Empty Nest Eppie's Way

Defining A Classy Hotel

2012-01-30T23:02:00.002-06:00

After having stayed in many different types of hotels. I have decided that this hotel in China has got to be the classiest yet. Now what is the definition of a classy hotel. Well I have decided that the bathroom is the deciding factor.

The bathroom in this hotel is amazing. There is a TV imbedded in the mirror. You can watch TV while shaving, brushing your teeth, combing your hair, or anything you want.

As nice as the mirror is the crowing jewel in this bathroom is the toilet.

Now you ask what can make a toilet fancy. Well I will tell you. It is completely electronic. When you aproach it the lid automatically raises up.

But things didn't stop there.

This toilet has a built in cleansing system. This can be adjusted on how and where it washes. Thn when l clean, there is an air dryer. When you are one and walk away it flushes automatically and closes the lid.

Of course I must not forget one of the best parts. It has a heated seat.

This has to be a classy hotel to have such a modern bathroom. I must look into getting one of these when I retire.

Probably the funniest part was the first time I learned that the toilet if totally automated. We had just arrived and it was dinner time. After traveling for so long I decided to change clothes before going to dinner. Just when I pulled my shirt off, the toilet seat raised. I jumped and Mike laughed. It really was quite an introduction to this luxury.

STARTING A NEW ADVENTURE

2012-01-27T05:34:00.003-06:00

Mid January, we began the process of packing our things. We were moving to Beijing China. We had 4 different catagories to separate our things into. 1 - what was going in our suitcases with us to China; 2 - what was going in the air shipment to China; 3 - what was going to China in a surface shipment; and 4 - what was being left for storage in Saudi Arabia.

We only had a couple of days together to agree on the division of our stuff. Mike had to leave for a business trip to China and would only be back a couple of days before the actual move.

Here the guys are packing the truck.
Here the truck is loaded and ready to leave with our storage crates.
On January 18th we left Saudi Arabia for China. Due to time zones we arrived the afternoon of the 19th in Beijing China. This is the site from our hotel room. I had heard that Beijing was known for its smog. I got a big introduction to just how bad that smog was.
Never to fear though, because the sun does shine in China. The next day was a beautiful day and has continued to be sunny since.
We are settled in the hotel, looking for an apartment and ready to begin our new adventure.

AFRICA - Nov 13, 2010

2011-08-20T10:43:00.013-05:00

This morning we left Nairobi to go on the actual safari part of our trip. This is the jeep and driver that we had for the first few days of the trip. Because we would be traveling with 6 people in this jeep and be gone for 6 days we had to travel light. We left our main luggage in storage at the hotel and packed a duffel to take for the remainder of the trip.
One thing about Nairobi is the traffic. It was terrible. It moved very slowly, they had progressed in ownership of cars faster than the road projects could keep up. Certain times of the day and areas of the city it seemed to not be moving at all. There were no sidewalks, just dirt or mud where the people walked and set up businesses. These next two pictures give you an idea of how it was all over town.
As we left Nairobi the landscape was beautiful. there were lots of nurseries and interesting trees everywhere. There was beautiful landscaping everywhere. The central part of Kenya is all at high altitude and the weather is very pleasant. Where the soil is good the people grow everything....vegetables, coffee, tea, cacao, bananas, pineapples. There are tons of floral greenhouses ( it is the second largest exporter of flowers globally). Where the soil is not good for growing they use it for grazing animals.

From Nairobi we headed to Abedare National Park. We stopped at the country club for lunch and to leave our luggage again. We were to spend the night in a place called The Ark(which I will talk about next post). The Ark has very small rooms and we were told we could only take a backpack with the few essentials for overnight with us. So it was arranged for us to leave our bags at the country club.
The view of the valley from here was amazing, and the landscaping was beautiful.
Here we saw our first "pumba" warthogs. This mother and babies were right beside the road. Of course we saw many more later in the trip.
After lunch, we boarded our jeeps and headed to "The Ark" for a chance to see animals at night.

AFRICA - Fri. Nov. 12, 2010 Part 2

2011-08-18T06:15:00.014-05:00

After lunch we visited Kazuri. the word means "small and beautiful" in Swahili. It began as a tiny workshop experimenting in making handmade beads. It started with two African women but the founder realized that there were many other single mothers and women in the villages around Nairobi that needed work. So it grew to quite a large workforce. It is mostly a charitable organization that supplies work for these women in the villages.
All the beads are made by hand in this workshop.
Here are two of the women working on making beads. The women were all very happy and seemed to love their work.
This woman was putting the wires of hand made beads in a kiln to be fired.
Off to the side was a smaller workshop that make Potteryware. They make and hand paint dishes and vases and all sorts of pottery. These people were very friendly and welcoming of our visit.Next we went to the David Sheldrake Elephant Orphanage. This place rescues baby elephants that have been orphaned for whatever reason and raises them to return to the wild. They have keepers that stay with the elephants 24/7, that includes sleeping with them. Each day they are fed from a bottle in addition to foraging for food. We got the opportunity to feed them.

They take about a quart bottle of milk and guzzle it down in about 10 seconds. Then they want more. They are so cute, very friendly, but quite large for babies. Most of the ones we fed were about 1 year old. They try to return them to the wild as soon as they are able to take care of themselves.

Here is a picture of the bottles ready to feed the elephants when they come in.
This is one of our group feeding an elephant. They really come after the bottles.
Here I am petting one while it was being fed. They have fairly tough skin with very stiff bristly hair.
After they finish the bottles they begin to forage on the bushes around them.
They also made it possible to adopt baby elephants. When you adopt they send you updates on its progress towards release and also pictures that you can enjoy of your elephant. This helps with the cost of running this organization.

Then we returned to the hotel for the evening and to prepare for leaving on safari the next day. This was to be our last night in a regular hotel until we returned to Nairobi. Here are a couple of pictures of the hotel we stayed at and the grounds. Everything was very lush and beautiful.

This tree had a cactus intertwined with it that Mike was completely fascinated with.

AFRICA - NOV 2010

2011-08-16T03:39:00.009-05:00

Finally I am starting my Africa trip. It was an amazing trip and we enjoyed ourselves very much. I had wanted to go on Safari in Africa since I was a little girl, so I was very excited to take this trip.

We arrived in Nairobi, Kenya on November 11, 2010, check into our hotel and got a briefing as to what to expect for the rest of our trip. The next day Friday, November 12, 2010 was a free day. There was an optional tour offered of Nairobi that we decided to take. We are really glad that we did as we saw things we would not have seen on our own.

The pictures from this day are ones that Mike took. Unfortunately, or rather stupidly, I erased the entire first days pictures from my camera. We are glad that we each had a camera so that we at least had the pictures that Mike took.

The first thing on our tour of Nairobi was to the Rothchild Giraffe shelter and breeding farm. These giraffes are one of 3 types of giraffes but they are the only ones that are endangered. The Rothchild family set up this farm to try to save these beautiful animals.

When we arrived there were a number of school groups there on field trips. They were so cute and so well behaved. when they walked they held onto each other so as not to get separated. As you can see in this first picture we also took Flat Stanley along for the trip thanks to our grandson, Kenny.
There was a platform where you could feed the giraffes. They were so soft and so gentle. It was really fun to see them up close.
After we left the giraffe farm, we went to visit the Karen Blixen home. This is the author of the book "Our of Africa". She is an English lady who went to Africa with her husband to start a coffee plantation. The home was beautiful as were the grounds.
Following the home we went to a restaurant associated with the coffee plantation and had a delightful lunch.

Tomorrow I will tell about the afternoon where we feed baby elephants and visited a bead factory.

TURKEY Part 16 -- Days 7 & 8

2010-12-19T07:27:00.016-06:00

After visiting the "Fairy Towers" we went to the "Valley of the Birds". It is called this because of all the pigeons that nest there. There are nest holes all over this hilly area for the pigeons. They are actually farmed here.
The farmers have build these homes with pigeon holes on top for their nests.
The birds live in the upper part and their droppings fall below. The farmers then use a door in the bottom to harvest the droppings for fertilizer.
As you can see in this picture there are hundreds of holes for these birds to live.
Also at this stop was this little stand selling various dried fruits like figs, apricots, etc. I found it interesting that the sign said what it did and a lot of the men from our group were shopping there.This is mike looking out over the valley. The landscape was simply beautiful all over Turkey.
On the 8th day we flew back to Istanbul. We then lunched in a nice restaurant over the Spice Bazaar. This is one of the oldest bazaars in the area. It sells most spices hence the name but there are some stalls selling other things. This is a picture looking down at the bazaar from the restaurant. It was one long hallway with shops on both sides.After leaving the bazaar we walked up the streets to the Grand Bazaar. The street was packed with people shopping.That evening we went to the Galata Tower to watch the sunset. This tower is in the old part of Istanbul. We had to ride the tram to get there. It was quite a fun experience. The trams were very crowded.
Here is a view from the balcony on the tower.
The sunset was absolutely beautiful. I took hundreds of pictures here are only a couple.

The next day in the afternoon we went to the airport for the return flight to Saudi Arabia. But in the morning we went back to the Grand Bazaar. This place is simply hugh. There are hundreds of shops inside with many side streets off the main one. It wasn't as crowded in the morning. Here is one of the entrances to the Bazaar.
This is the main street as we entered.
You could spend hours and probably never see the whole thing. They seem to have just about anything you can imagine. They had leather, pottery, spices, jewelry, fabric, linens, and the list goes on and on. We did make a few purchases here to bring back.

We really enjoyed 0ur trip to Turkey. We gained a real appreciation for the country. The people are hard-working and hospitable. There is so much yet to be seen we could go back again.

TURKEY Part 15 -- Day 7

2010-12-17T07:49:00.016-06:00

After the pottery factory we went to the "churches in the rocks". These are small caves that have been carved in the hills and anciently they made them into churches. Many had beautiful frescoes painted on the walls and decorations. But with time and exposure to elements they have weathered away mostly. The beautiful carvings still remain.

As we approached the site we were to visit we was this hill full of holes that were entrances to different caves. Some were open to visitors but most were not.
Here is what the front of some of the churches might have looked like. they would carve these details into the rock faces.
Again the side of the hill with many openings.
This was looking out over the valley. This area was covered with holes in the rocks that had been used as houses, storage, shelter, or churches anciently.
Again the beautiful carving of the rock faces.
Some of the detail painting on the exterior.
It was really crowded with tourists and most of the churches were very small. One church we were supposed to visit had a long line and could only hold about 10 people at a time. Our guide decided to take us to another one called "The Dark Church". It was so named because it had been sheltered from exposure to the light and elements and the paintings inside had been well preserved. Because there was an additional cost to see this place most people did not visit it. We were not allowed to take pictures with flash as that would damage the frescoes. But here are a few pictures I managed to get with my camera and no flash.

These frescoes had been painted in the 12th century and were simply beautiful. It was well worth going to see.

