The Passport's Promise

I am pleased to announce that my passport arrived in the mail today! Yeehaw!!! No travel plans yet, but I figured that submitting all the paperwork for it would get me at least one step closer to getting outta the country someday soon!

I feel like this clip accurately summarizes how I'm feeling:



Not that I would consider this the beginning of my life--I'd like to think I've done quite a few adventurous things before now, but having my passport lends a sort of officiality to my travel dreams and the whispered promise that maybe I can make them happen.

A Fig Baby of My Own

You may recall my post last year about Quinn's Fig babies. Well, he gave me one of my own when I was last over at their place. So I planted it in a little pot outside and put it on the irrigation system. Today, we noticed that it has sprouted a leaf! It won't be long (according to Quinn) befo there are little figs! Yay! Stay tuned for progress.re 

Interacting with Iraqis

LtoR: Me, D, and L.

Strange smells wafted from the pot-luck buffet of hot plates arranged across the counter. Peppers and tomato sauce and sweet fruits and foreign combinations of seasonings. At the end of the line are the sweets. Some kind of nut--like a large almond coated in a sweet outer layer with little... bumps? horns? Beside the almonds is a bowl of small round balls. They crunch into a fine powder between my teeth like cocoa pebbles, but not as sweet and only the barest hint of chocolate. I load a few more dolmas on my plate and head for the living room.

Their language is melodic and beautiful and unlike anything I've ever heard. They correct me when I try to pronounce their names the right way. After four times or so, they say, "You can just call me Rana. It's easier that way." I feel bad that I cannot pronounce the hidden syllables or even remember the easier English-ified versions of their names by the end of the night. But there is only one of me, and so many more of them. "You'll get it with time." my mentor Sandi reassured me. Most of them have lived in America that they speak English well enough--especially the children in school--but they still turn to one another from time to time and speak in their own private tongue.

This semester, I've been branching way far out of my comfort zone in more ways than one! Sandi and her husband Tom invited me over to their house to meet their Muslim friends from Iraq. Not knowing what to expect, I went. And I went a second time, and a third time. Their group is called "People of Peace" (or POP) and they try to meet a couple times a month. They've been building bridges with these Iraqi refugees for over five years and the families are all very close.

Every time I hang out with them, it's different. At my first meeting, everyone recited poetry (some original some not) and even the children participated. The next meeting was held at a different location and a few others I hadn't met showed up. A girl named Nora (??) told me about a Chinese folk tale she was reading at school and we talked about peacemakers in the past. On the day after Thanksgiving, we held our own Thanksgiving to welcome a new Iraqi family to America. I tried my hardest to learn all seven of the children's names, but now I can only remember three! Maybe it'll stick the next time I see them. They don't speak as much English so one of our friends translated. We'll hear their story, bit by bit, just like the others before I came. But for now, I guess I'll have to learn some Arabic or just try to transcend the barrier with the language that everyone understands: a smile.

Art Class Photo-Progression

One of my early sketches

 When I walked into the first art class at Tucson Parks and Rec, I wasn't sure what to expect. I wasn't expecting the teacher to tell me to "just draw" for three hours with the still-lifes she had set up. But that's what I did for the first two weeks. I think I expected her to give some sort of mini-lecture and then give us the opportunity to practice it. Instead, she wandered around the room, commenting on people's drawings or works in progress that they'd brought. When she got to my table, she said, "Oh you're a very good drawer..." and meandered away, leaving my alone for the rest of the class. 

Making the Call

Long ago, I remember watching a pack of kids congregated around the pay phone at the local park. They were whispering. “I double-dog dare you.” Some brave kid picked up the phone, punched the three numbers. When it started to ring, he slammed it back on the receiver and the pack scattered. Less than five minutes later, the small town’s police and fire departments showed up at the park and everyone present got a hefty lesson in the seriousness of calling 911.

