Walking the Line

Because Chris was away on Cali’s birthday we decided to have the party after he returned.  It took us awhile to get organized but we finally did it.  She wanted to have her party at the bowling alley.  This was her present also.  We limited the number of guests to something that was manageable, three.  Everybody had a great time.  Chris was the champion bowler, as should be expected.  Tabea was the top kid.  Check out the pics on flickr. 

I (DeAnn) talked on the phone with my sister for the first time since my birthday.  I can’t believe we went so long without talking.  Even when I lived in Germany we would talk on the phone at least once a week.  I think the 10 hour time difference is on reason why its hard to connect.  The other reason is that we are way busier here than we were there.  Anyway, my sister couldn’t believe that I was really as busy as I say I am.  She said that I spend too much time watching videos on YouTube, like the ones I have here and here. So this video is for her.  I have actually been wanting to post it since I saw it the first time.  I liked the song right away and when I realized the singer is Johnny Depp’s chick and the mother of his children, I liked it even more.  Her name is Vanessa Paradis and the song is Dès que j’te vois. (I have no idea what she is singing about.)

Since my last post several days have passed.  The day before my last post was Chris’ birthday.  (I put a pic on flickr.)  Then he was in Israel for week.  While he was gone it was Cali’s birthday.  (I put pics on flickr.) She didn’t have a proper party so I still need to plan that.  My cousin Jenee’ had a birthday also and I didn’t send an e-card.  So, Jenee’, if you read this “Happy Birthday.”  We all thought of you but with Chris gone, I just wasn’t organized enough to get a card sent.  Sorry. (I also put a pic her pic on flickr.)

While Chris was gone we also observed Green/Clean Monday here in Cyprus, which is the beginning of Lent in the Orthodox church.  We had a picnic at the beach with Madara, Renate, Savvas and Cali’s friend, Tabea.  I wasn’t sure how warm the water would be so the kids didn’t have their suits with them.  But, I had forgotten that their first beach experiences were in California and the water in the Med is warmer in March than the water in Pacific in August, so they went in anyway.  (Check out the pics.)

When Chris and I bought our first house in Bakersfield there was beautiful, old camellia bush by the corner of the porch.  Grandma Erma loved it.  I did too.  I can hear her now saying how beautiful it was.  We only lived in that house 2 years, but the camellia was one of my favorite things about it. (The other thing was the grapefruit tree.)  The next owners of the house decided to take out the camellia and put in a palm tree.  I cried.

Now I have a camellia in a pot on the patio.  It is small, but beautiful.  When I look at it I always think of my grandma.  I miss her.  She is still living, but, at 82, she isn’t the same.  She lived around the corner from that house and used to come over all the time to visit and help me with the kids.  Now she lives in assisted living.  I hope they have a garden there with lots of camellias (and roses.)

(I put some pictures of my camellia on flickr.)

The kids had a couple of days off school for midterm so we decided to go to the mountains and play in the snow the yesterday.  It was difficult to get everybody going in the morning, but it was good to get out of the city.  It had been a few months.  The kids no longer had all the snow clothes that had been such an important part of life in Reit im Winkl so we didn’t stay very long.  30 minutes sledding, lunch and another 30 minutes sledding was enough to get really wet and cold.  Check out the pictures on Flickr.

That’s right.  Last night it snowed in Nicosia.  Yes, it was very wet and no, it didn’t stick, but it was still fun.  Our family has seen lots of snow, but the guys we had over haven’t.  It just doesn’t snow much in their part of Africa.  It was really great to experience the snow with them.  We were watching “I am Legend”  when Daniel noticed that it was snowing.  We paused the movie and all ran outside. 

As far as “I am Legend” is concerned, it was nothing like I expected.  To be honest, I really didn’t know what it was about, so I was very surprised.  And maybe the 15 minute break in the middle to enjoy the snow disturbed the continuity and momentum of the movie.  I don’t think I’ll watch it again to find out.  This was Chris’ second time to watch and he said it is pretty interesting.  Have you seen it? What do you think?

This morning was my first class of Modern Greek II at Americanos College.  I never took Modern Greek I so I was a little nervous this morning.  But God is so gracious.  It seems that the international students don’t come to class the first couple of weeks, so I ended up having a hour and half private lesson.  The teacher took me through the first 2 chapters of the book.  The class is actually on chapter 20 so I have a lot of catching up to do, but the teacher assured me that my previous knowledge of German will be a big help and I shouldn’t have much trouble.  I also have a friend to help me. 

