twenty-something years of "what have you been up to?"

Month: July 2007

  • seeing suns and stars

    51f2xhsxahl__aa240_Amazon gave it’s top 100 reviewers advance copies of Khaled Hosseini’s new book A Thousand Spendid Suns and it mostly got five stars. They are saying it’s even better than The Kite Runner. Can it be possible? Looks like we’ll have to buy this one in hard back.

    Meanwhile, me and the CaSt are at my parent’s house: going to Curves with my mom, following them both around to doctor appointments, messing up the house with trains and dominos, playing cards with a tablefull of eighty-year-old faces I love, cooking enchalada dinners, buying peaches from a 100-year-old farm down the street, and enjoying the cedar-scented air.

  • california cobra

    Rollercoastersixflags2007

    Aren’t I a saint to take my kids to Six Flags? And isn’t my sister even more of a saint to go on the Cobra with Stefan? Valerie said the scariest part was the snake head on the front. Stefan cried on log ride, then the boat ride through the rapids, then the roller coaster, but he really wanted to go on all of them, so I am not sure what says about his personality.

    "Did your sister beat you up?" is the most popular question posed to him, with his forehead full of stiches. After learning that we live in Africa, one guy asked if he was scratched by tiger.

    Stefannavaleriesixflags2007_3

  • lake of the sky

    Keep_tahoe_blue

    Tahoe_fun

    Photo_169

  • splitting headache

    Forty eight hours into our R and R, visiting our friends Dave and Elisabeth and their two adorable daughters and equally lively and adorable Lesher parents outside Dijon, and we got an ambulance ride:

    Ambulance

    Stefan was outside, jumping over what kids say is a pet grave, he missed the landing and fell head-first onto the corner of the lovely Maison Brulée brick entryway.

    Maison_brulee

    He looked really impressive in the waiting room with his head wrapped in a bandage and his shirt covered in blood. Boy did that thing bleed. He has eleven stiches (that we can see, he has another layer under the skin) across his forehead and the perfect set up for a lifetime of Harry Potter disguises.

    Stefan_bandage

  • kindness of friends

    It’s been a full week since Dina and the kids left Niamey. Of course, it’s nice to have time to yourself and read the newspaper uninterrupted, not have to keep adjusting the volume to your liking on the stereo, go where you want to, and utilize the time however you want. But after a few days, the longing to be with your family and be near the people you love the most creeps in and starts to ache. You realize that these people give meaning and purpose to your life.

    Although it sounds as if I have this freedom, my friends here are a bit pesty and insist on inviting me out and involving me in their social affairs. I’ve only eaten at home twice in the past week. It’s nice to feel as though you are the center of attention though and I have had some great times with them.

    Last night I went to some friend’s house for dinner. We shared a very nice wine and then, they served lobster! It was devine. Appearantly, they were able to get it from a woman from Benin who brings fresh seafood from the coast about once a month. I have bought large shrimp from her before. It was a nice evening and we shared some stimulating conversation.

    Tonight, I’m invited to a party at my neighbors house. They want to go out dancing afterwards but I know that dancing here doesn’t even start until midnight. As our friend Jesse often says, "you go on ahead, I’ll try and catch up."

    Happy Birthday Stefan! I love you.

  • eager to go home

    It’s July already! We had a fairly active June with the kids finishing school and Dina’s Medevac to London. All turned out well; thank God for that! She handled beautifully and I must say I am deeply moved by her grace.

    Our neighbors (the Fullbrights) departed on the 4th. For 10 months we had shared some good times together. Our children played and swam, we engaged in interesting conversations, shared stories about our lives, and experienced Africa together. A sadness came over me when they left but I know that our paths will cross again in the very near future when we come home to visit and pass through Ashland.

    There was a ceremony at the Ambassador’s residence for the Fourth of July. About 1000 people with dignitaries and Heads of State from the Nigerien government came. The Marines carried the colors to the National Anthem played by the Nigerien Army brass band. The food and beverages were served on the back lawn overlooking the river. We are very well liked here and it was nice to see all the support and participation in the celebration of our Independence.

    Fridays are half days and I get off of work at 1PM. Dean came over with the best lunch of beef brochettes, french fries, and garlic rice that his cook makes. Dina finished packing herself and the kids. The driver came to pick them up at 9:30PM. They are now in France and will take the train to Dijon to visit with our Portland friends (The Miles) for a few days before returning to the States to be with family. I will stay here for a few more weeks and then fly to Washington DC for training at FSI. We’ll reunite in California and spend more time with family and friends as we head north to Portland.

    Being alone makes me really miss home.

  • three for the road

    Stefans_packed Well, tomorrow the kiddies and I take off for France. We can’t wait to spend a few days in Dijon with the Miles Family, our really good friends from Portland. I figure they will pick us up at the train station with a glass of wine in hand. And that’s just for the kids! A few days later we fly to Sacramento, a week in Lake Tahoe with my parents, a birthday party at Aunt Wowie’s cabin for Stefan–lucky Friday the 13th! A week at my parent’s in Paradise, California, 95969, a week in Davis and environs, San Rafael? Petaluma? Filmore Street in San Francisco? We’ll cross that toll plaza when we get to it. Mt Shasta to visit Peter’s dad and sister, quick stop in Ashland to visit the Fulbrights, then up to Portland until the end of August: Farmer’s Market, Powells, Powells, Powells, Hanna Anderson, Whole Foods, Uwagimaya, Yarn Garden, Hula Grill, New Seasons, Stumptown, Pizzacato, Sauvie Island blueberry picking, Finigan’s Toys, and the big public library. And best of all, all dear faces we love. Peter shows up about half way through this program. Makes you tired already, doesn’t it?

    Stefan says it’s going to be like going to a whole new world.

  • London Times

    London_cab_photo_by_josiah_mckenz_2Well, I had a little health scare and just got back from a whirlwind medivac to London. I had not one, but three lumps in my breast, and too bad it wasn’t four because then I could have named them Paul and Ringo, John and George, I loved my two-day glimpse of England that much.

    I made up for what I didn’t buy in Rome by buying two of everything in London, my suitcase was so overstuffed coming home. Oh my god. Waitrose. Brora. Cath Kidston. Up close and personal. It poured rain and I fell in love with a radio station with dj’s so funny I didn’t want to leave my hotel room. Between my doctor’s appointment and the embassy the cab driver–those cabs! What could be cuter?–I got see the most important sight in London: Madonna’s house, or one of them anyway.

    I was needle biopsied within an hour of hitting town–wait! wait! I’m not ready!–and put up in room overlooking Big Ben and Westminster Cathedral and the rooftops that Mary Poppins danced upon. Mammogram and ultrasound on day two of two. All clear that afternoon. Whew. So I dodged that bullet and two car bombs. Came home to read about the almost car bombing on the street I’d stayed on in my new favorite newspaper, the London Times. I can’t wait to go back, but under circumstances where my life isn’t flashing before me.