Sunny Sunday Afternoon

The temperature outside may have been 0C (32F) but the sun streaming into my living room felt so warm I couldn't resist. With excitement I opened the windows to let the cool breeze in and to clear out the stuffiness of winter. Then I pushed an armchair directly into the warm rays of sun, prepared some black tea with some Wyoming huckleberry honey and then settled in under a cozy blanket with my feet on the radiator and a book to pass the time. Only the sun dipping below the horizon and the inevitable chill could persuade me to shut the window on this gorgeous day in Macedonia. What a perfect sunny Sunday afternoon.

Vaca-Daze "Jumping Beans" & Rich Brownies

What a novelty it was to post several blogs in a row... so much so that I'd toyed with the thought of doing one a day for the full year.... but then that was the luxury of the holiday season and some additional and, I might add, MUCH needed vacation days... aka vacadays. As you can see by the 1 week gap in blogs... reality has obviously settled in! =)

It's now Friday and I've been back in the bean-counting-office for the week. It was really hard in the beginning but the pressure of the work to get done didn't allow me too much time in the vaca-DAZE. Now at the end of the week the DAZE is almost behind me and I have a large sense of accomplishment for what I was able to get done this week: car serviced, 2 sets of books completed and turned in, meetings, several reports and information submitted to requesters, follow-up on several jumping beans (aka... challenges/issues that need resolution but that are elusive for various reasons...) and much much more.

The highlights for my week, though, were three conversations that happened in the pause of the work day and over a cup of coffee and a brownie. Three different connections with three very different people... but conversations that were as full and rich as the brownies we shared. So while it's good that I was able to get so much "work" done, it's the connections with people that make it all worth while and give me a sense of completeness to this week.

Another really cool thing that will be wrapping up this week is the music practice tonight for Sunday's service at the International Church. Those practices are always fun, musically challenging yet also rich and sweet like a brownie, always full of great connection time with some really quality people and always with joy lifting up voice and instruments in praise to our Creator. Can you tell how much I look forward to these days? Honestly, I do. Break's over, though, so back to some more bean-counting and chasing after jumping beans. =)

Image credit: http://axisofstevil.com/answers.htm

Hope is Shattered but Peace Remains

In the process of taking down the Christmas tree today.... Hope just slipped from my fingers and, in a flicker of caught breath, shattered at my feet! Crash! I just stared in disbelief as the sounds of small shards of glass spun and tinkled across the floor boards. "Hope" was part of a set of Christmas decorations that were given to me by a roommate several years ago when she moved back to the US. All that remains now is "Peace". I am so grateful that the hope I have in Jesus is not so fragile as that glass ornament. And like the Peace that remains, so remains peace in my heart because of Him. No matter what things may shatter at my feet. :)

O Christmas Tree.....

Now that Christmas is over it's time to take down the tree, pack up the ornaments and move the furniture back to their proper place. Sigh. It's a sad time. There's just something so charming and home-warming about a sparkly tree decorated with items I've collected over the decades: a saddle from Wyoming, a decorative egg from Budapest, a hibiscus from Hawaii.... And it seems so empty after having been such a fixture in the living room for over a month. Even as a kid part of me longed to hold onto the holidays and to beg Dad to wait just "one more day" before he sawed up the tree into pieces perfectly sized for the fireplace. But he was right. It was time. And thus today it's time as well to, in this case, take the tree apart and to stow it away for another year...

Среќен Божиќ! Merry Christmas from Macedonia!

The highlight of Christmas day here in Skopje was the Christmas Concert put on in the center. There were new and delightful songs and old ones with jazzy and creative arrangments. So cool! Two of my favorites were "We Three Kings" and "O Come Emanuel". Also there was a delightful dance by a cute little pixie and the sharing of a Christmas message. :) Please enjoy some of the photos and a video clip from the night. Merry Christmas!

The Incessant Buzz Buzz Buzz of a Christmas Eve Morning....

This morning started really early. 6am to be exact. Buzz! buzz! buzzz! as a finger incessantly pushes the button for my apartment so I'll get up and buzz them into the building. I sleepily looked at my watch, turned over and pulled the covers over my head.

Then the sound of young voices began to echo up the stairwell and down the hallways of my building, in ever increasing volume, "...Kolede lede padnalo grede.... ke koleme tele tele vika 'le le'..... Kolede!" (a really horrible song, btw). Over and over they sang the song as they trolled each level of my building and ringing everyone's doorbells just hoping for someone to open their door and give them nuts, fruit, coins or candy.

