2005--Pegs' Year In Pictures

Unfortunately, the Year in Pictures must begin with March b/c I don't have digital pics from January or February. Here's a sum-up of 2005!


Deborah, my friend since 6th grade, had her second baby, Alyssa, during Spring Break


Amy married Josh, and became Mrs. Amy Byrd on March 6th


Grandma celebrated her 84th birthday on April 6th


Missing sharing my birthday by only one day, my second cousin Lacey entered the world May 6th (I'm just noticing the 6th of each month was pretty eventful)


I returned to Senegal for 10 days and was reunited with my twins and Patricia, among others...I arrived in Senegal on (you guessed it) June 6th


5 years and 7 months after it began, I welcomed myself into the 21st century in July with a flip phone and my grandmother also joined me with a shared line


The annual trip to the condo in August


Tara's baby shower in August...Brooklyn joined the world in October (Anyone noticing the recurring wedding & baby themes?)


No better way to spend Labor Day in Corpus than at the Texas State Aquarium with Katy, Caitlyn and Sallie


In October, 6 months into marriage, Amy had settled nicely into domesticated duties and shared with all of us


On November 3rd, my supervisor, Linn retired after 10 years at SOCS and about 40 years in the ministry. Tony was voted in the same day


Thanksgiving at Grandma's


December 11--Reunited with my roommate in Mali & Ivory Coast, Robin, and meeting her mom in Norman, Oklahoma


December 15-22--a fabulous trip to France to be reunited with my roommate in Senegal, Kari, and her husband (another friend from Senegal) Jonathan

I'll ring in the New Year tonight with friends at the Surf Club in Corpus. Hope all of you have a fantastic 2006!

I saw London, I saw France, I saw...

Well, I didn't see anyone's underpants, but I did see London & France last week! (Hopefully you know the old nursery rhyme or that comment seems quite inappropriate.)

The intent of my adventure to Europe was to visit Jonathan & Kari, fellow journeymen in Senegal, where they now live in Lyon, France. However, the cheapest itinerary also involved a long layover in London. My friend Amy lives outside London and took the train in to be my personal tour guide for the half-day. Here are some highlights of London:


Amy and I in front of Big Ben


Covent Garden, a quaint spot to shop, eat, and be merry


View of the London Eye from where we exited the "tube" (subway)...apparently, the London Eye is this ferris wheel-type thing where people actually get married. It's also the highest view in England.


Picadilly Circus, that intersection you always see in movies


Subway, my favorite fast food restaurant, is worldwide and I didn't know it! I really could live in London...


Westminster Abbey

And Lyon highlights:


Place Bellecour, in the center of Lyon


The temp hovered around 33-35 degrees most of the week, and we walked everywhere!


For the second year in a row, I was with Kari to make Christmas cookies


The Saone and Rhone rivers meet in Lyon...here is the Cote de Rhone (I think)


I am all about the food when I travel to new places. I had at least one French pastry every day I was there. I also had a crepe avec jambon et fromage (ham & cheese crepe) while there.


The wine shope we visited, Dit'Vin, was incredible. Nicolas, the owner, discussed the different types with us and even offered us Christmas wine!


When we weren't walking, we took the metro or buses. It was quite a complicated system!


Murals on the sides of buildings...Kari said this was "very Lyon"


Amazingly, my favorite street in Lyon is called "Rue de Boeuf"...that's Beef Street


When we stopped at the old Roman theater (although Lenny Kravitz had a concert there earlier this year), Kari and I couldn't resist "performing"

All in all, a fabulous trip!

Friends Holidays

At Thanksgiving, somehow I found myself in charge of the main entree, le jambon. The ham actually turned out great, especially considering I ventured out and altered the ham glaze recipe...if you're that curious, it's canned crushed pineapple, honey and brown sugar. Yum!


I also contributed to the festivities with wassail, that tasty holiday tea...recipe courtesy of Patty McIntire in Senegal (thanks, Patty!)




Chrissy, me, and Christine enjoy Turkey (or Ham) Day

Today, Amy invited us over for our Christmas celebration before things get crazy for the holidays. It was nice to have our main cook back in the kitchen! Ames made tortilla soup for the occasion.