TURKEY Part 14 -- Day 7

2010-12-16T11:54:00.015-06:00

After leaving the underground city we drove to a carpet factory. Here we got to watch them making the "Turkish double knot" carpets. These are all really hand made and very beautiful. These carpets are made of two basic materials. First there are cotton base with cotton knots. They also make silk knots on the cotton base and of course silk knots on silk base. The silk on silk is the most intricate as the thread is finer. They are also the softest. This picture shows how they work with the pattern on top and tie each string with the proper color knotted thread.
This is a close up of the girl tying the knot. These ladies were amazingly fast at their work. The blade in her hand is used to quickly cut the thread after tying the knot. They do that with just a quick simple flick of the wrist.
After they tie the row of knots they tamp them down with this comb type tool. This is to keep them very tightly woven.
After tamping the weave tightly they take these scissor type tools and trim the threads. It was amazing to watch these ladies work. The detail was so fine. We learned that the men learn to make pottery and the women weave. These two skills make for good husbands and wives.
After watching the ladies for a bit we were taken to another room where we saw how they get the silk for the carpets. This is where they take the cocoons spun by the worms and wash them.

Then to unwind the cocoons they use a brush and just tamp up and down in the water where the cocoons are to get them to start unraveling.
From there they unwind the cocoons and then spin them into threads and put into the dyes. Following this we were treated to a private showing of some of the carpets and taught a bit about what to look for when buying carpets. We ended up buying a carpet for a wall hanging that is silk on silk.

After leaving there we drove back to the pottery factory to finish our tour. We were taking to a back room where we saw them making the white or more porcelain type pots and plates. Here is a guy making one of the dishes.
They then hand paint the designs on these pots.
After the design is hand drawn they then color them in with these fine brushes.
This is a finished play showing the Tree of Life that was a very popular design.
Here is another platter of course all hand painted.
This is a wine carafe that was used anciently. It is placed over the shoulder then you can pour easily. I wanted to get one but at this place they were very expensive. We never did find one that I was happy with anywhere else. Guess I will have to save that for another trip.

TURKEY Part 13 -- Day 7

2010-12-16T00:09:00.015-06:00

This morning we woke to cool, crisp mountain air. We went for a walk outside, it reminded us very much of a Utah morning; except for the minarets and apartment buildings instead of houses and LDS steeples.

We drove to Kaymakli Underground City. This began as storage caves under the villages. But later became underground city hideouts during the early Christian persecution times.
The hills were covered with caves that had been used for one reason or another.
The underground city we visited was one of the largest. It consisted of 8 levels down. We only went down 4 levels, as that is all they have set for tourist to visit. The rooms weren't very large.
Surprisingly it wasn't as cool as I expected with being underground. These chambers were used for individual families. They also had rooms for livestock and storage of food goods.
Many of the passages were low and narrow. There were even a couple that we had to stoop down in a crouch to get through.
This was just another chamber, most like sleeping area. The niches on the wall may have been beds.
This large round stone was used as a door. It could be rolled in place to cover the entrances when they feared invasion.
This chamber was a community area. I am not sure what it was used for.

This is one of the sets of stairs we had to traverse in the caves. They were very narrow and steep. Also small steps.Another example of the small rooms and passages between them.

TURKEY Part 12 -- Day 6

2010-12-15T23:17:00.011-06:00

After lunch we went to a pottery factory. We had a demonstration by the Master of how they make the pots. Here he is starting with the mound of clay.
This is the finished product. It was amazing to watch him work.
After he finished his pot they gave one of us the opportunity to try making a pot. Mike volunteered and got to work.
He did have help from one of the workers a bit.

Here he is painting some striped on the pot.
And this is the final product. We didn't get to keep the pot, although that would have been really cool.
As time was short we had to leave after this part. We returned the next day to finish the tour. We had to leave because we had tickets to see a performance of the Whirling Dervishes. Here is a picture of the place where they performed. We were not allowed to take pictures during the performance. It was a very interesting evening. This event was held inside a caravanseri.
After this we went to dinner then to the hotel to rest for the next full day of activity.

TURKEY Part 11 -- Day 6

2010-12-13T13:18:00.010-06:00

For lunch we went to a Caravanseri in the side of the hill that had been turned into a restaurant. This was some of the best food we had the entire trip. Here is the entrance.
This is the main room with the tables set in the side chambers.
Here are the side niches with the tables.
After lunch we went to see the "Fairy Towers". These are cliffs that have weathers into very interesting formations. They weather this way because of the different layers of stone they are made of. Here are some of the first we saw.
This one looked a lot like a camel.
This one reminded me very much of the Sound of Music scene. It is called Kissing Rock.
Here we are in front of some of the towers.
This is one formation we saw that had houses built into the sides. People would occupy the holes in these towers as their homes or sometimes even churches.

TURKEY Part 10 - Day 5 & 6

2010-12-12T07:53:00.016-06:00

The next morning we left Pammukkale headed toward Cappadocia. This country had more grazing than crops, although there was still wheat, hay, sugar beats and such. Our first stop of the morning was this spot where we could get a wide view of the calcium cliffs. This panaromic is only about 2/3 of the distance.From there we visited a Mosque and training grounds of the Whirling Dervishes Islamic sect. It is a type of Pentecostal sect in Islam. Through this dancing, music and whirling they seek to get closer to God in a trance-like state. Were were not allowed to take pictures inside the mosque.
On the way to Cappadocia we stopped at a small caravanserai that had a water hole behind it. There were these gypsy children playing around the building. This one little girls was jumping rope and using a length of water hose for her rope.
We left there and went to see a much larger Caravanserai. This was an inn for the camel caravans that traveled on the silk road. These were spaced about one days journey on the road which was the distance that could be covered on foot in 8-10 hours. That would be 30 to 40 kilometers apart.

Most typically a caravanserai was square or rectangular in shape with a walled exterior. They would have a single opening to enter that was wide enough for large laden beasts like camels to enter.
The courtyard was almost always open to the sky.
The inside walls of the courtyard would have enclosures like identical stalls, bays or niches to accomodate the merchants, their servants, animals and merchandise. This structure had these open spaces down one side. They were usually used by the more common merchants.
On the other side of the courtyard were enclosed chambers that the more wealthy could rent space in. These were usually very small chambers, sometimes they would have two rooms.
The room would only have a narrow slit at the top of the arched wall for light. These were wider on the inside of the room then on the outside wall.
The larger caravanserais would have the an enclosed section to the back that was the winter accommodations.
These were be filled with just the open arched spaces or stalls.
On some of the columns there were these holes in the corners. They were to tether your animals to while there.
The winter area would sometimes have public rooms for eating and cooking for when they were in use.

TURKEY Part 9 - Day 4

2010-12-10T07:40:00.011-06:00

On the cliff above the calcium deposits the Hellenists and Greeks and then the Romans built a city. After walking on the calcium terraces we took a beautiful stroll through the Roman ruins of Hieropolis. the sun was low on the horizon and the air crisp and cool. It was a very beautiful setting. There were no other people around but our group so we could take our time. There was a beautiful feeling about the place. Mike took the camera and took a ton of pictures in the beautiful lighting. Here are just a very few for you to enjoy.

That night we stayed at a hotel build over some hot springs. We took a dip in the actual thermal pools. They were brown in color due to the minerals in the water, but very warm. After we went to the swimming pool size hot tub. While everyone else swam in the hot tub, I went for a massage. It was a very relaxing evening and we slept great that night.

TURKEY Part 8 - Day 4

2010-12-09T13:02:00.017-06:00

The fourth day we boarded the bus and drove through the mountains inland. There were mountains on both side with orchards and crops everywhere. Mid morning we stopped at a leather factory. We were treated to a private fashion show of some of their products. Following the show we were taken to the store. The coats were simply beautiful. The leather was the softest I have ever seen and also very thin. They pride themselves on the quality of their ultra-thin lambskin leather. The prices really reflected that pride. When we showed any interest they were very persistent on trying to sell you a coat. The salesman ever got down to $1200 for two coats, one for each of us. But we resisted. We really don't have anywhere to wear them for the next few years.After leaving the factory we drove to this simply beautiful restaurant for lunch. We ate outdoors and the setting was amazing. Here are a few pictures of where we were.

Here is the path leading into the where the tables were situated.

There were even ducks in the stream. It was a cool, peaceful setting.
After lunch we drove to Pamukale and ancient Hieropolis. There are natural hot water springs that have left cascading terraces of white calcium deposits on the hill side. The cliff above the deposits were beautifully landscaped.
Here is a view from the top looking out over the valley. You can see the different terraces that have formed on the sides.
This is looking from one side across to the other. These cliffs are about a mile across and drop several hundred feed down the mountainside.
At one place you are even allowed to walk out on the deposits. But you have to remove your shoes.
Another view across the deposits.
Here are some of the terraces and the calcium dripping down.
The place was simple beautiful. In some places each terrace had standing water in it. When it evaporates it leave the beautiful white deposits.
We walked around to the far side of the cliffs. The view was simply beautiful.

Next I will post the ruins built on the top of the plateau above the cliffs.

TURKEY Part 7 - Day 3

2010-12-08T09:17:00.012-06:00

After Ephesus, we went to lunch at another very nice restaurant.
Following lunch we went to see the remains of the Temple of Artemis. There really wasn't much to see, just this column and the field.
Then we went up the mountain to see the house where John supposedly brought Mary to live out her last days. It is a very small place that is now a Catholic Shrine. No pictures were allowed inside. But here is the entrance.
This is the wall below the house. People leave notes and messages there believing they will be answered and blessed.
We continued our drive through the countryside. We got to look out over Ephesus and Selchuk and the Aegean.
Our hotel room had a beautiful view of the sea from the balcony. Here is a panoramic shot I took of the view.The view made for a very beautiful sunset . . .
And sunrise the next morning.

TURKEY Part 5 - Day 3

2010-12-06T02:12:00.014-06:00

On day three we flew from Istanbul to Izmir. From there we boarded the bus and drove to Selcuk, the latest town evolved from Ephesus. Mike enjoyed the countryside and following along on the map. The country here looked much like Utah, scrub oak on the mountain up to the higher elevations where the pines took over. The valleys are very fertile and full of crops. Corn, wheat, vegetables grew everywhere. There were also tons of orchards of peaches, apples, lemons, oranges, figs, pomegranates and olives. Turkey prides itself on being self-sufficient and it is also very beautiful.Ephesus was once a thriving city of 250,000 during Roman times. Most of the ruins are from Roman times. Upon entering the city the first place we saw was the small amphitheater.
Here is the street along the front of the ampitheater. To reach the seating there were these narrow walkways. These people must have been fairly short as the ceiling was quite low.
This is a view from the top seats looking out across the area.
Here is another part of the city. There were columns everywhere.
I found this interesting. It is a carving of the Goddess Nike.
Here is the Trajan fountain.
This is sidewalk along the street leading to the library. It was covered in mosaic tiles.
Remainder of Ephesus to come later.

