Accomplishments...

I have actually been able to finish most things on my list. I don't think the dog will be trained in week though. She's not terribly intelligent. Or maybe she is smart, just stubborn. Perseverance will win out in the end... which ever one of us perseveres, that is.

Now, I'm just trying to figure a hostel or hotel in a central Turkey. It's actually kind of fun wondering how much of it is just advertising and how much is real. I mean, all of these places "sound" great. Haha.

I'm enjoying how much reading I've been able to do this summer. Not that I've read really important things or anything, but I've had time to lounge through books that I enjoy. They are comfortable to me and peaceful. I'm a sucker for peace.

To Do... This Week

• Add to red dress for brother's wedding
• Visit with friends
• Make frame on oval table for mosaic
• Find glue for mosaic
  
• Download more audio books
• Cook orange chicken
• Trying to get Advair prescription renewed without a doctor visit (DONE!)
  
• Buy medications (DONE!)
• Pack to spend a week with Katie!!!!
• Find something interesting to write a blog post on...
• Train dog to be ok with toe nail clippers (just going for ok...)
• Take sister's car to get an oil change
  
• Buy oranges for the orange chicken (I should have put this up higher in the list...huh...)
• I think I need ginger too...
• I need to write something... dunno what... but I've got a writey bug...
• I'm sure there is more, but I'm tired and need to go now.
• TTFN!
  

Friends

I had some of my team over this week and they saw my Moscow world and met my family. It was really fun to get to know one of them better. It was great to spend time with all of them. The girl I've lived with for the past year is one of my best friends and she makes me laugh so often. But she can be serious too. She loves me while knowing nearly all of my flaws. I am humbled. I am blessed.

Adjusting

• I open the fridge to look for water. We don't keep water in the refrigerator here.
• I'm cold even though its 80 degrees outside.
• I glare at people as I go through the grocery store. I'm sorry.
• I don't know the characters on TV shows that my family has watched for years. I'm not sorry about this one.
  
• I miss my team--like a second family.
• I get to drink milk, eat deli turkey sandwiches, and granola.
• I miss my kids.
• I get to see my family every day.
• My brother took me out on a date today. We had Thai food.
• I went running yesterday. It felt good.
• I went out for coffee. Yay.
• I had a good talk with a friend. More yay.
• I went to a prayer group with people like me.
  
• America is EASY.
• America isn't perfect... it's missing some things.
  

Change

Recently in Kurdistan there has been a new list or party called Goran, which means change. The slogans sound something reminiscent of Obama and his call for change. Whether or not change is a good thing, I can't generally say. But one of the most interesting things for me as I return home is seeing how things have changed. There are big changes and small ones.

The big ones are things like my brother getting married and my family's new dog. The smaller changes are more interesting to me though. My mother changed where she keeps the baking powder and baking soda. It took me 5 minutes to discover the new location. The compost bowl is on the other side of the sink than it used to be. And the glasses are now nearly all stemware like the kind you find for water in nice restaurants.

These are only a fraction of the myriad changes in a home after six months. It isn't much to adjust to, but at least these things are things that have really changed. More things feel odd but really are very normal for here. More on those later.

Pool Party with Dr. Pepper

pool party with Dr. Pepper, originally uploaded by thebeloved.

We can make a party out of anything. Plus it was hot and we needed a way to cool off.

Girls ready for battle--in the house... =)

Girls ready for battle--in the house... =), originally uploaded by thebeloved.

We have had some wild crazy parties in our house.

Homecoming

So I finally made it back to my hometown, which remains yet a nearly changeless town. It's so peaceful and quiet here in the midst of the summer lull. A university town like this one is nearly ghostlike this time of year, especially on a Sunday afternoon.

I went for a walk in the rain with my brother. The rain made me happy and my brother made me happy and my family's dog waddled along in perfect oblivion to the lightning and thunder.

Here I am.