Columbus

I have a bit of time this morning so I thought I'd give a bit of an update about Columbus before I head back to Texas tomorrow morning. Spending time with Jennifer has been a blast, and we have done quite a bit of rambling around. Among other things we have:

*Visited a lovely yarn store where I might have walked away with a stunning skein of sock yarn...

*Visited a rose garden

*Went to the coolest bookstore EVER

*I visited the Columbus Museum of Art and enjoyed participating in conversations via post-it note

*Saw a play in the park

*Checked out the Santa Maria replica

*Watched Fiddler on the Roof in an amazing old theater

*Had lots of good conversations with my dear friend Jennifer

Tomorrow I head back to Texas and have a week and a half to pack up before I head back to Sakeji. Where has the last five months flown?

Montana

I have been having a BLAST in Montana with my friend Annie and her husband Paul. I just have one more full day, but I am so thankful that the Lord made it possible for me to be here! I'll post a full report later, but here is a mountain picture:

I am stunned at how beautiful the United States is, and so thankful that I know the God who created it.

St. Louis

I’m posting about St. Louis before I leave because I’ll have less than 24 hours to get turned around when I get back to Texas, and somehow I think laundry and packing will be more important than blogging!

While here I’ve visited the St. Louis Museum of Fine Art,

Found a lovely yarn store, visited the zoo and enjoyed watching some elephants swimming,

And enjoyed a bit of down time. We took a rather rural rout up and saw lots and lots of fields in Aransas as well as a hint of the beautiful Ozarks as we crossed into Missouri. Tomorrow we’re taking a more interstate route back home, and then on Monday afternoon my mom and I will drive to Dallas and stay with my brother so I can fly out early Tuesday morning. The adventures just keep coming!

A praise and about to start another journey

After getting back from Tennessee on Sunday, I noticed that the car I am leasing from MTT was wobbling and bumping a bit at certain speeds, so I called them up and took it to a local tire place to have them take a look at it. The verdict--three bad tired which were starting to separate! I'm so glad I noticed, and that it was a quick, easy fix. MTT has been so wonderful to deal with, and having a car this summer has been such a blessing. Now I feel a lot better about hitting the interstate again tomorrow to head to St. Louis.

This morning I gave a brief presentation to my dad's work crew as a part of their saftey meeting. It ended up having a bit of the "zed-factor" flavor about it as the computer didn't work so I couldn't show my powerpoint! I did the best I could with just words though, and I'll be leaving a photo book I put together this furlough in my dad's office for a few days so the interested can come take a look. I might end up with one more presentation before heading back at the end of the month--time is running out fast!

Tennessee in Pictures

My mom and I arrived back safely from Tennessee yesterday--we had a great visit with my grandparents, and I was able to visit a lot of nice thrift stores and find some good buys! Here are a few pictures from the trip; I spent most of it just enjoying the visit!

Sand bucket Sundays at the lake

Though small, Lake Tansi is a lovely place to visit!

My grandparents deck and the 8th hole

Fruitcake in July!

Hydrangeas--Grandma's flower

I have a few days rest, then off to St. Louis. There are a lot of things that I would like to happen before I head back to Zambia, and I'm running out of days to do them!

Tennessee, here I come!

In the morning my mom and I are heading up 'north' to visit my grandparents, so I probably won't be posting for a bit. I did a mini-service on my car to make sure it was in good shape, and the loading process will begin soon. We'll pop on on Mary and Jordan on our way over, and then have a few days to relax with my grandparents. I'm excited about the lake they live by and the cooler weather. Maybe there will still be fireflies in the evenings...

Travel Plans

Here are my upcoming travel plans in a little more detail, and also a prayer request.

July 23-28: Tennessee to visit my grandparents. I'm looking forward to the more 'northernly climes' and the chance to get in a good visit the first generation of Zambian missionaries in my family. Both of my grandparents have spent years of their life working in a Christian school environment, so it will be good to talk with them and get some good counsel as I continue my journey in teaching at a mission school.

August 1-4: St. Louis to take my mom to a writer's conference. Looks like I'll get some good knitting and reading time in, as well as possibly checking out some free attractions.

August 6-13: Montana to visit my dear friend Annie and her husband. I've never been to that part of the states, so I'm excited about getting to see what all that big sky talk is about!

August 13-20: Ohio to visit another dear friend, Jennifer.

And then of course, the big one...

August 29: Starting my trip back home to Sakeji!

And that leads nicely into the prayer request! I am working on making a decision on how I'm going to get back up to the school, and need wisdom because there are lots of factors like time, money, luggage, and people's feelings to take into account here. Too bad you can't just telaport to where you want to go...