Monday, May 4

Brian met Aeden and me after school today and we walked down to Big Chef's for lunch (there's one near my school and a different one near our apartment) and then took a taxi down to Tunali to look for a Russian shop Olga at school told me about. Brian is in search of a Matrushka doll like the one he used to have. We stopped in all the side shopping areas in the area of the map that Olga pointed out and just couldn't find the shop, so we gave up, crossed the street, and I got sucked into Yesim again (the Made in Turkey store with all the brand name stuff at cheap prices) and ended up with all kinds of goodies. We actually found the Turkish souvenir shop and the Turkish handicrafts and framing shops that I couldn't find with Rob, too. Then we headed home to meet the girls after school.

Some of Brian's students working in the lab today at school:








I've finished a few books in the last bit and forgot to record them:

The Zookeeper's Wife by Diane Ackerman
The story of the Warsaw Zoo during World War II and the hiding of Jews and loss of the animals. Kaye brought this book to me when she visited. What a gripping story!

Ordeal By Fire by Roul Tunley
I followed up The Zookeeper's Wife with a book from Nancy...a book she tracked down on Amazon that she had read in 6th grade...a biography of an American woman in Dresden escaping after the fire bombs of World War II with her three children. It was a quick read, but quite a story. The woman told the story to a reporter who recorded it for the book, and it included details that made you realize that no one could just make up that kind of a story--it was too unreal.

Without A Map by Meredith Hall
Another book Kaye brought for me, this one describes a woman's journey through life from New England through Europe and Asia and back again during her trials and tribulations of growing up in the 1960's and having given up her first child for adoption.

Hoot by Carl Hiassen (my first Kindle book!)
We got this book for SOphie for Christmas a few years ago and it caught my eye again as I was browsing through the kids books that are available for the Kindle. So I've now read a book on my new Kindle (finally!). It did take some getting used to, but it was a pretty easy adjustment and it sure is handy to be able to get books so easily (and I don't even get to download them directly, I have to use my computer...I think it will be dangerous back in the US where the Sprint network will talk to the Kindle for "1-click ordering"...Yikes!)

The book features a fake-fart-sound-making character named Garrett (which was too funny to see), and the main character who gets accidentally roped into an environmental cause in Florida. Very fun to read about environmental activism from the middle schooler's perspective.

The BFG by Roald Dahl (Lacey's request)
This was a fun book to read, especially with all the imaginary words the Big Friendly Giant speaks. I've become quite a Roald Dahl fan myself!

Marley and Me by John Grogan
A book Paige sent over with Rob about a family and a dog's trials and tribulations. "Life with the World's Worst Dog" I think is the trailer teaser line for the movie version...and Nancy has already finished reading it too!

Plus the Hattusha Guide book from our trip, and a new guide book to the Mediterranean Coast in the Antalya area, where we'll be visiting next week for a Fulbright meeting.

And we've made it into Chapter 2 of our "Easy Crossword Puzzles" book Rob and Paige sent over to us. I watched the movie Wordplay and was inspired to try my hand at crossword puzzles--hadn't tried anything more than a kid's worksheet in forever. But my grandma used to do the newspaper crosswords regularly, and it seemed like something to give a whirl...We have been feeling pretty dumb getting stumped over the "easy" puzzles, but have been improving with practice. Brian and I are a good team for crossword puzzles, since he has such a wide vocabulary and experience base to draw from and I actually know how to spell most of the words! :-)

I spent a few hours compiling details for the last of our trips in Turkey (all of us to Antalya next week, Brian's weekend trips to Antakya and Trabzon, my trip to Istanbul) and hopefully our trip to Italy in June. We're already so close to the time when we pack up our things and come back to Olympia, I can't believe it. First four bags of outgrown or out-of-season-not-worth-bringing-home clothing to donate have been gathered and wait by the front door to be dropped off at the local hospital (where I'm told is the best place to donate clothing).