One Room Finished...Almost

We have been hard at work on our house for a year now. Well, Les has been hard at work, I have helped a little bit. One job that we hired at our last remodeled that he wanted to do himself this time, was the wall repair and texture. His plan was to do all the walls at once, after everything else was done. That was fine, but, as a consequence, not one room is complete. Two weeks ago, on Saturday,  I asked if we could hire someone to do the walls in the master bedroom and bathroom, so that just one room would be complete. Les quickly agreed to that. The next day, we checked with Kerry and Jessica Scanting, who had done some work at the church, and they were available. They came by on Tuesday, and started on Wednesday! They did such good work, Les hired them to do the rest of the house, and to pain. TO PAINT. He is a painting pro, but he said he has painted things all his life, and would rather not do it.
So, the master bedroom and bath are finished... almost. Les is doing some repair work to the woodwork, and will then paint that. But, it is getting really close. Not fancy or extravagant, just simple and clean. It feels so good to walk into a room that is basically finished.

Why didn't I notice the closet door was open before I uploaded the photo???

Historic Hail Storm

While we were happily and safely visiting Turkey, our little town of Dublin experienced the worst hail storm in its history. I don't know if that is official, but everyone we know said it was the worst they remembered.  Actually, it was a series of storms that went through with high winds, heavy rain, and some pretty large hail.

I know this looks like a scene from a movie, but it really is a picture taken outside of Dublin.

Our neighbor froze some of the hail from the storm. YIKES. Some were as big as 5 inches in diameter.

This is our neighbors yard after the storm.  

Our house sustained some damage, mostly, of course to the roof. The rain gutters were destroyed, three windows broken, and my beloved swing was destroyed.

 Les' truck sustained some damage, including a busted windshield. The camper shell was completely destroyed.

 

 Immediately after the storm, our daughter and son in law, Emily and Doug McLemore, checked out the damage and contacted our insurance agent, who sent out an adjuster within days. They took care of everything associated with our insurance claim.
Our sweet, dear friends helped Doug and Emily take care of the house, covering the broken windows and the truck, picking up broken limbs in the yard, mulching the leaves that covered the yard. We were so blessed to have family and friends take care of things for us while we were gone.
The transactions with the insurance company, Metropolitan Life, and the roofing company, AAA Roofing in Stephenville, could not have gone more smoothly. We received a check from Met Life quickly, and the roofers started the roof in a chilly rain. Les took our old football game rain ponchos out to them, and made breakfast tacos to show our appreciation. They got the roof completed in three days, while it was still raining.

 

 The man on the roof in the last picture is not doing a backend, I am pretty sure, but the picture shows how steep the roof is. We got new gutters yesterday.

 

 Les truck is as good as new, repaired by Armstrong Autos right here in Dublin.
                               
We are very blessed, and very grateful to have our house and truck in great shape after going through a pretty bad storm.

Turkey in My Rear View Mirror

     Our adventures in Turkey came to an end on Monday, May 4.  We flew back home with a brief overnight layover in Germany – backtracking the same way we went there.  We’ve been home a couple of days now and we’ve re-entered our world here in storm ravaged Dublin, Texas . . . which is another kind of adventure altogether.  It was a weird feeling knowing our house and my truck got beat up while we were 8,000 miles away and couldn’t do a thing until we returned 18 days later.

     We want to thank a bunch of people who were looking out for our interests while we were away.  Some we know of . . . others we may never know . . . but a deep sense of appreciation flows from our hearts to everyone involved.  As we roamed through ancient and quaint villages in Turkey and seeing how they live and work as one . . . our people were doing likewise as they pitched in.  I love the village mentality and mutual care we see demonstrated here.

He Leads Us to the Green Pastures

     I want to draw the net on my favorite and most memorable impressions as we move onward.  We have lots of things that need to be done here and I don’t want to let these memories get shuffled to the back burner just to fade into the past.  The things we saw, the places we visited, the people we met, the homes we were invited into, the lives we intersected with . . . all of which are just too rich to not speak more about.  Most of our blog followers will never travel to Turkey.  A year ago it certainly wasn’t on my wish list of places to visit either, but “never say never” really applies here.  And that’s the really cool thing about being willing to follow the Lord’s promptings.  He nudges us now and then to do the unthinkable, and once we let go of those unwarranted fears and surrender our inhibitions to His will – we find ourselves overflowing once again with gratitude for His “favor” in allowing us to participate in things bigger than ourselves.