TURKEY Part 6 - Day 3

2010-12-06T01:40:00.022-06:00

Ephesus is situated between two hills which were once at the end of a bay of the Aegean sea. The city dies out when the harbor silted in. Now the city is about a mile from the coast.
Down the street from the small Amphitheater is the library. It was a most impressive site. There had been some restoration done here.
Mainly the front is all that is left.
The arch way on the right of this picture lead to a market place beside the library.
This is the entrance to the market area.
Here are some closer shot of intricate stone and marble work that was done.
The main amphitheater was huge and still somewhat intact. It would seat about 30,000 people. This picture is from the stage looking up at the seating.
This is the walkway to enter the theater, again narrow and low.
This is looking down from the upper seats.This is looking out at the street leading up to the amphitheater.
This is looking back at the amphitheater from the street. You can get a sense of how hugh it really was.

TURKEY Part 4 -- Day 2

2010-12-05T04:29:00.015-06:00

After visiting the Blue Mosque and Santa Sofia we went to an underground cistern. This place was hugh. This picture shows the entrance going down. the next is a picture along one of the rows of columns supporting the ceiling.
For lunch we went to a restaurant overlooking the Blue Mosque, Santa Sofis and Topkapi Palace, which we were to see that afternoon.

The Blue MosqueSanta SofiaThis is a panoramic view from the restaurant.

Also from the restaurant we could see the Black Sea entrance to the Bosphorus. We learned that the Bosphorus is a one-way channel for the large ocean going ships. That the entrance will be filled with ships waiting for the time that they can travel up the Strait.
After lunch we visited the Topkapi Palace, the seat of power of the Ottoman Sultans/Caliphs. Here is the entrance to the outer courtyards.

The palace.

These next two are scenes of the grounds, they were really beautiful.
We saw council ministers rooms and multiple treasure of the empire. We learned about how the court worked. It has all been well preserved. Unfortantely we were not allowed to take pictures of the treasures or inside the rooms. On the drive to the hotel we saw this ancient aquaduct.
That night went out on our own with friends Martha and George Grover, and Kurt and Fran Robertson. We had dinner at an outdoor cafe up the street from the hotel. We had such a great time that we returned there for dinner on our last night in Istanbul before we left for home.

TURKEY Part 3 -- Day 2

2010-12-04T05:18:00.019-06:00

The second day we spent seeing the sites of Istanbul. We started at the Blue Mosque, famous for its architecture and "tiled ceiling" with blue hue.
As this was a practicing Mosque, we were required to remove our shoes to enter. This is the entrance to the Mosque. It really is that low.
Here are stained glass windows inside. They were simply beautiful.
This is one of the ceiling domes. the work was intricate and beautiful.
Then we went to Hagia Sofia (aka Santa Sofia). This was originally built as a church, then became a mosque, now it is a museum. The interior has n interesting combination of Christianity and Islam. One interesting fact is that instead of taking the hundreds of year that European cathedrals do it was built in only 5 years.
The Christians originally decorated it with tiles mosaics. This was at the entrance.
After becoming a Mosque the tiled frescoes were covered over which actually preserved them until the building became a museum and they were once again uncovered. You can see the difference in the next two pictures. They are of angels that were at the four corners of the dome ceiling. In the top of the dome ceiling you can see the beautiful calligraphy work.
This is a tiled fresco done in the 12th century of Mary, Jesus and John the Baptist. The three pictures following are close ups of the faces.
This next fresco is the Madonna and Child, also of the 12th century.
In this picture you can get a idea of the intricate work done to create these works of art.

TURKEY Part 2 -- Day 1

2010-12-01T05:33:00.017-06:00

After our boat cruise and lunch we returned to the hotel to check in and have a short nap. In the late afternoon we went to the Galata bridge which crosses the Golden Horn. As this was the Eid holiday the place was very crowded. This is a view from the bridge looking back at the square.This next picture is the underground walkway of the bridge. This was lined on each side with vendors selling all kinds of things and it was extremely crowded. We returned later in the week and there was almost no one there.
The bridge was lined with fisherman, some with more than one pole in the water. We never saw anyone catch anything here, but it was fun to watch.
The lower level of the bridge was lined with restaurants and again on this day was packed with people.
At one of the restaurants we passed people were picking out their main dish right from a cart.
Up on the square people were walking round eating all kinds of street food. There were even boats that were cooking and serving right along the shore.
We never did figure what this was but we say a lot of them. It seems to be something you drink. We opted not to try any though.
There were vendors selling roasted corn. Mike tried that and it wasn't very good.
We also saw carts selling chestnuts, pretzel like bread and even these mussels.
Here is a view of the city from the bridge.
The place was so packed with people and there was trash everywhere. We thought it was a very dirty place at first. Then we went to this restaurant for dinner. When we came out, the people were mostly gone and the street cleaners had swept up all the trash and even washed the square and the street. It was truly amazing.
Istanbul was not the dirty middle eastern city we expected, but a very modern European style city. There was beautiful landscaping and trees everywhere. Although it is 99% Muslim the government is secular and freedom of religion is guaranteed. There is a strong military, the laws are enforced, and the people are very nice and hospitable.

TURKEY Part 1 -- Day 1

2010-11-29T07:38:00.018-06:00

On arrival we went for a cruise up the Bosphorus Strait. This is a stretch of water that connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Black Sea. We left from a place called the Golden Horn. This is a body of water that separates the old and new parts of Istanbul.Along the way we saw many beautiful homes in the hills. Also many mansions worth millions. And also the summer palaces of the Ottoman's Sultans and their families.
There are two extension bridges that span between Europe and Asia. The are tall enough that even large ocean going ships can pass under them. We stopped for lunch in a fishing village just a few miles from the Black Sea. We could see it from the restaurant.

Last Day of Cruise

2010-11-24T14:00:00.011-06:00

The last port of call for the cruise was Palma de Mallorca. This day we went to the beach and just relaxed. It was a much nicer beach and much less crowded.
The next day we disembarked in Barcelona. We stayed there all that day and enjoyed the city. Barcelona is a beautiful city and we had a great time. They had beautiful streets,
and very interesting architecture.
One place we visited was a church the La Sagrada Familia. This cathedral was started in 1883 and still is in ongoing construction. It had not been finished yet. There is so much to see. Each side is different looks. It is really a unique building with many very interesting features. This I believe is the front entrance.
This is some of the very interesting work on one face of the building.
Here is a closer view of the above work.
On one side there was lots of different carvings of animals. Here are a couple.

Pompeii

2010-11-22T11:26:00.020-06:00

The fourth day of our cruise we visited Pompeii and Sorento. We decided to join a shore excursion, so we chose one that visited the ruins and also went to a beach.
Pompeii was very interesting. We were really surprised at how large it was. Even though it seemed that a lot of the city was uncovered there were was still the majority left to be explored. Here are a few pictures of the city. This first couple are as were were approaching the entrance.
This one is the amphitheater.

These next three show the street construction and also the ruts from the wagons.

Most all of the houses had mosaics painted on the walls at one time. Here is an example of a couple that have survived.
This next picture is the bedroom in a brothel. Over the doorways were paintings of different activities that could be requested. When a man entered he only had to point to a painting as to what he wanted. Then they entered these small rooms.
Here is a picture of Mt. Vesuvius in the background.
This next picture shows how the walls were constructed. They used bricks for the main construction, then they covered them with a layer of plaster and finally marble or some polished stone. They must have been very beautiful in their day.
Here are pictures of a couple of the cast from where people died in the eruption.
After leaving Pompeii we went to the beach. This place was beautiful but very, very, very, very, very, (oh well, you get the idea) crowded. We were given seats under umbrellas and sat down to people watch and relax. Dad even went for a swim in the Mediterranean.

Saint Peters Square

2010-10-25T12:17:00.020-05:00

Day Four: Our port of call was Civitavecchia, Italy. This is the port of call for Rome. We chose to visit St. Peters Square and the Vatican Museum/Sistine Chapel. Here are some of the pictures from this day.

This is St. Peters Cathedral from the central court outside.Here is a close up of some of the statues on top of the cathedral.
This is on the steps of the cathedral looking across the square.
Next we visited the Vatican Museum. These next two pictures are of the trompe l'oeil painting on the ceiling of one hallway. These paintings are actually flat, but the style causes them to appear raised. Very Beautiful.
After many more hallways and rooms in the Museum we finally got to the Sistine Chapel which is the end of the tour. Pictures and words do not begin to do justice to the beauty of the place. the paintings are amazing. Here are a few pictures I was able to get. Many people were told not to take pictures, but because I did not have the flash on I was able to steal a few pics. Here is an overall of the ceiling.
This is one end wall.
A close up of part of the ceiling.
Finally probably the most famous fresco, the creation of Adam.
After leaving the Sistine Chapel, we then entered St. Peters Cathedral. This is a picture of the Pieta sculpture by Michealangelo.
This is the ceiling of one of the domes.
Here is looking toward one of the altars. The next picture is a close up of the stained glass window seen in behind the altar in the middle of the picture.
Finally theseare a couple of pictures of the sunset from on deck on the third day. One is a sailboat in the distance, and the other is one of the cruise ships leaving at the same time we did.

It was another great day that we enjoyed very much.

IT LEANS! ! !

2010-09-29T06:03:00.011-05:00

Our port on the second day was Livorno, Italy. This is the port closest to Florence and Pisa. Since we had seen most there is to do in Florence when we went in 2002, we decided to go to Pisa. We again chose to go on our own instead of taking an organized tour. I have always wanted to see the tower anyway. This picture is the view as we were walking up the street towards the tower. It really is amazing how much it does lean.
Here I am in the traditional picture trying to push the tower back up.
Mike on the other hand chose to push the tower over.
As we walked around to the other side of the tower we couldn't resist this picture of all the people taking pictures holding the tower up. It really was quite amusing.
This is the baptistry (sp). This building was very beautifully decorated on the outside. the inside was quite simple but the accoustics were amazing. While we were inside they has a sound demo, which is done every hour. This man walked into the center of the main floor and sang a note. It hung in the air for the longest time I have ever heard. He then preceded to sing each note of the cord, which stayed and sounded like a full cord being played. It was really beautiful.
This is a view of the cathedral from the window of the basptistry. You can see the leaning tower on the right hand side behind the building.

Here is the detail work on the door of the cathedral. It was raised iron work, very detailed. Very beautiful and amazing to see.
Here is the final view of the tower as we were leaving.
It was really an enjoyable place to see and visit. I even found a mosaic on the tower that I might turn into a quilt pattern.

Cruise Day 1 - Monte Carlo, Monaco

2010-09-27T13:31:00.022-05:00

In August we took a week long cruise of the Western Mediterranean. These next few days I will be posting some of the pictures from that trip.

