Reception at Slovakian Embassy

Traditional Slovakian costumes and instrument.

Some of my attache spouse friends from Brazil, South Korea, Croatia, Spain, Denmark, Lithuania, and Romania. We get together monthly for coffee, attend dinners at each other's homes, meet at receptions and national celebrations, and I teach their English class. They are wonderfully friendly and smart women.

Warsaw Marathon

Before

(Smiling and excited only because we had no idea what was to come)
After
(Smiling only because we were grateful to be motionless)

What a horrible race (us, not the course)! This was the absolute worst I have ever felt (including birthing four children)- my leg muscles seized, I was nauseated, both hands were tingling, and my head was woozy. By mile 18 I forced Tim to go ahead without me so that I could take walk breaks without slowing him down. We had originally planned to keep the 4:15 pace balloons in sight but had to let them go after around mile 15. When the 4:30 pacers passed me around mile 22 I wanted to cry. Tim kept moving and finished at 4:28:? I hobbled and limped across the finish line at 4:36:? which is not my worst time but certainly wasn't the 4:15 for which I was hoping. Don't know what happened; sometimes it just doesn't come together.

I consoled myself with Advil, a pint of Ben and Jerry's, and many episodes of Big Bang Theory (season 3 just arrived from Amazon). Tim ate his pint, watched a couple of episodes, and then went to work (on a Sunday, after a depleting race!).

Has it really been six months??

Dad and Eileen came to Warsaw for a visit early this month. Here we are at a reception at the Chinese Embassy.

We had all read "The Zoo Keeper's Wife" so we went to the zoo to find the "villa" the author lived in with her family.

Outside the walls of Old Town on our way to dinner at Pod Samsonem (duck- yum!).

Dad and I spent a day in Krakow. This is waiting for the return train to Warsaw.

We enjoyed one of the free Sunday Chopin in the Park concerts.

(Not a very wordy entry- sorry)