Janet to the Teto Galleria to see an art exhibition of a sister of a friend of hers.  It was a cultural experience for us, so in that respect it was fun.  It started at 5:00 pm.  We thought that meant that was when the doors opened, but it must've meant that you come early and peruse the art works, and then at 5:00 pm sharp they start the program with various people talking about the artist and her life.  Her artwork was actually very good and we enjoyed the experience!

After the art show Janet and I went to Johnny's Bistro, a new American hamburger place that opened 8 months ago.  Johnny is from California and married to a Hungarian woman, and he makes some great hamburgers!!!  My new favorite place!

Saturday, Denise finished with the language coaches meeting and spent the day and night with me before returning to Poland on Sunday morning.  Denise and I had a great time talking and walking downtown for hours on end.  It was great fun!

We walked from Gellert Hotel up Gellert Hill, down the other side, along the river to the spot across from the Parliament building for a photo op.

Then we back tracked to the Szechenyi-Chain Bridge and crossed over the Danube River to St. Stephens basilica.  We stopped for a cup of coffee, then headed up Vaci Street to stop in some of the tourist shops.

We stopped in one shop long enough to watch a young lady paint gorgeous scenes on wooden eggs.  She paints the most beautiful pictures of men and women in traditional Hungarian dress.   Then we continued on down Vaci Street to the Szabasag Bridge, crossed back over the river, and caught the tram in front of the Gellert Hotel back to our neighborhood.

Monday, when I met one of our ladies for a cup of coffee at Campona Mall, I saw they had a huge Lego display spread through-out the middle.  My favorite was the huge head of Albert Einstein, completely made of Legos!  I wish my son was able to see it.  He would have loved the 10 foot tall Darth Vader!

So, less than a week before Glenn returns.  Saturday, come quickly.

Flying solo!

Well, Glenn is in Georgia and I'm here in Budapest.  He is helping his mother pack some of her belongings and next week will move her from his brother's house in Marietta to North Augusta, S.C. where she will stay with his sister for a while.  I am "holding down the fort" until he returns.  I've got a mega list of things to do while he is gone and I am sooooo enjoying ticking them off the list.

The weather finally turned a little warmer and we got some sunshine on Sunday.  People were obviously chompin' at the bit to get out of their houses because the sidewalks and parks were crowded with couples strolling about, children playing in sandboxes, joggers on the roads, babies being pushed in their prams or strollers, and parents walking behind their children miles ahead on tricycles, bikes with training wheels and two-wheelers!  It reminded me of ants hatching out of nests in Ivory Coast and just pouring out of their holes.  People everywhere!  

If you recall, just a few weeks ago I posted a picture of children and adults sledding down the hill in the background of the picture with the jogger who is wearing shorts and a tee-shirt!

I've been doing okay by myself (you know, not hearing noises go bump in the night that keep me awake until the sun rises), but I sure could have used Glenn's help the other morning when I tried to fix a pot of coffee for a friend of mine from Poland who came to spend a night with me before attending a conference in town.  Hmmmm, I guess our new coffee machine doesn't require paper filters, does it, Glenn?  The water and coffee grounds just kept overflowing from the top of the machine, down the sides, across the counter, making a royal mess. 

Denise and I, coffee fiends that we are, decided a walk down to the coffee shop at the mall was just the thing we needed!  I haven't had the nerve to try a second pot without a filter, just in case that wasn't the problem.  But that's okay.  I have a "Favorite Customer Card" from the Coffeehouse Company and I only need two more coffees before I get a free one!

I mentioned earlier that I've been working off a list and ticking things off as I complete them.  I love people, but I am also task-oriented and a list maker, so if something comes up that takes a lot of time, I have been known to add it to my list (after the fact) and then cross it out ... just to make myself feel that sense of accomplishment!

Anyway, my list is almost two full pages long, and I've marked through 50%-60% of the items!  Maybe before Glenn gets back, I will have accomplished everything on the list and will be bored.  NOT!   No, if I finish everything on the list, I will find myself a good book, a box of bonbons, and the comfy couch and I'll have a great time reading just for pleasure!!!

I've got a lot going on this week ... so not likely to start that book.  Budapest team meeting/pot-luck dinner Wednesday evening, going fabric shopping in town with Judit on Thursday morning, English conversation class on Thursday evening, a ladies slumber party on Friday night, and Denise coming back to my house on Saturday for one more night before she returns to Poland.  All that, plus all the little things on my list!  Busy, busy, busy.