First port of call, Monte Carlo, Monaco. It is a beautiful city, built on a hill. We decided to explore on our own instead of taking a guided tour. We had a great time. This first picture is across the port as we were leaving the ship.
We had to stop and get a picture of Mike in front of the Yacht Club. The old structures in the background are where we ended up heading next.
Of course before we got too far Mike had to study the map to see where we wanted to go. Because the map wasn't that great or clear we walked farther than we intended, but enjoyed seeing the sights.
We climbed the hill on a very long ramp to see the Prince's Palace. This picture is a panaromic view of the harbor from part way up the path.
Here is another view of the harbor. The day was simply beautiful, clear. Just perfect to enjoy the city.
When we got to the Palace at the top this was the guard walking infront of the entrance.
After leaving the entrance area we came upon this beautiful church. We sat in the shade for a drink and to enjoy the view.
While at the top, Mike had to try to get one of the cannon balls. There were cannons and these stacks of balls along the wall.
The is the path going back down. As you can see it was fairly steep.
And finally, this is sunset as we were leaving port that night. If you look closely you can see another cruise ship on the horizon.

DARE TO DREAM

2010-08-25T10:10:00.003-05:00

HurFFF 2011

The Beach

2010-07-10T00:06:00.007-05:00

For our July 4th weekend we went to the beach. The beach is Half Moon Bay Yacht Club beach. We purchased a sail boat and have rights to use the yachting beach. It is quite nice and not nearly as crowded as the regular Aramco beach. That Thursday is was about 118+ and there was a very strong very very very very hot wind. We took a couple of guy here whose wives won't get here for a couple of months. We had a great time. The guys got out Mike's boat and each tried sailing a bit. I sat on the beach reading. But it began to get much to hot for me. I ended up starting to get sick. Even though I was drinking a lot, it was still very dry and hot and I couldn't get cooled down. We learned that the middle of the afternoon is not the time to go to the beach. At least not in the middle of the summer.

Since I forgot to take my camera here are some pictures from the first time we went with friends. This picture is of us ready to go.

This next one is Mike trying out one of the club boats. It was a chance for him to see if he was interested in getting a boat of his own and joining the club. He did pretty good mostly.
Until he got turned over. Then he had trouble getting the boat turned back over. The patrol boat had to come help him get it turned back up then he did great.

I had to include this picture. All public beaches have rules that are posted. Well I couldn't help but take a picture of this one rule. Please note rule #8. It is classic.

Daily Hong Kong

2010-06-22T02:23:00.006-05:00

The hotel we stayed at was attached to the convention center complex in downtown Hong Kong. All the buildings are connected by skybridges. We found a McDonald's where we ate breakfast most days there as it was wayyyyyy cheaper than the hotel. I also went there for dinner one day while Mike was on mainland China. On my way I came upon this group of protestors. It was very organized and peaceful. They had a leader that would shout the chant then the rest of the group would repeat it. They did it a few times in English then in Cantonese. I couldn't resist getting a picture, of course I wasn't the only one stopping for the photo op.
Since I was on my own I could really enjoy the shopping there. One day I went to a place called the Ladies Market. It was one very long street with stalls on either side. I discovered that most of the Asian faces that I was seeing there were from mainland China. They come over to shop in Hong Kong because there are more goods, better selection and better prices. I picked up a couple of small items there that day. Mostly just wandered around and enjoyed the atmosphere.
The day before we left I went to what was most likely my favorite place to shop. It is called the Jade Market. There are two buildings that are warehouse style places. They were filled with row upon row of these stalls selling all kinds of Jade. Most of the money Mike gave me to spend was spent here. We had agreed that we would not use the credit card unless it was a very upscale and reputable place. Therefore Mike had gotten some cash and gave most to me to enjoy myself. Well in the Jade market I did.
The final morning I went to a place called Hong Kong Arts & Crafts. It is a large building that had loads of crafts made by locals. This was a very expensive place. I very much enjoyed walking around and seeing everything. I did have to give in to the urge and purchase two pieces of fabric that I hope to someday have made into a traditional Chinese dress and jacket.

That was mostly what my trip to Hong Kong was like. Mike thinks he may be going back more often. If he does I may just have to tag along a time or two to see what else I can find worth seeing there.

We're Having A Heat Wave . . .

2010-06-20T09:32:00.003-05:00

Temperature today up to 120F. Sunny skies, no clouds, thank goodness for A/C.

Hong Kong

2010-06-19T02:43:00.009-05:00

Early this month, shortly after I returned from the states, Michael had a business trip to Hong Kong. We decided that I would go along to see the country. It was a great trip. The first night there Mike and I saw a little of the city together, then he worked the rest of the week and I took in the sights alone. It was great fun and I would love going again.

Here are a few pictures of the trip. This first one is the view from our hotel window. It was rated a 5 star hotel and very nice. Probably a little over classed for this southern girl, but still a great time.That first night we decided to visit the highest peak in Hong Kong. It is called Victoria Peak. You get to the top by a tram or funicular. Here is a picture of the tracks before we started up. It was very steep and only leveled out at the stops along the way.
These next two pictures are views from the top of the peak. It was really beautiful. We had a great view of the harbor. While on the top we ate at a little noodle shop. The food was very good. They only give you chop sticks to eat with, so we had fun learning how to use them. After dinner we went to a gelato shop. They had some of the most unusual flavors of ice cream. One was Strawberry and Basil. We each had a double scoop of gelato to enjoy.
These last two pictures are from Hong Kong Park. Directly across the street from the tram station was this park. It was simple beautiful. They had an aviary but it was closed when we went. There were ponds, an amphitheater, it was just really beautiful and pleasant to walk around. It was a great start to our 4 days in Hong Kong.

Hey, world.

2010-05-20T15:54:00.002-05:00

Yes I am still alive. Sorry I haven't blogged for a while. I have been very busy. I spent March getting ready for a looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong trip to the states. And then I have spend April and May visiting grandkids. Also I have been visiting their parents. I have also been very busy here playing with my friends. The main reason for my visit is a new granddaughter. I will post great pictures when I get home again.

Quilt, Quilts, Quilts

2010-02-28T00:23:00.013-06:00

This month the Quilt Guild on camp held a quilt show for its members and for the surrounding area guilds. I have been very busy the last couple of weeks getting the three above quilts ready for the show.

It was really fun. I have now finished three quilts for my grandchildren. Here are pictures of the quilts that I entered into the show. They were all entered in the category of Traditional Quilts, Large.

This one I have already posted about. I have decided to name this one Kingdom Star. The pattern is the Morning Star block.
Here is the second quilt that I entered. The pattern is Paperless Pineapple. It is a class that I took at the quilt guild. I don't have a name for it yet. Happy to entertain any suggestions.

Here is the third quilt I entered. The patter is Stack and Whack. It was a lot of work, but a lot of fun to make. I am naming this one "Autumn Pinwheels". The lighting here doesn't show the colors very well. It really is a beautiful quit.

The best part about this quilt is I WON THE 2ND PLACE RIBBON in my category for this quilt. I was very surprised and happy. Yea, Me. I really didn't expect to get a ribbon.

A Day That Will Live In Infamy

2010-02-04T05:54:00.004-06:00

Today is a day to celebrate. I have accomplished something that others thought would never be done. Yes folks, I am a master, I am the greatest, I can work wonders. What is this great deed you ask.

Well, today I put the final stitches into my first quilt. That's right. No more comments about not finishing anything. I finished my first quilt and already have the second at the quilters after which I will sew on the binding. I also have a third quilt just one seam away from being ready for the quilter.

Guess What? Ashlyn you can be happy, because now I will finish you wedding quilt. You have had to wait far too long. It will be done and to you by our anniversary.

Oh, well enjoy this picture of my quilt. I think it is beautiful and am very proud.

The Stance

2010-01-14T02:14:00.005-06:00

She almost has the proper technique, but somehow it just doesn't match the male version. There's something missing....or maybe something extra...I don't know.

But at any rate, check out this admiration of a job well done. It is a beautiful QUILT TOP, made by the master quilt top maker! Notice I did not say quilt. That requires......I'm not sure what that requires, because I haven't seen one for years. This will make some drawer or box very happy to have such a beautiful quilt top in it. Enjoy!

This is my first blog. What do you think? Mike (Dad/Papa)

2009-12-29T06:46:00.008-06:00

After Thanksgiving Chiara planned a really fun activity to do. We made caramel apples. The adults dipped the apples and then the kids got to decorate them however they wanted. It was great fun, our only regret is that Papa and I forgot to eat our apples and we really wanted to do that. Since I was helping the kids, someone else was taking pictures with my camera. Here is what I ended us with.

This is Chiara making the caramel with Marissa helping.
This is Marissa and I seeing how things work.
Here is Kenny with his apple.
This is Landan, sorry about the missing head, great apple though.
This is me helping Nathan with his apple.
Way to go Chiara, maybe next year we can make gingerbread houses as an activity.

Catch Up 1 -- Thanksgiving Trip

2009-12-28T03:24:00.017-06:00

We arrived in Houston after a 31 hour trip, this included an 8 hour layover in Frankfurt, very tired but excited to see the kids. Ken picked us up at the airport and we headed back to the Yeates home. James still remembered his Eppie. I was really thrilled about that.

He also loved to play with his Papa.

We relaxed for a bit and visited before heading to Jon & Cassie's for a short visit.

There we had a great time with Hailey. She loves books and conned (haha) Papa into reading to her. He love that.

Thanksgiving Day we had a wonderful time with the kids and grandkids. This picture is the best I could get of most of the grandkids on the sofa. Marissa brought hats for the boys to wear. They were really cute. It was so much fun watching them enjoy themselves and each other.

Hailey and Norah were so cute together reading a book.

We gave the kids our Christmas presents while we were there. This is the only picture that I got of them opening their gifts. Mostly they received Arabic stuff from us.

Golden Christmas

2009-12-26T02:36:00.011-06:00

Mike surprised me this Christmas with jewelry. I totally love it, he is the best. Thanks Honey, I love you.

Here is a picture of the set he bought. A necklace, earrings, and ring.
This is a close up of the necklace.
This is a picture of me showing the necklace.

Christmas Surprise

2009-12-21T11:02:00.004-06:00

Tonight the doorbell rang and this is what we saw. Our door step full of carolers. Michael surprised me by arranging for them to come by. It was great fun. Here is a short video of part of Silent Night.

Merry Christmas to All!!!

Christmas In Saudi Arabia

2009-12-20T03:39:00.007-06:00

We have a Christmas Tree in our home. We didn't brings any decorations with us so didn't expect to have anything up for the holidays. But a friend was leaving for the whole month and said that we could use her tree. So we started with a tree that had lights on it.

I remembered that I had some silver ribbon and tied bows and some of the branches, also I had been given one ornament by a friends so that was put on top. And this is what we had.
Then another friend said she had a very small tree and more balls than she needed. She loaned them to me and I took some more ribbon to hang them with and this is what we have now.
I also had some Christmas fabric that I put down for the skirt and there you have our decorations for the holidays in Saudi Arabia.

JET LAG

2009-12-12T09:23:00.004-06:00

We are back in Saudi Arabia now after a wonderful 2 week vacation to see our kids and grandkids. I have lots to post and tell about. Right now I am still trying to get over the jet lag thing.

I used to think it was just an excuse people used. Not true, IT IS REAL!!! We found that flying from here to the US is easy, no problems. But it is a whole different story flying from the US to here. Hopefully I am back to normal by tomorrow, then I can begin to update my pictures and post what is happening.