This last weekend, I was house-sitting for my friend Nicole’s and I had quite a scare on Friday night! Around 8:30pm Jake texted me asking if I was up for a late-night venture on Mt. Lemmon with him and Dave. Exhausted though I was, I hadn’t anticipated spending any time with Jake so it was a pleasant surprise to receive his invitation. The three of us bought hot chocolate at a gas station illuminated by fluorescent light and drove up the mountain to gaze at the stars. As you climb higher and get above the lower atmosphere layers, more stars become visible. The sky was stunning! The boys dropped me off at Nicole’s house again around 11:15pm or so and after locking down the house, I wearily crawled into bed.

Bark! Bark! Bark!! “Hush….” I groaned, turning over in my sleep. The dogs’ barking grew louder and more intense and they would not stop. I checked the clock. It was 11:52pm. That’s when I heard the rattling on the garage door just below me. I froze and waited.  Maybe it was just imagined. The boys’ stories are just getting to my head. A pause in the barking. The door rattled again. At that point, I was out of bed, pacing the landing and thinking of what to do. After several moments of debating it, I decided it was better to be paranoid than dead; locked myself in the master bedroom; and trembling, called 911. A calm man’s voice answered the other line, “What’s your emergency.”

“I’m house-sitting and the dogs just started barking and then I heard banging on the garage door and I wasn’t sure what I should do.”  It all came out in a rush; I wasn’t sure which details were important and which weren’t.  He dispatched me to the police department where another man asked me more pointed questions.

“What’s your address?”

“Did you see anyone?”

“Are you alone in the house?”

“How big are the dogs?”

“Where is the bedroom situated?”

 “Are you armed with a knife or gun?”

Finally, he said he’d send an officer to patrol the area and asked if I wanted to talk to him. Thinking that I didn’t want to risk opening the door for anyone who was not a police officer, I said no. They dispatched their officer and I curled up and slept lightly the rest of the night.

When Nicole and her mom returned I explained the situation to them, hoping that maybe it was just an overreaction and the dogs occasionally barked at nothing in the night. Apparently, the only explanation for their incessant barking was that there actually was someone there. It came to light that they’ve had several garage robberies in the neighborhood recently as well, so I did the right thing in making the call. It was quite a frightening and sobering experience, but the good news is that nothing worse happened than a little scare. 

Being a Backsliding Daughter with a Renegade Boyfriend

My parents gave completely different reactions to my announcement that I would be skipping church to go hiking with Jake on Mt. Lemmon this last Sunday. My mom laughed and said, "I would skip church too if I could!" My dad also laughed, but he said, "When I'm giving announcements, I'll make sure to ask for prayer for my backsliding daughter and her renegade boyfriend!" Funny, Dad.

After rescheduling this adventure twice already, we decided that Sunday morning was the best time for it and although sacrilegious, we ditched church to enjoy warm drinks and breakfast at LeBuzz (my favorite French-style café!!) and drive up the the hill for some mountain fresh air!

The morning was filled with marveling at the Lord's creation (especially the turning leaves!), huffing and puffing uphill, and pleasant conversation mingled with the songs of the birds, the chatter of the creek, and the whisper and rustle of wind among the leaves--the epitome of contentment.

More Flooding

Like I wrote about a few weeks ago, we had some more serious flooding this week and I got caught in it! This picture shows the street just before the intersection that turns into my neighborhood. If you look closely and squint a little, you can see two cars stranded on the right side of the road up ahead. The water covers the sidewalk.

When I'd set out at 6:30 that morning to attend a breakfast hosted by TMN (Tucson Misions Network), I didn't think much of the nearly grey sky that had been just harmless puffy white clouds the evening before. Having checked the weather, I felt confident that I wouldn't need my sweater today, since the weather app forecasted 73 degrees. To say, I needed my sweater, would be an understatement.

It began lightly--at first. I shot a worried glance toward the grey as the missions meeting let out. It was already beginning to drizzle. I was not well-dressed for the rain and I had another stop to make. As I drove down Swan, the heavens opened up and poured out their anguish on the earth. I could not see out my windshield. Within minutes, signs of flooding emerged at the sides of the road. I gritted my teeth and gripped the steering wheel harder, "Just two more blocks and I'll be there." More water pooled on the side of the road and where it dipped, cars in front of me created 4-foot "rooster tails." The longer I stayed on the road, the more nervous I became. I slowed down. After what seemed like 30 minutes, I arrived at my destination: my ex-boyfriend's house.

