Turkish Cooking Class

I have been fortunate to be repeatedly invited to a Turkish cooking class at the various homes of some of our teachers. Last Thursday was the first time I was free to attend and I had a wonderful time. Not only did I learn to make a spinach cake, soup, a heavenly cross between macaroni and cheese and lasagna, and a purple cabbage and yogurt salad, I also enjoyed the four babies crawling around underfoot, tugging on our skirt hems for attention. Little Zirah is just the cutest Turkish baby I have seen and her grandmother is a lovely woman! I am going to try very hard to make the class each week...so I can play with the babies.

Texas Girls' Choir Mother-Daughter Social 2008

What a lovely afternoon! Lunch at Rivercrest Country Club followed by a style show in which Alexis and I were two of the models. Then the BIG GAME....what's in your purse? Alexis won a necklace because she had a spork in her purse! We would have won more- but only one winner for each mother-daughter pair. Some of the things we had in our purses? A grenade, passport, matchbox car, remote, Turkish money, airplane boarding pass to Istanbul, yo-yo, pitch pipe, harmonica, soap, hotel key, and a walking stick. It was nice sitting at a table with all new faces, we got to know 3 new choir moms and their daughters and had great conversation. We had our picture taken before we left and I'll post it as soon as it is sent to me. That is my favorite event of the year!!!!!

This Goofy Isa

On the brink of having another grandchild I feel so grateful to have shared so completely in the lives of the first two! I can't imagine the next one being as silly as Isa though, she is something else altogether...
Here she is as a gecko, trying to put a large pole up her nose, eating an orange, riding a stuffed puppy, and wearing headphones. See what I mean?

Career Fair at HSA

Career Day at Harmony Science Academy was great! Held in the Gymnatorium, the students were both attentive and interested (as well as very polite). I was fortunate to have a Powerpoint created especially for me by Alexis that was loaded with BLING and had many examples of my work, as well as photos of my work process. Great Job Alexis, and Thank You!!!

After the presentations were complete we were all invited into the classrooms to answer individual questions. Here are my two favorite:

#1. What was the WORST project you ever did?
#2. Do you ever get so frustrated that you want to quit?

Answer #1: The wall I finished left-handed because I had a cast on my right arm.
Answer #2: Yes. All the time. I get tired and frustrated and have to take a step back or leave it for a while then I can come back with a fresh outlook.

Most asked? How much money do you make?

Silly kids. Isn't it really all about job satisfaction? :-)

Main Street Arts Festival Gospel Jam

It was a busy week leading up to our performances at the Main Street Arts Festival's first-ever Gospel Jam. Churches from all over North Texas and Oklahoma participated by sending choirs, soloists, musicians of all sorts to perform at First Christian Church of Fort Worth. I sang and rang handbells, Jerry rang in the handbell choir as did my mother, Perry sang and played the Orffs, and Alexis rang, sang a number of songs, and then danced with her Turkish Folk Dancing team. It was an amazing program that did not end when we finished- so much more music!!!!!

Turkish Olympiads 2008 University of Houston

I had the pleasure of chaperoning 17 students from Harmony Science Academy for the
3rd Annual Turkish Olympiads sponsored by Raindrop Turkish House. One was competing in the poetry division, 2 in singing, 3 in a rock band, and 7 in the Turkish Folk Dance division. It was held at the Cullen Performance Hall at University of Houston and was standing room only throughout the event. Our students took home many trophies and many more memories.

The Zoo: First Grade Style

1st Grade field trip to the zoo! WooHoo! We had a great time. First graders have a unique perspective on animal life: Pigs are gross, Lions are cool. That's all you need to know about the zoo...we saw the baby giraffe with it's mom, it was distracted by an ostrich running back and forth in the background.

Handicap Parking

U T Arlington handicap parking space. Now why wouldn't they just drive the scooter on to class? Are they ashamed of their old, worn-out scooter? At least they aren't abusing the system.

Squirrels & Ducks

Always something wild in my yard. We have raccoons, skunks, turtles, stray cats...this week we had a squirrel that was stealing Isa's sunflower seeds (she calls them peanuts) out of the birdbath. During the heavy rains we were visited by a group of 3 ducks that roamed the neighborhood for days. Turtles will be along soon I would imagine.