October Break

Today begins my October Break. I am one of a few or, as some of us are saying, one of the cool people who has stayed on campus for the break. It is a few day of quiet relaxation. I know of only one person on my floor who is here for the break and may have heard sounds of another person but I do not know. Last night I was the only one in my triple. I turned out the lights and was climbing into bed when I heard the crinkle of paper behind my back. I reached behind me and used my iPod as a light source. I had thought that maybe Bethany or I had somehow lost a piece of homework in my bed and I was just now finding out but it wasn't. Instead it was a lovely note from my wonderful roommates :)

When I awoke this morning there was considerably more sun than there is now and there is expected to be for the rest of the break. In fact I woke up thinking the tree out the window was on fire. The light had hit the tree just right to make the orange and red colors of the leaves appear like fire. It was really neat to see.

Being alone in the triple doesn't have the same empty feeling to it that it did when I came a week before school started and there wasn't much in it but there is still a sense of something missing. Must be due to all the time I spend with my roommates. Not much planned for break but I will think of something to do. I know at some point Stephen, Ben, and I will play Carcassonne but that is all I know for certain that I will do this break.

Time to get back to thinking of things to do. TTFN.

Transition to Campus Life

Well, I am now back at Houghton College.

Saturday my mom and I drove from Plymouth to Houghton so I could move in the next day. Even though my room was probably unlocked and we could have moved in when we got to Houghton I think the drive took too much out of us. Because I knew this would happen and my uncle's house is in chaos with the move to the unfinished house (as far as I know there is one working toilet, maybe a shower and that is all their running water) we stayed at a friend of mine's that lives in town. After bringing all my stuff back up to the fourth floor of Gillette (without the use of an elevator) my mom headed back home. She encountered heavy rain and so stayed in Johnstown and then made it back the next day.

We also helped move in Alice to the fourth floor but to a different section. Then I helped Laura move in to Alice's room. We are all here for orientation team training which is where we get to move the freshmen in and help them out. Laura and I are also here for FYI training where we will be part of small groups made of freshmen.

So far it has been fun. I have been able to catch up with the friends who are here and I wait for those who aren't here. It is also fun to see the different waves of people move in for the various programs they will be a part of. For O-Team training we have done much chatting and game playing and seems like little actual work. We have breakfast in Java before we start, lunch in the dining hall, and dinner family style where ever we are told. Training only takes the mornings so the afternoons are free.

It should be a fun and exciting year with Bethany back from London, getting to know all the freshmen, and taking genetics, physics, early & modern philosophy, and modern & contemporary art history.

I know I have had a lot of fun seeing my friends as they arrive on campus. Just this evening we had story time on second new. A couple RA's worked on their floor decorations while we chatted and then some of us helped them with the decorations so they can be done by tomorrow. It is really nice to see my college friends again and I look forward to seeing even more as they return to campus.

TTFN.

Gone for a While, Home for a Little

Well I've been back home for a couple of weeks now.

The last week that I spent in Lowville I saw a few new things. The first thing was an ear crop. Then we did exploratory surgery on the dog that wouldn't eat. The results were we found a tumor on the stomach walls and surgery would be too invasive to remove it. The dog was released to her owners and allowed to eat whatever she would. She probably only has a few months to live. I also held 11 squirming newborn puppies while they had their tails docked and their dewclaws removed. Then another anal gland surgery. After that we had a splenectomy where the spleen was removed because of cancer. There were some massive clots in the abdomen that I believe were caused by the cancer on the spleen. Although the spleen was removed I was told that the dog probably only had a couple months as the type of cancer it had is very aggressive. I also saw a vulvoplasty. This is where excess skin is removed so the the vulva is no longer recessed. Recessed vulva are many times the cause of recurrent urinary tract infections and vulvoplasty help correct this. After seeing all this I had a few days of relaxation at the lake before Uncle Chuck and I went to my home and a family reunion.

This is a view of Chase Lake from the Allen dock.

This is the lake house as you look from the lake.

This is one of Uncle Chuck's goldens that I spent some time with. She is a sweet dog. This one is Piper and the one who was always wanting to be around people.

When I came home I came home in time to start the painting of the house. Quite the amount of painting to be done but we are almost there.

This is my room and the first coat is now done. This was taken before I finished the first coat.

Cutting in the ceiling was hard so I let Daddy do most of it. When he wasn't painting at the same time as me I did a fairly good job at it. My room is green grapes, the living room/hall is butter, the kitchen/dining room is a green similar to green grapes, the bathroom is pale sea foam, Alex's room is aquamarine, and the master bedroom is Jamaican aqua. The house is becoming quite colorful and will be quite colorful by next Friday.