No Sun

2009-11-19T06:59:00.002-06:00

This morning when I opened the curtains I noticed it looked different. This was why. There were clouds in the sky. In fact it was an overcast day completely. This may seem a strange thing to take a picture of, but when you live in the land of eternal sunshine it was quite an event.

Hard At Work

2009-11-03T03:28:00.002-06:00

The house across the street has had these guys over for the last few days painting, I 'm not sure what. Mostly I see them mixing paint and sitting in the shade talking. Today at lunch this is what I saw.

Desert Nights

2009-11-03T03:22:00.004-06:00

The nights have gotten cooler here lately. So what do you do when you don't have a blanket to add to your bed. No problem. Just use a curtain. Works great.

Life of an Aramcon Wife

2009-10-22T03:07:00.007-05:00

I have been asked if I like it here and what I do all day. A friend here said that a man once told her that if he believed in reincarnation he wanted to come back as an Aramcon Wife. Well here is a sample of what I did this past week, maybe that is why.

Saturday-cleaned house; took nap; sewed; took nap; chorus practice for singing the Messiah

Sunday-Khobar shopping with friends; took nap; Arabic class with Mike

Monday-cleaned house; sewed on quiet books; Quilt Guild Meeting; took nap

Tuesday-sewed Block of the Month for Quilt Guild; went to lunch with friends; took nap; cut out drapes for living room; Arabic class with Mike

Wednesday-went to private (garage/yard) sale with friend; sewed; read; took nap; line dancing with Mike

As you can see I manage to stay busy. The best part is I do what I want when I want. Oh, I did manage to cook dinner a couple of times and clean house a bit and do some laundry. You know the mundane housewife chores.

You tell me what there is not to love about living here.

The above picture is a workshop I took at Quilt Guild. I am really proud of them.

Muffins?

2009-10-22T00:41:00.004-05:00

I decided to have blueberry muffins for breakfast today. This is what happens when you don't have a muffin pan to use. They taste just a great though.

Weekend Warrior

2009-10-22T00:28:00.006-05:00

This has become Mike's latest hobby. He spent last Thursday (our Saturday) buying plants and planting this cactus garden. Of course his "hobby" is still the yard even though we have a gardener to take care of it on a regular basis for us. For Mike the best part is the planning and planting anyway.

Today he is off to see the row of nurseries along the road north toward Ras Tunura (a sister compound). I elected to stay home so he had "more room for plants".

Home on the Sea

2009-10-19T09:54:00.002-05:00

This ship the "Saudi Diriyah" is the cargo vessel carrying our shipment here. Yesterday we discovered the name of the ship and I have been doing some tracking. On Oct 7, 2009 the ship was in the port of Said, Egypt. It is due to dock in Dammam, Saudi Arabia on about 24 Oct. Customs can take up to two weeks.

So we should get out things in about 3 weeks from now. Yea!!!!!!!!!!!

Baking Cookies

2009-10-14T04:41:00.005-05:00

Tonight Mike and I are going to play Rook with some friends. I thought I would take some cookies along as a snack. This first picture is of the Baking Soda and Vanilla that I use here. Yes the vanilla is powder.

Here is a picture of my "cookie sheet". Yes it is the bottom of my cake pan. This is another example of invention.
The cookies taste great, wish I could share them with you. They are Chiara's recipe.

NECESSITY; THE MOTHER OF INVENTION

2009-10-14T03:12:00.003-05:00

Our first couple of weeks here I was reminded how inventive and creative we can be when required. Aramco furnishes the house and kitchen with the basic things you need until your shipment comes. That usually takes about 3 months.

So in my kitchen we were given 1 sm sauce pan with lid, 1 medium sauce pan with lid, 1 large skillet and large stock pot with shared lid. Also we were given the basic set of untility items, spatula, large spoon, large slotted spoon, ladle, meat for, and potato masher. And then there is the basic dishes, 8 each of teaspoons and forks, 4 each of table spoons and butter knives. Then they include a set of 5 knives of various sizes from paring to carving and bread size. Lastly there is a 4 place setting of dinner plates, salad plates, cup/saucers, and bowls; and then 6 SMALL juice glasses for dinking.

About the second night here I decided to make spaghetti for dinner. We had purchesed a can of spaghetti sauce. I took the large pot and began to boil the noodles, no problem here. Then I took out the medium sauce pan to heat up the sauce. That is where the problems began.

We didn't have a can opener. Now what do we do. Well this is where the inventive part comes in. I had a very small pocket knife and samll scissors in my luggage. I used the scissors to puncture a hole in the can then proceded to cut it open. Not the greatest but worked fine.

We knew there were a few things we would need from the store. So we took the bus to the mall the next day and purchased a can opener, while there I thought why not buy a 9x13 cake pan, just in case we needed one. Also we picked up a cheese grater. With these items we thought we were set for the next 3 months. WRONG!!!

I thought I would make a list of a few meals we would like to make and get the ingredients next time we went grocery shopping. One dish I wanted to make was "Chicken Cordon Bleu Casserole" (thinks Chiara, we really love that dish).

We get to the store and I am telling Mike what we need to pick up. When I tell him that we need ham he just gives me a funny look and says, "Really, ham in Saudi Arabia?" Thats when I remembered that there is no pork here. Well not to be out done we went to the deli counter and found some smoked turkey and bought that. This worked perfectly, you can't even tell the difference.

The recipe also calls for instant rice, couldn't find that either so we bought regular rice and decided to substitute there also. Then on home(see Grocery Shopping in Khobar).

When I began to make dinner I realized that I didn't have any mixing bowls. No problem, I would just use the pot I boiled the chicken. Worked great. For the rice I cooked it for only about 5 minutes then added it to the casserole, that worked great also.

Now came time to put the dish in the pan. I had made only a half recipe as we didn't need a so much for just two people. So I only needed an 8x8 pan. Well, we don't have one. Once again the old brain begins to work on how to solve this problem.

No problem, I had aluminum foil. I lined half of the cake pan to make into as smaller size. This also worked great. We had our dinner and loved it. It has become a favorite of ours.

Sorry I didn't take any pictures, that part of my brain was not working that night.

Since then the RS Pres gave me access to a couple of tubs of things that had been left by people who had left and didn't want to take them home. I have added a few extra things to make the kitchen a little easier to work in. But the adventure still continues and we love it all the time.

What's New At My House

2009-10-09T10:08:00.004-05:00

Yesterday the SAEA (Saudi Aramco Employees Association) had what they call the "Fall Mall". This was held in one of the main buildings on camp and various shops from the area were invited to come display their wares for people to shop.

Mike and I decided to go check it out. We had a good time, we kept running into people that we know. There were some people from camp that set up their own booths, we purchased baked goods from a couple of them.

The one thing we did do was spend a great deal of our time there looking at and talking to the owner of the display with carpets. We have wanted to purchase a couple of carpets for the house. You can get much better carpets here than at home at a better price.

We found about 3 or 4 that we liked but couldn't feel good about the price, or were not completely sold. Then the owner started bringing out other carpets for us to see. About the 3rd one that he showed us I fell in love with.

It is a silk carpet with a cotton base. It feels so wonderful under foot. We ended up purchasing this one. It is about 6 feet by 4 feet in size. We currently have it in the entrance to the living room.

We will decide where we want to put it after our shipment comes and arrange our furniture. Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of our newest addition to our home.

The reason for the difference in color is the direction the carpet is viewed from. Also from one angle there is more light shining then from the other.

Grocery Shopping in Town

2009-10-08T03:30:00.002-05:00

Our first week here we decided to adventure into Khobar and go to the grocery store. The camp has a bus that goes to downtown Khobar with a stop at Tamimi (Safeway) at the end. I got a ride from a friend to the dining hall where I met Mike. We ate dinner then went to catch the shoppers bus into town.

We liked the store better than the commisary on camp. It was a bit cheaper and had better meat choices. We finished our shopping and went to catch the bus back to camp.

Since we didn't have a car we had to carry all our purchases in our hands. I had taken a large canvas beach bag to help carry things. We put about half of the groceries into this bag and I carried it while Mike carried about 3 or 4 other bags. They use a much thicker plastic here so all the bags are very sturdy.

When we got back to camp we realized that neither one of us had brought the numbers for the taxi service on camp. So Mike decided that we would just walk home. Nothing on camp is really very far so under good conditions this could be a very pleasant walk.

Of course this night was not pleasant conditions. First it was still hot, I wasn't wearing shoes for a long walk, we were not completely sure of the way home, and to make matters even more interesting I had to go to the bathroom really really really bad the whole way.

We started out fine but the farther we walked the heavier my bag seemed to get. I didn't understand why since we had divided the bags up evenly at the store.

Just before we got home, I looked closer at the bags Mike was carrying. His bags had, crackers, cereal, bread, a couple of cans of good, some pasta, and chocolate chips, etc.

My bag had all the meat, all the canned goods. So it ended up with me carrying most of the heavy good and Mike with most of the lighter ones. What an experience.

Needless to say we learned a lot that evening. After we got home, Mike got out the map and realized that we had missed a turn and taken the extra long route to get home. At least we had groceries for a while.

BASIC DAILY LIFE

2009-09-26T08:13:00.002-05:00

Life here runs very different from life in the US. First the work week runs Saturday through Wednesday. Thursday and Friday are the weekends.

In all Muslim countries Friday is the Holy Day, so here is Saudi they use Thursday and Friday as the weekend. Most other Muslim countries use Friday and Saturday as their weekend. there is prayer call 5 times a day. We don't here them except for the last two of the day the one at sunset and the one at night.

There is what is called a work haul bus that picks employees up in the mornings and takes them to work. It also runs in the mid day to take they who wish home for lunch. then it brings them back at the end of the work day. Mike gets picked up and dropped of right in front of the house. He leaves about 6:30 in the mornings and is home by 4:30 in the evenings.

There are circuit buses that run on a schedule to carry people around the camp, but we haven't have much success with them as yet. Alos they have shopping buses that take you off camp to the shopping malls and groceries stores in town. Women use these mostly during the day as we are not allowed to drive in town. We can drive anywhere on camp we need or want to go.

There are also taxis that are very cheap to take you around. They only cost about $2.50 for a single trip.

We are on the eastern edge of the time zone so it gets light every early in the morning and dark by about 6:00 at night. we are also right beside a Saudi Military base. The planes fly right over our house when they take off and land. So sometimes during the day I hear these jets screaming overhead. It really adds to the exotic feel of the place. But I love it here. It is a really great life for me.

HOME SWEET HOME

2009-09-06T02:16:00.013-05:00

This is the outside of our new home here in Saudi Arabia. It is much more house than we were expecting. Those are date palm trees in front of the house, the one on the right is loaded with about 5 bunches of dates. Mike is hoping to get them harvested for us. When you enter the door the first thing is the large living room on the right. Right now it is furnished with Aramco Furniture. As you can see this furniture is from the 70's. It feels a bit like a cabin in the woods but works fine until our shipment comes.

