A Shutterful Life

The Chain Foundation in Mukono, Uganda

2013-07-10T14:00:00.000-05:00

We arrived at Entebbe Airport around 7:30 am, where Matthew and his son Alex (who always drive the Epiphany mission teams), met us to drive through Entebbe, Kampala, and on to Mukono, where The Chain Foundation for Blind and Sighted Children is located. I was able to meet our godson whom we sponsor, John Mbakulo (below). Bill had met him two years ago and John was so happy to see Bill; they hugged each other for a very long time!

The children gathered together to sing, dance, and drum, welcoming us to their home! Our Epiphany Mission Team had already been at Chain for a week working with children, checking teeth and educating them about dental health, painting the new pottery building and setting windows in the new teachers' quarters.

One day the team handed out over 100 dresses that our church, Epiphany, had made the girls through The Dress-a-Girl Organization. Here you see one of the girls wearing a beautiful blue dress. We were told that they were so excited to receive them

They need more dresses, especially for the taller, larger girls! And, don't worry, the boys were not forgotten!

This little boy was one of the song leaders. They are all so precious!

Everyone was given a toothbrush, toothpaste, and a small toy.

We toured the grounds next, and here Chris and Marissa are getting a pottery lesson from Ben, the school's new pottery instructor.

Ben is an excellent teacher and artist. The children have made some beautiful pieces!

That evening we retired at the Coline Hotel in Mukono, where the team is staying as well. My first night with a mosquito net!

London (for too short a time)

2013-07-09T14:00:00.000-05:00

My niece, Becca, who recently moved to England with her husband Chuck,

met us at Heathrow airport, and we drove to her new home in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

We toured her new home and, of course, ended up visiting in the kitchen. It was also great to see their 3 boxers, Dizzy, Harrison, & Fievel.

After a bit, we took a walking tour of Marlow where we saw All Saints Church, built in 1830.

Alex relaxing by the Thames River.

We lunched at The Two Brewers Pub.

Bill & I enjoyed a pint of one the local brews, Rebellion IPA.

We both think that while the British invented IPA, American craft brewers have perfected it! 😊

We spent the rest of the afternoon napping, until we had to return to Heathrow for the second leg of our journey to Entebbe, Uganda. Alex remained in Marlow to explore London, and then to spend a week in Amsterdam, Paris, & Berlin. We will meet up with him later.

Sabbatical Part Two

2013-07-08T14:00:00.000-05:00

James kindly drove us to the airport to see us off on the next portion of our sabbatical. We left for London on July 8th and arrived at 8 am on the 9th.

Copán Ruinas - Day 2

2013-06-14T22:00:00.000-05:00

Today we spent the morning walking about in the town and enjoyed iced coffee at Café San Rafael.

Friday is market day...

Young children from a poverty stricken village close by, sell cornhusk dolls in town every day. We couldn't resist!

We bought some licha from these women- a very tasty fruit!

Alex's first impression.

A view of the town square and la iglesia.

Inside the church is a striking statue of Christ...

Bill and Alex light a candle for Bill's dad and mom, Vince and Ruth.

We also went by the Ixbalanque Language School where I captured this shot of Victoria, daughter of Katy, who runs the school. ¡Ella es muy bonita!

The blue hour, from atop the hill where the Alvarados live.

Copán Ruinas

2013-06-13T22:00:00.000-05:00

Today we fly to Siquatepeque, Honduras and then travel by bus to Copán Ruinas, to begin 16 days studying Español at Ixbalanque Language School.

When we arrive the first order of business is lunch at Baleadas Express! When we arrived in Copán around 7 pm, our family, the Alvarados, were so happy to see us, especially Bill, who has stayed with them twice before.

Noel

2013-03-03T21:00:00.000-06:00

Noel is such a handsome young man. He is the son of Simon, a dear friend from church.

Cascarone

2013-02-14T21:00:00.000-06:00

Cascarone! Viva la Fiesta!

SFUW 3

2013-02-13T21:00:00.000-06:00

Cool dude!

Purest form.

Tough whiskers.

Not sure I need to comment, except maybe this last one.

I asked Alex to put on shaving cream so the viewer wouldn't think he was cutting off his head,

but he declined, saying that you don't use shaving cream with an electric shaver,

why would you need it with the electric hedge trimmer? Hmmm... he has a point.

