Hearse ahead

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Friday, July 30, 2010

Out driving around today and saw this great hearse go by.

The first one I've seen in a year.

Stall #14

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia

Thursday, July 29, 2010

The parents are visiting here in UB, and they suggested that they'd like to try a bit of Mongolian food. I took them to one of our favorite food vendors at Naran Tuul (aka the Black Market): Stall #14.

The khuushuur (so-called "mutton pancakes") were quite tasty, the mantou buuz (mutton dumplings) okay, and the suutetsai (salty milk tea) still kind of hard to explain.

Here are the intrepid eaters at work...

2 well-travelled peaches

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Thursday, July 29, 2010

Home at last to Ulaanbaatar. Two days before we left Seattle, my oh-so-sweet family brought us a box of peaches from Yakima. At the last minute, I decided to bring two of them to Frank here in UB. Carefully wrapped and heroically uneaten, they arrived intact and unbruised in Ulaanbaatar. To Frank's delight.

Thank goodness there are no sniffer dogs here in Customs.

Yakima to Seattle: 142 miles/227 km + Seattle to Ulaanbaatar: 10,648 miles/17,137 km

kiitos gracias daste dard nakon thank you

Home again in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Wednesday, July 28, 2010

for the buckets of berries
for the play dates
for the dinners, breakfasts, and lunches
for the time at Lopez
for doing all the dishes
for the babysitting
for the walks and visits
for the lush, green gardens
for the Thomas toys (new and old)
for the trips up from Olympia
for the trip down from Vancouver
for the trip up from the Bay Area
for the trips over from Yakima
for the trip up from Los Angeles
for the peaches
for the trip to the Zoo
for sitting in the waiting room
for the shopping trips
for loaning me a cell phone
for the new outfits for A
and so much, much more:

thank you, thank you, thank you

I will miss you all--and the strawberries, too--

$63.32

Seattle, Washington
Monday, July 19, 2010

Another lightening strike on Goodwill today--this time on "$1.29 Monday". That is, everything with a green tag was $1.29.

The bill added up to $63.32: 14 new blouses for me, 6 books, and 4 puzzles for A.

A very good afternoon's work. Almost ready to head back to Mongolia, well armed with new clothes and books and toys for A. Ready for another Mongolian winter? I sure hope so.

Home again

Lopez Island, Washington

Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Home again, truly home again, to the farm on Lopez. After 36 years of coming here, more than anything, coming home IS this place.

Mom & JG, the place looks beautiful!

You've got to be kidding

I-5 headed North, Washington
Sunday, July 11, 2010

So, my mother thinks that this guy was playing a prank on other drivers, but for all the world, this is what I saw as I headed north on I-5 this afternoon.

Is it really possible to drive down the highway with your leg sticking out the window--and in a cast?? Theoretically, I guess.

Click image to get a somewhat closer view

Green, beautiful green

Seattle, Washington
Friday, July 9, 2010

A spent yesterday evening playing in my father's garden. Flowers! Bugs! A fountain!

The luxurious green of Seattle (after a long, cool spring here) felt like a healing salve on my ache for green. The green of spring on the Mongolian steppe IS gorgeous, but Seattle summer gardens are lovely and lush.

Thanks Dad & T for sharing your beautiful garden.

Strawberries, blueberries...and lemons!

Seattle, Washington

Wednesday, July 7, 2010

We are back in Seattle for several weeks, and A is, at last, eating berries to her heart's content. For the past 3-4 weeks, A has recited like a litany what she was going to eat when she got to Seattle: "Strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, cherries, blackberries, and lemons!"

I think she has had strawberries and/or blueberries at every meal since we arrived five days ago. We haven't gotten to the lemons yet, but there's still time...