I dashed for the doorstep, rapped on the frame, and before waiting for an answer, let myself in. I was there to collect a water bottle I'd left at the park over the weekend near where everyone plays frisbee. Usually when people leave things behind, someone from the group grabs the item for them and gets it back to the original owner. It just so happened that my ex grabbed my water bottle for me. He offered to bring it back next Friday, but I needed it before then and arranged to pick it up, since I would be in his area of town for the TMN meeting.

"Hello?" I called into the empty house. My voice sounded small and shaky. "Is anyone here?" His mom came down the hallway, "Oh! I didn't hear you!" I would've grabbed my water bottle and left, but the conditions were not fit for driving. My phone blared its Flood warning signal at me. Good until 11am. Great. Moments later, Christian and Logan sprung through the door, both soaked. On their way to class, the rain forced them to turn around and head back due to flooding. "We saw trashcans in the street because the water is above the sidewalk." So, despite the mild awkwardness of the situation, I stayed to wait the rain out. When we broke the silence, it was only to talk about the weather or school. Checking the clock often, I worried about making it to my class on time. (Unfortunately for me, I could not simply skip class, since I was the teacher.) They left again as soon as it showed sign of letting up, and I shortly after them.

But my adventure was far from over as I picked my way back the four city blocks to my house. The whole right lane was flooded most of the way and the traffic crawled, making the journey last twice as long. At one point, a firetruck blew past in my direction, driving on the wrong side of the road. Cars dive-bombed out of its way. Police officers stood at key intersections, cordoning off flooded lanes and directing traffic. This is a nightmare. I thought. The good news is I made it home safely and to my class on time, and now I have my water bottle back. All in a morning's work, I guess.

Heading Home

On the way home, we drove through Cortez, CO and Four Corners (paid the five bucks to go stand on that little circle) to Flagstaff where we stayed with some good friends of ours from church. They had an ADORABLE little house just outside of Flag with a massive garden and chickens and turkeys (who are soon to be butchered!) and lots of fuzzy little caterpillars! Although we hadn't seen this particular couple in a few years, they were wonderfully hospitable and welcoming. We enjoyed a regular feast together with garden-fresh salsa and pickled green beans, ears of corn and bratwurst! After dinner, we played a couple rounds of Apples to Apples over (homemade) peach cobbler and icecream and caught up on the last few years of life. Plus, they do a lot of missions work among the Native Americans around Flagstaff, so they had a bunch of missions-related resources for me to check out here in Tucson. The next day, they sent us home with food for the road, reading materials, and refreshed souls.

The final leg of our journey took us through beautiful Sedona, AZ and (the less beautiful) industrial Phoenix. Relatively uneventful, (except for some hairy lane merging through Phoenix) but in the best way possible. For now, we're home safe and my thirst for adventure is temporarily quenched. What do adventurers say at the end of a journey? Honestly I do not know. Maybe I need to take another one to find out! ;)

Bisti Badlands

Believe it or not, we almost didn't go down to the Bisti Badlands. It seemed like there were so many interesting things to do on the property (like horse-back riding and goat-milking!) that we didn't need to go! But we took our opportunity to get away from some of the younger members of Grandma's homesteading partners after a train-wreck of a game--Mexican train. (When it comes to games, I can tolerate people who take extra time on their turn in order to strategize, but I absolutely cannot stand it when people waste my time because they are not paying attention to when it is their turn!! /end rant) In any case, I'm glad we went, although if we'd gone a day or two earlier, we might've gotten some cloud cover, making for better photos.

Then, after we decided to go after all, we almost didn't make it!

La Plata Canyon

Sprawled across the bench of the kitchen nook and bathed in the warm afternoon sun, I was perfectly content to cradle my book until I'd read the very last page. "You guys look bored!" my grandma (incorrectly) observed, "let's do something! Do you wanna go for a hike?" Reluctantly, I placed the book in my lap, "Sure, Grandma. That would be fun." Off we went on our adventure, hiking through La Plata Canyon!

