And, yes, another shot of the church. Isn't it just amazing?!? 

Here's another shot of the church, from a different side. Though everything being done in the church is based on Gaudi's ideas and drawings, much of the actual work is being done by other artists (because gaudi is no longer living), but this side was actually done by Gaudi himself. 

This shot is from inside the church. It's very bright because, though it's inside, there is one side of it still open to the outside. 

This is a close up of some of the detail. The church is still under construction and they figure they've got about 25 years to go before they finish! 

This is a picture of the Holy Family Church in Barcelona. Another Gaudi masterpiece. 

One other interesting person we met when leaving Austin was Smitty. He was sitting on the other side of Doug on the plane. He's a Canadian offshore oil man and he uses very colorful language. :)

Anyway, I lived through my first international flight. I expected to be totally freaked out the whole time we were flying over the ocean, but it wasn't too bad. For one thing, it was night time and I couldn't see anything anyway and I was *trying* to sleep. I also thought I'd be wicked fidgety, but I was really okay. I mean, I would have liked more leg room, but I didn't go crazy or anything.

Unfortunately, it is impossible for the average person to sleep on an airplane. I tried and tried and I think I managed to sleep about two hours. The seats were so uncomfortable and I've never been able to sleep in a sitting position. (college doesn't count)

We had a four hour layover in Amsterdam and they have a very cool airport. With some interesting people...

This is the fence around the park from the outside. The colored top is also all done with broken ceramic. 

Another house/building in the park. All of these buildings now house museums and gift shops. 

This is the ceiling in the Hall of 100 Columns (though there are only 85 or 87 - don't remember which) in Park Guell. The whole ceiling is a mosaic of broken ceramic. 

Some more cool columns in the park. Park Guell, that is. 

This is another Gaudi house in the park in Barcelona. It looks like a gingerbread house! 

One little story I forgot to mention about our adventures in trying to leave the country - Doug spotted someone he knew at the airport. Not surprising, but amusing. It was a couple of Dutch guys that work for a supplier or vendor or some sort of other company that Dell does business with.

Also, for some reason (possibly because we had hand-written tickets from delta), we were selected for a thorough security check in Austin. So, we got checked for weapons and passed on through. The pants I was wearing have about a dozen snaps and zippers on them, so I was beeping up a storm! Anyway, we didn't mind and the security people were very friendly. It did feel a bit weird and conspicuous. I figured the average person would be annoyed and offended by the process, so I just tried to look as un-annoyed and non-offended as possible. :o)~

I met a nice girl and her baby in the airport. I am not the type to start up a conversation with someone I don't know, but she was traveling with a newborn... :)

This is a courtyard in this big park in Barcelona. Gaudi did the columns you see in the background and they are supposed to look like the palm trees that you see planted in front of and behind them. 

A scenic view of Barcelona. Don't even really remember where it was taken from. 

This is the base of a street light. There were a lot of theses and they were very cool (thought it may be hard to tell). 

Just a cool bay window thing on a building in Barcelona. We were on a Gaudi tour, but this is not actually a Gaudi building. 

In the courtyard of our hotel in Barcelona. Cool squiggly wood things. 

We've made it back safely! We had *such* a fun time! I'll have to tell you about it in bits though. My hands would fall off if I tried to type it out all at once. I'll also put up just a few photos at a time. We might be putting up a website pretty soon with lots of photos and so forth on it, but I'm not sure.

The first story is from the first day of travel. We were dropped off at the airport at 1:30 p.m. for a 3:30 p.m. flight to Atlanta. Unfortunately, that was right in the middle of Hurricane... Ivan, I believe. Our flight to Atlanta was delayed two hours, which meant (theoretically) that we would have missed our connecting flight to Barcelona.

So, we stood at the check-in counter for an HOUR while they finally found another way to get us there. They finally ended up putting us on a 5 p.m.ish flight to Houston. From Houston we went to Amsterdam. From Amsterdam we went to Barcelona. It's not what we had in mind, but it worked... :)

Our lives are now consumed with getting ready for this trip. We spent all weekend shopping, running errands, brainstorming, making lists, etc. I've been cleaning like a madwoman today - partly for our benefit and ease of packing and partly for the sake of Renee, our blessed house sitter. How, on earth, do you plan for a two week trip out of the country without forgetting anything?!? I don't think it's possible. Oh well. I'm sure we'll have many adventures on our trip and if we forget something, that will just be another adventure!

I will try to post again before we leave, but I make no promises. I probably won't have anything new to say anyway. Like I said, there's really not much going on besides trip preparation. And I will not be making any posts from Europe or the boat, sorry. I'm not going to *pay* for the privilege of blogging. You'll just have to wait a couple of weeks to find out how wonderful it was and to hear about our many adventures.

I will miss our kitties. :(

I can't believe we're leaving the country in one week. In fact, one week from right now, we'll be in the air! It's too odd...

Wow, I'm suddenly very hungry! I hope Doug gets home soon. He's been working late for the past couple of weeks. It's just a busy time, for one thing. Plus, he's trying to get things at work prepared for being gone for two weeks. And we're back to that vacation thing.

I've already started making little piles of things that we need to remember to pack. All our travel documents; phrase book for all european languages; book of games for the plane ride; travel journal; money belt; so much stuff!

I'm also very excited because BSF starts next week! I only get to go to one meeting before I miss the next two, but I've missed it so much!

Wow, it's been so long since I posted a blog that I've kind of forgotten about the whole thing! I guess it doesn't help that the site wasn't working the last time I tried to make a post and then there was the long weekend and I rarely touch the computer on weekends... Anyway, I'm here now and I'm posting!

I'm also sneezing. And itching. It's taking most of my energy right now just to breathe and think. So I'm not going to have anything brilliant to say. I can tell you that my kitties are cute though. They are also the smartest cats in the world. So there.

