myretroperspective

Dear Clown Car, you've done it again! I'm amazed at your durability as we successfully carried half of a couch on top of you across town. What I loved even more were the looks that we got while in transit (mind you we also had to have our arms out the windows to hold onto it as we drove). Dear God,  I now understand why you make babies so cute. The other day I saw a picture of when Zeke was a kitten (because we all know pets and babies are pretty much the same right? It's all I have to compare to, stick with me) and wanted another one, completely forgetting the annoying traits that kittens can have. I'm doomed when we start having kids.  All packed and ready to go! Dear Charades, for the first time since living in Korea I'm really thankful I didn't have to use you the other day when my friend and I were trying to find the 'lady doctor'. I can only imagine how quickly it would have gone downhill if we tried to act that one out. Dear Goodbyes, you suck. ...

Our original plans for today were to drive over to the west entrance to the Okefenokee NWR to take the boat tour out of Stephan Foster State Park.  I had wanted Kurt to see how different it was from the swamp near the east entrance.  Large cypress trees draped in Spanish moss create a different feeling and environment from the open wet prairies of the east.  However, when I called them yesterday to be sure to get a seat on the 10:00 am tour, I was told that on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, they require a minimum of five people to conduct the tour.  We were the only ones to sign up, and it is a 75 mile drive one way to get there.  There was also the threat of the approaching cold front with storms moving in from the west.  I also felt that Kurt was getting a little anxious to be heading for home in Arizona.  So, we cancelled our iffy plans. After all, by the time he drives home he will have been gone a month, and I’m pretty much at the point w...

This week I'm happy to introduce Meryl from McLendon's in Budapest , for the next installment of the Perspective Series. This is a series about expats sharing their experience of living and traveling abroad and how it inevitably changed their outlook and perspective on life. I'm a new reader of Meryl's blog but how could you not love her and her sweet family? She blogs about her new life in Budapest (which was never on my travel wish list but after looking through her pictures, it is now!), her two mini me's, and their travels abroad. Hop on over and say hi! ___________________________________________________________________________________________________ Hi there, Lost in Travels readers!  I'm Meryl and I'd like to share my corner of the world with you.  Two and a half years ago my family moved to Budapest, Hungary from Houston, Texas, where my husband and I both worked in the oil and gas industry in Texas.  When his company offered him an opportunity to w...

That's right- our unaccompanied air baggage came last Friday! We said goodbye to it on December 20th for our DC packout and here it is in Shenyang a short 37 days later. One special thing about China is that not only is it far away, but the customs process takes a bit longer as well. Plus we had Christmas & New Year's and we all know it's hard to get much done then anyways. What does this mean exactly? It means our wardrobes have doubled. It means we have more than 2 dinner plates & 2 salad plates off of which to eat! Our kitchen knives, dutch oven and cast iron skillet (FINALLY) are here! With a few extra throw blankets around things are much cozier. The fridge is now covered in magnets & christmas cards which I think has become one of my initial strategies to personalize and warm up our empty apartments as we move around the globe. magnets in the UAB along with fridge decor helps our kitchen feel a little more familiar R roasted his first batch of Shenyang cof...

Just a little something to cure your wanderlust for the week. via If you wish to travel far and fast, travel light. Take off all your envies, jealousies, unforgiveness, selfishness and fears. -Cesare Pavese

Not much happened the last five days.  It’s been rounds of PT exercises and not much else, but this morning it was time to pick Emma up from the kennel. As usual, she ignored me when we went to get her.  She’s spent three weeks romping around with other dogs each day, so she’s had more exercise than I’ve been able to give her in quite some time.  However, I think she was happy to be home. This afternoon, Kurt and I went back to the refuge to be sure I am able to drive my car.  The plan is for him to head home to Arizona on Thursday, and I’ll move back to the refuge on Friday.  Before I relieved him of duties, I needed to be certain my leg worked for driving my little car.  I left it on the refuge these last three weeks, and things went smoothly as I took it for a test drive.  So, it looks like a go. Took a walk around the campground this afternoon and found something interesting. There’s a pond on the north side that I hadn’t been able to i...

Our cooking list for the day One of my favorite parts of living overseas is all of the different cultures you cross paths with. Especially on our small island where the community of teachers and engineers is exceptionally dense and diverse, bringing people from all corners of the world. I feel like I have now experienced the true meaning of a 'melting pot'. In just our church alone, which consists of about fifty people, we represent nine countries and speak 13 different languages. It is here that I have had the privilege of getting to know two Indian families that decided to invite myself and some other girl friends into their home and teach us how to cook some authentic Indian dishes. Rolling the chapati The first dish that we made was chapatti, or also known as roti. When you are eating curry, this bread is used as a sort of utensil to grab and pick up food since instead of using silverware, hands are traditionally used.   Chapatti / Roti   (This will make approximately 6 ro...