Technical Details (and a few more photos)

Oops, I didn't make it clear that if you click on each photo in the previous post, it will take you to our Picasa albums.

And now a few of the photos I took with my phone's camera (with the Retro Camera app). Our camera died our second-to-last day of our trip, though it put up a valiant fight for its life to the end. I pulled out my camera phone every now and then, tho it didn't have a flash, so sometimes the photos are even more retro looking than usual.

Drop Box

(I have no idea how to change the title of the album, and I'm too lazy to move the last two photos of the album to their "proper" place.)

Travel Photos

Well, I have procrastinated all morning, adding captions to the photos we've uploaded so far, which means that I now have four hours to finish up my work for the day, which means I don't have time to write up a recap of our travels. For now, suffice it to say we had a fabulous time. The reasons we didn't post regular blog updates while we were on the road include the following: (1) For the first time in years, I did not lug my computer with me, so I didn't have easy access to a computer. (2) Many of the places we stayed didn't have Internet connections anyway. (3) Even though Mark had his laptop, the screen was only attached to the keyboard by a few wires, so we tried to give it a break for the last few weeks of his travels. and finally (4) For the first time in I don't know how long, we were on an actual vacation together, with no work. Just us. And we hadn't seen each other for 3.5 months, so we just enjoyed our time together.

So, for now, I am letting the pictures and captions tell the story. I hope this link works. If not, let me know and I'll try another way of getting the photos out to the blog world.

First ... Morocco, which we loved just as much as the first time. Such a wonderfully friendly country, with so much history and so much to see and experience.

Morocco May 2011

And then Madrid and Portugal: We were only in Madrid for a couple days, and we didn't get too many great shots, even though we walked just about everywhere there was to go. Portugal was our favorite. We would happily go back there again to see more of what it has to offer:

Portugal and Madrid, Spain

I did keep a mini journal and will go through it when I get a chance to write about the highlights here.

I am back in Boise, while Mark jetsetted off to Costa Rica for 10 days. He'll be back on the 2nd, and I think maybe he'll stick around for the summer. But we shall see!

Oh, and check out this site: Expedition Impossible. This is what Mark was working on while in Morocco for the past 3 months. He even shows up in one of the episodes. He'll be signing autographs at the premiere party :-)

Measuring the hours in dishes and the minutes in socks

As usual, I have been a little quiet here in BlogLand. As some of you know, that will probably change starting this weekend.

For the past two months, it's been all quiet on the various fronts, as Mark and I have been working, working, working away --- him in Morocco, having fun putting together races and such; me in Boise, in front of this computer for hours on end. But now, I'm struggling to get the last bits of work done in between cleaning house, mowing the lawn, and trying to keep my hands off the Rough Guide to Portugal--so tempting!!

As I finish up each chore, I find myself thinking, "That is the last load of laundry before I go." or "I won't have to wash this pan again until I get back." The biggest milestone will be when I can say, "This is the last time I have to open Microsoft Word or Adobe Acrobat for an entire month!" And let me tell you, that milestone almost thrills me as much as the fact that I finally get to see my long-lost Mark on SUNDAY!!

Kai, on the other hand, isn't thrilled about any of this

Catching Up

There is so much to post here, but it's late and I am tired. So I will just send out a little note letting those who are interested know that Mark made it to Manchester, England, just fine. Last I heard, he was "packing gear right now--2 duckies [2-person inflatable kayaks], 2 life jackets, 2 helmets, 2 paddles and my gear--all in 2 bags. Then i get to lug it all on the train tonight, switch stations, and get to Gatwick at 2pm and fly out [to Marrakech] at 8. Will be an adventure."

In the meantime, I am here in Hamden, CT, with my folks. We had a great weekend with my sister and brother-in-law, their three beautiful girls, Nana, Karen, my cousin Debra, her folks, Rab, Julie, and a bunch of neighbors and friends I had never met before. All to celebrate Ground Hog's Day. Today the girls and I trudged through three feet of snow on an adventure of our own along the trails behind my parents' home. Who needs a gym when you are "postholing" up to your thighs with every step?

Pictures to come soon, along with a photo update of our past two months of good times and construction projects. In the meantime, here are two of the three gorgeous nieces and a whole pile of snow:

I'll also post the news from Mark (along with any photos he sends) as it comes in to me.

G'nite from snowy, sunny Connecticut!

[p.s. I don't have my camera here and am relying on my Android phone for camera shots. Never did get one of spunky Sabrina.]