YOU do the Math!

201BCE - 1974 - 2009

Dates from 210 BCE, discovered by local farmers in 1974, viewed by yours truly (Liz), Terry, LaVonne, John and Sean in Belgium, January 2009.

We journeyed a short distance to the Museum of Maaseik, to view these very impressive statues of Chinese warriors. This remarkable funerary cult is from the Quin Dynasty and are made up of up of foot soldiers, cavalrymen with horses, archers and charioteers who guarded the tomb of Emperor Qin Shihuangdi. Fourteen warriors were on display as well as many other artifacts from the Chinese Ruling Class. We were impressed with the incredible detail on each unique statue-from the hairstyles and facial features to the posture and positon given to the lifesized warriors. Also included were animals of every kind, horses, cows, pigs, you name it there was a terracotta statue depicting an image from this period, it was truly a unique exhibition well worth viewing.

Here is a photo of Terry shaking the hand of a warrior in the gift shop, Sean and Terry both went home with their very own small replica of a their favorite warrior.

3.2 Million Years Ago - 1974 - March 2009

3.2 Million years ago, discovered in Ethiopa in 1974, viewed by Kerry and your truly (Liz) Seattle in March or was it April of 2009? (Perhaps Kerry or my Mom will let us know!)

While I was on vacation in Washington, my friend Kerry and I took the short drive up to Seattle to view the remains of "Lucy", the 3.2 million year old female ancestor of modern humans. I have to be honest here, I only went because I knew how much it would mean to Terry. He is facinated with anthroplogy and has followed the story of Lucy's legacy since she was unearthed in 1974. Kerry and I both were very impressed with Pacific Science Center's presentation of "The Hidden Treasures of Ethiopia", a walk back through evolution. We finished the tour then wandered around the Science Center through the wonderful display of live butterflies in an atrium-a wonderful day spent tripping through time with Kerry Jo.

+/-1341BC - 1922 - May 2009

+/-1341BC, discovered in 1922, viewed by Terry, his Mom (Nana) and your truly (Liz) in Atlanta, May 2009.

I just so happened to be in Atlanta and by coincidence so did the Exhibition called "Tutankhamun The Golden King and the Great Pharaohs "..........I had flown to the states to attend Terry's graduation from the Senior NCO Academy in Montgomery Alabama, via Atlanta. We planned my return flight home with an early arrive time in Atlanta to view this much anticipated exhibit. The exhibition features 50 objects from the tomb of Tutankhamun including the gold sandals that adorned the mummies feet and a beautifully adorned canopic jar that mummified his internal organs. Those two items were the highlight......there were other artifacts from rulers of Egypt.......but we were very disappointed not to see the golden funerary mask, we just assumed it would be part of the display.....they did however do an excellent job with the objects on hand, the end of the tour was an interesting video showing the cat scan on his mummified remains, which only deepens the mysteries surrounding his life.


love and miss you all

Blue Light Special

No sooner did Connie say: "you don't suppose we're on the flight line do you, Liz?", when we saw flashing blue lights fast approaching! We were not actually ON the flight line, but we had certainly ventured into a restricted area.... Perhaps I should start this tale at the begining.

Once upon a time, in the land of Spangdahlem , two friends went shopping at the Eifel Spring Bazaar. This bazaar was filled with many international vendors who travel far and wide for this three day event. A wonderful opportunity to purchase a variety of items from many countries, including wines from France, Italy and Germany; chocolates from Belgium; Rugs from Turkey; pottery from Poland; linens from Ireland...etc, etc. The vendors set up in two hangers such fun it is to browse the many items for sale.

The two friends were ever so thankful to reach their desitation, having traveled two hours through the pouring rain to get to the bazaar. They shopped and laughed and visited with many people, they especially liked the cheese vendor, the samples were plentiful and they each bought a block to take home. After more shopping and a quick lunch, they were ready to begin the journey home. For some reason, it was not clear which was the correct direction to turn when exiting the parking lot. Where was that nice person who directed them in? The driver, Connie asks the friend Liz, which way? And then, because neither friend is good with directions, they flipped a mental coin and took the road to the right, past the Military Police sitting in the parking lot .........and out on to a very nice and wide road. Connie was following the directional arrows painted in the road, ever so careful to obey all traffic laws.... then about a 1/2 a mile later, blue lights flashing could be seen in the rear view mirror!

