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Paging Mr. Rogers, Mr. Mustafa Rogers
“Paging Mr. Rogers, Mr. Mustafa Rogers” “Hallo!” called a voice from inside the courtyard. My daughter and I were heading out to the manav to hunt down fruits and vegetables, so without breaking step, I called back “Hello!” After this call and response, there was a rustle inside the courtyard, and a body came flying
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Shortcutting
“Shortcutting” Because we’re on a limited Internet plan here at the house, I’m taking the quick way to show you pictures of our new abode. I put a gallery of photos up on our Family Blog that is linked to my husband’s comic blog (his comics are at http://www.layingfallow.com/). So if you follow this link,
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“In a Pistachio Nutshell” After nine nights in a pension, two nights in a hotel, and four nights crashing with a friend, we are now in our house for the year. It’s all very exciting, and pictures will follow, but since I’m typing at an Internet cafe, I’m going to have to cut corners and
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Let’s Ponder Why This Business Might Have Failed
“Let’s Ponder Why This Business Might Have Failed”
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Life in the Pen(sion)
“Life in the Pen(sion)” Here are the facts that got me 10-to-Life (I was totally framed–circumstantial evidence!): 1) We’re in Turkey, hanging out in the same pension (read: small hotel run by a family, kind of a hostel meets B & B) for nine days. Because the average turnover of guests seems to be 2-3 days, our longer
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We’re in the Throes of a Frustrating Search for a Home and Have Only Two More Nights in the Pension, Which Means I’m Both Disheartened Yet Still Enjoying the Spectacle…Hence, I Call This Post ‘Snippets’
“We’re in the Throes of a Frustrating Search for a Home and Have Only Two More Nights in the Pension, Which Means I’m Both Disheartened Yet Still Enjoying the Spectacle…Hence, I Call This Post ‘Snippets’” I woke up the other morning to the voice of a balloon pilot calling out to our neighbors at the
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Home Again
“One never reaches home, but wherever friendly paths intersect, the whole world looks like home for a time.” –Herman Hesse Sometimes, 5,700 miles from Minnesota, 480 miles from Iraq, a person scans the landscape and thinks, “Jump back, Mehmet, and crumble me with feta: this place looks just like central Montana!” Admittedly, there are some dramatic
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No More Hustle: All Flow
The research papers were graded; the discussion posts logged. The nine day slow-motion swoon of goodbyes and “short visits” was drawing to a close. In the fridge, the crisper drawers had been emptied and washed out. At midnight, the windowsills received a vacuuming. Blessedly, the kids had sleepovers at friends’ houses, so we’d been
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Clearly, Every Applicant Underwent a Criminal Background Check
Imagine you are a renter, entering our house this Sunday on Move-In Day, acquiver over the fact that you get to live for the next year in a house with stainless steel in the kitchen, a playset for the kids out back, and a jacuzzi tub upstairs. You might not even care that you’re
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I Only Know He’s Human Because Sometimes He Smells
My husband and I have a dynamic in our marriage predicated on his innate superiority and my unwillingness to be fazed by it. Since I’m someone whose self-esteem can be shaken by a student commenting casually, “You sure have been an interesting teacher” (What the hell does “interesting” mean? Did no one ever teach you to