Another Egg Facial

     I’m an incurable visionary, always projecting what I think a new situation will look and feel like . . . you know . . . my own kind of movie trailers, so to speak.  Furthermore, I’m always surprised how inaccurate those internal movie trailers are.  (Please don’t make fun of me – I don’t know how to stop it).

TOP  TEN  MEMORIES  IN  A  WORD

10.   Friendly.  A multiplicity of cultures and religious diversity in Turkey equates to a general openness and friendliness that rivals southern hospitality.  I wasn’t expecting that.  I was expecting this to be like a covert operation, careful about being seen and heard.  Baloney.

9.  Muish.  Turkish people have a local saying “muish” (moo-ish) - which has a similar connotation to our “ish” which we add to a time or action which means basically “so so.”  For example, we say “I’ll be ready to go at 10ish” which means “10-10:30 . . . maybe.”  They say “Come to our house for dinner around 12:00 – which in reality could be sometime between 1:00-3:00.”  Or, I will sell this teapot to you for 10.00 . . . well maybe . . . yes, I will . . . but I’m not really sure . . . but probably I will . . . or it could be more . . . or less.”  This whole conversation is called “muish.”  Hmmmm?

8. Auto Muish.  Turks seem to apply the principal of muish to their driving habits.  They obviously have no problem running stop signs and red lights - as if they are saying to other drivers - “I will stop . . . maybe.  Ehh, maybe not.”  Don’t bet on it.  To ensure that you “arrive  alive” . . . don’t trust the traffic signs to protect you.

7.  Olives.  Need I say more?  This region must be the epicenter of olive production.  No matter where you look, you see olive trees.   Thousands upon thousands of rolling acres graced with olive groves, filling in every undeveloped land space, flower beds, parking lots.  You can’t escape them . . . but you don’t want to either.  Olive production has been the number one commodity and income producer in this part of the world for centuries.  Olives appear on your table at every meal – not to mention olive oil drizzled on everything you eat.  Soaps, lotions, you name it.  Olive this and olive that.  It’s all about olives, and I suspect that’s a good thing for their health.  I love olives and my taste buds were in heaven.

6.  Bread.  Artisan bread shops like you’ve never seen before.  Yippee!  I love bread, especially artisan bread.  Little mom and pop bakeries are on every corner with the day’s fresh baked breads adorning their windows - stacked deep and selling them cheap.  Everyone grabs a fresh loaf each day it seems.  There are two primary kinds, the first being the football shaped loaf (much like French bread) for 1 lire (=35 cents).  The second is what they call village bread - which looks like a cushion for a round bar stool or perhaps a chrome hubcap.  It’s about 12” in diameter and about 4” thick.  It’s a heavy and hearty bread I think you could probably live on . . . (well, not in the biblical sense).                   

     Watching them make these is really interesting too.  They use long narrow paddles that are about 8 feet long with 10 foot long poles.  This allows them to load about 8 loaves at a time into the brick fired ovens.  The paddle goes in with 8 pieces of dough, and out it comes with 8 nice loaves.  Ahhh . . .do you  remember that wonderful aroma coming from the old Mrs. Baird’s plant in Fort Worth back in our younger years?

5.  Shoes.  These people know shoes.  I couldn’t help noticing how trendy and stylish the men’s shoes were in the shops.  Very European I suppose.  I had to buy me a pair, of course.  Ask my girls - stylish and trendy I am not.  Next time you see me, hopefully I’ll have those on and you can say “Man, those shoes are really cool!  You’re so suave and debonair.”  I’ll just probably reply “Yeah, I know.  I got them in Turkey.”  You’ll say “No way!”  I’ll say “Yes, way.” 

