Fountain of Ablutions at Aya Sophia

Basilica Cistern

thought for today

"What am I afraid of?" began Mack.
"Well I am afraid of looking like an idiot. I am afraid that you are making fun of me and that I will sink like a rock. I imagine that--"

"Exactly", Jesus interrupted. "You imagine. Such a powerful ability, the imagination! That power alone makes you so like us. But without wisdom, imagination is a cruel taskmaster."

excerpted from The Shack by Wm Paul Young


I realize that not everyone is happy about some of what is written in The Shack. However, coming from a recovery point of view that teaches 'take what you like and leave the rest' this is one thought that I will take with me:

"Without wisdom, imagination is a cruel taskmaster"

If I dwell too much on the past or on the future I will cause myself pain. If I focus on every 'what if' I can think of I will cause myself pain. I bring pain upon myself when my predetermined view of how life's events unfold fail or people do not react/respond to them the way I imagined they would.

My prayer is for wisdom to balance out my powerful imagination and lead me to the full life that was promised to me in John 10:10.

St. Anthony of Padua

Tom and I were out for a walk and came across this beautiful church. The ceilings, windows and the floors were incredible!

books, Books, BOOKS!

It has been a joy to find several different bookstores that have books in English! We are stocking up on gems to take back home with us.

Paulo Coelho, J.D. Salinger, Toni Morrison and few others have already found a place in our suitcases!

waiting...

We embarked on this trip to Turkey because we found out that we needed to leave Russia and renew Tom's work visa. We were supposed to be able to renew it Russia two more times so when we found out that we had to leave it came as a shock.

We just found out recently that the company he works for was denied the right to hire foreign workers. So now we sit here and wait for new paperwork for a three month visa that will allow us to return to Russia.

Hopefully the new Letters of Invitation will arrive before the end of month... we have been told that they should be ready on March 25th.

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers as we continue to wait.

thought for today

Be faithful in small things because it is in them that your strength lies.

Mother Teresa

just hanging...

Tom found a hanger store!!

It reminded us of a Saturday Night Live sketch from years ago about a Scotch Tape store. How could I resist preserving this memory!

Spice Bazaar- Istanbul

The wind was pretty strong today and Spencer had to hang on tight to Flat Shirley so she wouldn't blow away!


























the ceilings were very high...




























Not every stall had a stained glass window about it... this one caught my eye!






















Not sure if it was all conjured up by the White Witch from the chronicles of Narnia... but, there was a lot of Turkish Delight to be had!!

hanging out at the Blue Mosque

tastes of Istanbul

sipping apple tea from tiny glass cups!























Tom ordered Lamb kabob at the cafe we went to!


fresh pomegranate and orange juice mixed...mmmm, our new favorite juice!!

thought for Today

I never expected to see an Egyptian obelisk in Turkey. My thought 'how the heck did that get here?!!'

out for a stroll...

breakfast is served

We went to a local supermarket to stock up on supplies and food.



This bakery has great bread and the fun part was having them pantomime for me the action of cutting. After I agreed he put the loaf through a slicer!



Came back to the little apartment and made some french toast on the two ring stove top!

guess who's going to Istanbul?

Flat Shirley arrived from California just in time to go with us to Turkey to renew our visas!

Shirley was sent to us by a second grader named Natalie. Our assignment is to take some photos with her and journal about the things we do together. I was worried that she would come while we were gone and I would cause Natalie to miss her deadline for Shirley's return.

We are always eager to help out our friends when we can so if you ever need a Flat Stanley or Shirley to visit us, please know that we have experience entertaining out of town guests and will show them a good time!!

from where?

Yesterday we received a notice in our mailbox that a package was waiting for us at the post office. On the line where it tells you what city the package is from was the word:

Fragile

So of course we had to joke about getting a package from the exotic city of Fra-gee-lay!

It turned out the box was actually a Christmas gift from a friend in New York who mailed it Dec 5th... not too bad. We have had things take longer.

And besides it is never too late or too early for a Christmas gift!!

thought for today

One word frees us of all the weight and pain of life: That word is love.

Sophocles (496 BC - 406 BC)

Presenting Elenora!

Anya and her husband Sasha invited us over to meet their daughter Elenora. It was fun spending time with them, having tea and looking at photos. We were even treated to video of Elenora's first bath.

I wonder how she will feel about that when she is older!!











Elenora and her mother Anya


























Elenora allowed me to hold her too!

I felt fortunate not just because I got to hold the baby but, because she wet her diaper when her mom took her back. And she was wearing a cloth diaper without plastic pants. She soaked her mom and not me!

the sign says

While riding the marshutka we saw two signs.

The first was said:
Don't slam the door!

The second one said:
Buy yourself a refrigerator and slam that door.

HIV testing time again!

Each time we renew our visas we have to get tested. I have actually lost count of how many tests we have had!

We went to a place called City Lab on Krasnix Partizan, within walking distance of where we live. It was very clean, efficient and quick. She took care of the three of us in record time. And we were promised results in 4-5 days. We are used to waiting around at the State hospital lab for at least an hour or more for our turn to pay and then wait another hour to take the test!

today's news...

