Marrakesh Video

This is a video from my friend, Kris, of the woodworker using his feet to make me a necklace.

The Marrakesh Express

Yes, am stealing this blog title from friend, Kris, but it's catchy and fun and just fits.

Five friends and I spent a fantastic three days in Marrakesh, Morocco last weekend. We flew out of Gatwick together - a three-hour flight (including about 1/2 hour circling overhead the Marrakesh airport) where we actually stayed in the same time-zone as England.Nancy, Kris, Jane, Amy, and Sheila

We stayed in a traditional Moroccan villa called a riad. A cross between a hotel and a B&B. The riad had about eight rooms - the six of us shared three rooms. The center of the riad opened into a beautiful courtyard that was completely open to the elements. It was amazing how much like a sanctuary the riad was on the inside as opposed to being out on the busy street just one wall over. View of the inside of the riad from the inside courtyardView of my bedroomMy bathroomOur riad Beautiful vases of roses were dispersed throughout the riad
Our first night in Marrakesh was spent dining in the riad - courtesy of the riad cook who prepared traditional dishes of Tagine of Chicken with olives and Tagine of Lamb with figs. We also had some amazing appetizers of cold salads and bread. Even though Morocco is a Muslim country, it is well known that a lovely rose wine is a specialty of the country. We enjoyed several bottles of this throughout our visit. We could only purchase wine through restaurants we visited or our riad. It was not sold in any shops.

Yummy appetizers
Tagine of chicken with olives
Tagine of lamb with figs or dates or some sort of fruit that I DID try and actually liked

The tagine is particular to Morocco and is a crockery dish in which food is cooked for long periods of time. I actually bought a couple of cookbooks and will try to make some of these dishes in my crockpot and/or stoneware.

Each morning, for breakfast, we were served freshly squeezed orange juice, GOOD coffee, bread items such as croissants with honey and jams, cheese, and a fried bread similar to a pancake. It was divine.

Our first full day out on the town was spent doing a bit of shopping. I wasn't too shabby at haggling, if I do say so myself. Although I'm sure I got taken a few times, but it was still fun, and brought home lots of totally cool souvenirs.



We visited a former school for boys where the Koran was taught. Amazing architecture and detailed artwork


And - wait, who is that? What? Are you kidding me? NEWT GINGRICH IS IN MARRAKESH IN MEDESRA BEN YOUSSEF at the SAME time WE are???? Yikes. Better get a photo!
He was the ultimate politician: Hello, I'm Newt. Where are you from? Ah! Nice to meet you, Erin.
I didn't tell him that my father had had his picture taken with him about 15 years ago at a function in Denver. Nor did I tell him my mother would be rolling over in her grave at the thought of my taking a photograph with him - much less shaking his hand ....

The call to prayer




Can I just say that we had a really good time?!?! Lots and lots of laughter.


The restaurant we visited our third night featured a lute player and belly dancer, the latter was accompanied/chaperoned by her mother. The food was fantastic, the ambiance even better.

I had to pay this fellow weaving to allow me to take his photo. I tried to take other photos of people in the square - like one of the snake charmers, but they yelled at me - they all wanted payment for photos.
This fellow carved all his wares using his feet. He had a razor blade between his toes he flipped back and forth as he wielded the wood back and forth. All those skewers near his foot were made using this technique. He also made me a necklace using this technique in under one minute. It was truly amazing.
Au revoir, Marrakesh! I hardly knew thee!

The Bath Half

We did it. I can't believe we did it. It was all Caitlin's idea. She wanted to get back into shape after having baby G last July. She told me she was going to sign up for this half-marathon "no matter what." And I DO quote. I somewhat reluctantly decided to do it with her to encourage her. And also, I've always wanted to run a half-marathon. Why not now? With my sweet sis?

I talked my friend, Amy, into running it with us. She lives near me so it would be easy for us to train together through the cold, dark English winter.

The day loomed near. We worried about many things - in particular the weather. It could be freezing cold with sleeting rain. It could be 50 degrees, although unlikely. We worried about getting there in time after hearing horror stories about park-and-rides, people having to jog to the starting line after not being able to find a parking spot, etc. This IS England where parking is at a premium, and Bath is an ancient city with not much parking in general.

To make certain we got there in time, we drove to Caitlin's in Bristol - leaving our house at 7 AM. We then went to the train station near her and took a train - arriving in Bath at 9:30. This gave us time to use the port-a-potties (discussions regarding should be an entirely separate blog post), drop off our bags and find our starting places.

We made it! The weather was beautiful (but very cold), sun was shining, little wind, NO rain - what a HUGE blessing!

We all started out together but managed to lose each other during the race here and there. Caitlin was awesome - so inspiring as I watched her run (from behind, mind you). She did not stop the entire race.

It was a lapped race which meant we were lapped by the elite runners somewhere around mile 6 or 7. That was fun to watch. And you should have heard Caitlin: "WOOHOO! Way to GO, GIRL!" She got some funny looks as this is still England and people are still reserved - even when running a half-marathon.

Here's an example of the cheering we got from the side-lines:

"Very good!"

"Well done. You're nearly there."

"Go Hannah and Jeffery!"

But my most favorite was at the starting and finishing lines:

"YAYYYY Mommmmyyyyy! WOOOHOOO! Mommmmyyyy!"

And then Aidan, "Mommy! Did you come in FIRST???"

"No!!" (wink, wink) "I came in 3rd!!"

Quizzical look, then, "Well, okay."

All in all it was a great day. I'm so glad I did it. SO glad, that I've already signed up for my next one. This one, back in the good old U. S. of A. in October. This is the only pic of Caitlin and me running together. It's within the first five miles as I'm still wearing my ear warmer.
I'm not sure which mile this is, but it looks like it was a tough one!

Caitlin, Amy and I at the end! We did it! WOOHOO! Well done, my friends.

The Dentist

You know in America when it's time to go to the dentist and the dentist's office sends you those cheesy postcard reminders?



Well, this is what we get in England:

My Sweet Bean

Nine years ago on March 1st, our baby girl was born. She has been a light to our lives, a salve to our souls, and the brightest star a family could ask for. She loves her brothers, her parents, her aunts and uncles, her cousins. She is without guile. She knows who she is, and she knows who she is in Christ. She is discerning and recognizes lies of the world when held up against the truth she knows. I am so proud to be Gillian's mum. We love her so much!
Happy birthday, my sweet girl! We are so proud of you!

We celebrated with Aunt Caitlin, Uncle Artur, Lael and Gabby. Gillian requested a birthday dinner of pancakes, sausage and bacon. Then for dessert, the Darn-Good Chocolate cake with Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough ice cream. Sweet-tooth, anyone? It was divine!





Gillian didn't ask for much for her birthday. She has been wanting a tiger costume for months, so she got that. She also got a Playmobil vet set and some Nancy Drew books. She loves her Sylvanian doll house, and Aunt Caitlin and Uncle Artur got her a new Sylvanian family (the yellow labs - GREAT choice!).



The unfortunate bit about living so far away is that the mail can be slow to arrive. This actually stretches out our birthday celebrations! Even today, Gillian received a parcel from her Aunt Sue and Uncle Ron. This is Gillian opening her package from Marmee. Spongebob Legos and Patricia St. John books! Thanks, Marmee!

Gillian received another package from her best friends, Hannah and Olivia. It sure is fun opening all these parcels!


Happy birthday, my sweet GG Beans! We love you so much!