Cameron seemed less content than I was to hang around the property that afternoon, but nonetheless he was the least enthused for our new venture. Later he recounted, "Misha, hiking involves trails. You know, like a path." Okay, so maybe it wasn't a hike--more like rock-hopping and bush-whacking with Grandma leading the way. I couldn't help chuckling a little thinking of what a strange group we must've looked with Grandma picking her way among the rocks and yelling, "It's okay if you get your feet wet! It's not as cold as snowmelt!" and her two grandchildren following unsteadily behind.

Although, in the pictures I got, Cameron doesn't look too unhappy, by the end of the short "hike" he'd grown sulky and quiet. Don't ask me why; the answer remains a mystery. Boys, I will never understand them. Despite my brother's attitude, I enjoyed the Colorado scenery and tried to engage my Grandma in conversation. We stopped a few moments at a quiet part of the river, each absorbed in their own thoughts. Eventually, we found a path leading back to the dirt road and walked back to the car on...smoother terrain. The wind ruffled the treetops, filling the air with the shhhh shhhhh-ing of leaves against leaves. It was all so beautiful, so enchanting, I decided not to click my camera and simply enjoy this moment, perfectly content.

Horseback Riding and Tractor Driving

 As I mentioned in my first post, there are several horses on Grandma's farm (and one donkey):

Haha! That picture ^ makes me laugh! ...and we got to ride some of them! I'd ridden a pony before when I was nine years old, but that was also ten years ago. (Amazing how time flies, huh? I feel so old!)

 I remembered quite a bit from my first experience, mostly the brushing part before you buckle up the saddle, but the first time, Lisa used a lead rope for me. Unlike last time, this time I was maneuvering the horse myself!

Downtown Durango

Isn't it beautiful?? *swoon*

At the moment, this is the view as I sit in a quaint little coffee shop in downtown Durango to write this post. (Quite an agreeable wifi situation for the time being.) We decided to come into town today instead of Monday so I could post pictures and check emails for work. I took Cameron to Fuzziwig’s candy shop just down the street where he learned that the pounds add up when you’re buying candy! “Fastest twenty bucks I’ve ever spent!” he said. Haha! I'm sure he learned his lesson!

I was a bit less heavy-handed with the levers, because I knew I wanted to purchase an iced coffee. I settled for a little less than half a pound of sour candy and this gigantic peanut butter cup:

That's about all I have in terms of an update. The peacocks crowing woke me up pretty early, but it afforded me some time to keep chipping away at The Hobbit (still a few chapters left to go) and chat with Grandma over some tea (Green tea for her, English Breakfast for me). After helping Edit keep the sheep from escaping again, we enjoyed a leisurely morning together at the breakfast nook where Grandma showed me old photographs of (young) Grandpa and the houses they built together back in the day. I'd never heard much of their history together, so it was wonderful to hear all her stories for the first time. Tomorrow, we are planning to visit the Badlands south of Farmington. We thought about going today, since it would be slightly cooler with cloud cover (which makes for better photography, most days), but I think my body is glad we didn't because I am still quite tired from yesterday's journey!

Welcome to the Farm

Shortly after we arrived, Grandma gave us the grand tour of all the animals! Goats and horses and piggies, oh my! These are the cream of the crop; I could definitely use a lot more practice! But not a bad start, if I may say so. 

I've gotten quite an education in farming and agriculture in the short time since we've been here. Since I haven't been exposed to much "farm culture" up close and personal, I'm finding it very interesting! We've even seen a few escaped sheep!

The other family on the property introduced themselves to us--Edit, and Greg, and Finn and Atalantia. There are a few more children who are off visiting friends, but we'll be able to meet them in a couple days. At dinner, we had a very enlightening conversation about the world and different cultures and countries. I loved every minute of it!

Hopefully more pictures to come; we'll see how the wifi situation goes.

Arrival

via Gratisography

I am pleased to report that I successfully navigated the 10 hour trip from Tucson to Durango, CO with relatively few difficulties. Of course there were a few mishaps ("Cameron! Which exit do I take? Cameron! Is this it? Cameron!!") and close calls (exceeding 80 mph in a 65 speed limit to pass a car while driving across a dotted yellow line) but otherwise the trip was uneventful. I couldn't have done it without Cameron acting as my copilot/navigator/DJ/secretary.

