Thankful for Good Friends

Oh course I'm greatful for my own friends, but what warmed my heart yesterday was the friendship Madison has with her friends. It was her birthday and I thought it would be fun if she could talk to some of her friends on Skype. So one friend got up especially early in order to talk to her before school here. Anyone who sacrifices sleep for a friend is tops in my book. And then I got the phone numbers of 2 of her other friends to see if they could get anyone to come over after their school was over. When 8 of them came over to help Madison have a happy birthday, I was overcome with how wonderful kids are. They talked all afternoon and I know it made Madison's day. These are all kids who live very busy lives and yet they took the time to be a good friend. Friends make such a difference in our lives. It makes me want to be a better one.

One week later

     Well, I'm doing better.  The DI  (give away) pile is growing in the garage and I'm doing some deep cleaning  which always makes me feel clean inside as well. Weston and I even put up the Christmas decorations which mainly consist of ones that the kids have grown accustomed to seeing year after year and yelp at the thought of tossing them.  I'm the first to admit that I'm no Martha Stewart or Margrett or Margo.  It's strange to think that Christmas is so close because I haven't made a single purchase nor feel the rush to do so.  There's a section of time that is missing in the chronological events of the year.  So it doesn't seem possible that we are up to Christmas when we never had Halloween.

    It's Madison's 17th birthday tomorrow so if you are reading, Madison, a huge happy birthday to you.  We'll be thinking about you all day. But that's not unusual because we think about you all the time anyways.

Life after Spain

I decided that I'm going to keep up this little blog for awhile because it's been fun. It's 6:30 am on a Sunday and I'm awake so it's the perfect time. I can't seem to stay awake past 9:30 pm yet, but at least I'm not falling asleep during the day. Jet lag was worse when we went to Spain for some reason. And culture shock coming home was worse than going. I have to admit my first few days back were depressing. I didn't want to do anything and the house and yard were overwhelming. McKenzie and Ladd did an awesome job taking care of everything, but I was still facing tasks to be done. Ugh! I realized that I'm the kind of person who likes living out of one suitcase and making do. I like backpacking and wearing the same clothes everyday. I know it might sound weird. And now I look at all this stuff all around me and I wonder how did all of this get here and how do I get rid of it. So that's where I am. I'll keep you posted on how I adjust.

Moroccan Camel Riders

Signing Off From Burgos

This could be my last post because our internet service is going to be disconnected. We may go to the hotel at some point, but just in case, I want to say adios to all my loyal readers out here. I am so glad we did this. It has been an awesome experience and it was just what I needed. Sometimes life gets to be too structured and this gave us all a break from the routine. A big thanks to Cory's partners who carried the load while he was away and hopefully they can do something like this later on. Also, a big thanks to McKenzie and Ladd who took care our of our house, yard and mainly the dog. Who else would do that? It'll be good to see everyone again.

Signing off, Lynette.

Marrakech, Morrocco

We just got back from a pretty exciting adventure in Marrakech. Marrakech is only a 1 1/2 hour plane ride from Madrid and yet it is completely different than Spain. The market there is very famous and we spent hours and hours just walking around the square as well as the many different little streets leading off the square where every square inch was taken up by very aggressive venders trying to get you to buy anything. The only difference between these guys and the ones in China was that these yelled "Hey, Madame" instead of "Hey, Lady".

One of the best things there was the vendors selling fresh squeezed OJ for $.35 a glass. It was incredible and I lost track on how many glasses we drank. The bartering is pretty fun too, especially when they start out at 250 DH and you offer 40 DH because that's what you are willing to pay. And you usually get what you want except for the time the guy just took the scarf right off Cory's head and told him to leave. That material must have been pretty special cuz he wanted a fortune for it. Yea, Cory is now wearing a Moroccan robe, a head scarf, and has a man purse that he never leaves the house without . This is not the man you knew 3 months ago. And he seems very comfortable with the change, too.

The other awesome thing we did was ride camels. How cool is that? I'm mesmerized by camels. I love to watch them walk and see their feet move and I think their faces are so great. But now I have a new profound appreciation for people who had to cross the dessert riding them for hours on end. We didn't have stir-ups and I don't know if you are supposed to have them. It would be a good idea. The saddle was very cushy, but also very wide and it was like doing the splits for 2 hours. It was a great experience, though.

Friday the 13th

In Spain, Tuesday the 13th has a bad omen. So in October we had one of those. I never really worried about the date before. That is before our ride yesterday. We decided to go on a long ride. My idea of long and Cory's idea of long were 2 very different things. I was ready to turn around, but he kept wanting to go just a bit farther to see the sheep on the church lawn and then just a little farther to see the cows all over the road and then just to the next village. The cows here are so cute. I'm not kidding. They are a different breed and their faces are adorable, but they have horns. At one point I didn't think we were going to get past one of they. She just stood there in the middle of the road chewing her cud. I had to actually throw a rock at her rear end. I knew that would get her to move one direction or the other and I was hoping it wasn't going to be forward.

By the time we turned around, it was getting dark and it had taken us almost 3 hours to get to this point. So we started pedaling faster and the wind was at our back and we were flying until psshhhh, I got a flat. I never get flats. Really, in all the time I've ridden I have had only 2 flats. Cory, however, gets them constantly so he's fast at changing them. No problem. then not 5 minutes later, he gets a flat. This time we use our last CO2 and decide we'd better not throw away the old tube because we have 40 km to go and no one in sight. I'm rationing my food and water because I'm planning on having to stay out here while Cory rides back into town and gets the car to come rescue me. But no worries, we got home just before it was pitch black and all was well. It really was a beautiful ride. Oh, I left out the part when I was coming downhill, taking up both lanes cuz there had't been a car in over an hour, when bam, there was a car on the curve headed straight for me. I barely made the turn without plowing right into the side of it. Scared the driver to death I'm sure.