Sunflowers

The first of Gary's sunflowers has opened up, and we're hoping for several more to open up before we have friends over on July 4th.

In other news, Gary's computer got fixed twice this week. We went to all the trouble to take it to the fix-it shop at the Center early in the week and then they said it was working and so we brought it home and set it all back up. Then it didn't work again. So I took it back and this time they installed a new motherboard--it still had a few days of warranty remaining--yay!

We continue to move things around in the house now that Rachel is out of our space. The latest is to resurrect Gary's Reading Edge book reader. We've unhooked it from the computer (the Reading Edge technology is too old for the computer anyway) and set it beside a couch so he can use it to read real books. Understanding that computer dialect is a skill he has acquired, but I'm not that good at it yet.

In the News

I don't read much Spanish these days, but Andrew sent this link to an article in their local San Pedro Sula newspaper about one of Samaritan's Purse's child feeding programs.

In other news, Rachel learned that the job she applied for at Trinity School has not been filled yet, so we are still praying that God may open this position for her. After shopping today she was starting to realize how expensive everything is. (Welcome the the real world.)

Back to Honduras

I got emails from Andrew and Laura today. They are safely back home and Laura kindly sent me a few photos.

This one is with Doro in Bremen.


This one is with Laura's sister Laurita in Switzerland. Isn't it beautiful?

Speaking of Honduras, we changed our dates to go there to now be July 18-27. This means we will be there with David, except he returns to the US a day before us.

It's Hot In Here

Last Sunday the church was so cold we could hardly stand it. Today we noticed at first it was comfortable, then as the service went on we all started fanning ourselves with our bulletins. Then the pastor announced that one of the a/c units had gone out, while reminding us that most of the congregations in the world were having services without benefit of a/c.

Gary got home from Michigan, but not until almost midnight last night.

David phoned yesterday in one of his rare chatty moods and told me all about the car he wants to buy.
Me: It sounds like you want my approval.
David: No, I just don't want your disapproval.

:-) He is making his plans to be in Honduras July 8-26, shadowing a doctor while he is there. We are still making our Honduras plans, but the dates changed since last time. Rachel is not happy to be the only one left out of this visit.

Speaking of Honduras, I think Andrew and Laura are flying back today from their week in Europe. I hope they found their camera and took some photos (hint, hint!).

Vegetables

It is nearly impossible to grow a garden in our backyard, since it is Austin chalk beneath about 1 inch of topsoil. Our neighbors,however, have a nice garden since they hauled in real dirt. And they kindly shared the bounty with me who turned it into spaghetti sauce and zucchini bread.



Gary is due back from Michigan in a few hours. Someone else is picking him and his colleagues up from the airport. Rachel is off at the second MK party in two nights. She is driving all over the place lately, and I just try not to worry too much.

Photos from Germany

Thanks, Sandra, for sending these photos of Andrew and Laura's visit with you.

(Remember to click on them to see a larger version.)

Update

Yes, the Mavs lost. We watched a lot of basketball this year. We got into it via R's old boyfriend who is quite a fan.

Speaking of Rachel, still no word on her latest job, so that isn't good. We hope she will find something soon. Rachel continues to surprise us with how well she is doing in her new apartment and how well she is finding her way around town in her car. She continues to do quite a bit of babysitting, but she needs a real job.

We've heard from Andrew and Laura from both Doro's and Sandra's houses in Germany. Next they go to Switzerland. And I haven't heard if David was affected by the floods in Houston. Although I DID ask him...

Gary is in Michigan for the whole week. I'm taking a day or two off since both Gary and my other boss are out of town. But I'm having lunch with friends and doing errands, so keeping busy.

World Cup

Andrew and Laura made it to Sandra's house and they should be at their World Cup game at this very moment. The Spanish language TV channel 23 here in Dallas is carrying it--Copa Mundial, España v. Túnez. I may have to watch and see if I can find them in the stands (j/k)

Gary left this morning for a week in Lansing, MI at a couple conferences.

The Center was partially without electricity and A/C today because lightning hit a transformer Saturday night during a storm.

Happy Father's Day

We went out to eat with Martins, Fairbankses, and Barnetts at Cheddars after church. That was fun and we did the adults' table/kids' table thing on opposite sides of the restaurant.