I leave for school Saturday the 21st and will start classes on the 30th.

Whirlwinds, Puppies, and Quilts

I have to admit I don't remember much of what I've done recently except yesterday. It has been really busy lately. We have a dog that we were told hasn't eaten in four days yet it has so much energy for not eating. In surgery Uncle Chuck pinned a fractured leg on a dog, and pinned a broken leg on a cat, carved grooves into I think the femur on both legs to fix a luxating patella on a little yorkie, had a spay and a neuter. At the end of the day there was a mastiff that came in for a c section. There were 16 puppies that went out the door crying their lungs out. We also saw a cat that the owner had been putting frontline on that was anemic due to the massive amount of fleas on her. We ended up doing a blood transfusion from one of the cats that the clinic is trying to find a home for. There was also another quill dog that came in but it didn't have quite the Santa look that the other one had had. The yorkie came with a brother who got a dental but he has what is know as a collapsing trachea so we didn't tube him. When he gets stressed he starts breathing more rapidly and sounds like a duck. I ended up having to hold him a while after his dental until he quieted down.

Uncle Chuck's oldest son Jordan came up with his girlfriend for a couple of days. While they were here we stayed at Camp. Caryn went to pick them up at the airport and then they met us in Old Forge where we watched Inception. What an ending. It certainly is quite the conversation starter. The next day I did a lot of reading while Jordan and Emily went to the house and then grocery shopping for the stuff to make dinner and Chuck and Caryn went to Croghan. I then helped make dinner. After dinner we played Trivial Pursuit. Today I am just hanging out at the house catching up on a few things while Chuck is out fishing and Caryn makes her way home from dropping Jordan and Emily off at the airport.

This is a picture of a quilt I made. It is the view from the bell tower of the St. Lawrence cathedral in Trogir, Croatia. I made it before I left for my uncle's.

This is the picture I took on my trip that the quilt is based on. As you can see I took the artist's liberty with it and made it brighter, without the influence of civilization that is in in the picture, and it came out pretty well. I seem to do one quilt a year so far but we'll see if that keeps up with all the excellent pictures I have that can be turned into something amazing. One week left and I'll be able to see what I can do with the time I have left until school. TTFN

Tourniquets, Intubation, Vaccines, Relaxation

Well I have been busy. They have started to have me help out more and more and are keeping me busy. So far I have held dogs while they are being given shots or blood is being drawn. This means that I have one are with the elbow under the neck and the other arm is acting as a tourniquet on the leg closest to it. Once they are sure they have hit a vein (they draw blood in the syringe) I let up on the leg if it is a shot but keep my hand on if it is for drawing blood. I have also intubated dogs and I have prepped one for surgery. The other day I watched bladder surgery where a bladder stone was removed. The stone looked painful. Most recently I have started to draw vaccines. The techs are really nice especially the ones at Otter Lake. Amanda and Alicia give me bits of information about what they learned in school when it pertains to something we are doing. It is really a learning environment here.

When I'm not at one of the clinic sites I am mostly at camp. The other evening Uncle Chuck and I went for a canoe ride with the dogs. We even ended up seeing the loon that seems to have a residence somewhere on the lake. This weekend we have been kicked out of camp by Aunt Caryn. She is having a bunch of friends over. Uncle Chuck will be going camping with a friend so I have the house to myself this weekend. I'm thinking of going into the clinic on Saturday just to see how another vet works (Uncle Chuck really thinks I should as I spend so much time with him). Then who knows what I will end up doing. We still need to get food as we spend so little time here and there isn't much.

Well until the next update. TTFN.

Arrival

It's been a few days since I made it to Lowville. Since I have been here I have seen a lot. The first day I came to Uncle Chuck's house and hung out for a little and then when he came back we went over to his camp which is on Chase Lake. I went for a dip in the lake and while there saw a duck with five ducklings that would come very close to humans. The next day we went to the Otter Lake clinic which is a very small but quaint building. There is only one receptionist and vet tech. I watched two spays with hernia repairs, a neuter (all dogs), and a tumor removal of a tumor on the skin. Then we had the office visits where I learned that a vet's job security is people feeding their dogs and cats wheat and milk products as there is a certain protein that creates an allergic reaction. The day went very long. After finishing there we went to the camp where we stayed the night.

