Tonight we met Joshua. He just arrived today from the States, and we are so glad he's here! We had the traditional enchilada welcome dinner and then the traditional youtube time. Wouldn't you know it, we got Rick Roll'D!! I laughed so hard. Why is that video so funny to me?



Kevin made sure we finished the evening in style: wine and cheese. So belge.



So, welcome Joshua! We hope you love living in Huy as much as we do!

You asked for it!

So many of you were interested in the facts of our little break in that we decided to make a little video about it :)

It's password protected, so email us (sandozupdates@gmail.com) for the password and then go here for the video.

I wish you could have seen us the other night. It had to have been entertaining. Clay accompanied me to the laundrymat, and on the way home, something we have been dreading occurred... neither of us had a key. And Kevin, who has a spare, was in another town just beginning his evening with a friend. Great.

We moped around for awhile, considering our options. Clay even tried to scale the wall in the courtyard behind our building, resulting in a rock slide and the quick decision that scaling a 3 story building is pretty much never a good idea (something we discussed before he tried it, might I add :) While sitting on a bench, waiting for the creatures of the night to start creeping about, and wondering if I should start folding my clean clothes, a thought struck us like lightning.

What were we doing sitting there as if we didn't have the means to make this work? Hello, you don't watch season after season of MacGyver just to sit on your hands when there's a problem to solve!

I will not delve into detail here, because I am sure you are all out there trying to figure out how to break into our appartment, but I will say 2 words: duct tape. Seriously.

I really wish we had had the camera rolling when it finally worked.

2 little things

Clay and I have lunch at Edgar and Lillian's house every Friday, and it's one of the highlights of our week. For some time now, the couple has served spaghetti to all the men who do construction at the church on Fridays, and I finally broke down and just asked if I could come too :) Lillian is amazing, and even makes me a special lunch that works with my diet. We love them. Anyways, they have a little dog named Cacahuete (peanut) who is Edgar's pride and joy. Last week they welcomed Noisette (hazelnut) into their home. I am in heaven. She is so much smaller than the picture makes her look. Her paw-prints are the size of a penny!



Some of you noticed in a previous post that I found an old sewing machine at a garage sale for 1 euro. I brought it over for Lillian to help me figure out, and I am glad I did, because it is the funniest little sewing machine I have ever seen! It is actually a toy machine from the 60s, and it is battery operated. There isn't even a peddle, you just flip a switch and better hope you were ready, because away it goes! We spent about an hour figuring out how to thread the machine and the bobbin. We bonded over that wee little machine, and all the while Noisette lay bundled up and sleeping in Lillian's lap. And yes, we high-fived when the machine finally worked.



Itty dog + bitty sewing machine= a happy girl

P.S. Notice 2 things in the previous picture. One, my new red shoes that I found at a second hand store. Seriously, red suede shoes?? I recommend you buy some right away. And two, the lone eclair on the table. Every week the spaghetti lunch is followed by coffee and eclairs from an amazing bakery in town. It is quite possibly Clay's most highly anticipated event of the week. When you come to visit, makes sure it falls on a Friday :)

Gray days

The weather we always knew was coming is here. It is gray as the dickens out there. And rainy too. It's not too bad. (It definitely keeps me on my toes laundry-wise. The hemline of our saggy, need-to-be-washed jeans are no match for these sloshy streets.)

There was one patch of blue yesterday. If only we could have spent the rest of the day chasing it!



As life shifts more towards the indoors, I decided to join a gravure class. I still haven't look that word up in the dictionary, but I think it means engraving or something. Whatever it is, it is fun, and I like it.



Also, in my attempt to keep you ever abreast of European fashions, here are some typical teenagers at the pita place after school. Chucks, skinny jeans, and layered leg warmers. I just don't see how skinny jeans and me are going to become friends, but more power to these 2 cuties.



As for me, my favorite way to fight gray day blues is tea, a movie, and a sweet friend. Today was a great day! Thanks for spending it with me, Sirin!

Howdy.

Some of our new friends this school year are Julia and Gorge, recent U.S. high school grads here on an exchange program. Super cool. Most of our conversations center around FOOD, so we got together the other night for Tex-Mex, The Office, and Wii. The most satisfying part of the evening for me was that the fajitas were made with ALL BELGIAN INGREDIENTS!!! This is huge. To know we can eat this comfort food without begging for a package from home is comfort in itself! God takes such good care of us.

