Saturday, October 31, 2009

Happy Halloween!

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Saturday, October 24, 2009

Kendo Day!

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The Warrior after battle!

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Thursday, October 22, 2009

Life happens

I remember a statement from whyquit.com - from when I was quiting smoking - that life will still happen without smoking - good and bad.

I've had this on my mind because of a woman I met on the OBX. She has emphysema. We talked about quiting - her asking me questions. DH was there and said I didn't get preachy, which is good, because I can get REALLY preachy about tobacco addictions.

So, she has been on my mind and in my prayers. Her words "oh, I couldn't go a day without smoking" speak so highly to the horror of this addiction.

I've had a rough couple of weeks due to the illness of a family member. Oddly, it has brought me the closest I have ever been with my mother, who has held my hand and been my strength through all of this.

And, I guess my mind goes back to addiction recovery as it is an example of one of my greatest successes in life. And, just like whyquit.com said, life has still happened, bad, and thankfully, good as well.

Sunday, October 18, 2009

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Shout out!

I met Tammy on the OBX. She is EVERYTHING a missionary should be ~ love her approach and dedication and the concepts behind her non-profit Amazi International. And, she has two cute pups named Ally and Rue!

Guess it was "Missionary Week" ~ now all OBX Tourism has to do is package it and sell it as a destination vacation for Missionaries. LOL....

Her website....

Found a gem


This has to be the best restaurant I have ever eaten at on the OBX....The Pearl. No trip there will ever be complete without this dining experience. Only 3 criticisms - rock music at lunch - huh?- they finally stopped that. Coffee that was so weak it could have passed for tea (in a FRENCH Restaurant - huh? huh?) Lastly, the location...a mid-grade hotel (huh3?). I believe so many will overlook this gem because of the "Hotel Restaurant" belief. It could not be farther from that concept.

My meal - Good bread and butter (thank God. I am so sick of Olive Oil...). Cheese plate followed by Sheephead [fish] - which the Cheif kindly made with a cream base sauce instead of a veal based sauce, followed by the best melon and pear sorbets (the rasberry was my fault - when will I learn how much I dislike raspberry?).

DH started with a fabulous Normandy Onion Soup - which I tasted and pretended I didn't know it had veal stock ;-). He followed this with the most sublime "The Classic BLT" – consisting of "Fresh vine ripe tomato, crisp romaine and Smithfield bacon on sun dried tomato Foccacia bread and fries." "Fries" being beautiful tasting potatoe wedges. His dessert will be the one I will ALWAYS order from now on: Pain Perdu - unfortunately, this was a special. I LOVED this dessert.

DH was driving so he couldn't enjoy the Rodney Strong 2007 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. Once again, my beloved Russian River Valley came through.

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Beautiful.

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For Kyense - Love the basket. Thank you!

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Monday, October 12, 2009

Sunday, October 11, 2009

Hey, Awful Arthur's is that way!

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Mmmmm.....driftwood.

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Duke loving life!

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Thursday, October 8, 2009

God has a plan

Yesterday morning we were walking down King Street having just met Erasto and Rebecca at the train. Erasto asked me if I knew where a Solar Panel Store was in the area. "Well," I thought, "I know where all the shoe stores are in Old Town, Solar Panel Stores, not so much." Really, do such things even exist?

I told him to try looking on the internet back in Richmond (we had a packed itenerary for the day and had to keep moving).....that was about 11 a.m.

After touring Old Town, going to church, lunch at Il Porto's, we stopped by my house before hitting the Metro. While there I opened a piece of mail that handed me news that was shocking and distrubing. Why, on the day with my good friends from Tanzania, would this arrive? I was shacken to the core.

Still, on we went to DC. I tried to laugh and not think about what was in the letter. But, as anyone who knows me knows, I am, ummmmmm, a deeply feeling person - this had really sucked the wind from my sales.

As we continued walking and touring, I allowed my mind to become engrossed in the letter. I repeated the news over and over again in my mind. I fielded phonecalls in response to those I had placed concerning the letter. I was really not paying attention to my surroundings. The fog of evil behind this letter enveloped me.

Then, about 4 p.m. as our weaking legs propelled us down the Mall, dh said, "Amy, look." As I turned, there right in front of me, was a giant sign flashing, "Solar Decathlon".

You see, for only one week, every two year, the ENTIRE world of Solar Energy decends on Washington, DC. Teams from Germany, Spain, all the major US Universities, the who's who of Solar Supply companies, EVERY SINGLE PERSON OR COMPANY IN THE SOLAR WORLD WAS RIGHT BEFORE US.

Not missing a beat, Erasto turned to me and said, "You see, Amy, God has a plan." And, indeed he does.

....The Solar Decathlon....pictures below.

For MoM...I don't think this shot does the haircut justice. But, I love it!!! :-)

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Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Go Team Va Tech!

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Solar Decathalon

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In front of a Spite House

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Starbucks!

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Waiting for Erasto & Rebecca

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Tuesday, October 6, 2009

My classmates...


OK, 2 months later and I am finally getting around to the photos I took on my disposable cameras. Here are my 2 Danish and 1 Faroe Islander classmates in Riverside Language School. They were so fun. And, they were nice to the middle aged woman ~ who somehow made every other word into a Tanzanian curse word (pronunciation not my forte!). Hope they are well!

Sunday, October 4, 2009

Uganda's misplaced health millions

(Note, not my picture, but accurate none-the-less.)

Yes, I promise this blog won't turn into a newsfeed. But, this is a classic case of mis-appropriation of funds.


Having spent the summer seeing corruption and learning about corruption, this is a fairly good report. (They pull punches, most likely to keep contacts/sources, but they pull punches none-the-less. tsk-tsk.)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/8275713.stm

Oops....Pets. We are citified.

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Blessing of the animals...Christ Church Old Town. Didn't take Duke....he does better in private prayer ;-)

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Good Sunday Morning!

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Saturday, October 3, 2009

2008 Malbec Mt. Juliet Vineyard VA

I have been meaning to comment on how funny I think it is that the picture is BLURRY!!!! Yep, that was the end of the day!!!!

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I-66. After the winery. ;-)

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Learning handstsands.

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One more happy photo!

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So sweet!

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One more!

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Another good shot!

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Another view of Pearmund.

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Later in the day. Awesome wine!

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At Pearmund Cellars 4 the day....pics may get interesting today!

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