Categories: family, friends, linguistics, teaching, food, other-churches
Date: 23 August 2009 09:34:25
Just what I needed. And with tomorrow [Monday] off, I can extend it.
Friday night: Italian dinner [veal with king prawns and brandy sauce for me] at a local restaurant with a dear friend who is over from the US where she now lives followed by a trip to a Max Brenner for dessert.
[Friday lunch I went out, for Italian [vegetarian risotto for me], with four work colleagues which was great too.]
Saturday morning: leading my first English Conversation Class. A wonderful experience with four wonderful students [3 from Vietnam; 1 from Chile] getting them to talk about where they are from and their family. We moved to occupations and food after that. The two hours flew by.
Saturday afternoon: a short time playing with my nieces followed by a visit to see my Godfather and his wife's baby boy, Kamile John, born last Friday. Such a handsome boy, and it was wonderful to catch up with my Godfather and his wife and talk to two fellow parishioners who visited as well as my Godfather's parents and sister. Plenty of sweets from baklava to marzipan to nuts to the wondrous [my first time eating it] mughli which is served by the family to guests on the occasion on a new baby.
Saturday evening: as if I had not eaten enough, it was to dinner in the city to catch up with 2 friends who had just returned from New York. We went to Georges at King Street where we had a selection of meze, followed by, I do not know how I fitted it in, dessert. We talked for ages: very, very pleasant.
Sunday morning: a visit, with friend I had dinner with on Friday, to the Assyrian Church of the East parish of Ss Peter and Paul, where we caught up with a mutual friend afterwards. A blessed experience: a deep and wonderful liturgy, beautiful melodies for the responses that move me inwardly and transport me, a challenging sermon on following and giving thanks to God. Great meeting not only our mutual friend but many others there, including some who remembered me and whom I remembered from previous visits. It was then to a brunch with my friend [yes, more food]: I had toasted ham and pineapple on Turkish bread with a salad.
Sunday afternoon: nieces came over so it was playing 'Snakes and Ladders' with Skye and chasing Eden around. It was then back to see my friend over from the US and 2 mutual friends at a local chocolate shop [yes, eating again!]
In between I touched up the paint job I had done in my room; off to the hardware store tomorrow to work out how to hang my carpet.
A simply great weekend: thanks and praise be to God.