Here are our Tex-Mex-deprived friends. At one point Gorge closed his eyes and said "Cold Play and re-fried beans...." as if all his dreams had just come true. We do what we can around here :)



Last weekend we also got to spend some fun time with Sirin and Xavier in Liege for La Nocturne.



The whole city was up late, candles were everywhere, and waffles and spiced wine were enjoyed by many. It was awesome.



At one point the path led us into a really pretty courtyard with some light projections. Can you see Clay's shadow? Leave it to him...



While in this same courtyard a men's ensemble started a little concert. So beautiful. There were musicians of all kinds set up all over the city, which made walking around each corner very exciting.



Our view of Liege from the top.



It was a great night!

days of our lives...

School is in full swing, and it is a great thing!



It's good to be with our friends from last semester again, and the class has doubled, so we are meeting a lot of new people, too. So many different countries are represented! It is awesome.

At school one day last week, Ali told us that Nada was at home making sfiha and that we were welcome to come over for lunch. He had us at "sfiha."

On this visit, I especially enjoyed watching Nagham play on the computer. Her hand is smaller than the mouse! And she new how to start the computer up an everything! Are kids really this tech saavy now? Wow.



After lunch Nada pulled out the box of baby clothes she has been accumulating. I am getting really excited for their baby to come! 4 more months!!



Their pretty backyard.



This week has been special because our friend Kate who is living in Germany has come for a visit! We met her last year during training in North Carolina, and it is so fun to see her again! Last night the three of us went to a pita place owned by a Turkish family and got really into the Turkish soap opera that they had showing on the TV. When the lady saw that we were into it, she turned up the volume (so the Turkish was just a little bit louder, but no less decipherable :) It was great because when we went up to pay before we left, the two of us got into a conversation (in French!) about who was who and what was happening in the plot. It was so great- people get all animated when they talk about their soaps. Clay and I are thinking we should start going back at the same time every week to keep watching "our show" with our new friend :)

Blinging for Shirley Ann!

Shirley Ann used to say that her mama always told her that when you are acessorizing you should put all your jewelry on and then take one thing off. But SA had her own rule: put your jewelry on and then ADD one more thing! What a fun, beautiful lady!



In honor of YOU, Miss Shirley Ann Frey, I wear more jewelry today than I have EVER worn at once :) I love you dearly!

Tomballers, I wish we could join you today as you celebrate the life of this precious daughter of God. 2 of us in Belgium are celebrating along with you!

A great weekend.

Seriously, this weekend tops the charts. It was beautiful. I met my friend Megan, who's a teacher in Brussels, in that city to do some serious antique-ing. For years now I have been anticipating such a day. When you read about Brussels, you read about antique markets and digging through junk for sale on the side of the street... be still my heart.

Saturday began well. A Texas size bowl of coffee and good conversation with a sweet friend.



Then we strolled the streets, seeking treasure, and often encountering the hilarious.



Check out this block!! Its entirety was plastered with blankets heaped high with as much junk as you could dig through. Megan and I quickly agreed that this was not a chat-and-shop kind of thing, and we split up accordingly. Serious business, people.



As Saturday continued on, Megan guided me through a sampling of the incredible flea-market side of Brussels. I truly love that city.

This morning was beautiful. Crisp and clear. In the 50s for goodness sake. We left for church early just to walk a little, and stumbled across the beginnings of a mini parade.



It wasn't long before townspeople were falling in line and marching behind the band (and huge, creepy, giant effigies), so we though "what the heck," and joined them for a block or two. Sunday morning whimsy. I like it.

This afternoon was beautiful, too, so it was off to the woods with us. There were quite a few people out enjoying day, and I laughed inside a lot as we would get trapped within family groups walking along the trails. Here's Clay trying to blend in.



Gorgeous day in Huy.






This is the shed I would like to live in.



As we were coming home, we stumbled across yet another flea market (I know, could this weekend get better??).

Would you like to see my treasures from the weekend?

One of my favorites is a fabulous family photo album from the late '50s, early '60s. This family looks like they were so much fun! This is my favorite picture. It's the one that made me buy the album, actually. Don't you just want to know the scoop on who this guy and his family are?



My other favorite is an old post card I bought at the flea market today. A monkey teaching kittens? I have never seen "random" so perfectly defined. One dirt-cheap frame later, and it's already on my wall making me smile every time I pass it.



A fun, bargain-filled weekend, and a cheerier home to show for it :)



Monday, do your worst!

I love technology.