When the stern Police Officer, in his best southern drawl asked Connie if she was lost, she gave him the wide blue eyed look and asked him......."surely I am not on the flight line?" "You have entered a restricted area, M'am," he uttered as he studyed her identification and took down her information. She tried to explain there were no signs indicating the error and she wondered if there would be a ticket involved. Just in case "THEY" want to know, could he please have her husbands duty phone, which he wrote in a tattered notebook. He then spoke into a radio and said she should follow his car and another car would be behind and together they would provide an escort........."To the front gate" Connie asked? "Because we really wanted to go to Starbucks" said Liz, perhaps we could bring you a cup?......The escort would take them to the main road, and no ticket and no thank you M'am with a twinkle in his eye, he did not want a coffee.

.........And so the moral of this story........... life is always an adventure.

The end

love and miss you all

The long good-bye

I detect a note of smugnees in my previous blog entry while describing the Grand Adventure of flying space-available for a vacation. I said something like, "Oh this is so easy, I 'll be back soon"! Well I can tell you......it has not been so easy trying to get home!

The FIRST time I went to McChord to catch a hop, the young man informed me that no planes flew directly to Germany and I would have to go an East Coast AFB to catch a plane. I called Terry to ask his advice, his comment was " how many stripes did the Airman have? (The answer, sadly, was two) Back to McChord , and yes I could be manifested to Germany even IF and WHEN they stopped on the East coast. My best chance was to come back at such and such a time. I have lost track of how many times - but it was a week long event - I showed up with baggage all ready to go. There was one flight I was SO SURE I would be on .................A non stop 15 hour flight on a C5, perfect, leave at 1700 go to sleep and wake up in Germany on a weekend too, just perfect. But oh NO, So sorry they told me, last minute change, no passengers allowed. I have lost count of the "last meal", last latte"...........and the last good-bye.

Every time I tried to find a way home, for instance plan B part 1 had me riding a train to Oregon to be picked up by Becca and taken to Portland International then fly to Baltimore Washington arriving around midnight only to then check the next hop to Germany.......As it turns out that train was booked full!! Doors just kept slamming on me. Time for plan C part 1.........that is to buy a commercial seat S eattle to Frankfurt, with a 5 hour layover at JFK in New York.

The optomist in me prevails so I am grateful for the additional time spent with family and friends. Joan and Jer had a farewell party for Dani, Roy and their precious baby Francis, who are moving to Vermont. I was able to see Robert, Bobbie-Sue, her boyfriend Kurt, Alex, Willie, and Gary, who I otherwise would have missed. Then of course there was Mar and Matt and Sadie, ONE MORE TIME......I was also able to have a farewell lunch with Kerry and Marta. Again, with the good-bye ONE MORE TIME. Even with all the hassle I would do it all over again! Go ahead and call me crazy..........

I am planning to fly space-available back to the states at the end of April so I can go to Terry's graduation from the Senior NCO Academy------Go Figure!

love and miss you all

Fun Follows

How much fun can one girl have at the ocean, how about eight girls? Mom, sisters, Mar, Cec, Joan, Susie Q, Joan's daughter Dani, her daughter Francis Dee and I all traveled to Pacific Beach, Washington to find the answer. As it turns out eight girls can have a lot of fun. For starters we couldn't believe that it snowed! It hardly ever snows at the coast! Of course we were prepared for the cold weather, springtime is ever changing - we expected the wind to add zest to our long walks on the beach and we weren't disappointed. The food, of course was delicious as well. A full course turkey dinner was just the perfect meal for the occasion.


We absoulutely LOVED playing electronic Uno (thanks, Matt), OMG it is a riot to play. Mom even mastered the quick wrist flick on a draw 2 card, WHAT FUN. The houses are the same we have rented in the past except this time we were disappointed no cozy warm fireplace anymore AND no washer/ dryer.... they now have hardwood floors and five bedrooms which was plenty big for our crowd. We did manage our walks on the beach, even Millie (Mom's car) had an adventurous spin on the sand - at low tide, of course! The only sister missing was Chris but Susie managed to create a paper Chrissy that we dutifully took care of all weekend. Cec remarked what a busy but well rested/deserved vacation for all of us. I agree. It was so much fun I suggest we all get togther next year for another ocean get-a-way, this time ..."Come one, come all"!

love and miss you all

Space Available

I traveled to the States on a C17! What an adventure to fly accross the Atlantic Ocean in the belly of this airplane, all 10 hours and 55 minutes of it!

Terry is in Alabama attending the Senior NCO Academy from March 17th thru April 30th, what a great opportunity for me to visit friends and family in the Pacific Northwest, also known as "HOME" The timing out of Ramstein AFB was perfect, I was able to catch the first flight scheduled to McChord. There was so much room in the cargo area that a young Mother was able to set up a playpen for her little guy. he slept most of the way, happy as a clam at high tide.

All in all an exciting and easy trip for me, considering I am not the best traveler.............And of course nothing was more welcoming than the sight of Mount Rainier............... ahhh home again!

love and miss you all

YIKES!