4.  Turquoise.  The unforgettable color of the Aegean Sea just 2 blocks away.   We literally had to wake up every day and stare at that from our balcony, trying to absorb its panoramic beauty.   Everywhere we went – it was there in front of us.  Our friend the linguist, said that turquoise is an ancient Turkish word for the sea - from which the natural gem we associate with Native American jewelry is named.  He should know.

3.  Gardening.  Everyone seems to take advantage of any amount of dirt to grow fruits, veggies and flowers.   Produce in the bazars (farmer’s market) is beautiful and plenteous.  Water is very pure in this region since it flows freely from the mountain springs, and that surely has an advantageous effect on agriculture.  In fact, water spouts and cisterns are everywhere flowing non-stop with “cool, clear, water.”  Sing that if you need to.

2.  Chai.  Otherwise known as hot tea in a teensy little glass, chai is available anytime - anywhere – because this is the glue that holds these people together.  All day long, at every turn, you see 2 or 3 folks (usually men) sitting at small tables drinking their chai.  Though the glasses may be small, the place this has in Turkish culture is huge.  Don’t forget, the iced tea we drink probably comes from tea leaves found in northern Turkey along the Black Sea.  Pekoe Cut Black Tea is one of their biggest exports.

1.  Family.  It’s seems to be the law of the land.  People are richly embedded into their family relationships.  This made it easy to bond quickly with several very special friends we made while there who’ve come to share our hopes, values and aspirations.  The sense of brothers and sisters in a family was very apparent among us, even though we required constant translation services.  Family love like this, however, is the best language.  Spoken words are optional.  Thank you Sandi Patti for writing these lyrics back in the 70’s when your song was a Grammy Award winner:

              The sounds are all as different as the lands from which they came

              And though our words are all unique our hearts are still the same

                             Love in any language

                             Straight from the heart

                             Pulls us all together, never apart

                             And once we learn to speak it

                             All the world will hear

                             Love in any language

                             Fluently spoken here

 

Thank you Turkey for a wonderful experience.

 

 

 

Final Day in Turkey

After touring Ephesus, we spent a couple of hours on the shore of the Aegean. This beach was so beautiful, so natural; just palm trees and sand, with one café to serve our afternoon tea. The water was cold, great for wading, but too cold for me to swim. Our friend and his teenage son swam, but they came out shivering, and maybe a little blue.

 We walked around Selcuk a little...

 

Then had our final dinner in Turkey, again at the little Bed and Breakfast, with our new friends, Daivati from Oregon, and Peter from Australia.

 





Monday morning, after another delicious breakfast, we toured one last ancient Greek village.

 and headed toward the airport.

We stopped at a lovely outdoor café to have tea, where we asked our waiter about what looked like an ancient fortress on top of a mountain nearby. He told us that it was a fortress, built around 500AD. Our waiter soon returned and invited us to join a group of men at another table, where we were introduced to a retired Archaeologist who had been the curator the Ephesus museum, and who had uncovered significant artifacts from Romans and even the Hittites in the area.

THAT was on our way to the airport! Icing on the cake. What a tremendous way to end this remarkable trip.

Some Textures of Turkish Life

This post is taken from notes written after about a week in Turkey, just a few thoughts about life there.

     I want to capture some of the interesting things here that make up the everyday tapestry of life here along the Aegean Turkish coastline.  This will be just some random things I notice that I think you’ll find interesting as well.  Thus far as we’ve moved about seeing local things and calling on people the our friends  have become acquainted with.

Calls to Prayer

The first thing we noticed are the 5 daily “Calls to Prayer” over the loud speakers that can be heard - no matter where you.  The mosques are situated about so that you can easily hear the prayer chants from any direction, and they’re a short walking distance from wherever you might be.  They occur at 6am, 12 noon, 3pm, 6pm, and 9pm. It was very surprising, however, that there was no response to this. Nothing changed. The people in the market or on the street did not stop to pray, or even pause in their routine.

Now is the Time for Tea

     In Turkey, Chai is not referring to a tea with spices like we are familiar with.  It is simply tea served very hot in a small glass like a juice glass.  Usually its black tea like we make iced tea with, or it might be a Sage tea which comes out a neon yellow until a slice of lemon is squeezed into it making it clear.

