We are back!

For a while, I was not in the mood for writing. In the winter I was very busy training the dog, and then in the spring and summer I was busy with something else. Our children, work, our Etsy shop, some new and old hobbies - all that was taking most of my time.

In the beginning of June, my little sister and myself spent a week at a mountain resort here in Uzbekistan. I was working there as an interpreter (there was a conference) and Katherine kept me company. We did not like the quality of rooms, service and cuisine at that resort, even though it was quite expensive; however, the nature around was beautiful and the clean air was filled with the scent of lavender and melissa.

This lovely English lavender in front of the hotel almost compensated for the stale air in our small room. Every time as I was passing by, I would pet the plants like a cat, to feel the fragrance.


 Just a bare tree against the sunset. Possibly dead, but birds like it, anyway.

The hotel is located at the side of the Charvak Reservoire, which is a huge artificial lake. It has amazingly clean water which is used for drinking. The lake is many years old, and it feels very natural, as if it always were there. It has plenty of fish.

One day there were clouds and we hoped for rain - we love rain in the mountains - but there was no such luck. 

This is Katherine practicing her Taekwondo in the grass. A bundle of energy and joy of life, she disproves the popular local belief that children who were born from not-so-young parents are unhealthy and non-viable. My mother was 44 when Katherine was born, and this is the strongest, happiest and healthiest child we have seen.

This is it for today. We have news about the shop, the kids, the dogs, etc., but I will share them later. I just wanted to start writing again which is not so easy after a long absence.