On the left inside the door is the dining room. It is plenty big enough for our table and hutch. I will be glad when I finally get to put my furniture in here.

Behind the dining room is the kitchen. It is so much bigger than the one in the apartment. I do like it. Not much in there right now. We get very few dishes supplied here but we are making do, more on that later.

Off the kitchen is a family room. We plan to put a loveseat, two chairs and my computer in there.

There are three bedrooms and 2 1/2 baths. The master bedroom is quite large, with avery large walkin closet. We have plenty of room for our bedroom furniture and also my glide rocker here in this room.

One of the extra bedrooms with be Mike's office. We plan to continue renting a single bed from Aramco to keep in there. The other bedroom will be my sewing. It is large enough to hold my sewing machine, craft table (even opened up full) and the day bed. I am really excited about that.

Both bathrooms are quite large, with tub/shower combos, toilet, bidet, and double sinks. The master room had a linen closet it it.

We feel very lucky with the house we were assigned. We didn't expect quite that much space. We do enjoy the house a lot. We have been spending the last couple of weeks painting come of the rooms to make it more personal to us, more on that later.

DAMMAM AIRPORT

2009-09-01T02:44:00.002-05:00

Now to continue our trip with arrival in Saudi Arabia. Sorry, but I was not allowed to take pictures at the airport but it isn't much different than any other airport you might see.

We landed about 8:30pm local time, I was glad because finally the long trip would be over. Little did I know that there was still another 3-4 hours before I would be at my new home.

After we deplaned we had a very, very, very, very, very,(get the idea), long walk to get to immigration. This was our first stop in the airport. Here there were only about 3 windows, 1 window for Forgein citizens, and the other two for everyone else. Of course we were in the single window line.

It seemed that most of the flight was in our line. After about 15 minutes another window was opened for each side and our line was split. That put us closer to the front, about 5 people back. Yea! maybe this won't take long at all (my misguided thoughts). we were still there for at least another hour or more waiting our turn.

I don't think the official wanted to be working thebooth, because he spent most of his time on the phone talking while he was processing people. When it was finally our turn Mike was processed rather quickly, but they had trouble getting the computer to read my fingerprinits.

Yes we were fingerprinted at the airport. They have this really neat optical reader that you press your fingers on, a green light shows if the fingers are pressed properly. I had all green lights but for some reason the computer wasn't cooperating. Finally we got my fingerprints and moved forward.

The next section we were met by a representative from the company who was our driver. A porter came and helped us load our bags on a cart. With immigration taking as long as it did there was no wait for our luggage. It was already through and removed from the carosel. We loaded our luggage on the cart and headed for customs.

I thought this part would take a long time because they would have to inspect our luggage. Well, all they did was x-ray it and we passed right through. Our porter put the luggage on the conveyor belt and picked it up on the other side. There were no problems. That was great.

Our next stop was the Aramco offices at the airport. We had paperwork to do there. We turned in our passports, reeceived our temporary ID badges. These were yellow and only good for about 3 weeks. We were given the papers we needed to begin the process of getting to permanent residence status. Our visa's were a one time only visitor visa.

This took about 30 minutes. Then we were ready to leave. We followed the driver to the car, loaded our luggage, paid the porter and headed for Dhahran Camp where we were dropped off at our new home.

We went inside, unloaded our luggage and finally went to bed at about 12:30am. Mostly the time at the airport was hurry up and wait. But we finally got to our home. But more about that tomorrow.

SIDE NOTE

2009-08-31T02:50:00.003-05:00

I notice that blogger is still showing the time of my posts as Houston time, not Saudi time. Just so you know, I am not up in the middle of the night posting, it is 8hours later here than the time shown. I haven't figured how to change the time stamp on the blog yet.

UP IN THE AIR

2009-08-31T02:21:00.002-05:00

I finally have internet at home. It is dial-up and slow, I can't use my webcam or VOIP yet but at least I have internet, for which I am glad. Now I can begin to update with our adventures here.

I have a hard time remembering that we have only been here for 3 weeks. Sometimes it seems much longer and other times it seem much shorter. I have so much already to post, so I will start from the beginning, our trip.

On Saturday, August 8, 2009 we left Houston Intercontinental Airport about 7:30pm for the first leg of our flight to our new home in Saudi Arabia. Our flight on KLM was an all business class flight. It was a 737 plane that had been outfitted with only business class seats. It only held about 48 seats total. Out flight wasn't quite full so there was lots of room and a very relaxing flight.

Our flight was almost 10 hours to Amsterdam, our first and only stop. One of the first things after takeoff, was they brought a drink and cup of mixed nuts, also a menu to make our choices for dinner and breakfast.

Next they brought out individual TV's with headphones. These had music videos, some TV programing, and regular movies to be watched. Michael and I were watching movies when they brought our dinner.

Dinner was a three course meal. It started with a salad and lobster appetizer plate, followed by the main course of your choice, then a choice of desserts. It was a very good dinner which we enjoyed very much.

After dinner we settled down to try to sleep. These seats reclined to make it easier to sleep. They didn't lay quite flat though. Mike was able to sleep for a while, I on the other had couldn't so I finally watched a couple episodes of MASH and then another movie.

About 2 hours outside of Amsterdam they brought hot towels to wipe our faces and hands, and then breakfast. It was again a very good meal. When done, it was time to land in Amsterdam.

We only had about a 45 minute layover here and had to change planes. Luckily we didn't have to recheck our luggage as it was checked all the way to Saudi Arabia. We did have to walk a ways to the next gate and then go through security again.

This leg of the trip was on a Airbus 330 and lasted about 6 hours. Even though the business class could hold up to 16 people there were only about 7 there. But the coach section was packed. I don't think there was an empty seat anywhere.

I liked these seats much better. After lunch I felt like I could sleep a little and was able to take a 2 hour nap. This flight fed us lunch and then a very good snack. I didn't care for the appetizer on the lunch but liked my meal very much. I also had a quesadilla for snack before landing and it was quite good also.

Finally we landed in Dammam Airport. I thought that the hard part of the trip was over but little did I know that the fun was only just beginning.

Here I Am

2009-08-29T03:17:00.001-05:00

Hello folks. I have not fallen off the face of the earth yet. I just now have access to the internet. sorry no pictures of details yet. I am at the library using the computer. We still don't have internet at home yet but are still working on that. I can now use the library to access email and read your blogs.

Just wanted everyone to know that I am here and settling in just fine. I have been keeping a journal to blog about, so when I finally get home internet and can add pictures you will see a lot of entries.

Just wanted to say I haven't forgotten anyone and miss ya'll lots. Keep looking for more information later. I will do what I can until I get home internet.

Goodbye USA

2009-08-07T22:45:00.002-05:00

Tomorrow we head out on our newest adventure. We leave tomorrow night for Saudi Arabia. It had been a very busy last few weeks getting ready to go. Because I have to ship my computer, I will not be able to post for a couple of weeks. I will put up pictures of packing and the move when I get settled.

We get to travel on KLM airlines. We have about a 10 hour from Houston to Amsterdam. There we have about a 45 minute layover to change planes, then another 6 hours to get to Dammam. The thing making such a long trip a big more comfortable is that the company is flying us Business Class. So we will have more room to hopefully get some sleep on the flight over.

Well, buy for now. More when we get internet.

How Observant Are You

2009-07-24T13:54:00.002-05:00

I received this quiz link in an email from my sister. It really is fun. the average correct is 7 out of 25 total questions. I got a 23. Good Luck

http://www.oldjoeblack.0nyx.com/thinktst.swf

Heigh Ho, Heigh Ho, It's Off To Work We Go

2009-06-22T20:34:00.002-05:00

The past 17 months have been a real roller coaster ride for us. For a brief recap, Mike's company went into a joint venture with Basell in January 2008. This added a lot of traveling for him the first half of the year. He spent a lot of time in Europe, mainly Germany.

By January 2009, the company ended up in Bankruptcy. This put a new twist on our lives. Not sure if the company would survive or if he would have a job, we began earnest prayer to know what we should do. Well, we ended up selling the house and moving into an apartment.

When the company began to offer voluntary severance packages we had new things to think about. Mike began thinking about looking for another job. Late January I heard about a job fair for a company that was hiring in his field. I suggested that he consider it. The only possible hitch was that the job is in Saudia Arabia with Aramco Services.

Well he ended up with an interview with a promise of another interview with the boss. After the interviews time passed and nothing happened. Then the company offered another severance option. Mike decided to take the severance on faith, even though we didn't have a job to go to. The very next day we got a contigent offer from Aramco.

After a few weeks of getting tons of paper work done we have a job. We are moving to Saudi Arabia on August 8th to work for Aramco.

I am really excited about the move in so many ways. It will be a wonderful opportunity. We will have the chance to travel, see so many exciting things. Also we will be able to get ourselves better prepared for retirement and going on missions.

Our plan is to stay until mandatory retirement at age 60. That means about 6 1/2 years there. We will be able to travel back a lot to see family.

The main down side is that we will have Chiara, Ken and boys; and Jon, Cassie and Hailey living here in Friendswood area, Marrisa, Kevin and boys in Austin, David, Katherine and Norah in San Antonio. Mike and Ashlyn and girls will be in Phoenix. I will miss spending time with the grandkids here in Friendswood, but plan to come back very ofter for visits.

So once again things are getting very busy for us. We only have about 6 weeks before we leave. There is sorting stuff, giving away stuff, storing stuff and packing stuff, that needs to be done. Since the move will essentially be in three stages there is a lot of sorting of the things we are taking.

First we have to decide what to take on the plane with us. This won't be very much as we are limited by the amount of luggage we can take. Mainly these things will have to last at about 3-4 weeks. At that time we should receive our e-boxes.

We get two e-boxes to ship. These are small boxes that are considered unaccompanied air freight. They should arrive in the 3-4 week time span. This is where we put things we need to make life a little more comfortable. But we can't ship very much in them. Mainly, computer, sewing machine and projects, etc. These boxes aren't very big.

Finally the main body of our things will be shipped surface freight. This means a ship. We are allowed to ship up to 10,000 lbs of goods. This will be all our furniture and things to make life there more like home for us.

Even though there is a lot of work, I am looking forward to this new opportunity. I plan to take as many pictures as I can and post often on what our life is like.

Over the River and through the Woods . . . .

2009-06-09T18:35:00.009-05:00

This week I embark on a great adventure. Chiara wants to go visit Mimi and Papa since Ken can't go with her and she doesn't like to drive, I voluteered to be the driver. So on Thursday, we all pile into her van, Me, Daughter, 3 grandsons, ages 6, 4, and 4 months.

It should be a fun trip. It had been a while since I have made a trip with little kids. I used to travel with all 5 of my children every year. Mike would have to work, so I would take the kids and go visit my parents each summer. We always had a great time.

I remember packing each child individual backpacks with special toys just for the trip. I would put a cooler in the car with drinks and snacks to help also. We sang song a lot to help pass the time before they were old enough to read or play other car games.

Of course we listened to my music a lot. They all grew up knowing my favorite singers/groups. John Denver, Marty Robbins, Simon & Garfunkel, Neal Diamond are just a few of that we listened to on the trips.