Today we went back to the Otter Lake clinic where there was a cat spay and then office visits. One of the more interesting ones was a dog with a bone stuck around his mouth. It was one of those rawhide circles and he somehow got it over his canine teeth and it was stuck there. So we got it off for him. Then we headed to the Lowville clinic for more office visits. Over these couple of days I have seen many cats and dogs as well as kittens and puppies. One client is even trying to get Uncle Chuck to take one of her papillon puppies that is the runt (and what a cutie he is) he is resisting however which is what you have to do or you would acquire too many pets. Well I have the day off tomorrow so maybe I will go to camp and hang out in the lake if the weather keeps being as hot and sunny as it has been. I'll keep you posted. TTFN

Leaving...again

Well everything is going great here. I am getting ready for my internship at Countryside Veterinary Clinic in Lowville, NY. I leave Monday and feel like I have so much I have to do on top of working at Hannaford. I still have to pack but my bicycle is ready to come with me and take me to my job if I find I need transportation. I started a quilting project that I meant to start a while before I left but just wasn't in the quilting mood. Of course I want to get it done before I leave so that is adding to the to do before I leave list that I feel is growing. If I can get to a point in the project that just requires thread and needle and an iron I could take it with me but I have the feeling I am going to need a sewing machine to finish it. Who knows maybe I will drag out my mom's old machine, some of her thread and bobbins and they will find their way into the car.

Tonight I went to the Hannaford in Franklin to work. I got paid for the mileage as well as my hours. Interesting crew there. It seems like most of the people from front end I meant were recent hires. They really appreciated my being there as it was busy and they were trying to train someone in the service center. Not used to having to drive a long way to get home after work though.

The house is coming along great too. Went out there with my mom to drop off water and cookies around 11 and they had most of the 1 inch foam boards up on the outside of the house. These will be used to help insulate the house and the siding will go up on top of them. When I go out to Lowville I will have to rely on my mom's blog to keep me posted on the progress of the house as I won't be able to help in any way or even go and just look at it.

What else do I want to do before I leave besides quilt, work, and look at the house? Well I want to read (there is so much I want to read that I just can't fit them all in), hike (Alex and I still haven't gone anywhere although we did have our fun in the creek), and hang out with my friends. In the time I have left I feel like there is "so much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it."

Well next time you hear from me I should be in Lowville. TTFN

Splash

Yesterday was a hot and sunny day so we went down to our house for a little clean-up and creek splashing. All the windows and the door are now in place as well as the porch.

This is the front of the house and the next step should be the siding which my parents a cream colored siding for. It will make the house look wonderful.

Alex and my dad started the clean-up by folding a tarp in the side yard. Looking at the house the windows are (from left to right) my parents bedroom, bathroom, kitchen, dining room and the one all the way to the right is the living room.

Alex posed for a picture while he was tarp folding. Usually he gives a more goofy grin for pictures but I guess he wasn't in the mood as he just wanted to go down to the creek.

This is the inside of the house. One of the reasons we went yesterday was to pick the spot for cable and phone lines in each room. The electrician wanted us to go through the rooms and decided where the cable would go and where the phone would go so he could put them in. After he does that the walls can start to go up and we'll be that much closer to moving in.

Ginger came with us for the day so when we were doing things outside we put her in the house so she wouldn't get loose. She enjoyed being able to go through the "walls" but she didn't like being left inside. We eventually took her down to the creek with us.

While down at the creek we explore up and down and the split. We wanted to explore more but couldn't with Ginger with us as she doesn't like to get too wet and most of the creek was too deep for her taste. She tries to avoid having her belly get wet and only likes to go wading. She ended up doing a lot of rock hopping. After we took her back to the house and went by ourselves to the creek.

When we did we had a contest to see who could be the master of getting wet. While the creek has some deep spots they only go up to my knees so the best way to get wet is to go dunking. We found a nice place, sat down, and put our heads under. Although you can't tell from the pictures, we were soaked and dripping all over the place. Alex really enjoyed it and wants to go it again sometime.

Overall it was a great day although I ended up going into work when we got back. I was tired and a little sore today from all the slipping and sliding and the one big fall I took while exploring the creek but it was well worth it.

Summer Plans

Well I think I have finally figured out what I will be doing this summer. As of July 5th I will be interning at Countryside Veterinary Clinic until the end of July. Unfortunately that means I will be in Lowville, NY so I won't be able to work at Hannaford in the evenings or help out with our house building. Hopefully when I come home our house will be almost ready to move in so I can move in with them before heading off to college again. When I come back I will continue to work at Hannaford where I have been ringing many items a minute to check customers out of the store. I will also be doing that before I head out to Lowville. Also I hope to do some quilting, reading, and hanging out with my brother before I head out. There are so many good pictures I took that I could make into wonderful quilts, especially with scrap fabrics.