     Any time . . . any place . . . and any occasion is a good time for “Chai.”  Whenever we’ve been introduced to someone, rich or poor, they’re immediate response is to say “shall we have Chai?” which is the Turkish way to show hospitality.  This has been taking place at least 5-8 times a day for us and we’re stoked up with tea caffeine.  I love this tradition because it slows down the pace and values the importance of relationships.

 

 

Hard Life for Dogs and Cats

     Dogs and cats seem to not have pet status around here because they all are skin and bones, infested with mange, and look destitute and homeless.  I’m not particularly a pet person - but this is really pitiful. There are a LOT for dogs and cats around. They wander the streets, sometimes in large groups, but are not threatening. They hang around the restaurants, especially on the shoreline, and wait for diners to throw leftovers their way.

Dirt Roads and Construction Debris

     The highways and main arteries here are generally paved, but certainly not to Western World standards.   The neighborhood streets are just dirt paths which are cleared by a road grader once a year to remove vegetation.  Since this area is the mountain foothills, the dirt roads are laced with chunks of rock, broken bricks, cement tiles and other kinds of construction materials.  My guess is that this provides traction when the rains come.

Genies and Superstitions

     This is noteworthy.  The local culture has deep rooted beliefs and superstitions regarding spirits which they call “genies,” which all stems from their ancient Turkish lineage with Arabian influence.  They believe these genies are disembodied spirits looking for a place to inhabit – thus the cartooned “Aladdin’s lamp” folklore is not make-believe to them.  They are very sensitive about this because some genies are reputed to be good and some evil.  This belief system resembles “voodoo” in other cultures because they give credence to the influence of spiritual curses.

     In order to ward off the evil spirits, they have ceramic tiles that look like “scary eyes” built into the outside walls around their doors and windows, or perhaps have a plaque or medallion that looks like an eye.  The house the Schmidt rent has them as well, so they had a painter make them look like eyes of a fish.

To the Right – to the Right – to the Left – to the Left

     No, this is not a line dance song at a wedding reception.  I was just trying to figure out the proper way to greet a person.  They do the cheek hug on one side and then the other.  Men and women do this.  If I hug someone, they always shift to the other cheek to complete the 1-2 step greeting.  I can’t get a clear answer:  is it right side first – then the left . . . or is it the left side first – then the right?  Is it right cheek first (which means left side first) – then the left cheek second (which means the right side second)?  I may not get it correct . . . but all I know is these folks (men included) seem to want a cheek to cheek “air smooch” on both sides.  Turning the cheek in scripture is about a slap, so maybe this is sort of what scripture calls a “holy kiss.”

                        

More in Ephesus

Continuing our tour of Ephesus, we went into the terraced houses that have been excavated. These were beautiful homes, with intricate mosaics and murals, and indoor plumbing.

 This is a piece of the clay pipes used to deliver water to the home.

 Various views of murals and mosaics.

 

 

After touring these amazing homes, we were astounded by the view of the library.

 

 

And, the amphitheater.

An interesting place was the public toilet. We were told that wealthy Romans had assigned seats, and that they would send slaves to sit on them to warm them before use.

 Sooooo much more to see in Ephesus, so many more pictures, but, that will wrap it up. Can't show everything, right?  I enjoy history, so, for me, this is really fascinating.

 

Touring Ancient Ephesus

On our final day in Turkey, we spent touring the ruins of Ephesus. It is amazing to see the remains of what the Romans were able to do; indoor plumbing, hot water brought from thermal springs, beautiful mosaics, statues that still stand, inscriptions that are still legible, just breathtaking. And, this is the city where the Apostle Paul ministered for 2 years. I mean, we walked where the Apostle Paul certainly walked. We stood where he probably stood to preach.

 The city must have been beautiful. The public buildings were made of marble and granite, very ornately adorned with carvings.

The picture below is what remains of a fountain. There were many in the city, and the remains of clay pipes reveal an elaborate plumbing system.

This must have been the sign for a Doctor's office.

                                            
                                                    And this, for a lawyer!

The broad main road, which was originally lined with pillars and entries to shops.

 

There's much more, saved for another post.