Peru

I'm getting way too behind in my blogging! Mom and I went to visit Bill and Johanna in Peru last month. We had a fantastic time, toured like maniacs and reflected on how fast 14 years of Spanish flew out the door. I find I can do okay one on one, but when there are two or more people talking, I'm lost. Bill, however, is quite the pro! I was very impressed with how much he had learned over the past several months.

We saw it all and learned a ton about South American history ... did we learn this stuff in school? I remember South American geography, but nothing about the history. The churches were enormous, ornate and breath-taking. The church to the left is the San Francisco church where there were hundreds of pigeons in the courtyard.

We took an evening bus tour of the city and thank goodness Senora Calderon brought some extra winter gear. We were grateful for the ear flaps, regardless of how ridiculous we looked!

One of the stops on the tour was the water park. At least 20 different water fountains, one mimicking the Bellagio at Vegas. It was definitely worth seeing.

Many thanks to our hosts, we had a WONDERFUL time and can't wait to see you both again soon!!!

Cemetery in Peru

I have to admit that since I started reseraching my family history, I have become somewhat fascinated with cemeteries. We added a trip to the oldest cemetery in Peru, Museo Presbitero Maestro and I think we were all glad we did. This was the most beautiful cemetery I have ever seen! There were walls holding about 250 each, scattered with underground family tombs and the most amazing sculptures decorating loved ones resting place.

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I am adding cemeteries to my tourist list when I travel now ... especially in Europe!

We visited a newer cemetery while we were there too and as soon as we got out of the car we could smell the flowers. There were beautiful, fresh bouquets of flowers on nearly every gravesite, purchased at the street vendor right outside the cemetery for a couple of bucks. The water buckets seemed like such a great idea too ... haven't seen that in the States.

Shopping in Peru

The tourist shopping in Peru was fantastic, but a little overwhelming. The biggest that we found were the Indian Market and the Inka Market. Mom and I were alone on our first trip to these markets and the maze of cubbies, neatly presented with identical items from floor to ceiling, had us lost in a few minutes. Our cab driver suggested we start at the Indian Market because the prices were cheaper. There were ceramics galore and I fell in love with a Noah's Ark piece and paid s/25 (that's 25 soles = approximately $7.50). It was bundled neatly with newspaper and packing tape and my only mission was to get it to the U.S. without breaking it. Well, I made it out of the store and SPLAT! Needless to say there was no point lugging all of Noah's animals home 2 by 2, so we moved on.

The part we were not to fond of was the insistent store owners rambling in Spanish, 'we have beautiful things,' 'don't pass us by,' 'come look at this.' By about stall thirty three it was apparent that we needed to master the art of ignoring. And so you know, claiming to not speak Spanish is not always a smart option either ... sometimes they'll shoot back to you in English, and then you're stuck. It's best just to keep moving.

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The Inka Market turned out to be our favorite and we didn't notice the prices being much higher, if at all. We gathered all kinds of goodies: magnets, nativities, Christmas ornaments, blankets, scarves, mugs, etc.

Now Serving #78

It was a bright, sunshiney day and that is exactly how my attitude began when I started my shopping spree. As the hours passed however, scrambling to gather ideas and supplies to decorate for a wedding shower at the last minute changed my mood from excited and creative to panic and frustration. My last stop before heading home to begin hours of assembly was the fabric store. To my pleasant surprise, there were huge sales on most of the fabric, so I quickly grabbed my selection and headed to the cutting counter. While waiting for my turn I glanced around, grateful that there were only a handful of customers in the store, so my wait to check out would be quick. As my mind started to priortize the duties that lay ahead of me, I realized that there are two ladies behind the cutting counter, Curly and Brilliant, and one customer ahead of me. Of course the customer needed numerous yards of upholstry fabric, so I knew my wait would be a little bit longer, but surely the other lady behind the counter would help me soon. Apparently her job description could fit on a post-it note and included rambling about how curly her hair was and winding yarn around a spool. She obviously didn't realize that I didn't have time to idle at the cutting counter. Finally the customer and Curly left me with the employee who had been trained ... because cutting fabric is not just something anyone can do ... Curly obviously hadn't taken the week long training and was why she couldn't help me.

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I had already completed the calculations in my head, anticipating the question ... "how many yards?" Nope, Brilliant asks me "what number are you?" Seriously, by this time I was about finished with the stupidness. I look around to make sure I had not cut in front of a line ... just me. I'm sure my eyes were pouring with sarcasm as I reached to grab a number. "Number 78" I say cheerfully (I don't think she picked on the severe sarcasm at all). She glanced up to the ceiling at the Now Serving box where 77 was illuminated in red. She reached over to the phone and announced over the intercom, "now serving, number 77." By this time I am looking for hidden cameras. She smiled at me as she waited for a response from one of the six customers in the entire store. We wait. She then told me, "I guess I forgot to change the number over" and clicks to number 78. I smiled as politely as I could, confused a little when she said, "excuse me" while reaching for the phone again.

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Brilliant turns on the intercom and says "now serving number 78."

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I scanned the store again waiting for the camera crews to jump out at me. I'm telling you, I was the only person even close to the cutting counter. She flashed her "I'm hear to serve you smile" and to follow along with the charade I say, "that's me."

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"How many yards to you need?"

AL, MS, LA

Greg and I took a quick trip to Biloxi a couple of weeks ago and stopped on the way at Battleship Memorial Park. It was scorching hot, but we saw it all ... interesting, but definitely a boy tour. We started by touring the USS Alabama Battleship, then headed into the room full of different airplanes, helicopters, etc. Greg's absolute favorite was the Blackbird, some huge black plane that went real fast or something, I think it was a spy plane. Next we went to tour the USS Drum, a submarine. I cannot imagine living on that thing for an extended period of time ... I was claustrophobic in the ten short minutes we were in there! After that we moved to the outdoor exhibits, but let's not forget that neither the battleship or submarine had air conditioning, so by this time I had nearly melted into a puddle. Anyway, we saw more planes and finally a row of tanks. Fortunately Greg was nearing heat exhaustion by this point as well, so the outdoor excursion was quick. I probably would have really enjoyed this experience if it were a tad bit cooler than 300 degrees.

See, it's a boy thing ...

We made it to Biloxi and donated most of our money to stimulate the Mississippi economy. We headed for New Orleans for a day trip. You would have thought we had learned our lesson ... don't take outdoor day trips when the heat index is three digits!!! We toured the French Quarter on foot, ended up having a nice meal and headed back to donate some more of our money to the state of Mississippi. Overall, it actually was a nice, relaxing trip ... no alarm clocks and a lot of those little casino drinks ... how could you not have fun?

Photoshop CS2

My darling husband got me a newer version of Photoshop and I love it! I have SO much to learn and am completely overwhelmed, but it is AWESOME!!!

Kora ... smelling(?) the flowers

Puppy Reunion

I'm so behind. I must start catching up by sharing about our puppy reunion. Yup, that's right, we invited all of the little ones to one location for an afternoon of fun in the sun. Five of the nine pups showed up and it was great to see them all together. Kora definitely has the dominant genes ... we could have had a look-alike contest and had two first place winners.

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Duchess (Purple)

Beau (Green)

Ajax (Yellow)

Abbie (Brown)

Vivian (Lavendar)