Hope your week is as good as mine will be!

On Jordan's stormy banks I stand ...

Two weeks ago we welcomed little Ava into the world with lots of pink and frills.  Glenn and I are looking forward to watching her grow up as she wraps her parents, Scott and Jo Ellen, around her little pinkies.  Particularly Scott!

She is so precious!  We got to visit her at Telki Hospital when she was 1 1/2 days old.  I'll get to see her  again on Wednesday evening.  :-)

Shortly before we left town, we received a Flat Stanley in the mail and a friend of ours also had a Flat Susie from the U.S., so we joined forces and took Stanley and Susie into town to take pictures of their adventures.

Stanley loves the Parliament building too!

We were actually in town two different days that week and stayed over until the evening and got some great photos of the Parliament building at night.  Don't you think so?

These two pictures were taken about 20 seconds apart from the other, and nothing changed except the setting on the camera.   They turned out pretty neat, didn't they?

On Feb. 17th, we flew to Amman, Jordan by way of Istanbul, Turkey for a training on debriefing someone (or a group of people) from a traumatic event.  (It's called CID:  Critical Incident Debriefing)  Originally, we were supposed to stay and visit with one of our Member Care couples who live in Amman while attending the training.  However, the couple isn't back yet from their stateside assignment.  (Something held them up for a couple of months but they should be back soon.)

All the buildings in Amman are modern-looking, built from limestone and are light colored.  Overall, they look very clean and crisp, but there are still pockets of poverty in places.  In the foreground is an unfinished building where squatters have taken over.  This, however, is a rare sight.

This was our third trip to Jordan, and I always enjoy coming here.  I have never felt "unsafe".  I know it is a male-dominated culture, so I am careful about what I wear and I don't make eye contact with men.    Culturally, I should probably walk 3 steps behind Glenn, but I walk too fast for that!

Even though Arabic is the official language, English is very prevalent there.  Almost all signs are in English and Arabic, and we met very few people who didn't speak at least some English. 

I should collect STOP signs from various countries because I find them very interesting.  I have one from Russia where the word STOP is written solely in cyrillic letters.    Here it is written in Arabic and English.  I learned that Arabic is read right to left, but numbers are written left to right.  Cool!

There are two malls, Mecca Mall and City Mall, fairly close to where we were staying so we caught a ride with someone or caught a taxi to both of them.  Very modern and clean.  We found several stores that we have in the U.S., such as GAP, Timberland and Columbia, but LOTS of familiar food places:  Popeyes, Pizza Hut, Burger King, McD's, KFC, Chili's, Applebees, Sbarro's, TGI Fridays, Subway, and Fuddruckers.  (And probably more that I am not remembering.)

I loved the long coats and long dresses in this store front, designed for every occasion.  Very different from what we would find in America, but this isn't America!  Most Jordanian women wear at least a hijab (headscarf) that covers their whole head (not a bit of hair can show), and covers their neck completely, even if they are wearing wear western clothing from the neck down.  Of course, the more devout Muslim women will wear the long dresses with long sleeves.  Got to have those shoulders and arms covered.  Since it was winter on this trip, it was no problem dressing culturally appropriately!

Before our training started, we had meetings with our boss and the 3 "Leads" in Eurasia.  (Lead Medical Consultant, Lead Education Consultant, and Lead Member Care Consultant)  Some of these meetings were over a meal, and one was at a Starbucks in the mall.  :-)

Glenn and I were staying in a neighborhood called Al Rabia and most days we enjoyed the 10 minute walk down to the "city"center of Al Rabia to get something to eat, to shop for groceries, or just to explore.  There was a Starbucks in the neighborhood so on several evenings, we strolled into town for a cup of coffee.  Do you see the black curly cues with the dots underneath on the white paper cup?  That's my name, Mary, written in Arabic!

Recognize this logo?  Did the chili pepper give it away?  

There are several Chili's in Amman, and one was in Al Rabia, so on our last day there, we ate lunch at Chili's.

As often as possible, Glenn and I chose to eat hummus and bread!  We ate at one place in Al Rabia 3 times during the week because it was sooooooo good, and our last meal there, we ordered a rotisserie chicken "to go" so that we could eat it back at our apartment.   (Notice the puffy bread?  It is light and airy;  there's nothing in the middle.  It's hollow!)