Earrings

2013-02-11T21:00:00.000-06:00

Something Familiar in an Unfamiliar Way (SFUW) 2:

A Flower Wearing Earrings

Chinese New Year

2013-02-10T21:00:00.000-06:00

New Topic! Something Familiar in an Unfamiliar Way

Today is the Chinese New Year and James, Alex and I just happened to be leaving

one of our favorite Chinese restaurants when we saw and heard the celebrating.

I've never seen one the dragons before, so it was a real treat for all.

Light & Shadow 4

2013-02-07T21:00:00.000-06:00

Simply, an apple.

Could have been sharper.

Light & Shadow 3

2013-02-04T21:00:00.000-06:00

More light and shadow...

It is said, in the south, when the wind blows, causing the bottles to whistle,

evil spirits are vanquished. I still need a few more bottles to finish my tree;

have you started yours? An interesting tradition, no?

Light & Shadow 2

2013-02-03T21:00:00.000-06:00

As the sun sets in the west, light shines into my kitchen glass block window.
I love the light and shadow play with the glass, the black granite countertop, and the wooden box.

Light & Shadow 1

2013-02-01T21:00:00.000-06:00

So many patterns, lines, and shadows! I love it!

Porter is very intent on the man who is walking outside. Glad he is keeping watch.

360/366 Christmas Day

2012-12-25T22:53:00.000-06:00

We have now lived in a hotel for four weeks while our home is being repaired

following a hot water leak. We have a lovely two bedroom suite

and below is our petite Christmas tree, but it's just not home, if you know what I mean.

Even though we feel displaced, we are having a wonderful Christmas season

and we are so thankful for family, friends, health, pets, and life as a whole!

James was very excited to host Christmas morning at his place, and he and Sam did a great job.

James makes a great egg nog! Their apartment is wonderfully decorated

and very festive for the season. It was so cozy as the rain and sleet storm raged outside!

Oh, those brothers... Money is always good...

Bill's parents, Ruth & Vince, are getting settled into their new retirement community

and we are very happy that they are close by now. They joined us this morning at James'

before they headed back for a special Christmas Brunch.

L to R: James, Sam, Alex, Ruth, Vince, & Bill

(I'm pretty sure that I have problems with my auto focus on my camera.

I'm going to take it in to have it checked and cleaned. About time, right?)

Awww...

We had a nice meal at one of our favorite restaurants (thank goodness they were open)

where this little elf enjoyed his new electronic gadget!

While we were eating, snow began to fall - a White Christmas. I believe it is my first...

We went by the house to drip the pipes and put our kitty in the house,

where I snapped this shot of our back yard. A wonderful day! Stay warm everyone!

318/366 Preserve

2012-11-13T21:00:00.000-06:00

Today, James introduced Bill and I to the Arbor Hills Nature Preserve, about 30 minutes from our home.

'This preserve is a 200-acre park featuring vast areas of natural beauty for walking, jogging, hiking,

off-road biking, orienteering, and other outdoor activity.' -- adapted from the website

My attempt at catching a starburst in Bill's hand. I wish I had seen the cell towers in the distance... :o(

Who says there's no fall in Texas? Lot's of yellows, oranges, and the occasional bright red!

316/366 Barefootin'

2012-11-11T22:00:00.000-06:00

Alex played two hymn variations as the prelude in church this morning, AND I must say, he played beautifully! I was bummed that the shot was soft, but that happens...

You gotta love the shoe rock stop, right?

310/366 Dallas Heritage Village

2012-11-05T22:00:00.000-06:00

My first meeting as a member of the Dallas Heritage Village Guild was this morning and it was held at Heritage Village. The Guild helps to raise funds for the Village to use for upkeep, maintenance, and to acquire artifacts. After a fairly short business meeting, our hosts took us on a tour of the new (1904) hotel that had been moved from Carrollton, TX), the recently acquired doctor's office (1890) in a Victorian home that was originally in the Oak Cliff area of Dallas, and the warehouse.

Here is a blurb from the website:

"Dallas Heritage Village is home to the largest and finest collection of 19th century pioneer and Victorian homes and commercial buildings in Texas. These buildings, moved from throughout North Central Texas to Dallas’ first city park, line the tree-shaded 20-acre setting of Dallas Heritage Village. Stroll the grounds and discover what life was like over 100 years ago for ordinary Texans."

Y'all come!

Two sisters owned and ran the small hotel. Here, a sewing machine, in the sisters' bedroom.

The doctor's office, complete with the skeleton of an unknown 17 year old girl. Hmmm...