And Josh was a good sport once again at putting up with all the women invading his house! He even tried on the top I gave Amy for Christmas...

Weather report

Well, God is preparing me for European temperatures next week...South Texas received an "Arctic cold front" last night so that the temp dove to 34 degrees with a 22 degree wind chill. That, mes amies, is more than 30 degrees below normal. Wow.

Next week at this time, I will be en route to Lyon, France to visit Jonathan and Kari! It will be almost a year to the day of my last time with them at their wedding in Marietta, Georgia. I am too excited!


Kari and I at her bachelorette party a year ago

Incredibly, the cheapest ticket to France involves a 9 hour layover in London, and my friend Amy, who lives in England, has graciously agreed to come in town and be my tour guide for a few hours. I am indeed blessed!

Of course between now and next Thursday, there are a million things to do and of course, a big Walmart run for all of J&K's special American requests! :)

Personality Type

I just took a variation on the Myers-Briggs personality test, and it was the same result as when I came back from Africa. I am an ISTJ...that's introverted, sensing, thinking, judging type.

Supposedly, that means I am "superdependable" and characterized by decisiveness with a distaste for and distrust of fanciness in speech, dress, and living. Their words are simple and down-to-earth, home environments are usually neat, orderly, and traditional, rather than up-to-date and luxurious. Price and durability are just as important as comfort or appearance.

I.E. BORING! Good grief...and fairly accurate which makes it even worse.

More to come on my Thanksgiving...I haven't had a chance to upload the pictures yet...

Retirement...

No, not my retirement...my current supervisor, Linn, and his wife, Betty, are retiring at the end of December. Tony Celelli is going to be our new President and my new boss, effective s-o-o-n. And so yesterday, we had a par-tay...out with the old, in with the new! Well, we weren't quite that brash about it, but we did have a fun time celebrating the last 10 years of Linn's work and celebrating Tony's future with us. So, without further, adieu, one last photo of the staff as they were...


L-R: Jay, me, Anson, Betty, Linn, Deanne, Tony

Please take note of the new 'do. First time I've had bangs since high school...wowsers.

top 10...dedicated to the Astros

10. Roy Oswalt did an incredible job!
9. Biggio and Bagwell aren't done yet!
8. Doing it in St. Louis was actually great b/c we got to shut up the whole stadium like they did in Houston.
7. It wasn't some sorry 1-run game...they nailed it!
6. They don't look like high schoolers trying to be cool with beards since they actually won...it actually IS cool.
5. The end of the order was better than the top and middle. Kudos to Ausmus, Everett and pitching spot.
4. The drama of that guy getting a single with 2 outs in the 9th...AGAIN.
3. The Astros, all 40-ish of them, were much louder than thousands of St. Louis-ans. YEAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
2. 45 years (and 2 days) in the making...It truly was a team effort with good offense and defense--no errors and lots of hits!
1. My 84 year old granny is the happiest person on Earth after watching the Astros faithfully for 18 years!

I ni che!

I remembered that I promised a picture of me with my friend from Mali, Lori Price, who I was reunited with last month in Temple, Texas (or rather Academy, TX, population: Lori.)



PS: The subject means hello in Bambara, the main trade language in Mali.

the cooks and the cook-nots

Well thank God that He puts people in my life at all times who I like to call the cooks and the cook-nots. The cooks are there so I don't starve, and the cook-nots are there so I don't feel bad about not being a cook. (Yes, it's all about me.)

In Cote d'Ivoire, the cook was Robin and the cook-not was me. In Senegal, the cook was Kari and the cook-nots were Kate and myself (left to our own devices, Kate and I ate peanut butter on baguette and blew up our friends with the gas oven!).

Nowadays, Amy is our ever-cheerful cook and Christine, Chrissy and I are the cook-nots. (Let me add an aside here: Although I'm not a cook, I am a great dishwasher and that's where I make myself a worthy roommate and friend.) So Amy invited us over to have brunch on Saturday. Yum!


Josh waves out the smoke from cooking a little too "well."


Christine, me, and Amy doing "brunch"


Chrissy and I are tired from "helping."


And finally, breakfast a la Amy was served!

Skills only found in China...or West Africa