We only stopped three times along the way: once halfway through Salt River Canyon for a stretch break and photo opp, again in Show Low for gas, and lastly in Gallup for some food and a quick power nap.

Salt River Selfie!

For most of the trip, we alternated album picks: Of Monsters and Men, Walk of the Earth, and tons of Mix CDs that Jake burned for us.

Unfortunately, the wi-fi signal here is less than desirable and I am temporarily operating from a Mac computer (which I do not know how to work in the slightest) so I will have to give a more complete update (with all the pictures!) at a later time. 

Road Trip Itinerary

"Bisti Badlands" via RoadTrippers.com

I ambled up the driveway slightly more deflated than I'd been when I left the house earlier. I'd just gotten off the phone with Melissa, who had to back out of our girl's road trip we'd been planning all summer. "College is just coming up really fast," she said, "and there are a lot of extra expenses we weren't anticipating." As I went through the rest of my day, a grey cloud hung over me and I wallowed in my disappointment. "Maybe I'll just go up to the Grand Canyon or something." I said for the third time that day.

"Misha, there's a lot more to see in Arizona, than just the Grand Canyon." Cameron grew exasperated with me and pulled up Google. Fingers flying across the keyboard, he typed in various attractions across all Arizona and New Mexico and announced them (even the boring middle-of-nowhere ones) in his big, cheesy voice. Roused from my depressed mood I suggested he look up the Bisti Wilderness. "Me and Melissa wanted to go there, but we couldn't figure out how. It's too out of the way to do it on the way up to Grandma's house and too far to make a day trip from here..." 

As the search engine pulled up photos, Cam's jaw dropped, "It looks like an alien landscape from Star Wars!!" A little search on mapquest informed us that the Bisti Badlands were only 2 hours away from Grandma's house! We could easily make a day-trip out of that! Our unspoken agreement was sealed: we were going on a road trip together instead!

Besides the Bisti Badlands, we also hope to:

• Hike the Animas River trail through Durango
• Visit Fuzziwig's Candy shop (Cam's idea)
• Stop by the Grand Canyon on the way home.

My goal for the trip is to practice my travel-photography with Dad's fancy camera! Hopefully, I will be able to blog them as we go, but I'm sure the shots will get onto the blog eventually! I'm so excited!

Flood Zone

As Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix wrapped up, I yawned, thinking I should probably head home soon. But I changed my mind when a crack of lightning ushered in a torrential downpour. "Guess I'm staying for a little while longer!" I laughed. Right on top of us, the lightning blinded and the thunder deafened. I finally understood a phrase in the psalms about "shaking the foundations of the earth." This was not your average rain storm. An hour after it began, the rain let up enough for me to make the 20 minute drive home. I knew to be cautious, but the closer I got to home, the more I just wanted to be in the safety of our carport. And despite all my caution for the first leg of the trip, I still got told off by a police officer as I approached the last intersection before entering my neighborhood. Half the street was flooded and guarded by police cars to keep any more than the one stranded vehicle from passing through. "Slow down!! Look at the conditions!" admonished the officer. "Sorry!" I just want to get home. Shaken, and a bit shamed, by the officer's words, I drove slower the rest of the way home, squinting to see where the road was covered and how deep it might be.

We received two inches of rain across Tucson (at least!) and there was flash flooding at Saguaro National Park, leading to dirt road closures. There was even some flooding in our neighborhood! A woman was rescued from her car a few streets over yesterday! Phoenix was also hit pretty hard with flight delays at Sky Harbor and flooding in the Metro area. My dad even showed me a video of the Ritz-Carlton foyer which looked like it came out of the Jumangi movie! (An excellent movie for a rainy day, by the way, as long as you can get past some of the 90's attempt at CGI animation.) Grandma called yesterday to make sure we are doing alright. Yes, we are fine. But we've certainly had some adventures this week!

Welcome to Farm-Life

Farm life isn't all that it's cracked up to be. In fact, farm-life is a lot of work! Maybe you knew this already; but we sure got a taste of it while we were there!

^ These guys...........