In the warehouse.

Since we were so close to the Dallas Farmer's Market, I and my three gf's, Carol, Olivia, and Bonnie, decided to drop in to see what wonderful

fruits and vegetables we could find. We finished our "Guild Day" with lunch at the downtown El Fenix. Muy sabroso!

275/366 Chihuly Night with Friends

2012-10-01T23:10:00.000-05:00

This evening we met our friends, David and Robyn, for dinner at Dodie's and a night of Chihuly at the Arbo. We had such a nice time catching up on events in our lives (fallen trees, irises, cabbage, eyes, etc.) The Chihuly exhibit is lovely at night, but I think I prefer the day time a little more. I had my tri-pod for these shots, and I really needed my remote shutter release too. Bill shot pictures 2 and 7. He always does a good job!

266/366 Hullabaloo, Caneck! Caneck!

2012-09-22T23:59:00.000-05:00

We drove down to watch the Aggies play South Carolina State University today!

The game was a blow out (Ags 70 - SCU 14), but it was fun seeing A&M do so well!

Alex and Hailey are both considering Texas A&M after high school.

264/366 "One Amazing Thing"

2012-09-20T22:07:00.000-05:00

Since 2004, the city of Richardson has selected a book each year, for the entire city to read!

"The goals of Richardson Reads One Book are to build community participation in an annual program that selects and reads one particular book that is carefully chosen for its general interest as well as for its timely, thought-provoking issues; and to encourage citizens of our richly diverse community to come together to openly discuss the book and the issues it raises. The book will be accessible to high school as well as to adult audiences." - http://onebook.cor.net

This year, the chosen book is "One Amazing Thing" by Chitra Divakaruni,

and Bill and I had the pleasure of meeting Chitra at a reception before her free lecture this evening.

Chitra is a delightful woman! She has written many books and is a poet as well.

I look forward to reading her other novels, since I enjoyed "One Amazing Thing" so much.

The reception was catered by students in the Richardson High School Culinary Arts program, and featured Indian appetizers and treats since the book takes place in an Indian Visa Office in San Francisco. The color of the roses even matched the roses on the cover of the book!

Board President, Nancy Kubasek, on behalf of mayor Bob Townsend,

presented Chitra with a beautiful crystal gift from the city.

Of all the author lectures that I have attended, this one was the best!

I would love to take a creative writing class from her at The University of Houston, where she currently teaches.

254/366 Run, Don't Walk, to See this Exhibit!

2012-09-10T22:49:00.000-05:00

Since May, the Chihuly Exhibit has been at the Dallas Arboretum. YOU. MUST. SEE. THIS. EXHIBIT. before it ends November 5th! I saw an indoor exhibit in Salem in the early 90's, so I was looking forward to seeing his work here. Oh my goodness, the exhibit is gorgeous outdoors amid the flora and fauna! Bill and I are going back on October 1, for "Chihuly Nights" when many of the pieces are lit. I can hardly wait!

Blue Marlins and Turquoise Reeds

Mirrored Hornets

Yellow Icicle Tower

Reeds with the Scarlet and Yellow Asymmetrical Towers in the background

Persian Pond

251/366 Two...I Mean Three, Buck Chuck

2012-09-07T22:29:00.000-05:00

Yippee! Trader Joe's is finally here! ...well, in Plano, about 20 minutes from my house. I used to love buying Cat Cookies and Two Buck Chuck in Portland, when we lived in Oregon. Soooo, what do you think I bought at the Grand Opening? I'll wait until the fervor dies down before I go again though. :o)

Now, if we could only get HEB up here...

244/366 Blue Moon and Mystery

2012-08-31T22:19:00.000-05:00

Tonight we went to see Sam perform the lead role in Agatha Christie's "Black Coffee." The play was so much fun and it was really tough to figure out "who dunnit!" The performance was very professionally done, but no one surpassed the acting quality and beauty of Samantha! Good show!

As we walked out of the theater, I was able to capture a fairly good shot of the "Blue Moon!" Blue moons and mystery go hand in hand...just sayin'...

237/366 A Proper Thank You

2012-08-24T22:03:00.000-05:00

My dear friend, Carol, and I have been trying to get together for lunch for ages, it seems. Today, we did it; we had lunch together at Cafe Max! Finally, I was able to properly thank her for all the work she did organizing Bill's Ordination Anniversary Gala. Thanks again, Carol, for your friendship and kindness!