Now a mother update: When I got home from my trip my mom was in the hospital. Since then she has come home and no longer has any drains. Although this is a good thing she still gets tired very easily and her appetite has been small. Continued prayer for her would be good. She would very much like to have energy so she doesn't have to continue her Stargate marathon (she has made it through a lot of the seasons we own in a very short time and despite how much I enjoy them I am getting tired of them too)

As I have tomorrow off I hope it would be another sunny day like today so my brother and I could possibly go hiking. I didn't mention that did I? My brother and I would like to do a bit of hiking this summer. We would start off small with one of the Rattlesnakes and end with something big like Lafayette or Washington (who knows what will end up doing). Interestingly enough we both had the idea and were going to ask each other at the same time. Maybe we'll even geocache while hiking. We'll see what tomorrow holds. TTFN

Return

Well I cut short my stay so that I could know for sure that I was getting home on time. I flew into Toronto on June 1st and then my wonderful roommate and her family shuttled me to their house and allowed both my dad and I to stay the night. We then left in the morning the next day to get me home. When I flew into Toronto and went to pick up my luggage I found that my bag hadn't made the flight from London. So I am still waiting on that to arrive. If all goes well it is supposed to get to my house today. I have had an amazing trip. I took so many pictures. First I will start by posting the remaining highlights of the trip and then answer some questions that I keep getting asked.

May 25

The big thing this day was the Kalemegdon fortress in Belgrade. Once again we saw a statue done by Meštrović. The fortress overlooks War Island which is an island between the two rivers that got its name because it was fought over so much. There is also a park there that we had lunch in. After our day in Belgrade we left Serbia and entered eastern Croatia.

Part of the Fortress

War Island in the distance

May 26

This day we ended up changing things around a little and going to Ðakovo. There we visited the Strossmayer Cathedral whose patron saint is Peter. Then some of us went and saw the Lipicana horses which are known for their agility. They are born a dark color but as they get older acquire a white coat.

After Ðakovo we went to Osijek. This town still has war damage to it. You can see buildings that were destroyed next to ones that weren't. After visiting around the town and dinner we had ice cream at hotel Osijek. They had some crazy ice cream sundaes there.

Going for a walk after breakfast we encountered these roses at a house

The Strossmayer Cathedral

This was inside the cathedral near Peter's cross

The cross of the patron saint of the cathedral as he is believed to have been crucified upside down

Bus for horses and riders

Lipicana horse

May 27

This was our last day in Croatia. We first went to Vukovar where the war damage is even more apparent than Osijek. There were war memorials there that we visited. We also went to a Franciscan church that had been destroyed and is in the process of being rebuilt. Not much in that town and the whole town was touched by the war in one way or another.

We then went back to Vinkovci where we were staying and had free time until dinner. A few of us ended up finding a park where we played frisbee for a few hours. While we had been looking we found a place selling fresh domestic strawberries that came to about $2/lbs and were delicious. After dinner we had more free time until 9 when we left on our overnight bus trip to Venice. While we waited for 9 we witnessed a thunderstorm that was wonderful.

Overnight Trip

While on the bus we tried to get as much sleep as we could so when we got to Venice we wouldn't be tired for the full day that the Pearses had planned for us. We had to stop in Zagreb to pick up Ivana and a new bus driver. When we stopped we stopped outside a Trgovina (grocery store) that had the word buffet after it. Ted woke up saw ina buffet and asked "Are we ordering Chinese food?" We all had a good laugh at that. We then had to get out in Slovenia to have our passports stamped. We got to Venice an hour early so had a nap on the bus before breakfast.

A view from the back of the bus on a different day

May 28

We explored Venice which consisted of being lost on the way to where we were going and the Pearses pulling out maps to find a way to where they wanted to be. We saw many churches and cathedrals and I think due to being in a new place as well as sleeping on the bus they all merged together in my mind. The one I do remember is the San Marco cathedral. Inside the walls were covered in mosaics instead of frescoes. They were very impressive. Dr. Pearse watched our stuff while we went in so he sat down and had a very long coffee.

Basilica di San Marco

Dr. Pearse with the pile of our stuff

San Marco clock whic is a 24 hour clock, tells the phases of the sun and moon, and tells the year based on the astrological sign

When we returned from San Marco Dr. Pearse was asleep. By this time of the trip he was very tired and so we tried to be as quiet as possible getting our things. Then Mrs. Pearse woke him up with a kiss on the head.