Learning German was relatively easy.  I had taken two years of it in high school and with just two months at the Goethe and the help of friends I was communicating pretty well.  But now I am 4 years older and closer to 40 than 30. I have had no previous Greek.  I’m interested in seeing how my brain handles it.

Last night was the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.  Egypt beat Cameroon.  We had our Cameroonian friends over and this time I was rooting for Cameroon.   I was not only disappointed that Cameroon lost, but that the whole thing was over.  Last week we had people over 3 nights to watch football.  It has been really fun. 

On another note, I started watching Prison Break.  I’ve been hearing about how great it is since we moved here.  The Zimbabweans love it and couldn’t believe I had never seen it.  I was interested in seeing it but I hadn’t made much of an effort, so last Monday night, after the football game, Daniel showed me an online sight where I could watch it.  So I started watching Tuesday morning.  All the guys had told me about staying up all night watching because they couldn’t wait to see what happened next.  I thought, “not me, I have too much to do.”  Well, I was wrong.  I watched 8 episodes the first day.  Now, a week later, I am through season 2 episode 16.  If you haven’t seen the show yet I recommend that you set aside a few days and get started.  Of course you have to start at the beginning or nothing will make sense. 

I had haggis with Scots on Wednesday night.  On Thursday night I played musical chairs and limboed with Chinese students (and Arabs and Europeans and Africans.)  Friday I had coffee with an American friend who is married to a Cypriot.  Friday night I attended the ecumenical prayer service at the Catholic church and sat next to a German acquaintance (and spoke German) and ran into my French friend and a lot of British people I know. 

I rushed home to host an African Cup of Nations football party and game night.  I played Apples to Apples with Latvians, Zimbabweans, Americans and an Iranian.  (On a side note we mixed together our regular and Bible sets.  The greatest play was “God the Father” for “Cosmopolitan.”)  Saturday I took the kids to play football at the UN.  I chatted about table tennis with a South African and talked about French hip-hop, among other things, with our kids’ coach who is French. (He agreed to translate “Ghetto Millionaire” for me.)  Then it was home to get ready for the next ACN party.  Chris said it was like we were in college again, cleaning up from the previous night’s party to be ready for that night’s party.  I was excited because our Zambian friend was coming over to watch the Zambia v. Cameroon game.  We also had five others return from the previous night plus added a couple more Zimbabweans.  Unfortunately, the outcome of the game wasn’t what we would have liked.  Zambia lost 1-5.  The good news is, we know a lot of Cameroonians also.   Then, this morning was church.  I’m always awed when I’m singing “How Great Thou Art” with people from almost every continent.

Last night I(DeAnn) was treated to my first taste of Haggis.  I had only heard horror stories of this Scottish delicacy.  (Remember the movie So I Married an Axe Murderer?  Harriet Michaels: “Do you actually like haggis?”  Charlie Mackenzie: “No, I think it’s repellent in every way. In fact, I think most Scottish cuisine is based on a dare.”)  And look at the recipe:

Ingredients:
Set of sheep’s heart, lungs and liver (cleaned by a butcher)
One beef bung
3 cups finely chopped suet
One cup medium ground oatmeal
Two medium onions, finely chopped
One cup beef stock
One teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon pepper
One teaspoon nutmeg
½ teaspoon mace

Method:
Trim off any excess fat and sinew from the sheep’s intestine and, if present, discard the windpipe.  Place in a large pan, cover with water and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for an hour or possibly longer to ensure that they are all tender. Drain and cool.  Finely chop the meat and combine in a large bowl with the suet, oatmeal, finely chopped onions, beef stock, salt, pepper, nutmeg and mace. Make sure the ingredients are mixed well. Stuff the meat and spices mixture into the beef bung which should be over half full. Then press out the air and tie the open ends tightly with string. Make sure that you leave room for the mixture to expand or else it may burst while cooking. If it looks as though it may do that, prick with a sharp needle to reduce the pressure.

………So, when the time came to take my first bite it was with fear and trepidation. (I should tell you that I am the complete opposite of the “Bizarre Foods” guy.  When we first started investigating overseas service I was asked what scared me the most about living overseas and my answer was what I might have to eat.)  I knew I had to taste though because I was at Guides and I wanted to set a good example for the girls.  So, trying to force the imagine of sheep entrails out of my mind I went for it.  And, surprisingly, it was good.  No, really.  I’m not sure what I thought sheep innards would taste like, but I was sure it was bad.  But it isn’t.  Therefore, I would like to recommend to everyone who can, celebrate the anniversary of Robert Burns’ birth this Friday, January 25th, with Scots all over the world, and have a haggis. (I recommend getting one from your local butcher. If you stuff the bung yourself you might not be able to eat the finished product.)