These little sheep look quite harmless, but in fact, they are are magicians! Every day, they move the fencing (that white netting in the background) to a different area so the sheep will graze it down. And they just keep moving it so the sheep graze down different areas of the property (and it gives time for all the grass to grow back). It's a pretty cool system, but you'll notice that the netting appears pretty flimsy! That's because it is and these seemingly ordinary sheep are escape artists! Somehow, I don't know how, they always managed to get out and then it would take six of us to wrangle them up--strategically walking around them to coral them back towards the temporary pen where someone was waiting to lock them up! It was quite comical to watch, even more so to be apart of. The rush! The adrenaline! The excitement!

As we were trying to wrangle these sheep back into their pen, where it was safe and there was plenty of grass to eat and water to drink, I recalled a bit of Scripture (several bits, actually) in which Jesus compares us to sheep. And I wonder if maybe the people back then found it to be quite a humorous comparison! I certainly did! How many times have I blatantly run away from the one (my Lord Jesus) who had nothing but my best interests at heart? Too many, that's what. But watching these sheep, I couldn't help but laugh and thank God for being my Good Shepherd.

Cameron also got to help slop feed the pigs! (Grandma takes offense to the word slop, "We only feed out pigs high-quality food! Not slop!")

Needless to say, it is a bit more interesting to say "slop the pigs," at least in our opinion!

And Cameron also got to milk a goat!

And he liked it! <-- all.="" and="" as="" awesome="" but="" can="" did="" either="" fact="" former.="" get="" goat-milking="" goat="" he="" highlight="" hopefully="" i="" in="" is="" it="" lame.="" liked="" maybe="" me="" milking="" most="" much="" myself="" next="" not="" of="" opportunity="" or="" our="" p="" really="" same="" so="" super="" surprises="" take="" tell="" that="" the="" then="" this="" time="" trip="" unfortunately="" was="" whether="" will--="" you="">

Baklava: Part 2 (Tasting)

After a long day of training for Royal Family Kids Camp (a 5 day camp for foster kids coming up in July!) we celebrated with an evening filled with smoked brisket, buttery chins, good fellowship, and of course, baklava. As a result of our different methods of cooking and combinations of ingredients, both dishes were truly unique to one another.

Cameron's entry was rich and dense and soaked in perhaps too much honey-syrup. His pan achieved a beautiful caramel brown color and a flaky crusty-ness.

Our dish was lighter with stronger cinnamon flavors, reminiscent of Mom's apple crisp. Unfortunately, it was a little more blonde compared to Cameron's due to less oven time and all that extra butter (2 sticks more, or double what the recipe called for) prevented some of that flakiness from forming.

The verdict? The dishes were too different to declare a winner and a very solid tie was agreed upon by all parties involved!!

Baking Baklava

Baklava.... It began while eating pizza at a restaurant that used to be My Big Fat Greek Restaurant. "We went there for my birthday once." I said, "And we got baklava!"

"I saw a recipe for Baklava!" Stacey said, "I've been meaning to try it!"

And Cameron piped up, "Alton Brown [his cooking idol] has a recipe for Baklava!"

Thus our competition was born: The Great Baklava-ke-off (pronounced bah-klah-vah-klauff, a mish mash of Baklava and Bake-off) in which two teams go head to head to see whose baklava recipe is better!!! 

Color Vibe Tucson

After the Foam Glow 5K in Phoenix, I found out there was a Color 5K happening in Tucson less than two weeks later! I wasn't sure if I'd be up to running another 5K so soon afterward, but I decided to volunteer for it instead, so I could still partake in the fun! I was at the pink station so I got to throw fistfuls of hot pink powdered awesomeness on participants as they ran (or walked) past! (There is a picture of our team somewhere on the interwebs, but I can't find it.) We had some pop music blaring and the energy was Ramped Up. 

Afterward, there was a huge dance party with gigantic rainbow beach balls, clouds of colored powder, and of course some epic beats. For the time that I joined in, the DJ coordinated a Harlem Shake, crowd surfing, and several additional blasts of color!! It was soooo fun!! I loved every minute of it! And it's definitely on my list of things to do again.

See you next year, Color Vibe!!