What a great month it’s been! About a month ago, we started on our Vacation Journey 2008! We had been talking about going to Turkey for a while, and finally saved up enough money and had enough time in the calendar to do it. On the way, we stopped in Amsterdam for a couple of days, as most of the flights had a layover there.

We’re back now, but here’s some teaser pictures for the moment:

A bike in Amsterdam.

The main theatre in Ephesus - up to 25,000 people could attend!

Cappadocia - Mushroom Fairy Chimneys

A balloon ride in Cappadocia

Goreme and the region from above

For more pictures, go to the photo gallery.

Well, mom came for a visit for her 60th birthday present this week. One of the things we did was to go to the Botanical Gardens and see the Chihuly glass sculptures. What a beautiful fall day to do it!

So, yesterday was the 1st anniversary of the big wedding. We had a bunch of people over for pie and mojitos- thanks everyone for coming!!

Here’s my new Mojito recipe that was very popular yesterday:

1/2 Cup Sugar
6-7 sprigs worth of Mint leaves

- Muddle together mint and sugar until VERY fragrant

Add-
Juice of 3 Limes
1-1/2 Cups Rum

- Stir together until all the sugar is dissolved

When ready for serving, add 6 cups (1.5 L) Soda Water. We actually used Poland Springs sparkling water, but I think that actual soda water would have had more carbonation.

We’re back from vacation, and there will be some fun pictures to come! In the meantime, our president is apparently going to try to institute democracy in Germany.

The point now is how do we work together to achieve important goals. And one such goal is a democracy in Germany

Now I DO feel safer…

So, I finally had a day away from the green box. It gave me a chance to get out into this little town called Manhattan. It seems that moths are taking cover in the park, but may be mounting an offensive:

And yesterday there was a large rally at Union Square for “A Day Without Immigrants”. There were an amazing number of people there, and it was all very civil.

It’s good to know that there’s still a world out there. I plan on rejoining it very soon…