A midday post

A frequent question we are getting is, "How is Ellie liking her brother?" She honestly has limited interest in him, but definitely senses the direction of our attention towards him. She will plop herself in a lap or hang on a neck so she's not forgotten. Don't worry -- we're sure to create lots of special Ellie time.

Hello loved ones! Thank you for your many comments and e-mails. So, so nice to hear from home during these days.

It is high noon here in Elbasan and we’re marking about 24 hours of being here. The pace is such a pleasant change from regular life in Wilmore, which kinda gets in a rut when you live where you work. We really enjoy it but at the end of a school year, a break is good. And I am sure these days away will make home feel even better when we return.

Some random thoughts and comments on our daily life here…

The hotel is comfortable and the staff friendly and helpful. We ate supper last night here and breakfast this morning. I forgot how into presentation restaurants can be here. Ellie ordered an omelette last night for supper and it arrived with a ring of cucumbers and carrot rounds decorating the edge of the dish. At the end of our meal they brought out a heaping plate of sliced fruit: carrots, apples, peaches, and oranges, all arranged in concentric circles.

We chose to stay at this hotel because they have a pool and wireless internet. Given the hours we have to occupy Ellie in between visits to the orphanage, we thought a taxi ride was a small price to pay to have such luxuries at our disposal. Of course, this morning we awoke to find the pool drained and internet offline. Who knows when this will get posted as we are now also out of electricity.

Last night after supper we decided to walk down the street to a park we saw earlier in the day while driving through town. What a delight to find it bustling with residents of all ages strolling the intersecting sidewalks or sitting on benches, enjoying the cooler evening temperatures. Vendors were selling ice cream, grilled corn on the cob, and sunflower seeds. At the far corner of the park (it was quite a big place though you can’t really see how big it is for all the shrubs and trees) there was a small children’s carnival. Ellie really wanted to ride the train so for less than 50 cents she rode a little circuit for 4 or 5 minutes. You couldn’t wipe the grin off her face. I loved how family-friendly the whole environment felt.

On our way home we stopped by a small market and picked up some bread, jam, chips, and cookies to make picnic lunches (we brought peanut butter with us from home). While eating out here is really affordable, this kind of carries us over between breakfast and supper which can be pretty substantive.

This morning’s breakfast was the best I think I’ve ever had here. We had not only bread with butter and AMAZING fresh honey, but a huge omelette with a wedge of cheese, sliced tomatoes, and piece of deli ham. It was included with our room rate!

After breakfast we visited David Reni. It was a great visit with highlights being many smiles and lots of snuggles. Unfortunately Ellie was TIRED. Last night we lost track of time after our trip to the park. She was having a blast with games we were making up in our room with a flashlight and shadow puppets. Before we knew it, it was 10:30. We won’t make that mistake again, though the time last night was fun! This morning was not!