I intended to write a blog post when we got back from Greece. It didn't happen, because our house got flooded from the sewers, and we spent a day bailing ourselves out before packing and leaving for another 3 week trip. This means that all my general comments and observations from the last 2 months are waiting to be shared, so please forgive the randomness. Here are some memories from the last few months.
Memory #1-- There are dogs everywhere in Athens.
I don't mean wild dogs, and I don't mean dogs on a leash, either. I mean dogs that appear tame, despite the lack of leash or collar or owner anywhere in sight. Said dogs sleep on sidewalks and hang out at the front of buildings, until their owner comes back from their errand and collects them. Others apparently are actual strays, despite looking clean and well-fed. However, they don't run into the street, or fight with other dogs, or do any of the things I would expect American dogs to do if they were randomly left on street corners. It is so weird! I still cannot get over it.
On that note, here's a post about a Greek dog that has taken part in every single riot since 2008. That is one committed canine. Athens dogs really are another breed, if you ask me.
Memory #2- Holiday Cooking
Kevin and I made 7 Thanksgiving pies. If we had been "home" with my mother in California we would have contributed to 20 more, but we had to carry on the noble tradition by ourselves this year. My family has quite an obsession with pies. With our broken-thermostat oven working against us, I walked raw/cooked pies back and forth across the neighborhood to our American friends' home for the day before the big event, much to the surprise of our Arab neighbors (who were busy with their own Shi'a traditions, mourning the martyrdom of the prophet Hussein).
Next year, I plan to embark on the effort to convert the massively unhealthy Christmas foods that are so nostalgic to me into whole/natural foods recipes that I can feel good about eating. For instance, I have had my eye on these recipes. However, that is mostly a project for another year. My goal this year is to keep myself from too much sadness in being away from family, and to begin building Christmas memories with our own little family. Last year the Bean slept through Christmas morning. This year she is enjoying the Christmas tree and has an unbeatable enthusiasm for food. I think she'll be excited about my mom's traditional Christmas-morning apple sausage recipe (made in this part of the world with ground beef, of course!)
Memory #3 Baby Bean's Birthday
It is unbelievable to me that I am now a mother of a toddler. It is rather a paradigm shift for a new mom. Bean's sleep skills at night are still much better than previous to sleep training, although a month and a half of travel, molars coming in, plus daylight savings (what genius non-parent thought of that idea?!) did work havoc on her system. However, she is settling into a day/night routine that is *almost* working quite well for all of us, and will hopefully be even better once we are adjusted to our new apartment (see below!) My life is, well, not quite "my own" again-- those days are over-- but I have been able to do some things which I missed before. Like, take a shower. Pray. Plan my day. It has been great.
Not to mention the absolute joys of watching my non-baby do new things. This week she is working on walking, spoon-feeding, and shape-sorting. None of them are mastered, but she is a determined little thing and it's only a matter of time.
Memory #4 The Great House Hunt
This "memory", much to my chagrin, is still ongoing. Since we got back from our last trip on November 20, we have been taking micro-buses between cities as we look for a new apartment in the city where my husband's new job is located. The process here is incredibly circular and relational. Right now we are waiting on a guy who has the number for another guy who is the brother of a guy who is out of the country, who has an apartment for rent, shown to us by the local butcher who was referred to us by the pharmacist and found out about the place from HIS brother, then took about 2 weeks of showing us other apartments in the same building before we saw the actual place....are you lost yet? Suffice it to say that after weeks of looking, we think there is a place that we like but there are some logistical and relational hoops to jump through before it all comes together. So, we wait. We make chili. We make phone calls and forays out in the rain to see apartments, trying to plan them around baby nap-times, and we wait some more. In the meantime, I have discovered I love the game Rummikub. However, we are ready to get settled. Let's hope the next blog post is from our new apartment.
Memory #1-- There are dogs everywhere in Athens.
I don't mean wild dogs, and I don't mean dogs on a leash, either. I mean dogs that appear tame, despite the lack of leash or collar or owner anywhere in sight. Said dogs sleep on sidewalks and hang out at the front of buildings, until their owner comes back from their errand and collects them. Others apparently are actual strays, despite looking clean and well-fed. However, they don't run into the street, or fight with other dogs, or do any of the things I would expect American dogs to do if they were randomly left on street corners. It is so weird! I still cannot get over it.
On that note, here's a post about a Greek dog that has taken part in every single riot since 2008. That is one committed canine. Athens dogs really are another breed, if you ask me.
Memory #2- Holiday Cooking
Kevin and I made 7 Thanksgiving pies. If we had been "home" with my mother in California we would have contributed to 20 more, but we had to carry on the noble tradition by ourselves this year. My family has quite an obsession with pies. With our broken-thermostat oven working against us, I walked raw/cooked pies back and forth across the neighborhood to our American friends' home for the day before the big event, much to the surprise of our Arab neighbors (who were busy with their own Shi'a traditions, mourning the martyrdom of the prophet Hussein).
Next year, I plan to embark on the effort to convert the massively unhealthy Christmas foods that are so nostalgic to me into whole/natural foods recipes that I can feel good about eating. For instance, I have had my eye on these recipes. However, that is mostly a project for another year. My goal this year is to keep myself from too much sadness in being away from family, and to begin building Christmas memories with our own little family. Last year the Bean slept through Christmas morning. This year she is enjoying the Christmas tree and has an unbeatable enthusiasm for food. I think she'll be excited about my mom's traditional Christmas-morning apple sausage recipe (made in this part of the world with ground beef, of course!)
Memory #3 Baby Bean's Birthday
It is unbelievable to me that I am now a mother of a toddler. It is rather a paradigm shift for a new mom. Bean's sleep skills at night are still much better than previous to sleep training, although a month and a half of travel, molars coming in, plus daylight savings (what genius non-parent thought of that idea?!) did work havoc on her system. However, she is settling into a day/night routine that is *almost* working quite well for all of us, and will hopefully be even better once we are adjusted to our new apartment (see below!) My life is, well, not quite "my own" again-- those days are over-- but I have been able to do some things which I missed before. Like, take a shower. Pray. Plan my day. It has been great.
Not to mention the absolute joys of watching my non-baby do new things. This week she is working on walking, spoon-feeding, and shape-sorting. None of them are mastered, but she is a determined little thing and it's only a matter of time.
Memory #4 The Great House Hunt
This "memory", much to my chagrin, is still ongoing. Since we got back from our last trip on November 20, we have been taking micro-buses between cities as we look for a new apartment in the city where my husband's new job is located. The process here is incredibly circular and relational. Right now we are waiting on a guy who has the number for another guy who is the brother of a guy who is out of the country, who has an apartment for rent, shown to us by the local butcher who was referred to us by the pharmacist and found out about the place from HIS brother, then took about 2 weeks of showing us other apartments in the same building before we saw the actual place....are you lost yet? Suffice it to say that after weeks of looking, we think there is a place that we like but there are some logistical and relational hoops to jump through before it all comes together. So, we wait. We make chili. We make phone calls and forays out in the rain to see apartments, trying to plan them around baby nap-times, and we wait some more. In the meantime, I have discovered I love the game Rummikub. However, we are ready to get settled. Let's hope the next blog post is from our new apartment.
