29June2011 Quickshot: The Express

P & J had an interesting bus ride today.  The driver was either late for an appointment, mad at the world, or practicing for the Indy500.  Passing cars on the shoulder, weaving in and out of traffic and driving through parking lots were just a few of his tricks.  Alas they arrived at their destination unscathed!

27June2011 Quickshot: Out the Window

Small blessings - Being able to pick fresh plums out your bedroom window.

25June2011 Quickshot: Only God could do that!

Last night's sunset.  Only God could do that! 

22June2011 Quickshot: Seeds & Spices

The seed and nut souk.  You can buy roasted seeds like watermelon, sunflower and pumpkin and all sorts of nuts.  Peanuts, pistachios, almonds and cashews are favorites.

The spice souk.  One of the most aromatic places in the world.

19June2011 Quickshot: Skype-sisters

D had a great time visiting with these wonderful women yesterday.  It is such a blessing to feel loved and supported by our friends.  Thank you GS!

18June2011 Quickshot: Night Lights

16June2011 Refreshed

It isn't hot here...yet.  We've enjoyed cooler temperatures and a nice breeze for the past week but we know the heat is coming!  Desert climate basically sucks the moisture out your body, one drop at a time, so it's imperative that we drink lots of fluids, particularly if we're gonna spend any amount of time outdoors. When we come in from outside, parched dryer than scorched earth (like pictured above)...I don't care what the beer commercials say, nothing refreshes us like water.

Lately we've been refreshed in an entirely different way.  Over the last month there have been teams and individuals here from California, North Carolina, Florida, Illinois, Arkansas, South Carolina and Texas. Seeing our community through these wonderful volunteers' eyes, hearing fresh perspectives, experiencing their unbridled enthusiasm, having wonderful conversations and sharing our families has been in a word...refreshing. 

14June2011 Quickshot: Dueling Desserts

Some friends hung out with the Little Feet so their parents could go out on a date the other night.  Our time together and meal were outstanding.  Above are our desserts.  P ordered "mahalabia" (a milk-based pudding sweetened with honey and sprinkled with crushed pistachios and rose water) and D got blueberry cheesecake.   

13June2011 Manhole Cover Conspiracy

D had a run-in, literally, with a manhole cover yesterday.  She and M were taking some friends to the airport in the van.  They were following a large tour bus down a newly constructed portion of the highway a when they suddenly struck a manhole cover (see above) which was for some odd reason standing at a 90 degree angle, half in the manhole and half straight up into the air, nearly ripping the gas tank off the van.  Fortunately a sweet gentleman stopped to assist the damsels in distress, no one was injured, our friends made their flight.  PTL!

Normally a manhole cover is a pretty innocuous thing.  I mean who gives thought to those things?  But lately there seems to be rash of incidents involving these large, round, metal plates and we think something sinister is at work:

• May 17, Los Angeles, CA - "An underground electrical transformer vault exploded...propelling a manhole cover into a city bus and sending the driver to the hospital"
• June 3, Jacksonville, FL - "Woman says manhole cover flipped and she fell in."  
• June 6, Rochester, MN - "Displaced manhole cover damages car, leads to injury." 

Be careful out there folks and watch out for those evil manhole covers!

11June2011 Quickshot: Tea Time

You gotta love the location where these 2 friends were having tea.

10June2011 Quickshot: Up in the Air

With spring comes winds and with winds come kite flying season.  It's a crowded city so the kids sometimes pick interesting spots like apartment rooftops or busy intersections to fly their kites.

9June2011 Quickshot: New Market

We found this new farmers' market while walking around yesterday.  Not sure how in the world we've missed it.  It was HUGE!  Tons of vegetables and a couple favorites, cherries and apricots, are now in season. 

8June2011 The small things are the big things.

Every so often we have to travel into a different country to maintain our visas.  It's always fun to go somewhere new and to experience different places as a family.  We have been very fortunate to see some very beautiful scenery but what usually makes the trip for us is the small things.  Here are some of small things from the last jaunt:

A cool gadget on the plane to play with.

A long lost treasure.

Beauty in unexpected places.

A walk with your spouse of 17 years.

Hearing and seeing your children playing in water.

A splash of color.

The taste and smell of sea salt in the air.

A well-earned nap.

5June2011 Quickshot: Family Affair

A love for family and appreciation for community is so integral to the culture here.  When the sun goes down you will see families gathered at picturesque locations, like the one above, cooking out, drinking tea or coffee, playing games and just being together. 

4June2011 Quickshot: Toots

Here they're called "toots,"  we know them as mulberries.  You'll find toots in muffins, ice cream, candies, smoothies, basically anything blueberries or blackberries are used for in the States. 

2June2011 Quickshots: Pink Shirts

Check out the boys t-shirts from field day.  A sign regarding the baby's gender? 

1June2011 And the winner is....

Think Pink!  (If you chose "girl" in our recent poll, you were right!)