Happy summer! Happy belated independence day to everyone from the U.S. and Canada! The heat is on! I hope that everyone had a great long weekend and is ready to jump back into it! Its time once again for a monthly wrap up! Please copy and paste the questions at the end and add your answers to the mix!
Where was I? Georgia & Armenia.
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| Ice cream for breakfast, kitties, lots of churches and mountains and historical buildings! |
1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
January: Baguettes and Many Steps
February: In Like Minnesota; Out Like Hawaii
March: Wet and Wild
April: My Life is in Ruins, and Beaches Too
May: Al Fresco
June: Tales as Old as Time: The Christianity and Wine Versions
P.S. Armenia holds the distinction of being the first nation to adopt Christianity as its state religion in 301 AD. Georgia has a rich history and archaeological evidence suggests they were among the earliest regions to develop winemaking, roughly 8000 years ago, or around 6000 BC. Also, fun fact, they do not call their wine "red" and "white," they call it "black" and "amber."
2. What did you learn last month?
Aside from the above (that is a long time to be drinking wine!) I learned a lot, probably too much to go into here. However, here are a few notable things. First, there are a lot of men in Georgia named Georgi. My walking tour guide, whose name was...you guessed it....Georgi, said that if you ever forget the name of a friend or a cab driver or whatever, just call him Georgi and you will probably have a good chance of being right.
Interestingly, Georgia was not named after St. George, as some people may think. The natives do NOT call it Georgia, they call it Sakartvelo. However, Türkiye and Iran (and perhaps others) call it Gürcistan and Gurjistan, and Gurj means wolf, so the theory is that the Persians called the Georgians wolves because there were wolves in the region where Georgia is and it morphed into Georgian in English.
I looked up how the state of Georgia was named just for fun, and apparently it was named after King George II. But wait, you may ask, why was it named after a Brit when the US was trying to escape them? Well, supposedly it was named this in 1732, before the US had independence. Also, at this point in time, Georgia was a colony that also encompassed part of what is now Alabama and Mississippi. Woof, I think I need to brush up on my U.S. History!
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| Province of Georgia, USA |
3. What was the weather like where you are?
It was hot enough to go swimming (or to want to!) a couple of times, and then rainy a few days, but otherwise mostly in the 70s and lovely!
4. What event last month was your favorite?
I really enjoyed the churches and the wine; I mean learning about them! Okay fine, and drinking them in the case of the latter. If you ever see a Georgian Saperavi in the store, snag it, because that is my favorite kind!
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month?
Book: How To Read a Book, or Look Closer
Movie/Show: N/A
Podcast: The Choose FI guys did an interview with James Clear that I found interesting.
6. Tell us one funny recent story.
This is not really that "funny," but when I was in Armenia, I got food poisoning (I think?) for the first time in my life. Although this is never really a fun thing no matter what, it was even worse, as I had booked a guesthouse with a shared bathroom (but my own room) since I was only going to be a few days there and I still kept my apartment in Georgia at the same time. Not only that, but I also booked a tour for the day after I arrived, and the night before, I was not doing so well, and so I tried to get them to change the date, but they wouldn't, so I decided that rather than lose money, I would go on the tour. I mean, at this point, I was not needing to run to the bathroom a lot, but I was not really feeling great.
The tour was good, but it was super hot that day and there was a lot of stopping to get out of the car, get back in the car, get out of the car etc. and every time we stopped, I would go to the bathroom just in case, but was doing okay for the most part. However, I did not have breakfast as I was not feeling great, but I thought maybe I would try having lunch and that would help. It did not help and luckily the last stop of the tour had lots of bushes, as I had to lose my lunch in one of them when everyone else's back was turned. It was not ideal.
7. What are you looking forward to this month?
I am looking forward to a lot of things! I will be moving a bit faster, which can get tiring, but will cover a lot of ground and will finally do a hiking trip that I have been looking forward to for a while!
JUNE:
1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that?
2. What did you learn last month?
3. What was the weather like where you are?
4. What event last month was your favorite?
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month?
6. Tell us one funny recent story.
JULY:
7. What are you looking forward to this month?
Bonus question! If you are from the US, what did you do for the holiday weekend? If you are from Canada, what did you do for Canada day? If you are from neither, when is your independence day holiday?