So now Chiara and I are preparing for a another two day road trip with three little boys. The preprations are a bit different though. She had a DVD player in her van. Therefore in addition to new books, toys, snacks, drinks, and music, we have added DVD's for the kids to watch.

My how times have changed.

The Beach

2009-05-07T21:52:00.004-05:00

The beach at the resort was beautiful, but there was a problem with erosion. The solution was the following picture. those are not rock or boulders in the water. They are giant sand bags. Most of the beach infront of the hotels along the area had these huge sand bags.
We did take a walk father along the beach where there were no resorts and found this area without the sand bags.
I spend the entire week resting on the beach in front of the resort, either sleeping in the hammock
or on the beach couches. Of course I also did a lot of reading. Finished 2 books during the week.
This is a view of where we spend our days. Quite a comfortable place to relax. We would go to the beach, reserve our chairs/couches, then go to the buffet for breakfast. After eating we returned to the beach to relax. There were waiters that spent their day bringing cool drinks so we didn't have to get up for anything. At lunch time we went to the buffet for lunch and immediately returned to the beach to relax until time to get ready for dinner. Not a bad life really.
Of course Mike's idea of relaxing was either walking up and down the beach, playing beach vollyball, or.....
checking his email at work on his Blackberry. He did manage to relax some and get a little reading done.

Every night we went to a different restaurant at the resort for dinner.

How to Destress

2009-05-07T21:18:00.009-05:00

After the busy January and February that we had (selling the house, sorting our things, cleaning the house, packing the house, moving to an apartment, helping our daughter recover from having a baby) we took the first week of March and went to Playa del Carmen in Mexico for our annual vacation. It was a great trip. Very relaxing which is what I wanted most. Here are some pictures of our trip.

These three are our hotel room, the balcony to our room, and the view from the balcony. Very nice. Beautiful weather too.
These iguanas were all over the place. They came out during the morning to sun. They were absolutely everywhere, and there were lots of them.
This is an animal that only came out at night. It was very hard to get a picture, they were very skittish. Their fur almost looked like feathers sometimes. They had no tails. There were quite a few of them also. There was also a beautiful peacock but the only time we saw it I didn't have my camera of course.

Moving Day Part 2

2009-03-23T13:19:00.014-05:00

Just thought I would post these pictures of our spacious apartment on moving day. As you can see we had a number of boxes that we took a couple of days to find space for. we finally manged to make the place very homey and comfortable. It works really well for us. It is a lot smaller than we were used to, but we rather enjoy the coseyness of the place.

These first two pictures are before and after shots from the dining room looking down the hall.
This is our "enormous" kitchen and since there was no microwave, our solution. Also our kitchen cabinets. These are sitting in the "breakfast nook" of the kitchen.

And finally here is my new sewing room.

Grandparent Paradise

2009-03-23T13:07:00.004-05:00

This is now the view of my dining room/nursery. Since Chiara had to return to school today, I am now watching James for her.

I am sad she can't stay home, but glad that I am here to help the transition in caring for James. So for the next couple of months I will be babysitting again. Since we do not have our other grandchildren living close, it is nice to get to enjoy this little boy for a bit. He is so sweet, I love having him here. Wish I was where I could help with the other new babies in the family. But I will have to be content with visits for now.

Luckily we get a visit from Norah next week. She is also bringing her parents who we are excited to see also. The week after that we get to spend time with Avery and Emma. Oh, yea, they are bringing Ashlyn along and eventually Mike will join them, we are looking forward to seeing these parents too.

Great Way To Start Your Day

2009-03-16T08:28:00.002-05:00

I received this in an email from my sister. Thought I would share it here. It is about 4 1/2 minutes long, but well worth it. A very beautiful rendition of Amazing Grace. Enjoy and hope it brightens your day as it did mine.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/link/bcpid271552717

Happy Birthday

2009-03-05T17:13:00.006-06:00

Moving Day ended with a celebration. Even though the actual day had been earlier in the week, (click here to see link), we waited until Saturday to celebrate the birthdays for Ken and Nathan. Of course the only pictures I have are of Nathan. Ken likes to stay in the background. We went to CiCi's Pizza and followed it with a Wall-E cake. It was a great evening and a great way to end a very busy day.

Moving Day

2009-03-05T16:54:00.002-06:00

I have been quite busy lately but here is a little catchup. Moving Day finally arrived. Mike borrowed a truck and trailer from his boss for the actual furniture move. It was a great help. The roads at the apartment complex are not very wide and there is absolutely no parking. With the Denali truck Mike was able to carry the extra hands and the furniture in one load.

We had a lot of friends and youth show up to help which was all greatly appreciated.

Special thanks to Ken for being such a great extra hand for Mike that day. Also special thanks to Chiara and boys for being with me and helping me do what I needed to get done. Also we were very grateful to Mike's boss for the use of her truck and trailor.

What Does Busy Mean?

2009-02-17T21:34:00.006-06:00

Not much happening here. Really. Unless you want to count that we are very much in the midst of moving. Marissa wanted some of our furniture, but it didn't fit in her car with the kids. So being the great mother that I am, I volunteered to take it to her in my big truck/SUV. So Monday I drove to Austin and back all in the same day. I must be nuts.

When I got home I spent the rest of the afternoon on the phone trying to get our electricity changed to the new address. That was fun, (read NOT). The rest of the week I am finishing packing everything we are currently using in the house to be ready for the big move on Saturday.

Boy this sure is fun. We should do this more often. No I really mean that. Well, maybe I really mean that. Oh, who am I kidding, I wish that we had professionals doing this for us. Oh well it is a great chance to get rid of stuff. We really do have too much stuff.

More later after we move, with pictures of our new place.

The Maze

2009-02-12T17:39:00.004-06:00

Usually when I am awake in the middle of the night I am able to walk all around my house without any difficulty or lights. I know where everything is and the house is kept fairly neat and clean. Well lately that had changed. Since we are moving in about a week and a half we are very busy boxing up all our things, sorting things into different catagories, what to store, what to take to the apartment, what to put in the garage of the apartment, etc.

Well with all this packing the moving of furniture now my house is more like a maze to wonder through instead of what I am used to. In fact one night I used the light from my cell phone to see where to walk so I did not run into anything. To make this even more fun, the arrangement had changed about 3 times since we started.

Here are a few pictures of what it looks like now. This first one is right inside the front door.

These next two are the family room where most of the things are stacked.My poor sewing room. I think I will probably miss this the most.

Cousins

2009-02-12T17:08:00.019-06:00

This past weekend Marissa came for a visit. We got to see all 5 of our grandsons together for the first time. Because it is so hard to get a good picture of all 5 boys at the same time, I have to post two different ones so you can see the best of each boy .

I cropped this picture because I thought the expression on Gavin's face was priceless. He doesn't seem too sure about Nathan trying to hold him on the couch for the picture.

The three older boys had a great time playing on the boxes while the adults had a little time to visit and admire the babies.

Baby Week

2009-01-24T18:48:00.005-06:00

This past Thursday, Emmaline Ruth was born to Mike and Ashlyn. She is really a beautiful baby I think. I am very glad that her grandma can be there to give her extra attention, since I can't go right now (reason to follow). We were very excited to add another girl to the family. For more pictures check out Mike and Ashlyn's blog.Today Chiara and Ken went to the hospital to be induced. After about 2 1/2 to 3 hours labor things changed very fast and it ended up being an emergency C-section. You will have to talk to them for more details on that. Mother and baby are doing fine. We took the boys to see them for a few minutes. Mommy was very tired and needed her rest. Here are the pictures that I was able to get in the few minutes that we had with the baby.

We are very excited and proud of all our children and very happy with all our grandchildren. We are not really surprised that we had so many so fast. After all that is the way that we did it in the first place. Why shouldn't we have grandchildren close and fast. We love it and look forward to seeing more of each of them.

Deal Maker

2009-01-24T12:23:00.004-06:00

Well, we received an offer on our house. It was $44,000 less than the asking price. Of course we countered and came down on the asking price by $9,000. Well the people scheduled a second showing of the home. They then increased their offer by $20,000. We then came down another $5,000. They immediately increased their offer another $5,000. We held firm at our last price.

Well today I got a call from the realtor. They were willing to take our price on two conditions. They wanted the referigerator included. That was no problem for me, I hate that fridge and we had planned to leave it anyway. They also wanted the artificial tree in the master bedroom.

Well That was interesting. It is a 7foot bamboo tree. Everyone laughed when we bought it to put in the room because it was so large. That was the thing the people wanted to make the deal. We quickly agreed and are now in the process of completing the necessary things to close the sale on the house.

Thanks for buying an over large tree for the bedroom. I thing that we really got a great return on our investment of the tree. We spend about $130 for the tree and the people were willing to pay about $30,000 more than their original offer to get the tree.

Not a bad deal maker.

Grandson Campout

2009-01-24T08:38:00.004-06:00

Last night we had Nathan and Kenny over for a campout. Papa wanted to spend some time with the kids. It worked out perfect since Chiara headed to the hospital today to have her baby. Papa built a tent with blankets and tables and they played Wii, had icecream and watch a movie. They had a great time. Here are a few pictures of the evening.

Shopping!!!!!

2009-01-24T08:33:00.002-06:00

Yesterday we had a showing on the house in the middle of the day. I decided when I left to go shopping for some new pants. My old ones are just too big anymore. It was the most fun I have had shopping for clothes in a very long time. I found two pairs of shorts that I bought. The most exciting part was the size. They were a size 12 and 10. I was very excited. And they were real pants, not the one with the elastic waist and balloon butts. Later I plan to shop for shirts and a bathing suit. I do have to get ready for vacation yet.

New Clothes Time

2009-01-20T13:03:00.002-06:00

This may not be me but this is definitely how I feel lately. I went for my consult today and have lost a total of 20 lbs. I feel great. But I think it is time for some new clothes. My closet is getting very empty because when something get too big, I get rid of it. I have no intention of ever fitting into those things again.

Views at My House

2009-01-13T11:42:00.005-06:00

As you drive up to my house this is what you see in the front yard. We are now trying to sell the house to downsize. It is a little bit of a sad thing for me. I really like the house. Mike has put a lot of work in the yard and I was looking forward to really enjoying it this summer. Well, I guess I now have a new adventure to look forward to. That is always nice also.

This morning when I was eating my breakfast this was what I saw on my back fence. He was sitting there just studying the yard. Not sure what he was looking for or seeing, but he sure is beautiful.

When I downloaded the latest pictures from my camera this one popped up. I didn't take it. My camera was sitting on my computer desk and Kenny was at his favorite spot in my house, his desk drawing or making a book. I don't know who took the picture, I think it might have been Nathan, not bad picture I think.

Correction

2009-01-12T17:50:00.006-06:00

I have been tactfully reminded that I made a major OPPS on my blogs for the holidays. My wonderful son reminded me that there were two babies blessed instead of one.