I just finished up a pet sitting job that I was doing for several days for two dogs and two bunnies. The bunnies were really just cute and furry and didn't do much (except when i tried to feed them out of my hand and one of them kept chewing on my fingernail). The dogs were nuts though. One is a gigantic black lab and the other is a little cockapoo puppy. Totally nuts! I have rope burn on my ankle from one of our walking adventures where the little dog ran around in circles until the leash was wrapped around my ankle and then he kept on running. Ziiiiip!

A letter of thanks from Mitch Markow's family. Hope you can read it! 

I really don't have much to say today. I'm just making a post because it's been a few days.

Good news - Mitch actually left the hospital last Wednesday! So he's home now and in rather a lot of pain because he's not hooked up to IV painkillers anymore. He's doing well though, considering, and recovering nicely!

I'm floundering in my motivation to work out. I want to work out and stay healthy, but I've become totally bored with my current workout routine. I do the eliptical trainer for 20 minutes and then a couple of weight machines. I think I just need to talk to someone at the gym and find out which of the other cardio machines would be a good one to try instead. For quite a while, I've been downloading sermons and listening to them while working out and it really helped the time pass quickly. But I've been doing it for so long that it's become part of the routine now and I need a change...

Mitch update - wow!

Mitch is doing wonderfully. He is acting his typical self, making everyone smile. The doctors are simply amazed at his recovery and are even beginning a study on him to find out how he has recovered so fast. Assuming all continues to go well, he is projected to leave the hospital this weekend. He plans to take some time at home with his family and return to work in a few weeks. Mitch and his family are grateful for all the flowers, cards, visits, and prayers. They hope to hold a party in the near future to celebrate his recovery.

Not much to say today. I can give you a kitty story. Cordelia especially has been a nut this afternoon. First, she *helped* me put clean sheets on the guest bed. Her job, while I am putting sheets on the bed and trying to get them even and tuck them in, is to run around on the bed and attack the "orbs" that have gotten under the sheets. (Charlie also helps sometimes, he helps by laying in the middle of the bed like a very large rock so that I have to make the bed over him)

Personally, I'd prefer to just let sleeping "orbs" lie (is that right? should it be lay?), but Cordy is a purist. No "orbs" in her beds! I even gave up and left the room for a few minutes so she'd get bored and go away. After I left the room, she whined at me to come back and then gave up and left. Unfortunately, when I went back to it, she came back too. Oh well!

A few minutes ago, while I was brushing them, she apparently decided that the brush was being extremely aggressive. I had to give her my hand to chew on so that I could finish brushing. Oy.

My cute kitties again. 

Medieval Times - sideways photo of castle 

My cute kitties. 

MT - Blurry picture during the games. 

MT - This is a pretty horse. 

MT - During the show, really not sure what's going on. 

MT - This was our knight, the Red Knight. He was a wimp. 

MT - Inside the arena. 

Medieval Times - ceiling 

Hello everyone! Here's today's Mitch update:

Mitch is making a miraculous recovery. He's talking, been moved out of ICU, taken a few steps, and he's even talking about work!! Thanks for all your prayers and support!

Doug and I were in Dallas this weekend and we went to Medieval Times on Saturday evening. It was fun! I wore a dress and heals and felt severely over-dressed. Although, I don't think I would have felt apporpriately dressed unless I'd been wearing Medieval type clothing.

Anyway, the food was wonderful. Vegetable soup, garlic bread, roasted chicken (1/2 a chicken!), half a garlic roasted potato, (one) delicious spare rib, soda, coffee, and a yummy apple something or other pastry! It was messy business with no eating utensils, but that was fun too!

I did expect the entertainment to be slightly more realistic, but it was still fun. :)

Today's Mitch update - good news! :)

He is awake, he is not able to talk, but is responding to doctors commands ........guys, thank each and every one of you for your blood donations, phone calls, prayers, visits, etc. More info later.

I want to share something with you that I just read. It brought tears to my eyes. :) This is from the book Jesus, the One and Only by Beth Moore.

"As we conclude [this chapter], please feast your eyes on [Luke] verse 32: 'Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom.' What tender words. Do you hear the love? Do you sense the care? With one glance in the nearest mirror, you can see a reflection of the heart of God. For where His treasure is, His heart is also."

If I try to explain what that meant to me, I think I would just detract from it. So I'll leave it at that.

I'll keep you updated on Mitch once I get today's report. Please pray with me that it will be a positive report! And after today, I won't be able to update until Monday (even if i hear something).

Mitch update: Not great...

The biggest thing that Helen has asked for is continued prayer. The two specific concerns are risk of infection from surgery and risk of brain damage (due to significant loss of blood). As the doctors try to revive Mitch (so that they can remove the ventilator) they have not yet been able to establish coherent communication with him. At this time it is unclear if the non-coherence is a result of all the medicine/drugs or brain damage. There will be continued efforts over the next 24hrs to establish coherent contact with Mitch.

Here's an interesting news tidbit (courtesy of world magazine):

Lesson Learned
A 60-year-old Japanese man, on an Aug. 1 flight from Chicago to Dayton, Ohio, wrote down two English words he saw in a newspaper so that he could look up their meaning later. The words: "suicide bomb." An alarmed fellow passenger saw the note and alerted crew members, who returned the plane to Chicago. Authorities took the man into custody and searched the plane, finding no bombs. "He teaches himself English by reading newspapers," said police spokeswoman Alice Casanova. "It was all just a miscommunication."

I have no news on Mitch so far today. Doug did tell me yesterday evening that they'll keep him sedated until they have him off the ventilator. Hopefully that will be soon. Who knows how long he'll be in the hospital recovering though!