Test

Alright, I was trying again to upload pics and this time it worked. Maybe it has to do with how many I am trying to do. This is the first picture I took with my new camera- you remember that Doug sat on my old one.

Picture Problems

OK, the last two times I have tried to upload pictures to my blog it hasn't worked. So I will just entertain you with the inner workings of my mind.
I have been meaning to walk around and take pictures of some of the interesting and different things here in Turkey but the Turkish military is VERY sensitive about what can be photographed so I will attempt to describe some of these things. I think my sister Dianne will especially enjoy this.
Instead of "children at play" signs, they have signs with pictures. The one coming in to my neighborhood is of two kids on a teeter-totter. Which makes me think in America it would say, "Caution, children teetering."
Also around any construction sites you can see a variety of signs my two favorites are: CAUTION: MAN WORKING and FIRST SAFETY. The crosswalk sign is a silhouette of a man who appears to be wearing a suit complete with a fedora.
In other news- spring is here- the flowers in my yard are amazing. Sydney is turning 12 tomorrow and I can't believe it. Last week at Spring Fling she won us a free night at a hotel on the Med. Finally, she's earning her keep!
Doug is being promoted on Monday to Lt. Colonel- yeah!! That was always the goal and he has worked his buttocks off to reach it, I am very proud of him. Hopefully I'll be able to post pictures of the ceremony.
Meghann, the cats and myself are all doing fine, hope you are too!

Still Here

In case anyone out there is wondering where in the wide, wide world of sports I have been, I will tell you. I am sick. I am sick of being sick. But apparently not sick enough to go to the doctor. I hate going to the doctor. I just have a cold, I can tough it out, right? Just because my throat hurts so bad I can't sleep is no reason to go begging some doc for some antibiotics. Please agree with me. Doug is also sick, he sounds like a guy who smokes 10 packs a day and he is coughing up stuff I don't want to know about. (Yet he always tells me.) But he went to the doctor and got lots of drugs. He says he feels better but he sounds like an 85-year-old sailor.
On another note, hope you all had a Happy Easter. Ours was smashing. We had friends over for a feast of ham, funeral potatoes and green beans. I hope I didn't pass on my germs. This year since we felt yucky we slept in. I was still sleeping when Doug came in and said, "We have an issue." We sorta forgot to do the whole Easter Bunny/basket thing. Oops. We had plenty of candy, but we didn't do dresses for the girls this year- they are too old to let me pick out anything for them to wear. And we didn't get them a DVD or anything really, besides lots of candy. I know, we suck. Doug did get their baskets together for them and I came down and took a picture.(Which I am too tired to post at this juncture.) Anyway, I think they forgave as they ate chocolate bunnies for breakfast.
On yet another note, today is our 15th wedding anniversary. Do we win an award or something? Did I mention my husband has unhealthy amounts of phlegm?

I Only Believe In Science

Meghann and her friend have a science project going. They have made a nice little terrarium. Complete with snails.
One snail had other ideas and staged a great escape. We woke up one morning to see a lovely, slimy snail trail all over our dining room wall. Meg just pulled him off and put him back in the plastic container.
Isn't science interesting?
If we ever had any questions why the windshield of our car is covered with little cat-sized prints, now we know for sure.
Penny- caught in the act!

On the other paw-
Spoiled Dinah sleeps peacefully in Sydney's blue pillow. Too cute.

So This Is What They Mean By The Rainy Season

On Monday, March 19, we had a bit of a rain.
I had been out driving Doug back from lunch when the van died. We pulled over in the pouring rain and Doug discovered that a belt had fallen off. So we pulled into a parking lot and Doug ran back to his office. I called a taxi. I arrived home to find that the cab couldn't even make it down our street.
I got home just as the kids were getting off the bus. We all ran inside and found out we had no electricity.
It eventually stopped raining and all the kids in the neighborhood began building boats. Amazingly, all this water was all gone within an hour of the storm ending.
PS. Doug tried for two hours later that night to get the belt back on, but we left the van book in storage. But thanks to the nice men at the Auto Hobby Shop, the van is now running fine.

More Flood Pics

Notice the stop sign? Dur?!
The yard between my house and the neighbors.

The guy with the umbrella is our gardener, Ekram. He said he'd never seen it quite like this.

Where's a canoe when you need one?

Snake Castle: Part 4

This has got to be one of the best pictures Doug took. You could almost be in Germany. (I think, I've never been there.)


Lots of amazing architecture here. The sad end of our trip was when Doug put the camera in his back pocket and then slid down some rocks. Crunch!
But he sure made good use of it before it broke! Wish you were here!