We had developed quite a relationship with the owner during our visits that he filled our "to-go" box full, and gave us an extra serving of hummus and bread while we were waiting!  Now, I have no way of knowing whether we were special to him or not, but he sure made us feel like we were!

Hummus is not exactly a diet food.  In fact, it is quite full of calories, especially when you eat as much as Glenn and I did, and the bread has calories too!  After eating hummus and pita bread at least once a day, I could feel my pants getting snug, so I loved this sign that says "Size Matters".  :-)

The apartment where we stayed is around the corner from the Amman Baptist School.  In the early1960's, a Jordanian Baptist leader had a dream of opening a Christian school of excellence for the children of Amman, but it wasn't until at least 10 years later, with the encouragement and help of American Southern Baptists, it opened its' doors and the first school bell rang on Sept. 2, 1974 to welcome the children into class.  The school serves both Christians and Muslims, kindergarten through high school.

And, across the street from Amman Baptist School is the West Amman Baptist Church.  I don't know the history of the church, and although they have a web site, there is very little information on it.  Even though Glenn and I were here in Amman on Sunday, we didn't know anything about the church to know when it started, whether it even met on Sundays, and what was appropriate to wear.  Next time we come, we'll do our research ahead of time and check it out.  So, on Sunday for worship, Glenn and I had our own quiet times with the Lord, and then together we listened to Dr. Ken Williams, pastor of West Cobb Church in Powder Springs, Georgia.  He's one of our favorites!

We returned to Budapest on Sunday night.  Well, really it was Monday morning!  The taxi came for us at 1:30 am for our 4:30 am flight to Istanbul, Turkey where we had a 2 1/2 hour lay-over.  Fortunately, the cup of coffee at the Starbucks kiosk in the Istanbul airport was an "eye opener", if you get my meaning and we were able to stay awake to catch our flight to Budapest.  We arrived at our house at 11:30 am, with no sleep, but all our bags.  We managed to stay awake all day Monday, but finally crept into the bed at 9 pm.  I understand the expression "bone tired and weary eyed"!

Glenn's taxi comes in the morning (Wednesday) at 4:30 am so that he can catch a 6:30 am flight to Atlanta.  He's going to help his mother move from his brother's house in Marietta, GA to his sister's house in North Augusta, SC but I'm staying in Budapest, holding down the fort.  

We've got our own Nemo!

We spent the early part of the week visiting one of our TCK's (third culture kids) at a local hospital who was here in Budapest for surgery.  Brooke is such a sweet girl and she did beautifully!  She was so brave.  It can be scary to be in a foreign country, to not know the language and the way they do things (particularly if they are pretty different from what you are used to), but she took it all in stride.  

It started snowing teeny tiny flakes on Saturday morning and has continued all day today, and it is now Sunday evening.  The weather report says it is supposed to continue snowing until about midnight.  I hope it keeps on snowing through tomorrow evening!

Here, it is measuring 4 inches.

Our duplex.  We're on the left side.

About 3:30 pm today, Glenn and I bundled up and took a walk through our neighborhood out to the wooded park about a mile from our house.   We happened upon a grandpa who stopped his car on his way home to throw a couple of snow balls with some kids in the neighborhood.

Each view was more beautiful than the last.

We came across these kids buckling on pairs of sled shoes.  (I'm not sure what they are really called. Never seen anything like them before.)  They are basically oval frisbees with two straps over the arches.

You bend over slightly and slide down the hill sideways, and it only takes a thin layer of snow.  It looked somewhat difficult and very unsafe to me.  All it would take would be to come across a manhole or a break in the pavement to make you go flying head first!

This guy made it about 30 feet before he lost his balance and fell.  Ouch.  It hurt me just to watch him!

We tried to find as many alleyways  that hadn't been traipsed through. 

We made it out to the woods and enjoyed walking in the quietness until I slipped big-time going down a hill.  I think I heard every bone in my neck and back crack.  I really thought I'd be in pain but nothing but a slight headache.  We'll see how I feel in the morning.    :-)

We walked until it started to get dark and then we headed home.  It was beautiful to stand on the hill side and watch the house and street lights come on in our neighborhood.  Twinkle, twinkle, little lights, oh, how beautiful from this height.