I recently came home from a trip to Nairobi, Kenya. I went to explore some options at the International School of Kenya in the heart of Kenya. Amazingly beautiful school. I had a wonderful time. An old colleague of mine from last year is currently teaching there. Strong, beautiful, independent, pretty much everything I feel like I am lacking, this woman possesses. She hosted me in her house and we had a wonderful time. Another teacher from the school came along on a whim…and it seems as if it was fortuitous for her because she got the job she interviewed for while there!

Anyway, while in Kenya, we went away for a beautiful weekend to a couple of “soda lakes” just west of Nairobi. I had seen Lake Nakuru before when we had traveled through from Egypt for a “quick safari” during Christmas time of 2005/06. It was great to see how the population of the different wildlife changes from time to time.

So, the picture above is from this trip. I am planning on uploading some of my sketches soon, but until then, here is one of my pics. The picture above is a beautiful giraffe at the giraffe center….amazing!

LAISSEZ LES BON TEMPS ROULEZ!

This past Saturday, while all y'all state-side were getting ready to celebrate a nice 3 day weekend, we in Lagos were celebrating Mardi Gras...attached is a photo of our beautiful selves....

Lagos is famous for it's beer. There are so many to choose from, it is hard to pick just which one to drink. Oh sure, people in the Pacific Northwest seem to think they have the market cornered on this delicious temptation, but actually, Lagos has many many many more.

As a salute to the hops of Nigeria, we chose to honor our favorite beer here, Star Beer. It has a nice formaldehyde aftertaste, if you can get past the fuel taste of it. Put it in the freezer, make a beer-slushie and it is even better (mmmmm...the thistle is calling me....)

Being educators (can I really call myself that?!?), you must know that we hold ourselves up to the greatest public scrutiny. (HA!) Anyway, not that you guys really need to know that we in Lagos like to celebrate our drinking habit, but, incase you were wondering, it is how we get through our week. So, in recognition of that, we were the crew of Stars, there were All Stars, Rock Stars, Fallen Stars, Porn Stars, Seeing Stars, Stars and Strips, the North Star, Movie Stars... even the kids were Nebulas. And, do I really have to say...we were all drinkin’ cold cold Star beer. (and, throwing water balloons...we learn well from the kids....it is really funny to watch people rush for something they think are beads and candy, when, in fact, it is a water balloon! Hehehehe....)

So, since most of you are…well, okay, both of you (hi mom, hi sis) know what has happened to my family in the last month, I won’t go into details. Suffice it to say D-man and I got to go on an unexpected trip to Paris. The above sketches show some of what we experienced. While the first half was scary, unsure, anxiety ridden, hospital overload…the second half of the week was the Pi not allowed to fly, and us stuck in Paris. What a place to be stuck. We made the best of it. We are planning on visiting Paris on our way home so Dunc and I just didn’t want to do all the things we would be doing with Daddy and J-Bear. Instead, we figured out the metro (easy!), ate lots of good food, fed lots of birds, and enjoyed the café scene.

Actually, the end of school has come upon us, and as we say farewell to all those wonderful friends we have made here, we get ready to embark on yet another adventure. A little time in Paris again, then another surgery for Pi’s arm. We will then be traveling onto the NW, while K gets ready to head off to Hawaii again. J and D are coming with me to Hawaii to meet Dad’s boat as he lands. Then, before we come back to Lagos for one last final year, we will stop off in Firenza for a week to recharge our batteries for that long hard Nigerian winter.

I am not sure how much I can post this summer, depends on family and their willingness to let me use their computer. If not…then a fond farewell till fall.

More Les Baux sketches. The top is the little pizza place we stopped and had some of the best pizza outside of Italy. The second was the view I did as I was waiting to find Ken, meanwhile, he was waiting to find me just down the hill and around a corner. We were both frustrated, but at least I had my pen and paper to keep myself busy!!

I had heard that the little hill town of Les Beaux in Provence was a "tourist nightmare". Crowded with ooglers, no real residents of the town, high priced trinkets littering the streets. "Best to avoid it" we were told. I am glad we ignored their advice. The fact that we went in April, before the real tourist season begins probably helped tremendously. There is a ruin of an old castle above the town which allowed the kids to run around, searching for hidden treasure, while Ken and I had the opportunity to take time to read the sign posts telling of the history and significance of the castle, or . . . do a little sketching. I chose the latter. The result is above. This is the view from the ruins, looking down on the little town. Red roofs huddled together against the cold drizzle as the smell of lavender and roasting meats drifted up to my perch. I was in heaven.

Here is another one from Arles. I don't really love it, but it shows the lighting...somewhat.