Theme 2015

For the last few years, especially since George's totally unexpected layoff from HP, I've had as my motto

Come what may and love it!

The sentiments in these simple words have served me well as our life took this unplanned detour.  And I have actually really loved these last four years living in a little apartment in Lake Oswego, Oregon even with my cancer diagnosis.

During our last trip Michael Wilcox, the educator who traveled with us, gave a wonderful talk on discipleship. He admonished us to be less concerned about being RIGHT and more concerned about being GOOD!  I love that.  Fits well with the lessons I have been giving in seminary about being a disciple of Jesus Christ.

While discussing 1 Peter 3:10

For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:

Michael coined this little phrase:

Love life and see good days!!!

A perfect motto or theme for the next few years!

Black Sea #13 - A Taste of Turkey

Since we spent the majority of this trip on a cruise ship, we didn't really eat a lot of unusual food, a lot of GOOD food, but nothing too interesting.

Here are a couple of of exceptions:

Traditional Turkish ice-cream.  No it isn't like gelato.  It is made of goat's milk.  Feeling as I do about goat's milk I didn't want to try it but since our local tour guide was giving each of us a cone as a treat, I couldn't refuse without seeming like a snotty American.  I got lemon flavored which I thought had the best chance of being OK.  The first several bites were not bad but then that goat milk taste overpowered the lemon and seemed to coat my mouth.  I had the self control to not just spit it out but I did discreetly walk over and throw it in the trash.

Now here is something I did like...love in fact!  Anything with potato has to be good!

Take a potato on a stick and cut into spirals.  He was so busy cutting these that he wouldn't take time to pose for a photo.  This is an action shot!  I have a slightly bigger machine that makes apple spirals.

The potato spins around and comes out  in pretty little spirals still on a stick.

Then it is deep fat fried....

And you have fresh french fries or potato chips on a stick! Delicious!

You could also buy fresh cooked ears of corn.  Not exactly a place for someone on a low fat/ low carb diet!  But as you can see, we were happy people!

I sometimes think I should go on a 'Breads of the World' tour.  I know there are wine tours, why not bread tours?  Every place has its own type of bread and I've never tried one I didn't like.  Didn't get to try these but I bet they are good.

And finally don't you wish your local McDonalds delivered?

Magical Messi

A year ago yesterday George and I were sitting in the Camp Nou in Barcelona watching our favorite team, FC Barcelona beat Granada.  Watching that game was a memory I'll treasure forever!  Unfortunately Leo Messi, one of the best, if not THE best player, to ever play the game, was injured so we didn't get to see him play.

Oh how I wish we had been sitting in those seats yesterday to watch Magical Messi top the record for the all-time leading goal scorer in the Spanish soccer league!  From 1955, almost my whole lifetime, the record for most goals scored was held by Telma Zarra.  During his career he scored 251 goals.  Yesterday Messi put in # 251, #252, and #253 to top the long-held record! And he is only 27 years old!!

Pure delight!

The fans in Camp Nou gave him a well deserved standing ovation and chanted his name over and over!  His teammates celebrated with him too! What a thrill it would have been to experience that moment of soccer history!

Just a few more records Mr. Messi has set:

• Most goals by a FC Barcelona player with 368 in all competitions
• Most goals in the Champion's League with 71 in 90 games; a ratio of 79%
• Most goals scored in a single season with 73
• Longest run of consecutive games with at least one goal scored - 21 games with 33 goals
• 4 World Player of the Year awards

Leo Messi is magic!

The debate over whether Cristiano Ronaldo or Leo Messi is the best player in the world is one that will never be decided definitively.   As a true blue Barca fan I know I can't be objective.  To me it is and will always be Messi.  If you favor Real Madrid then you just can't help but also favor Ronaldo.  If you love power and speed and athleticism over ball control and finesse then Ronaldo is your guy.  If you love clever foot skills and cheeky moves and just pure joy in the game, then Messi is your pick.

 In 2014 Ronaldo has had a phenomenal season.  20 goals in 12 games is truly amazing.  And I know if he had played his whole career in La Liga he would be chasing the Telmo record too.

I say let's just be happy that we get to see both of these soccer super stars thrill us with their dazzling moves and skills!

Black Sea #12 - The Dogs of Sochi

Remember all the news about the 'dogs of Sochi' in the days leading up to the Olympics?

The city had plans to destroy all the stray dogs in the Olympic Village.  Local animal rights groups got wind of this and started rounding up dogs and putting them in temporary shelters hoping that this story would get media attention.  

And it did!  Athletes and newcasters began adopting dogs. Animal rights groups from around the world got involved and many of the stray dogs of Sochi were saved.  This silver medalist took home an entire family of puppies!

  I can tell you though that there are still lots of stray dogs in Sochi.  A lot of them are very cute!  

Of course this warning sign might cause second thoughts about taking home a dog.  I was never sure if it referred to dogs or wolves!

The ones we saw looked perfectly lovable, very far from a snarling menace!

Black Sea #10 - Olympics

When you hear Sochi, Russia do you think about the 2014 Winter Olympics?

I certainly do!

Black Sea #9 - Stalin

Joseph Stalin - Dictator or great leader?  To most Americans there is not much of a debate on the answer to that question but our local tour guide in Sochi said that Russians are divided.  While some think he was a powerful, effective  leader,  others believe he was ruthless dictator. 

Although we were not able to go to Yalta on this cruise thanks to all the turmoil in the Ukraine, Michael Wilcox did give a very interesting lecture about the Yalta Conference after World War II. 

It was held in Yalta because Stalin did not like to fly.  Churchill and Roosevelt came to him. At this conference these three men determined the destiny of Eastern Europe for the next 50 years.

