Back in the U.S. of A.

And finally recovered from whatever virus we picked up on the flights between Lusaka and Houston, despite choosing the curried dishes from their menu.  One of the only plusses to flying Emirates is their food for economy class it a notch above many other carriers. And we did enjoy a French breakfast at the Paul Patisserie in Dubai!

Just wanted those who read to know that we are doing well and enjoying being "home".  As often happens, it is not until you are away that you appreciate what you had.  Considering Houston hasn't been our home for over 6 years, that adds up to a lot.  Fortunately for our family the house didn't sell back in 2008, and we have a good home base.

Right now Mary and I are just chilling out in Houston, enjoying the fact that we have real air conditioning, and real home heating.  As is typical for a Houston spring, our days move from quite nice, to chilly, dry and then rain.  We love it!  Tom tells me the rainy season faucet has been abruptly turned off in Chingola.  While we are moving toward warmer weather here, Zambia is swinging the opposite direction.

It has been a pleasure to shop for groceries, clothes and to eat out.  Mary and I did a quick visit to Indiana for Easter with Elizabeth and John Paul.  Another post will fill you in on that.  They were terrific hosts, despite being very busy.

No monkeys here, but the squirrels keep us amused.  It is nice to be back home with our pets.  We didn't realize how much we miss having the buggers around!  We do miss having the little clown Basil to cuddle up with.

The kids kept plenty of clutter and piles for me to clean up.  As odd as this sounds, I am enjoying doing all the deep cleaning.  The oven was the latest project.  As an aside, I am wondering why we didn't replace the one that caught on fire with a self cleaning oven.  But, no problem, it is now sparkly clean!

Today I tackle the master bedroom and bathroom.  Our oldest daughter has asked me to do some sewing, and that is where I'll be setting up shop.  I'm also planning to tackle a new quilt project, and looking at doing it entirely by hand.  Lack of a sewing machine in Zambia might have something to do with it.  Plus, it is something I can easily move around with me to work on as I have time.

The pattern is the old "Grandma's Flower Garden" using English paper piecing techniques, and hexagons.  But, Liz, I promise not to get started until after your projects are completed.  I located a quilt frame that will travel with me, for when the quilting part begins (after all the piecing.)  The quilted banners I designed in Canada for Holy Family parish were all professionally machine quilted.

Yvonne