I am so very sorry Cassie, Jonny and most especially Hailey. I didn't forget you. I thought I have mentioned it. For pictures of this beautiful and also very precious little angel you will have to refer to Jon and Cassie's blog, as I don't have any.

I hope that you can forgive a loving Eppie who just happened to have a senior moment. It wasn't done on purpose.

We were very lucky to have Hailey blessed the sunday after Christmas. It was beautiful. I am so proud of my boys and the beautiful girls they have brought to the family. Hailey is such a beautiful baby, and so very alert. She loves to be cuddled and look around.

Sadly I don't have many pictures of either baby. But here are the one I do have of Hailey. She is frequently the wallpaper for my computer. My wallpaper changes very often as I continue to put pictures of the grandkids on it. I wish that I knew how to make it put up more than one at a time.

Oh well, maybe someone will take pity on me and show me how to do that sometime. Anyway, enjoy the pictures of our 6th grandchild.

Do You Really Know Me?

2009-01-06T12:24:00.002-06:00

I saw this on a couple of blogs that I follow. I thought it might be fun to post. The things that I have done I have put in blue.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language (does it count that I current working on one?)
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelos David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Visited Russia
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar (never again)
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Walked in Jerusalem
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee
100. Read an entire book in one day

Moody Gardens Festival of Lights

2009-01-05T12:01:00.003-06:00

After Christmas we took the family to Moody Gardens in Galveston to see the Festival of Lights. It was scaled back to about half the size this year but still very beautiful. My camera went crazy and so there aren't many pictures. Since Chiara was not supposed to walk that much, we used a wheelchair for her to enjoy the lights. I did manage to get a pretty good picture of Ken having fun pushing her around.

Christmas Day

2009-01-05T11:50:00.002-06:00

We had a great time opening presents. Probably the funniest part was that Kenny, our 6 year old grandson got very excited about the gift from Eppie and Papa. We gave him 4 rolls of masking tape and a package of copy paper. He loves to draw and make things out of paper. He also loves to decorate his house with his pictures, as a result he uses all the paper and tape he can find in the house. Now he has his own tape and paper to use and Mom and Dad and keep theirs intact. Chiara and Ken forgot to bring their camera over so they used mine for pictures. Here is a slide show of their results.

Rockin' Christmas Eve

2009-01-04T19:30:00.003-06:00

Christmas eve we had our traditional family get together. We had the family gift that was guessed on and opened as usual by Jon. This year instead of watching a movie, we played Wii. Chiara and Ken brought over a couple of their games and we had a rockin' great time. We started out with Super Mario Party 8, after that Ken set up the Rock Band equipment and we played music. Great fun was had by all. Even Papa. Here are a couple of pictures of him playing the guitar. He seemed to really be getting into playing.

Blessing An Angel

2009-01-03T21:24:00.005-06:00

On Sunday, December 21st, we went to Church in Galveston to see David bless Norah, our little lady bug. She was so good and so beautiful. Here are a few pictures to enjoy of that day.

Graduation and New Granddaughter

2009-01-02T11:14:00.011-06:00

Mid December we had the opportunity to go to Idaho to see our son graduate from BYU-I and also see our newest granddaughter for the first time.
It was a great trip with many changes along the way. Mike and I left on Thursday afternoon to fly to Utah. From there we rented a car and drove to Idaho, about 4 hours. We were very happy to see David, Katherine and of course sweet little Norah. Here is Papa with her for the first time.

On Friday were the graduation events. Before we went to the comencement excerises we went to the school sign for pictures.

After that we went to the Comencement where President Uchtdorf was the special speaker. All the graduates from the university attended this portion together. It was a very good meeting. We enjoyed it very much.

The original plan was to go from comencement to convocation where the graduates are divided into the different colleges and walk across the stage to receive their diploma. Then we planned to get up early on saturday and leave for home. Mike and David were driving down to Houston for the holidays, while Katherine, Norah and I were flying home. Well, true to Hurst fashion, our plans changed almost minute by minute.

There was a really big winter storm coming in and we didn't want to be caught in it. So we decided that we would leave that night after convocation. I made hotel reservation for Katherine and I near the airport and we went to the campus. After commencement we realized that convocation would take much longer than we thought and the weather was not looking very good. David decided to skip the walking part so we left immediately. I canceled the hotel, called to see how late the car rental would be open and we headed out in two cars. We got to the airport just in time to leave the car, climbed in David's car and drove to Provo to Jonny and Cassie's.

Papa and David, took a very quick, and I do mean very quick peek at a sleeping Hailey and started out on their drive. Katherine and I stayed with Jon and Cassie that night and Jon took us to the airport the next day.

It is a good thing we changed our plans. The guys managed to stay ahead of the storm the whole way. It was just starting to get nasty while we were driving to the airport. Katherine and I got out on the leading edge of the storm, so there were no delays. We got home Saturday night, got a good sleep and went to church the next morning.

The guys drove straight through and got home about 5 am Sunday morning. They slep for a while, then Mike went to church after the meetings to be Bishop. Although a quick trip it was still very enjoyable.

What the Dickens

2009-01-01T16:48:00.005-06:00

The first weekend in December the city of Galveston always has a "Dickens on the Strand" street festival. It celebrates christmas, Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" and the Victorian era of the Dickens novel setting. Last year was our first time to go and we really loved it.

We went again this year and once again had a blast. Even though the size was scaled down due to Hurricane Ike and rebuilding the downtown, it was still very well attended as can be seen in the following picture.

We went early in the day so the crowd were not as bad yet. But as the day wore on and more people came it got very crowded. One of the great things is the food of course. My favorite is the 'Scottish Eggs'. These things are great. I thoughly enjoyed mine. For those who don't know what a Scottish Egg here goes. It is a boiled egg, wrapped in sausage, then dipped into a batter and deep fried. They are so very good. Follow that with a cup of hot chocolate and it makes a perfect way to start the morning.

At the festival they have different groups that walk around and sing carols, people come in costume either from the novel or from the era. There was a civil war camp,lots of scheduled entertainment like juggling, singing groups. There were also Bag Pipe Bands and groups that played. Also because it is close to the Cruise Ship Port, they have a Tall Ship, the Elisa, docked that you can tour. When we were on the ship I noticed that the top of the tallest mast had a christmas tree on it.They have booths where you can shop and just have a really great time. All in all it was a great way to start our very busy December. More on that to follow but for now here are some pictures from the festival.

Finishing September and Germany

2008-12-30T15:04:00.004-06:00

This month has flown by for me. Ihave been very busy doing a lot of sewing for new babies in the family. I did sit down to add a post to finish my trip to Germany, but I can't find the pictures. Somehow my computer had deleted them completely. So as a brief note I will finish about my trip with only a narrative and no pictures. After Mike was finished for the week in Wesseling, we traveled down to Frankfurt to stay a couple of extra days.

On Friday we checked into our hotel and settled for the night. We were anxiously watching the weather by now as Hurrican Ike was headed directly for Houston. Even with the anxious undertone to the trip we managed to have a good time. We spent Saturday walking around the old part of Frankfurt and enjoying the typical Germany feel. We ate at an outdoor street festival, shopped in an indoor open market. I absolutely love the indoor open markets. They always have a great variety of foods; meats, cheeses, breads, vegetables, fruits, pastries, and on and on.

While we were down at the river we decided to book a river cruise for the next day. So Sunday we got on a tour bus and drove about 45 minutes north were we visited a beautiful resort type place. then we borded the boat for the trip back to Frankfurt. This river trip took about 8 hours. The first 1/2 to 2/3 was really beautiful. There were castles all along the bank, terraced farming and lots of beautiful countryside. Except for the fact that it was slightly cool, leaning on the cold side on deck, it was a beautiful trip.

Due to the Hurricane our regular flight for Monday was canceled. But we did manage to get a flight out to go to Dallas, then changed airlines and flew to Austin. This is where out family had evacuated to. From there we drove home on Tuesday. All in all the trip was a lot of fun, and I would love to go back sometime.

As for the hurricane. We lucked out greatly. We only had a few shingles missing from one ridge line, which Mike replaced, the about 60 feet of fence was down. We did have a number of trees leaning over, but we straightened them and now have stakes and ropes all over the back yard. We also got our power back the day we returned home.

We were blessed to have our daughter-in-law's family, from Galveston, stay with us for a couple of weeks before they could return home. It was great fun and we were very glad that we were there to help them out. Sadly all of my pictures are lost with the Germany pictures.

As time passes we continue to rebuild our lives and strive to get back to normal. The lord has blessed us greatly through this time.

Guten Tag Feunde, Part 2

2008-12-05T19:59:00.004-06:00

On Thursday while Mike continued to work I spent the day in Koln(Cologne) shopping, sight seeing and generally having fun. The first exciting part of the day was that I had to take the regional train to Koln alone. This was fun to try to figure out, but I managed to get there fine. Luckily I didn't have to worry about getting back. I met Mike, his boss and the others guys for dinner that night.

While there I started at the Cathedral of Koln. This is a really beautiful building with a great history. From there I wandered the streets, shopped as I felt like it. Stopped to eat what and when I wanted. Sat and watch the people, or read my book and basically had a great day doing anything and everything that I wanted to do. Sadly, I was enjoying myself so much that I forgot to take very many pictures. But these are the few that I got in town that day.

More to come later of our time in Frankfurt and our River Cruise.

TwilightMom

2008-12-03T08:19:00.002-06:00

So I finally went to see the movie. I know it is long after it came out, but what can I say, at least I made it finally. I loved the movie, thoughly enjoyed my self and would even buy the DVD when it comes out. I hope it does soon.

Guten Tag Feunde! More Travels

2008-12-01T23:33:00.008-06:00

About a week after we returned from Phoenix we tood another trip, this time to Germany. Mike had a business trip in Wesseling and I went along for a mini vacation. We left Houston on Monday September 8th in the early evening. we had a direct flight to Frankfurt. As this was an over night flight we arrived in the morning of Tuesday. From there we had to take the train (ICE-intercity express)and then a taxi to get to our hotel.

The hotel was right on the Rhein River, and we had a room with a samll balcony overlooking the river. I spent most of the rest of that day watching the river traffic and catching up on my sleep.

On Wednesday, I ventured out to explore the town of Wesseling. I had a lot of fun wandering through the old town. I bought lunch and went to a park along the river. I spent about 2 hours just sitting there enjoying my lunch, reading a book and watching the river. That night one Mike's bosses took us out to dinner in Koln (Cologne) and to show me where the best places were to shop.

There was a lot of barge traffic on the river. I found it very interesting that a lot of the people actually live on their barges. They have a home in the back and even drive their cars onto the barge to use when they stop somewhere.

Three weeks and counting down

2008-11-25T12:10:00.002-06:00

It had been three weeks since I started working with Jenny Craig. Today I have officially lost 9.2 pounds. It feels great. I have so much more energy, have a bouncer spring in my step and just feel over all much healthier. I have been very pleased at how easy it is to stay with the program. The food is really good and I feel that I get plenty to eat. In another three weeks I will again post my progress. Pretty soon I will post an after picture. I'm excited for the changes.