Recipe for...

...well, probably just bad breath. But, also for some yummy Turkish food. It's bulgar/tomato/garlic (very garlic) goodness. Yummy. Sarımsaklı köfte. One of my favorite Turkish dishes. This isn't going to be a recipe you're going to be able to make from looking at this blog. Sorry, but here's how Turkish recipes go... Here's the ingredient list:
alot of bulgar (maybe 2-3 water glasses)
1/2 a water cup of semolina
3 serving spoons flour
an eating spoon of salt
5-6 tomatoes
a whole bulb of garlic, maybe an extra half of a bulb
a bunch of parsley
And you're lucky that I got those measurements! I might as well have had to hold her hand from throwing things in without measuring, not really, but she was measuring for my benefit, usually they don't measure ANYTHING. These measurements are a bit sketchy from my guess-timating. Some of this, more of that, less of this... yada yada yada.
Anyways, along the way, somehow I asked for something to tie my hair back with and I got that fun headscarf instead of a ponytail holder! Might as well look like a Turk while I'm making Turkish food! I watched the sauce being made, but I put much hard labor into rolling the bulgar into just the right little shapes, all of which took about 2 hours! That's right... t-w-o hours. Let me tell you, Turkish food is delicious, but much time consuming! It's so worth it though. I'm so glad my friend invited me to learn how to make this Turkish treat. I already have visions of coming home and hosting big dinner parties with Turkish food to share about my memories and tales from life abroad. So, R.S.V.P. now! Turkish dinner is coming to a neighborhood near you. When I say "Afiyet olsun!" (Bon Appetit)... you can go ahead and practice your response, "Elinize sağlık!" (el-ey-kneez-ey/sah-luh-k) 'Health to Your (the maker's) Hands'.
Afiyet olsun!
Elinize sağlık!

Walk in the Woods

Sorry, for the delay in blogging. I have no brilliant excuses of busy-ness, my mind has just been a bit overwhelmed and I haven't posted. But, I haven't forgotten about you, the few, the faithful readers and curious ones about my life over here. You are what makes this blog worth it for me, otherwise I'd just be posting pictures of myself for myself to look at! Well, I will never have that problem because I will always have at least 2 very faithful fans that reside on Shades Crest Road. (smile). Sorry for no pictures lately Nicholsons. Last weekend, we took a picnic with some friends that we've been working on a project with. It was a really pretty day and the weather turned out to be great! We grilled and socialized and sang a bit...and I even managed to almost sneak in a little nap in the sun. A picnic here is not a picnic in America. It is not a pack peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and lemonaide kind of thing. It's an event. We grilled out kebap. But, before we grilled and ate the kepab, we had to make the kebap. New experience for me...I generally like to use a knife and fork and make as little contact with the raw meat as possible...don't like my hands in it... I made an exception and helped. It was a really fun afternoon to head on down to the lake and just relax and enjoy the spring weather.

I love this picture. This is a sweet friend who helps me with language and her husband and this picture is so true to his character. He is always goofing off...I think in this picture he might have been saying, does this shirt make me look fat?Here we are getting lunch ready...doesn't that just stir your appetite up?...it's not beef, it's lamb. Nice, but definitely not the same and not Outback. Who knows why I have this obsession with Outback that I make references to it and traipsed halfway around London to find it, red meat is expensive here so I think maybe I crave a good steak? who knows. The lamb was okay (in my opinion--others insist that is the meat of choice), but I had chicken.And of course, no picnic is complete without a man riding through the woods on his bike selling cotton candy for the little ones, right?

Fashion Police

So, people here tend to wear shirts that have English written on them quite a bit and wouldn't you know that they don't know what their shirt says any more than we do. Here is one example of a t shirt I saw today on the man standing in front of me in line at the post office. I started being confused and then just had to stifle my laughter as I pondered it's intended meaning and how appropriately it fit the wearer. It said:

'Alert Passion Departman, Style is Difficult to Defective
Bad Can you Otted a Mile Away'

Your guess is as good as mine. But yeah, when I read it I was thinking something like...'Alert the Fashion Department. Style is Difficult to Detect, but if it's bad...You Can Spot it a Mile Away'. What's on your t-shirt? Bet you'll think twice about what it says next time before you put it on, eh? Spell check, it's a wonder.

Featured Artist of the Month:

Chris. I know, who ever knew Chris that you would make the title of a blog, but give credit where credit is due and it's due your way. These are all your pics. They have been sweet as I have been reminding myself this week why I love where we live so much because now that two more of my fellow pilgrims have headed home, I find myself with visions of airport reunions, my favorite restaurants, long chats face to face with family and friends, and Target filling my mind. Yes, I've been wishing a bit that I could be there, too. But, it's their time and not mine, so I have been taking heart and re-deciding to give myself fully to the next 7 months that I will be here. I do love this place and I do love these people and I am really at peace and have joy about this time. I know it, I've just had to remind myself this week. It happens (smile). Chris took these pictures a few weeks ago and I think they're great, but I'm also pretty partial to the subjects--the people and sights of the place I call home. Turkey. So, here is a new and unique window to the world that I live in and love.