I told Terry the other day that I REALLY need to post a blog tomorrow, he said, that is what you said last week......and the week before that........AND the week before that!

Yikes! Where has the time gone? It can't be almost Valentines Day!

It was hard to say good-bye to my Mom in January, we had such fun while she was here, so many stories that I should have shared along the way. Our trip to the markets plus our jaunt down memory lane to Landstuhl come to mind, but for this blog I will share a story from our Ireland trip.

Mom, Terry and I arrived in Dublin on St. Stephens Day, or Boxing Day as it is known in England. We had arranged to let an apartment on the south side of town near where the Rigney's live. We called Mikal and he agreed to pick us up at half one- which by the way is how the Irish tell time, it sounds quaint doesn't it? He was delighted to meet Mom and Terry, he then took us to his Mother's house where we were treated to a memorable lunch. She had obviously put some time into it, there was a huge amount of food and the table was set beautifully. She is is a charming and vivacious woman, Mikal calls her Mudds. I can only guess that it's a shortened version of Mother-Mudder-Mudds.......however, I never did ask. Lunch concluded with a special cake Mudds had made before her Spain holiday- (I didn't dare ask when that was) she did need a VERY sharp knife plus Terry to help hold the cake while she hacked into it.....I likened it to a fruit cake covered (sealed you might say) in marzipan! And she told us that she had saved cutting it just for us! She did rembember to unplug the blinking Christmas light atop the cake prior to consumption! Too funny, I didn't dare look at my Mom.

Mikal loaded us in his car and began a tour of Bray and the surrounding area. It was a beautiful drive that took us on a coastal route that included a peek at the residence of U-2's Bono.

At various times throughout the day, Mikals wife Aideen had called his cell, we could hardly help but hear his end of the conversation......things like "no dear, I really didn't eat much" (we certainly had) and "yes, dear we will be home round half six or so to be sure" We were just passengers along for the ride, I did wonder at the twinkle in both his and Mudds eye.....True to his word, we finished the sightseeing and the five of us arrived at his home to be welcomed by his family. Introductions made and then with drinks in hand............ we were led to the dining room and saw that Aideen had a formal dinner table set and we were the guest of honor!

I would pay good money to have a picture of the look Mom's face when the (heaping) plate of food was set in front of her, no wonder Mikal only picked lightly at lunch at Mudd's house! Needless to say the conversation and the wine flowed late into the evening. I do believe I waddled on the way outside to get into a cab back to our apt. I was very thankful there was not another "Irish Christmas Cake" for dessert!

love and miss you all

Christmas in Edinburgh

Edinburgh we decided would be the perfect place to spend Christmas this year and so it happened on the shortest day of the year, my Mom, Terry and I boarded a flight headed North to Scotland, the land of our ancestors.

What a wonderful city, I have said it more than once and all of my traveling companions agree, "I could live in Edinburgh" I can't really put my finger on what it is that makes this place so special. Is it the castle that dominaties the skyline? Maybe the famous Royal Mile or the amazing number of literary giants that have called this home. Perhaps it is the sense of the savage history that makes it what it is today, it just is!

We had a great apartment right in the heart of old town with a view of the castle out our window. What fun to watch all the holiday shoppers from our second floor perch. We of course did the obligitory tour of the castle and journyed on a hop on hop off tour which educated us on various famous landmarks throughout the city. Another memorable day was spent getting our pounds worth while riding on an all day city bus pass. Who knew that paticular bus does not loop back around, just another adventure and a great way to see more the city. Our goal that day had been to purchase dinner for Christmas and we ended up touring the town and finding some wonderful cheese at a real cheesmongers shop!

We had scoped out St. Mary's Cathedral the first day we were here so we could attend Midnight Mass with His Emminence Cardinal O'Brien officiating. The bulletin indicated carols at 11:30, Mass at 12. Thank goodness we arrived early to get good seats because there were no carols; the choir, the Cardinal and countless others processed to the altar promptly at 11:30 to begin the service. The cathedral itself is magnificent - arches, statues, frescoes and carvings. This all lent itself well to the pomp of a Cardinal's Mass with thundering organ, angelic choir and enough incense to waft us all heavenwards. All in all it was a beautiful service. The Cardinal, in his opening remarks welcomed one and all, especially a group all the way from San Diego, Texas! And lo and behold, as we were leaving, there was the Cardinal right at our exit so we shook his hand and exchanged blessings of the season. Amazing!

Now it is time to leave this city behind and travel to Dublin to re-visit with the Rigney family, so I say ......."Merry Christmas to all and to all a good night"

love and miss you all