Oh wow, the food poisoning sounds awful! You are a superstar for sticking out the tour even though you felt crummy.
ReplyDeleteIt is hot and humid with lots of intermittent thunderstorms. My least favorite weather.
Not sure I have any funny stories, but I am sitting in the sun and can see that my computer screen is COVERED in cat hair. So that's kind of amusing/gross.
The tour was difficult! But I would have had to get my own rode back to town and I actually wasn't sick until after lunch. Plus I paid for the tour already, may as well get a little value out of it... Haha.
DeleteI was in your neck of the woods (kind of - WI/MI) almost exactly at this time last year and the heat and humidity was hard to handle. Not my favorite weather either, especially when I'm.outside on a bike.
Oh no! Food poisoning! That is awful. I don't know if I could have handled a tour while having tummy troubles. Actually, I know I wouldn't. I have become more sensitive to car rides as I've gotten older so if my stomach is off then I really cannot get into a car/moving vehicle!
ReplyDeleteWe were at my parents for the 4th of July. It was very hot so nice to be by the water. We went to a huge family party later in the day. It was fine but SO MANY PEOPLE. Yeesh.
Normally I am more of a one on one person but sometimes those big family gathers can be nice because you can knock out a bunch of visits on one go. I love my family but there are some members that I don't know if I need a dedicated visit, so a fifteen minute or half hour catch up is perfect!
DeleteIt's amazing that this was your first bout of food poisoning! I'm so sorry that you had to deal with it. I've gotten food poisoning so many times that I'm actually afraid to eat out now. Ugh.
ReplyDelete1. Last month's theme was Wow! 32 Happy Years of Marriage!
2. What did I learn? A PETCOCK is a small valve, often found on older motorcycles, that controls the flow of fuel from the fuel tank to the carburetor. It typically has three positions: "On", "Off", and "Reserve". Petcocks are used to isolate the fuel tank when the engine is not running, preventing leaks and allowing for manual fuel control.
3.June was cool and rainy. We were so lucky to be in a cool pocket while so many others were dealing with extreme heat.
4.My favorite event? That there were NO events! We had a lovely, relaxing time at home.
5. We watched a TV show called High Potential. It was good, and now we're waiting for season 2.
6. A funny story. Our dog was sleeping in the grass and when I walked by, he ignored me completely. I said in a normal, conversational tone, "Well, too bad you're sleeping because I have a treat for you in the house." He couldn't get up fast enough! His legs scrambled like a cartoon character. He came in and got his treat.
Fascinating. I've never heard of a petcock, is that part of the choke system? I know that ok older cars (and motorcycles?) you had to use a choke and my understanding is that has something to do with fuel regulation as well.
DeleteThe dog story is great! They do know some words when it suits them, don't they? We used to mess with my dog when I was a kid by trying to see if he really knew his name or if he would basically come to any enthusiastically called name. I am still not sure what the answer is.
1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that? A Month of the Crazies.
ReplyDelete2. What did you learn last month? That PMS can really throw me for an emotional loop.
3. What was the weather like where you are? Hot
4. What event last month was your favorite? A spontaneous lunch at a local restaurant with the kids. I rarely (RARELY) take them out to eat and it was just so lovely and it felt decadent (the food was great) even thought they ate off the kids menu for $8.75!
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? I loved a lot of books last month. Crow Mary and The Secret Keepers were probably my two favourite?
JULY:
7. What are you looking forward to this month? Time at the lake. But mostly, the week both kiddos are gone together. We have FIVE NIGHTS ALONE IN OUR HOUSE AND I AM SO FREAKING EXCITED.
Canada Day? I spent it at the hospital with my husband because he came back from Africa with...something? Tests are still pending. Maybe an intestinal fluke. Sigh. But I don't have any standard Canada Day traditions so it wasn't a big disappointment in that way.
Five days alone!! With John? That's like finding a unicorn, isn't it?? Neigh! Do you have anything fun planned or will you just lay in bed and read and eat bonbons, which is also fun!?
DeleteIs an intestinal fluke a kind of tapeworm or do you mean that it could just be a random stomach issue with no explanation? J/K Sorry, I picture a fluke swimming around in his stomach somewhere. Too soon?? Sorry.
Interesting trivia about Georgia the country! So many places in the States are named after European royalty - Virginia, the Carolinas, Georgia - it's fascinating really! There are a lot of places in Canada that are named for the British royal family, but that makes more sense as we are still part of the Commonwealth. But I guess once a name drops, it drops!