Are you a Twitter fan? My English class and I have discussed in the past how this type of networking can influence politics here in Russia and abroad.

Here's an article on how Ashton Kutcher plans to use his Twitter account during his visit here to Russia:

Kutcher to Twitter fans during Russian visit

Thu Feb 18, 10:03 am ET

MOSCOW – Hollywood actor and Web-savvy activist Ashton Kutcher says he will "crowd source" questions about the Kremlin's push to develop a Russian Silicon Valley to his 4.5 million Twitter fans.

The actor is part of a U.S. delegation of technology and social media leaders that arrived in Moscow as part of White House efforts to improve ties with Russia.

Kutcher told reporters here Thursday that he will "translate the Russian voice to an American audience" and seek advice on Russia's efforts to build its own high-tech center.

The Kremlin announced recently it would develop its own Silicon Valley to help modernize Russia's economy, which is highly dependent on energy exports.

During the weeklong visit, the delegation will urge the Russian government, businessmen and students to utilize social media and innovative technologies to tackle problems like human trafficking and corruption.

The visit is part of an effort strengthen ties between the United States and Russia after years of strained relations.

_____

Delegation's Twitter page: http://bit.ly/d43eoW

thought for today

Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.

St. Augustine

premarital counseling...

We just finished an hour and a half session with a couple who will be getting married in a few months. They had a list of questions they wanted to discuss with Tom. One of which was about birth control.

I think I should get a prize for translating about the different methods in Russian... and oh what a joy it was to explain the withdrawal method.

Percy Jackson

We saw Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Lightening Thief with a group of friends this past weekend. Not having read the book I asked the 11 year old what the movie was about. She gave me a quick synopsis and I prepared myself to see young Percy Jackson go on an adventure!

It is always fun to see movies in the theater here with a large group of people... even if you don't catch every single word of the Russian you get the point of what is going on. One of the jokes was not lost on us Americans. There is a quip about going Tennessee and the type of music they play there. The loudest laughter came from our row!

Cutting Alcohol Consumption by 2020

Here is an article from Russia Today that I found interesting:


New measures to cut Russia’s alcohol consumption by 2020

18 December, 2009, 20:24

Authorities plan to introduce an anti-drinking policy to cut alcohol consumption by three-fold by 2020. The measure is expected to be introduced in two steps within the next 2 years.

The government has suggested banning covert alcohol advertisement, limiting the time of day at which alcohol is sold and improving warning labels as just some of the steps in the process.

If the program succeeds, total consumption of alcohol per person should drop to 8 liters of alcohol per year.

In respect to the level of alcohol consumption, contrary to the stereotype, Russia lags behind European countries such as the UK, Germany, France and the Czech Republic, among others. Nevertheless, President Medvedev has called Russians’ proclivity for drinking, a “national catastrophe.”


Dr. Jeannot Hoareau from the European centre for Psychotherapy believes the reasons behind alcoholism among Russians are the same as in the rest of the world: anxiety, depression and problems people can’t deal with on their own.

“The most important thing is knowledge on that matter,” he says, “You can’t stop alcoholism by just raising prices. Back in the 1980’s Gorbachev did that. And it didn’t work. It was an utter failure.”

thought for today

I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much.

Mother Teresa

I know that I used this quote back in November... however, when things get a little crazy here, these words express how I feel about what we are going through. Please keep continue to keep us in your prayers!

Maslenitsa

Yesterday was the beginning of Maslenitsa. One of my students brought in blini (Russian pancakes)and explained that this holiday is about saying goodbye to winter and welcoming spring. Pancakes are to symbolize the sun. Hers were quite tasty. She spread a cream cheese mixture inside and rolled them up. Yum!

After this week the Lenten season fast begins here so that is another reason to enjoy pancakes with butter for a full week!

Beignets... inspired by The Princess and the Frog

If you have seen the movie then you know that in the cafe scene this treat is one of the dishes featured when we see Tiana at work.

The French word Beignet (ben-yay) means 'fried dough'. After researching recipes from New Orleans, reading about the history of the beignet on line, I started experimenting and came up with a recipe that my two trusty taste testers approved of!


Alida's Russian Beignets
1/2 cup water
2 Tbl sugar
1/4 butter
3/4 cup flour
Dash of salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
Oil
Powdered Sugar

To make the choux:
Combine water, sugar, butter and salt in saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil, stirring while the butter melts. Turn down heat and add flour all at once, stirring until the mixture forms a ball. Turn off heat.

After making the choux: Add vanilla and eggs one at a time, whipping vigorously with wire whisk, until mixture is smooth and shiny. Let sit in fridge for a bit to cool.

Drop by rounded teaspoons into hot oil. Fry a few beignets at a time until they are golden brown. Keep a watch on the temp of the oil so as not to cook too fast or burn the beignets.

Remove them with a slotted spoon and let drain on paper towels. Makes aprox. 2 1/2 dozen.


Tom and Spencer enjoyed this batch the best and we all think they taste like the Russian doughnuts that we love called 'ponchiki'.

Bon Appetite!!!