Taking Tarsus by Run

I know, you've all been waiting for it. This weekend was the Tarsus Half Marathon (which I did not run in) and the Tarsus People's 5K Run (which I did run in!). We had some friends come in from Istanbul and Izmir to hang out for the weekend and run in the race. Alas, none of them won--the Kenyans took that prize (see picture)--but everyone had alot of fun and ate alot of Adana Kebap which can only be truly enjoyed in the city after which it was named, my current home. Everybody got in Friday night and we relaxed and headed to Tarsus Saturday for a tour for the new folks and to register for the race. But, not before we had a huge pancake breakfast. I am now officially a master pancake chef. Pancakes for 15, no problem! My kitchen can handle it.
The registration managed to be very interesting, in true Turkey fashion. When we got there, the people in charge actually knew our friends by name (everything about foreigners down here tends to be memorable), so they knew their names, but they were not actually totally registered. Then, they ran out of numbers, so while a few of our friends waited to be registered, the race coordinators made some house calls to pre-registered runners to see if people were coming. They needed to know if they could give their numbers away! They were throwing a pasta party that evening, but before the lady invited us, she made sure to tell us...Now don't gossip...but we're having a pasta party. Okay? We won't. I guess they knew if word got out in these parts, everyone in Tarsus would want to show up for the pasta party. We spent the day after that sightseeing. I love Tarsus. It's a really quaint city and always fun to show people around. The tour ended up being a mini-half marathon in itself as we didn't get home till really late. We may have been fabulous hosts, but we managed to do everything wrong before the marathon! We walked all day Saturday sightseeing, then we did have a big carb dinner... too bad we didn't have it until about 10:30 the night before! And to top that off, the time changed in Turkey this weekend, so everyone got a bit less sleep! But, they were troopers!
The race was really fun. I stopped running a couple weeks ago, so I wasn't sure how it was going to go, but it was great. We ran by all the landmarks of the city. We actually ran under Cleopatra's gate as part of the course! At one point, I even managed to get emotional, I know, crazy, me? But, I was running up a hill listening to a praise song singing about His glory going to the nations and I started to pray for the people of this land, and when I reached the hill all these Turks were lining the streets cheering for us. Really, the whole 5K, people sat outside their businesses and old covered ladies stood and clapped for us as we ran by. I just got overwhelmed lifting them up, and then seeing them cheering me on. It was such a neat run. We waited for all our half-marathon friends near the end to cheer them on and ended up cheering on about everyone. The concept of running is somewhat foreign to most Turks. You don't see alot of people exercising down here where we live. And, if they are, they're most likely not running. My training definitely drew some attention from the neighborhood. But, as we cheered on the runners, the excitement caught on and Turks started joining us cheering and clapping! It was great. It was really fun to have these folks down for the weekend, and the weekend in Tarsus was worth the new running shoes and getting back in the habit.

Welcome to the World (Part 1)

This blog finds itself mainly for the foreigners who have been with us here and God has taken them elsewhere on their journeys. We have a new baby in our midst! Pictures as promised... Meet Micah Silas. Micah meet the world. I went over to visit the Brownies today and of course to hold the baby. Everybody has been pitching in, so we cooked them dinner one night this week, but I hated to go empty handed today, but my hands were not empty for long. (smile.) I have missed out and will miss out on holding almost 10 of my friends' babies since I've been here and while I'm finishing up my time. Is that not crazy! I can't believe I'm grown up enough to have that many friends having babies! I've hated missing out and am sad to think about missing out on the births to come, but He has given me some baby bundles to love on here, till I go home!
Even Lukie wanted to get in on the action of holding baby brother. He was thinking I've got two older brothers and they both have younger brothers, it's about time I got a chance! And, then there were four! So, that has been the excitement around here this week. As soon as I get over to the Satt's, then I'll post a picture of their new bundle of baby joy. I'm telling you, there is something in the water here! In other non-baby news, friends from Istanbul are coming down tonight to get ready to run in the Tarsus half marathon on Sunday. Me and my roommate are going to do the People's 5K run. It should be fun having some familiar faces around this weekend, showing them around our village and giving them a tour of Tarsus...a must see on anyone's Turkey tour. It should be fun, I promise some pictures after the weekend!

Things I Love Today...

Today, I love...
I love...weather warm enough to dry the towels in an hour! So fabulous! Just the right weather to walk around without a jacket (at least as far as the foreigners are concerned...the locals are still wearing winter coats, but spring is here. Soon to come are the days of 5 minute towel drying weather! I'm not quite ready for the 113 degree heat yet, but I'm loving spring!).I love...good Chinese food (good is a term I use loosely) and fabulous Turkish friends who will humor you enough to go with you to eat it! It was so worth the 2 buses we again rode to get there! Delish, just delicious. Sweet and sour chicken hit the spot!
I love...having a friend as great as this one here, and not being the only one who doesn't know how to use her chop-sticks! I love this girl. I love...America salsa in my refridgerator that I bought from the American bazar...even if I did pay roughly 15 dollars for it. A girl has got to do what a girl has got to do every now and then. You may make note that it has already been opened. (smile.) It's a good thing, I just now found that American bazar or I might not have been able to hold out this long! Every now and then a treat is just nice! We're wild for mild.
I love...my family and our traditions that travelled to Turkey this year...dying Easter eggs (a tradition I have missed doing with my dad for the second time probably almost since birth! I'm a daddy's girl, old traditions die hard. Leave us be, we love us some quality time.) and making pounds and pounds of deviled eggs (momma's recipe) that apparently Turkish people love! and being able to share with our friends how important Easter is to us and why. The deviled eggs symbolized new life, I shared, but I conveniently left out their traditional America name. No need to try and explain. Is deviled a cooking term? I'm sure so, but there's no translation and there's no room for me to translate 'eggs of satan' here so...the name was omitted!
I love...a celebration because of what we celebrated Sunday and good conversation over who we are, in whose image we were created, why we were created, and how our lives can be redeemed. Conversation that is even sweeter knowing it's between those who know and have chosen and are covered in His righteousness and those who have never had the priviledge to hear or choose.
I love...more sweet friends, some who know Him and some who don't. But all laughing and loving and those who know sharing the love that He's given us with those that don't. Easter just does not get much better than this. To remember Who He is, Hallelujah, that He is Risen. He is Risen Indeed. To appreciate my salvation in deeper new ways daily in a land of darkness and to share it.