ReplyDelete1. What is the name of your last month's chapter or the theme of your last month if you prefer that? How does your garden grow?
2. What did you learn last month? That there's no such thing as planting too many berries or too much spinach, but one zucchini plant is more than enough.
3. What was the weather like where you are? Beautiful! Today around 30, tomorrow a little cooler around 25.
4. What event last month was your favorite? I went to a 60th birthday party which was a blast, and also a baby shower.
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? Sky Daddy!
6. Tell us one funny recent story. I don't have one top of mind but I can totally sympathize with your food poisoning plight. I had a similar issue in Egypt in 2001 and I remember being very worried if I wasn't within close proximity to a bathroom. But it wasn't a throwing up thing, it was the other way.
What am I looking forward to? I love summer so much, so just *waves hands* everything.
I love all of your garden shenanigans! I did an overload on zucchini a couple of times and after that, I was done. The other issue I used to have was that it was all or none sometimes; I would have 100 not quite ripe tomatoes and then BLAM, 100 tomatoes that I needed to do something with! Why can't they ripen a few at a time? However, I am with you on berries! In Georgia, mulberries grew on the trees in town and you could just pick them whenever. The only thing is once they fall off, underneath the tree is a mess! Like you can't walk without getting a layer of berry on your shoes. I have never had food poisoning and usually my stomach is fine, like I drink the water everywhere etc. But not this time! I blame a beef stew that I had at a restaurant, as I am guessing it is not something I ate at home (although I could have had dirty hands or something I suppose).
DeleteWell, it's hard to compete with your adventures! I did learn something in June, which was to be a little more careful about getting sick. I hadn't gotten sick in such a long time, I kind of forgot viruses were even out there. But then I got one and it really messed everything up. But! I do have something very big to look forward to this month- my trip! I leave on Saturday and will be driving with my son and seeing my sister. I can't wait! And then after that my son will be home for a couple months. Woohoo!
ReplyDeleteYay! I am excited for your trip and for your son being home. I am sure that will be fun! I am going to knock on wood, but I am not sick very often and so it is always a surprise! I remember when I first started running a lot and I had a cold and I had to Google to see if I could/should start running again because I was going crazy but did not want to mess anything up! It is a fine line!
DeleteThat bout of food poisoning sounds awful. I could not have joined a tour in that state. Georgia and Armenia sound fascinating, and a bit off the main tourist trail I guess? I'm looking forward to enjoying the warmer weather while we're in Queensland. It's winter so not hot, but still short weather a lot of the time.
ReplyDeleteYes, they are a little off the tourist trail, but I like that about them! However, they have the tour business pretty dialed in and you can even do a day trip to Yerevan from Tbilisi! I did not do that, but some people do! In the end, I am glad I did the tour, but of course, looking back is easy, as I am no longer feeling like crud!
DeleteOh, gosh. the food poisoning - so unfortunate. The name of my June Chapter would probably be: structure and fun: how to have both. (this because the younger girls need structure and the older college kids are home and that's a blast). The weather here has been incredibly hot. Over the top hot. For the 4th, Coach and the 3 youngest were out of town and I chilled OUT and loved every minute of it. I went to Ed's girlfriend's mother's house for her annual pool party. Amazing spread, great people, and four of my big kids were there. It was ideal. Hmm, what I learned last month? Probably stuff about the finance world and Mini's internship. Fav event last month was probably hosting the Shenanigan side. Tons of fun, perfect weather. We don't get together often enough. We watched a movie about a plane that went down in 1972 and some of the people survived for months in the Alps. It was based on a true story that I'd never heard about. Unreal. Hmm, one funny thing was a messed up airport drop off. Um, it's funny now - that's all I'm gonna say. It's a post I have to write. This month, I'd say I was looking forward the most to the 4th weekend when Coach took the youngest kids out of town. I'm also looking forward to Louisville. I leave at some point tomorrow, assuming my dad's surgery goes well. Curly plays b-ball there in a tournament. I so enjoy the other parents on the team. Last year it was a blast - fire pit at the hotel, late nights drinking wine and laughing. Hoping my dad's health continues to improve, and that the 5 days are somewhat relaxing.