When we got home there was this email from Germany:

Hi mom,

We are safe and having fun in Germanz. We got in without anz problems zesterdaz. Zou can see that the y is a z on this kezboard. Todaz we had a tour of Bremen after church and saw the Bremen town musicians and the quaint little down town part. Some parts of the citz are more than 1000 zears old.

Tomorrow morning we leave for Sandras. We will get there areound 2 in the afternoon. Then Wednesdaz we leave for Swityerland. Our game is tomorrow night.

Love,
Andrew

Concert

We've been given a pair of tickets to attend a concert at the Meyerson Center this evening, to hear Stravinsky's Firebird Ballet Suite. The concert is part of their casual summer series, which I guess means I don't have to drag out my mink and pearls.

Rachel has two babysitting jobs today, and another one tomorrow evening. We plan to meet our Bible study friends at Cheddar's tomorrow for lunch in honor of Father's Day. Some of their kids are home for the summer and Rachel hasn't had a chance to see them yet.

Off To See Some More of the World

This afternoon I got a call from Andrew. He was in the Miami airport (quite possibly the USA's worst airport, although the official Worst Airport Polls say JFK is worst). They were on their way to Germany for a World Cup game between Spain and Tunisia. So that means that in just barely over a month they will have been on four continents. Wait, I guess really only three, because technically Central America is part of North America, though culturally it fits better with South America.

Andrew told me they are yet again needing to visit a consulate to get Laura another visa; this is getting to be a common occurrence. While there they hope to visit Doro and Sandra in Germany and Laurita in Switzerland.

We're Going to Honduras

Samaritan's Purse has agreed to buy Gary's ticket, so we used frequent flyer miles to buy mine (plus $24.50 in taxes). Our dates are July 23-Aug 2. Gary will design and implement a couple databases in Access for them, one to track a child feeding program, and another to track HIV testing. Right now their data is in spreadsheets. This is similar to what he did four years ago when we went to El Salvador. He will have to do a bunch of the work before we go, then finish it there--makes you wonder why we're calling it vacation, huh?

Dinner for Eight

Or in our case, lunch for nine. Our church is instituting a program for the next few months where groups of seven or eight have a meal together approximately once a month. Our group turned out to be all women, except Gary. And all Wycliffe, except Amy. We grilled burgers, but it was too hot to eat outside, even under our nice shade trees.

Happy Birthday, Rachel!

For Rachel's birthday I took her out to lunch (Gary couldn't join us since he's in NC) then bought her a new double boiler saucepan (to match her other pots and pans) and a tank of gas. Guess which cost more??

Vacation Part 3 -- Camping is for the Birds

Yes, I know these are lousy photos, but they are the best my little camera can do, it being small enough to easily take with you, rather than big enough to take photos halfway across the lake. (And to tell the truth, I wouldn't want a big camera because then it would be too much to carry, just in case you were planning to buy me a big digital SLR for my upcoming birthday :-)






Great Egret









Some kind of ducks.








Great Blue Heron








Red-winged Blackbirds get ready for bed.






Turkey Buzzard sitting on a cell phone tower, talking to Mr. Crow

Vacation Part 2 -- Fire and Food

When we ran to Wal-Mart to buy a tent, we also picked up a couple steaks. Eating steak is such a rare occurrence, I deemed it a blogworthy item. Bratwurst comes in a six-pack. Let's see, that means two breakfasts and one dinner.Gary insisted on trying percolated campfire coffee, but he was disappointed in the results.By the time we got home, everything smelled like smoke.

Vacation Part 1--The Camping Experience

We decided to spend our mini vacation on a camping trip to nearby Cedar Hill State Park. Gary found some firewood in the back yard from the limbs he trimmed earlier. We got a great camp site since we went on a Thursday.
The tent would have gone up easier if we had read the directions before putting it up.The campsites are pretty close together, but we did have our own little beach to sit and do nothing.
There is one section of the lake they've designated for swimming and after a certain amount of arm twisting, Gary went in. We watched the sun set over the lake.It has been many years since we went camping and we discovered it is quite a different experience without kids! (No offence, darling children!)