November 29, 2014

Happy Thanksgiving to one and all!

Zadok celebrated his first Thanksgiving appropriately attired. Amos wanted you to note the turkey on his rear.

 The weather, which is unseasonably warm, was perfect for the team to enjoy a delicious Thanksgiving potluck in the yard.

 My rolls were deemed worthy of a photograph by...someone.

This picture is a little too small to tell what we are holding, but they are Thanksgiving turkeys, artistically created with apples, marshmallows, raisins and toothpicks. Don't ask me why.  Zadok is wearing a paper Pilgrim hat, which can be better viewed in the picture below. Again, don't ask me why. Maybe just because it's cute...

November 24, 2014

Here are a few snapshots from the happenings over the past week or so...

The beautiful henna-inspired cake Erica made for Marian's goodbye party. The text says "Goodbye Marian," (literally, "God guard you.")

From right to left, Erica, Marian and myself at another farewell/memorial party for Tom and Marian.

 PACTEC's latest pilot gets jumped in. For some reason, this nearly always seems to happen in the winter time.

 All the foreign airport staff plus some national workers after the dunking (dunked pilot Andrew is in the middle.) Amos looks so pleased because he got in an exceptionally good hit.

And last, but not least, two of the team's newest impersonating sausage rolls at another farewell function.

November 22, 2014

Two of the most important characters in the drama entitled "Winter in Kabul" are...

 Our trusty wood-burning bukhari...

...And Gul Zamon, Zadok's Pashtun  hot water bottle.

November 16, 2014

 Here's the same, or almost the same, crowd on a different day...

...The day that Zadok met his future wife.

November 12, 2014

The other  day I bought a dozen eggs from the little corner shop where I usually buy eggs...the big, white, imported-from-Iran kind. So far every egg I've cracked into from this dozen...five so far, I think,  has been a double yolker. They're probably radioactive.

November 7, 2014

http://thehardplaces.com/2014/08/19/the-teapot/

November 6, 2014

Zadok  loves spending time with his honorary Aunt Zak.

November 3, 2014

I'm a soldier of freedom in the army of man
We are the chosen, we're the partisans
Our cause it is noble and our cause it is just
We are ready to pay with our lives if we must

Gonna ride across the river, deep and wide
Ride across the river to the other side.

I'm a soldier of fortune, I'm a dog of war
And we don't give a damn who the killing is for
It's the same old story with a different name
Death or glory, it's the killing game

Gonna ride across the river, deep and wide
Ride across the river to the other side.

Nothing gonna stop them as the day follows the night
Right becomes wrong, the left becomes the right
And they sing as they march with their flags unfurled
'Today in the mountains, tomorrow the world.'

Gonna ride across the river, deep and wide
Ride across the river to the other side.

November 2, 2014

Random snippets from my day...

 Pakistani style trousers prior to the insertion of an elastic waistband. With all those pleats, Probably I'll end up looking like a Pashtun Kuchi from the sticks, but after all that work getting them to fall right, I don't really care.

The aftermath of some drop in tea guests--neighbors I hadn't seen since we returned because they had moved a few blocks away.

The enigmatic, and slightly disturbing slogan on the baby gift they brought for Zadok. Chinese English at its finest.

And finally, Zadok keeping warm with the best of them under Grandmother in Law's quilt.