ReplyDeleteYour fourth of July sounds great! Not having to do all of the work, but you got to have all the fun? It sounds perfect! Plus that's fun that so many of your brood were there; it seems like Ed's GF's mother is a great person? My brother's GF's Dad and stepmom used to do an annual pool party too and it was very fun to go over there and chill! Unfortunately, he died, and then that house burned in the fires! So that tradition has sort of drifted away! Good luck with your Dad's surgery and have fun in Louisville!
DeleteUgh, I’m sorry about the food poisoning, that is horrible! I’ve had it a couple of times in my life and it is no fun. I’m glad you found a bush at least!
ReplyDeleteI’m looking forward to a few things this month…
One of my East Coast friends is going to be in town this weekend, and we are going out for tacos and margaritas on Saturday.
Next Saturday will be a birthday party for my MIL and Uncle (her brother), and we will see family we don’t see very often, including a really fun 3 year old and an equally fun 9 month old.
Then the last weekend of the month, we’re going to Portland. Wishing we had a free place to stay like we often do, but that’s not happening this time, so I’m researching hotels. Looking forward to seeing family!
I am glad I found a bush; otherwise I had been in a van full of people, which could have been very awkward! Have fun with your friend this weekend! Tacos and margaritas sounds great! Also, as you know, I love Portland and I am sure you will have a great time. Maybe without a free place you will discover a new neighborhood though! I love all the diversity of the different neighborhoods in the city.
DeleteJune: Thank Goodness for AirConditioning/I Hate AirConditioning
ReplyDeleteI learned that Spiders are taking over the Earth.
The weather here in NEO is typical--hot, humid, and why is it so damn hot and humid?
Having no events last month was wonderful--unspoken-for time is the best time.
Last month I watched all the Beatles documentaries on Disney+. It was like going back in time and very bittersweet.
I'm looking forward to my front porch rebuild being done, time at the lake with Theo this weekend, and making more pesto from my herb garden.
So sorry about your food poisoning! That's the worst feeling.
I hate AC! We don't really have it in the Bay Area but it only gets HOT for a week or two randomly, so we live. Plus the houses are old, and they hold the cool in pretty well! However, when I lived in New Orleans I feel like I was sick more due to going in and out of the AC all day, and I had to wear a coat in my office! I was in WI/MN/MI last year at this time (on the bike) and it was so humid. It was gross to be honest. Also I had dudes on motorcycles telling me I was crazy to be out in the heat. Time at the lake with Theo sounds wonderful! I bet he is getting big!
Delete1. In My "I'm Falling Apart" Era
ReplyDelete2. I learned all of the steps required for a stool sample! That's not something I ever thought I'd have to learn. Ugh.
3. Hot, humid, with lots of rain!
4. I really enjoyed book club! We went to a delicious Greek restaurant and then went out for ice cream.
5. Best thing I read was The Man Who Died Twice by Richard Osman. Best thing I watched was Survivor 37!
6. That my cute little 10-lb dachshund fur-sister bit a snake in half? Homegirl has no fear!
#2 hahaha! Yes, that is something that you probably don't set out to learn; you just got a bonus bit of knowledge! Wow, go Lucy! My brother's dog Madrone (a Jack Russell) once snatched a rat out of nowhere and broke it's neck/killed it in about three seconds flat. I was still kind of sitting there going, "what just happened?" after she did it. It was so fast I couldn't even process it.
DeleteI am so sorry you caught food poisoning. I once had it when needing to travel from northern England (on bus) in order to catch a flight out of London. It was the worst.
ReplyDeleteI answer a few questions:
2. What did you learn last month? – things about anthroposophical medicine
3. What was the weather like where you are? – very hot one day, lots of rain the other day
4. What event last month was your favorite? – birthdays, meeting family
5. What was the best thing you read, listened to or watched last month? – I am in a reading slump. *cry*
JULY:
7. What are you looking forward to this month? – white summer party, trip to Breslau/meeting you, more parties when home
#2, I don't even know what it is and now I will have to look it up and it will be something I learned in July! Re your reading slump, I am kind of there too. I just started three books and then quit them after less than 2% because I just wasn't in the mood, or I had to reread (listen) to the same part over and over because I already couldn't remember what I read! However, I had a few breakthroughs, one being Cate Kay, which I am glad I started because it was a fun one!
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