Joseph Stalin, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill - Three powerful men with three different personalities and outlooks on life! Roosevelt had that good old American optimism and it was very evident in his dealings with Stalin.  

"If we give Stalin what he wants now and don't ask for too much, then we will be able to work with him in the future."

Churchill was much more of a realist.  He knew that the real danger in Europe was Russian aggression and communism.  Roosevelt was more concerned about British Imperialism. 

Stalin was an opportunist whose attitude was that Russia would do what they wanted and that they would do it with the Allies consent. And that is exactly what happened! Eastern European history since the end of WWII validates Churchill's concerns.

Within a few months of the Yalta Conference Franklin Roosevelt was dead.  Churchill was voted out of office.  Only Stalin remained in power and he kept power until 1953.

Two 'take-aways' from Michael Wilcox's lecture on the Yalta Conference:

1. The world does need American optimism but it had better be tempered with Churchill realism.
2. We each need to make the world a better place in wherever we are and in whatever way we can.

Black Sea #8 - A Walk in the Woods

A nice little hike in a Bulgarian forrest!

Katherine and I became mushroom foragers....although we were foraging for good photos, not dinner!

 I think that eating these bright colored beauties wouldn't be such a good idea! Could prove to be a 'last meal'! But I do love the colors!

These look a bit more 'normal' and like the are edible.

But I still didn't dare take them back to the chef on the cruise ship!  

We saw some with interesting patterns.

And some with interesting shapes.

This one illustrates the popular name for mushrooms - a toad stool! Notice how flat it is on top.

It is too corny to say, "There was a fungus among us."

Black Sea #7 - Quiet

I often forget that after the death of Jesus many Christians fled to the area around the Black Sea to escape persecution from the Romans.  Devout monks built monasteries where they could withdraw from the world and spend their lives in quiet contemplation.  We visited the Aldzha Monastery, a medieval Orthodox monastery which was active from the 12th century until the early 18th century.  It is in quite a dramatic location built into the face of a cliff. Nearby excavations show that the monastery may have been in use during the very early Christian Era, even as early as 500 AD.

In some ways the area reminded me of the cliff dwelling at Mesa Verde National Park in southern Colorado. 

The rooms that had been used for worship had niches and the remnants of frescos..

These monks were a silent order. Have you ever wondered what it would be like to be completely silent except for prayers?  I know people who have gone on silent retreats for a weekend but I can't even imagine being totally silent for the rest of my life.

I have talked to my seminary class about the need for more quiet time in our lives.  We live in a noisy world where time for simple reflection can be interrupted by so much....phones, I-pads, TV, radio, music.......I know that I benefit spiritually when I plan for and take advantage of moments when I can just think.  My Wednesday afternoon dog walks at Guide Dogs for the Blind are when I experience some of my clearest inspiration. 

Elder David A Bednar explains why carving out some quiet time in our lives is so vital for our spiritual growth.

 “The Spirit does not get our attention by shouting or shaking us with a heavy hand. Rather it whispers. It caresses so gently that if we are preoccupied we may not feel it at all.

“Occasionally, it will press just firmly enough for us to pay heed. But most of the time, if we do not heed the gentle feeling, the Spirit will withdraw and wait until we come seeking and listening.

Black Sea #6 - Of Stones and Giants!

I have to admit that many of the places we visited on this trip I had never heard of before.  Now that we are back and I have been looking at our many, many photos, I just stand in awe of this beautiful, diverse world that our Heavenly Father created for us.

Near Varna, Bulgaria is an area known as the "Stone Forest".

Hundreds of naturally occurring columns dot the landscape.  Their arrangement seems too organized to be naturally occurring but geologist agree that they are.

Ranging in size from 15-24 feet high and 3 to 12 feet around, many believe that they give off a supernatural energy!

They are hollow cylinders sitting in a sandy, beach-like field yet they are 12 miles from the sea. Many of them have filled up with sand over the centuries.

I could share the complicated scientific hypothesis concerning how they were formed.  Sludge and gases and flues through the sediment causing paleo-hydrocarbon seep....but I prefer the less scientific explanations.

Possibly they formed the colonnade for Poseidon's Atlantis!

Or maybe giants were employed by the Bulgar King to build his near-by capital city. The giants carried the massive stones from far and wide until the king declared the city complete.  Then the giants simply dropped them where they stood, forming the "Stone Forest" in the process. 

Whatever you believe about the place, it was a unique stop on our trip!

Black Sea #5 - Never would have believed it!

 Ten years ago if someone would have told me that I'd someday be....

On a cruise ship in the Black Sea

Stopping in Sochi, Russia

Enjoying Eggs Benedict for breakfast.

I would have told them "No Way!  Never happening!"  I get sea sick.  I hate runny eggs and who goes to the Black Sea!

Never say never!

Black Sea #4 - Nessebar, Bulgaria

From Cappadocia we flew back to Istanbul to board our cruise ship!  Hooray!  We could unpack and not live out of our suitcases!

First port - Nessebar, Bulgaria, a World Heritage site.  This town has been inhabited for the last 3000 years.  Originally a Greek seaport, then a Byzantine city, controlled by the Ottoman Empire and then finally a part of the Bulgarian State!  I believe these are among the most unusual buildings I've seen!

 The brick work was intricate and colorful.

Wonderful old frescoes covered the interior walls. 

One of the churches was in ruins and had not been restored.

The Byzantines who built this church put it on top of a Greek Temple and even used marble from that temple in the walls of this Orthodox church.

Quite a day in a place I never even imagined being!