Yes, in the past I've gotten up and handed out tangerines or chestnuts, but this year I decided not to. As a foreigner here, learning about the culture and traditions is important.... and I must say very interesting. The tradition of the children going door-to-door does have it's roots in pagan folk religion, most similar to Halloween, but still it's a part of the culture and important for a guest like me to learn about. And to be honest, I really enjoy learning about other cultures. And the traditions around Christmas are definitely something to experience. However, having experienced it several times since living here, I decided this year that I'd not answer the door and sleep in instead.

Sleep.... well.... I didn't get much of that regardless of how hard I tried. However, I was luckier than others whose doorbells rang and streets were filled with children's voices singing the verses in a sing-songy melody reminiscent of "Ring Around the Rosie" as early at 3 and 4am!!! Eventually, though, sleep eluded me enough that I simply got up and began the day.

On another note, it's Christmas Eve and it looks like it won't be a white Christmas after all. The snow melted today. =( The bit we did have, though, made for an ironic sight yesterday that had me laughing when I was in the city center. It's one of those random pieces of art that have gone up around the city. This one is called, "Chance meeting." Take a good look at the picture and try to guess what I found so funny. I'll give you a hint... that puff of white is NOT a hat on her head! ;)


Doorbell image credit: http://thesophisticated.wordpress.com/2008/03/

Snow! It just may be a White Christmas this year!

Last night I went to bed very late after a very full day exploring all around Skopje with friends, shopping, enjoying the lights, restaurants and cheeriness of the city bedecked in holiday enchantment. At the end of the day I Twittered that the only thing that could have made it even more picture-perfect was if there were snow. Unfortunately the weather forecast was only for rain.

So you can imagine my surprise (and JOY) to wake up this morning to a fresh blanketing of snow over the city, piling up on rooftops and clinging to trees! This is a site I've come to really look forward to just after the New Year... I was hooked three years ago when it snowed right on New Years Day. Then last year it was January 2nd. This years New Year dusting happened a little later, but JUST IN TIME to fulfil a childhood dream of a "White Christmas." Can you hear my girlish squeal of delight???

White Christmas??? Yes, I did say Christmas. That's because Macedonia celebrates the holiday according to the Julian calendar, so January 7th is the day. You might find it interesting that "Santa", Christmas trees and gift-giving happen for New Years. I've recently learned that this transition happened during communism where New Years, being smack in the middle of the "Catholic" Christmas and the "Orthodox" Christmas, seemed the right compromise. The happy by-product of this is that Christmas is just about Jesus' birth, which is pretty cool.

Christmas in Macedonia is celebrated a bit differently as well. I've shared some of the celebrations and traditions in previous years' blogs and so will try to take a different perspective this year. The festivities start tonight with the Kolede bonfires, which have their roots in old Slavic folk religion, but like the Christmas tree, have taken on new meaning over the years ("Christ's light coming into a dark world."). Still, though, the locals tell me they go just for the fire, dancing, food, rakija and visiting with friends and neighbors. With the new layer of snow today, it should make the fires a bit more inviting. :) Anyways, as the tradition unfolds this year I will try to share some stories and pictures along the way.

Until next time, here's a pic of the pile of fuzzy snowflakes that I awoke to this morning....

Freaky Rain-Coated Children, Fish & Painting in the Lines

I had a really hard time picking just one of these "gems" to share today, so it seemed prudent to simply share them all!

When I first saw this "street" art exhibit it totally creeped me out! Freaky rain-coated children! As I drew closer I thought for sure the faces would be skeleton's or something. Thankfully, they weren't! Then, as I looked more intently, it seems that they could be adults slogging their way through the, er, pavement. Coupled with the sinking car behind them it seems to fit. Maybe they were in the car when it began to sink and they're wading out? What do you think??

This exhibit is just a block or so off the center square and is part of the outdoor display of a funky art gallery... Seriously, that gallery is full of very odd, different and "can't help but gape at" art. Worth a look-see for sure!