May 29

This was our last day all together. Once again we started to wander through Venice and be lost. We visited many churches. We ended up going over to the isola di san giorgio maggiore where there is a church. We went over on the vapporetto. When we got back to the main island the Pearses left us on our own to have free time. They told us to be at the buses by a certain time if we didn't want to pay for our way back to where we were staying. Just about all of us went back on the bus. In the evening we had one last gathering before going our separate ways and exchanged memories from the trip as well as favorite quotes that were said during the trip.

Church of Saint Giorgio Maggiore

May 30

When we woke up we were left to our own devices as the previous day had been the last day of the program. I got up in time to send off a group that was going around Italy for a while. Then we had our own worship service. Mrs. Pearse was kind enough to leave out the extra food for us so we could eat it or divvy it up between those that were staying at the campground.

After checking out of our place and then checking into a new place with some of the EMWers who were staying at the campground Katie and I went into Venice to wander around for the day. We called it eating our way through Venice as we went from place to place buying whatever we wanted for food and enjoying ourselves. I had a meringue covered in chocolate, some sort of chocolate thing, a pizza and coke, and then ice cream from the place I had had ice cream the two previous days in Venice. (American ice cream is a disappointment next to European ice cream).

It was nice to just wander. We didn't even get lost probably because we didn't have a specific place in mind that we needed to go. We then left the islands for the last time on this trip.

The Rialto Bridge

Many of the buildings in Venice are starting to lean as the island sinks

May 31 and June 1

We flew out of Venice into London where we then stayed the night in a hotel. We got in late evening so we just crashed at the hotel and watched British television. The next day we flew out of London into Toronto (except my luggage). From there we split with Katie going home and Hannah and I going to Hannah's house. This trip was amazing.

I enjoyed this trip a lot. It showed me another culture and when talking to some of the locals showed me how people perceive America and Americans. It also showed me the relationship that people have with each other there and the way that the religions interact.

I have to say that it is very hard to pick a favorite place. The geography was amazing there with all the mountains and the coast. I enjoyed the Plitvice waterfalls a lot. As for my favorite town I guess it would be Baška where we went to the top of a hill where there was a church and cemetary that overlooked the coast. Baška was on the island of Krk and I enjoyed myself there a lot. Most of the places we went I enjoyed so to say Baška is my favorite is a stretch as most of the places were my favorites.

I am still processing all I saw and what it means to me so by the time I finish writing my paper that I have due in August I should know more about what this trip meant to me.

If you want to see more pictures visit:

Balkans 2010

Balkans 2010 II

Balkans 2010 III

There is also a video showing some of the people playing frisbee in Vinkovci here:

Exploration

Well, I have been all over the place since I last posted. Right now I am sitting in my hostel in Belgrade, Serbia. In Serbia they use the Serbian dinar and there are about 67 to a dollar. I will now give you the highlights since my last post and there are a lot of them as I have not had a lot of time to post things.

May 17
After we left Krk we went to the Plitvice national park. There they had amazing waterfalls. I cannot wait to show pictures. (If you are wondering why I do not use contractions it is because the keyboards are different here and hard to figure out where certain things are like an apostrophe key). I wish we could have had more time there. From there we went to Sibenik where there was a cathedral with an amazing baptistry. From this day on the cathedrals get better.

May 18
This was one of my favorite days. We went to some Roman ruins in Salona and were allowed to climb all over them. It was an amazing time and fun to get as high as you could. It was like a giant playground. It was fun to watch us all climbing on everything we could. Next we went to Klis where there was a fortress. This was another place we all tried to climb to every place that was possible to get to. I have to say the view was amazing as all the views on this trip are. Trogir was next with yet another amazing cathedral. In this cathedral we were allowed to climb the bell tower. We had a short time to do it so Pearse told us to get up there as fast as we could. I led the charge up the winding stairs and then the scary metal stairs to the top. We all had to crowd into the top before we could start down. The view was yet again gorgeous.

May 19
This day we went to Ston which has the world's second largest wall (found the apostrophe finally)! Stephen got us permission from one of the people that was working on the wall to pass a stop sign so we could go farther up the wall. This part of the wall consisted of only stairs going straight to the top and was very tiring. But it was worth it. However we couldn't go as far as the wall would go as we didn't have nearly enough time to go there and get back. Dubrovnik I didn't like as much because it seemed that the only people there were tourists and the only Croatians were trying to sell things to tourists. Despite this the architecture was amazing and the old city on the waterfront was picturesque. The place we stayed at was north of Dubrovnik and my favorite place. Here we went swimming in the Adriatic.