This little guy, whom I lovingly refer to as "Sebastian" (my favorite name for a fish), popped up recently near the old train station. One of the gals I was with commented that it would be cool if there was a machine underneath it that blew up bubbles. Now wouldn't that be fun?!?! If you're the artist, take note of a great idea! :)

Finally, this painting on the side of a wall took me by surprise. The ladders looked SO REAL at first glance that I took a double-take (and triple and quadruple). It's really quite simple but there's just something I really like about it. The quote says, "Современа подлога за современи конфликти." Roughly translated as: "Contemporary background for modern-day conflicts." The key words can be translated as: advanced, contemporary, modern-day.... I'd be interested in any insights to this that my Macedonian friends can give... particularly with my very rough translation. :) For those interested, this wall painting is right around the corner from the freaky rain-coated figures (across from Soul-Pub).

With sites like this around town, and new ones popping up all the time, it makes taking a walk through the city center an adventure into what new quirkiness awaits! :) Come visit (hint hint hint) and I'll be happy to show you some of my favorites!

A not-so-typical Sunday... sharing another "day in my life"

This morning started much later than a "normal" Sunday as I didn't need to be at church at 8:00am... so I slept until, shhh don't tell, 9:00am! The reason why is that I took this week completely off from worship team: no singing, no music picking, no practice and no overheads. The past couple months have been really hectic with Christmas prep and I was beat! I must confess that it was REALLY nice and MUCH needed to have the break.

Just as I was heading out the door I looked outside to see myriads of white puffy flakes storming down across the city, blown fiercely by a cold, horizontal wind. It totally reminded me of the blizzard that snowed in my friends and I in Wyoming last Spring. But alas, this riot of snow was not to last. Sure enough, by the time the taxi dropped me off it was already tapering off.

Church was great this morning. It was a little weird, though, to have no responsibilities, but I must confess that it was nice. :) The message was one of those that tends to hit ya between the eyes as well... about Lordship and is He really FIRST in my heart and life.... lots to chew on here.
After church I went home, made lunch, then cuddled under a fleecy blanket to watch a favorite 80's flick. Then it was time to get to work. Yes, I said, "work." You see, in the flurry of busy-ness in this past month with "refried beans" (aka bookkeeping) and preparations for the Christmas Eve service I was short on time and thus missed a writing deadline. For some reason, this particular report was a little challenging for me to write... writer's block I'd guess you say.

After a couple hours of making no real progress on the report, I ended up putting it on hold again to head off to "Soul Craft" (a church service that has contemporary worship and topical messages and all in Macedonian). With my responsibilities elsewhere it's been a long time since I've been there. I was SO NICE to see many faces that I've not seen for a while and to do some catching up. Walking home my heart was full with joy of reconnecting with some dear people. One of my "goals" (not "resolutions") for this new year is to spend more time with my Macedonian friends and work on reconnecting. Soul Craft is a place to start. :)

Once back home I set back to work on the year-end narrative. This time the words came a little more freely as I sought to sum-up this past year's work. It still took me quite a while to finish, but I'd determined to not go to bed until it was done. 2am Monday morning rolled around and I finally let my head hit the pillow having just emailed the report. Whew. What a day. (My perfectionist tendencies were most likely the culprit in it taking me so long to write something so simple... but that's another blog for another day)

Yes, so as far as blogs go, this one is likely more mundane and boring than others, but for those of you who wonder about a day in my life... here was another one for ya. :) If you made it this far, BRAVO and THANK YOU for taking the time to read. Thank you too for your continued prayers for me and my work here in this wonderful place called, "Macedonia." Until next time....

40 Years of "Adventure"

In keeping with my fascination of city graffiti/street art, my celebration of 40 years AND the looking forward to the next 40, this picture seemed an appropriate and timely one to share. It showed up on the wall of an abandoned building near the city center this past summer and originally said, "40 years of global lies." Now that's a social commentary that I won't even touch... instead, I've "photo-shopped" it with the sentiment that I find much more preferable and fitting to a wrap up of the previous decade(s) and forging forward into the adventure that lies ahead! =) Bring on the next adventurous 40!!

Happy New Year!

2010. Wow! When I was a teenager I'd wonder what the year 2000 would be like as I listened to Prince's "1999." But 2010? It was so hard to imagine... first, because I'd be 40... yes, I did that F-O-R-T-Y. Funny, though, I'm sitting here on warm and sunny New Years Day 2010 in Skopje and can't help but feel the best years are ahead. Honestly, it kinda boggles my mind what I've seen in the last 40 years.... and I can only imagine what amazing things are ahead. One thing is for sure, though, I'm happily taking each day as they come. So enjoy last night with me as you peruse some of the photos from the celebration in the Плоштад (Skopje's center square).