May 20
After some people had a very cold early morning swim we went into Montenegro for the day. The thing I liked best about Montenegro was the mountains but overall I prefer Croatia. We went to Perast where there is an artificial island that was created by placing rocks around a coral reef. We then went to Cetinje where we visited an Orthodox monastery. Cetinje used to be the capital of Montenegro. The monastery was very basic but they had a lot of treasures and relics.

May 21
This day we left Croatia behind and went to Bosnia. Bosnia is a very Muslim country with Catholics, Orthodox, and other Christians mixed in. It tried to be multireligious and there license plates make it impossible to identify where someone is from so it cuts down on vandilism. The first place we went to was Mostar where we visited a evangelical church. We then went and saw a bridge that had been destroyed and then rebuilt by fishing the stones out of the river. In Blagaj the only thing we saw was a Dervish house. It overlooked a river and was very plain. This was the first time we had to put headscarves on. Let me just say one thing about headscarves. We do not put them on to conform but to show respect to the culture we are it. In that culture as well as Orthodoxy headscarves are a sign of respect for God and it is unthinkable to not put them on in a place of worship as that would disrespect God. It is actually not a bad idea as it makes you modest and is a sign of respect and devotion to God.

May 22
Then it was on to Sarajevo which is split between a Muslim/Catholic federation and an Orthodox east. Pearse didn't know his way around too well so we tended to seem like we were lost. We saw many museums and visited our first mosque. Muslim artforms are expressed through their caligraphy, carpentry, and the painting of their mosques so it is a beautiful place. We once again had to put headscarves on to show respect. On our way back to where we were staying we stopped where Prince Ferdinand was shot.

May 23
We have gotten to the point where we have mostly long bus rides and not much to do. During the semester we read a book about a bridge on the Drina river. This day we went to Visegrad where this brideg actually is located. It was destroyed like the one in Mostar and then rebuilt. We got a group picture of us all on the Kapia which is where people used to hang out on the middle of the bridge. Then we had a long bus ride to Kraljevo, Serbia. We got there late and then went to dinner. There had been a mistake made and instead of meat platters to share amound a table each person basically got their own meat platter (which seemed to have at least 2 pounds of meat) and in Europe you have to eat all of your food or at least as much of it as you can or it is impolite. So we all had to eat a ton of food which we couldn't. I think we are all put off meat for a little.

May 24
Today we visited two Orthodox monasteries. The artwork in these places is wonderful. The views were especially so. I have to say that after this trip I will have some awesome pictures to turn into quilts. Then we went to Belgrade where every room has a computer which made me happy as I can actually update this blog. Tomorrow we will explore Belgrade and then return to Croatia. We will soon be done with EMW as we end on the 30th and then I will be going around Italy with Hannah and Katie. There is a British Airways cabin crew strike but we know we can get to London. From London to home it seems like we can as they say they will run most flights but there is the slight chance we will have our flight cancelled. They won't know there flight schedule until June 1st so please just keep that in your prayers as we would like to get home after we are done in Italy. Well I better let someone else use the computer as I have monopolized it for long enough. Maybe next time I will be home and can post pictures. Until then TTFN.

Touchdown

So I haven't had a chance to get on a computer in a while and my iPod touch doesn't work for this. We landed in Budapest last week and since then have been to Zagreb and places around the island of Krk. Krk is just of the Istrian peninsula. I am having an amazing time here but we have not been lucky on the weather. It has been raining a lot. Because of this our time in the Istrian peninsula was not going to happen so we went around the island instead and had a lot of free time. We went to Basca where some of walked up to a cemetary with an amazing view. Tomorrow we will leave Krk and head down the coast. I will post more later but for now I need to go. I am enjoying it a lot. TTFN.

Preparing for Takeoff

Today I had a wonderful Kara/Debbie day with my Aunt Debbie. We went for our normal Concord trip. For lunch we had appetizers at the Olive Garden. This was followed by a trip to Borders where you can never spend enough time just browsing. Once again I forgot my Borders gift card. I'll finally remember it one of these times. Together we did some last minute shopping for my trip which I start tomorrow evening.

I have semi figured out the details about working at a vets this summer. It looks like I will be spending about a month in Lowville, NY at the practice there with my Uncle Chuck. The only downside to this is that it will be just volunteering so I will lose a month's worth of time that I could be working at Hannaford earning money for school. I will get to see all aspects at working at a veterinary hospital though as well as experience and that is what I need if I am to go on to vet school.

The house is coming along wonderfully and it will be interesting to see how much work has been done on it with all the time I won't be home to help :( I will just have to help as much as possible when I am home I guess.

Well tomorrow I start on my trek. After work I come home, change, grab my stuff (hope I have all I need), and head out to the first waypoint on my trip to the Balkans. If you don't hear from me soon don't worry it just means I can't come to the internet right now and will get back to you as soon as I can. TTFN.

Balkan Itinerary

Here is what I will be doing in the Balkans on my trip.

Mon., 10th May Toronto-Budapest

18.25 fly from Toronto BA92

Tues., 11th Budapest

06.45 land Heathrow

08.45 fly from Heathrow BA866

12.15 land Budapest

13.30 leave bags at hostel

14.00 Jewish quarter; picnic lunch

p.m. Buda, Mátyás-templom etc. (3.4 km. from hostel)

19.00 restaurant supper

ACCOMMODATION: hostel in Budapest

Wed., 12th Budapest-Zagreb

a.m. Heroes Square

12.00 bus Budapest — Zagreb

16.30 arrive ZG, check in to hostel

18.00 restauranr supper

19.15 lecture on evangelicals in Croatia: Melanie Ivančević

20.45 ice creams at Vincek!!

ACCOMMODATION: hostel in Zagreb

Thurs., 13th Zagreb

08.00 breakfast

09.10 sites on Gradec (one of 2 main hills in central Zagreb):

· Marian shrine at Kamenita Vrata

· Kula Lotrščak

· Sabor (parliament)

· St. Katherine’s Church

10.40 Atelijer Meštrović gallery showing works of the famous sculptor, Ivan Meštrović

13.00 lunch at Picerija Dvojka

14.30 cathedral

15.15 Zagreb City Museum

17.45 restaurant supper

stay as previous night

Fri., 14th Zagreb-Krk

07.45 put bags into 1 room at hostel

08.15 breakfast

09.00 free time around Jelačićev Trg

09.45 meet under clock

10.00 Povijesni Muzej (History Museum)

11.20 Strossmayer Gallery

12.50 picnic lunch on lawn outside Strossmayer Gallery

13.50 Muzej Naivne Umjetnost (Museum of Naive Art)

15.50 leave museum

16.50 bus for Krk

19.30 restaurant supper

ACCOMMODATION: Krk

Sat., 15th Istria

8.45 bus leaves Krk

11.20 arrive Pula, Istria

14.30 leave Pula

15.35 arrive Poreč, Istria

17.30 restaurant meal

19.00 leave Poreč

21.30 arrive Krk

stay as previous night

Sun., 16th Rijeka and Krk

07.45 breakfast

08.50 leave for Rijeka

10.00 Bap. ch. in Rijeka

13.00 picnic lunch

14.00 leave for Omišalj, Krk

14.30 arrive Omišalj

15.30 leave for Vrbnik, Krk

16.00 arrive Vrbnik

17.30 leave for Krk

17.50 arrive Krk — see Frankopan castle

18.50 restaurant supper

stay as previous night

Mon., 17th Plitvice

08.30 bus leaves Krk

11.45 Plitvice National Park

13.45 picnic lunch

14.30 bus leaves for Šibenik

17.10 Šibenik tour

18.30 leave

18.45 restaurant for supper

Accommodation: Seget Vranjica, north of Trogir

Tues., 18th Split

09.15 bus leaves accomm.

10.00 arrive Solin

11.45 leave Solin

12.00 arrive Klis

13.00 picnic lunch

13.45 leave Klis

14.15 Diocletian’s Palace and cathedral ... and Grgur Ninski (Gregory of Nin) statue

15.30 free time — get own supper

17.00 bus leaves Split

17.30 arrive Trogir

20.45 leave Trogir

21.00 arrive at accomm.

stay as previous night

Wed., 19th Dubrovnik

8.15 bus leaves accomm.

11.30 arrive Ston

12.30 picnic lunch

13.00 leave Ston

14.15 see Kneževi Dvor in Dubrovnik

15.15 Dominican monastery

17.45 restaurant dinner

ACCOMMODATION: north of Dubrovnik

Thurs., 20th Montenegro: Boka Kotorska and Cetinje

08.45 leave Zaton Mali

10.40 Perast — museum, island

13.10 picnic lunch

13.45 leave Perast for Mount Lovčen

15.15 arrive Cetinje

15.45 monastery museum in Cetinje

16.45 free time in Cetinje

17.30 leave Cetinje

21.00 supper at accommodation

stay as previous night

Fri., 21st Mostar and Blagaj

09.00 leave Zaton Mali

12.00 tour central Mostar

13.00 lunch — then free time

15.00 leave for Blagaj

15.30 arrive Blagaj — see dervish house

17.00 leave Blagaj

20.00 arrive Sarajevo

20.30 supper

21.00 talk from Vanja Bule about missions in BiH

ACCOMMODATION: Sarajevo

Sat., 22nd Sarajevo

10.00 Zemaljski Muzej (open 10.00-14.00 Sat.)

12.30 Ghazi Husrev Beg Mosque

13.30 picnic lunch

see Sarajevo

stay as previous night

Sun., 23rd Sarajevo-Višegrad-Kraljevo

08.00 breakfast

11.00 church service

13.00 leave Sarajevo

15.15 arrive Višegrad lunch

16.45 leave Višegrad

19.45 arrive Kraljevo

stay Kraljevo

Mon., 24th Studenica, Žiča

09.15 leave hotels

10.30 arrive Studenica monastery

12.00 leave Studenica

lunch

14.30 Žiča monastery

16.00 leave Kraljevo

18.45 arrive Belgrade, check in to hostel

19.30 supper in Belgrade

Tues., 25th Belgrade

09.15 leave accomm.

· Kalemegdan

· lecture about religious minorities in Serbia — Aleksandra Đurić-Milovanović

· Orthodox church

· parliament and palace

16.00 leave Belgrade

18.30 dinner in Slavonija (eastern Croatia)

21.30 arrive Vinkovci

ACCOMMODATION: Vinkovci

Wed., 26th Vukovar and Osijek

09.15 bus leaves

09.45 arrive Vukovar Nena Kovačević: Franciscan church; Ovčara war memorial

12.30 lunch

13.30 leave Vukovar

Aljmaš Marian shrine

15.00 arrive Tvrđa, Osijek Marina Vinaj: Muzej Slavonije

16.30 tour of Tvrđa

17.30 dinner at Old Bridge Pub

19.15 ice creams at Hotel Osijek

20.00 leave Osijek

21.00 arrive Vinkovci

stay as previous night

Thurs., 27th Đakovo

09.30 leave for Đakovo

10.30 Đakovo cathedral

11.15 Strossmayer museum

12.00 lunch — then free time

13.30 leave Đakovo

afternoon not yet planned....

21.30 overnight bus ride to Venice

Fri., 28th Venice (day 1)

see Venice

ACCOMMODATION: Camping Alba D’Oro

Sat., 29th Venice (day 2)

see Venice

stay as previous night

Sun., 30th

finished with EMW traveling and will be traveling for a little bit more in Italy

Commence Pre-Flight Inspection

Well, I've thought for a long time about having a blog and finally decided to create one. I first got the idea from my mom's blog and seeing as we both have our many quilting projects thought it would be a great idea but never got around to it until now. Hopefully I will keep up with it.

Life around here is getting crazy what with finishing my paper for my honors class (which I turned in today) my trip to the Balkans coming up, building our house, and trying to see if I can find a vets to work at this summer. Hopefully that last one will be worked out before I leave for the Balkans.

Our puppy Riley is quite adorable and can never seem to get enough attention. He is great to play with. All you have to do is lay on the floor and wait for him to stop licking your ears, crawl over your neck, and race up and down your legs. Watching him race in circles is great fun too.

It's too bad Ginger doesn't get along too well yet but we are hoping that will change once they are in the new house.

I have finished my first year at Houghton and am about to finish my Easts Meets West Honors program with a trip through Eastern Europe. What a trip that will be. I will be traveling around with a group of 27 other students, our professor, and his wife for three weeks and then traveling with a few friends for a little more after that. We finally got our itinerary today from our professor. On Monday we will fly from Toronto to Budapest where our adventures will commence. Throughout our trek in the Balkans we will journey through Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, and Montenegro ending up in Venice. And yes, to all you who ask, I will take plenty of pictures and I will share them with you. For me however, my trip begins Saturday after work. I will be going to southern New Hampshire late Saturday so I can leave early Sunday to go to Rochester where I will stay the night and from there I will leave for Toronto and the Balkans.

After I get back it will be interesting to see how far our house has come. To save the trouble of describing that project you can go here to follow what is going on.

I need some sleep so I can be ready for my Aunt Debbie day! TTFN.