Muppet's getting Handsome

So, we've continued to trim away the mats and the dirty fur, and it turns out that under all that filth, Muppet's actually a pretty good looking dog. Come to think of it, Sam's not half bad looking either. :)

Hazel & Muppet Finally Play Together

So, these photos are actually a few days old now, but this week we were finally able to let Hazel and Muppet play together. We gave Hazel her second set of vaccinations on the 25th, and that meant she could finally have contact with other dogs. We waited a day for her body to process the vaccines, and then finally let Muppet into the front yard with Hazel. 

I was a little reserved about this- Muppet has been steadily growing more and more active, but I wasn't sure how he'd respond to a puppy jumping up and trying to play with him non-stop. As it turns out, Muppet's as much of a puppy as Hazel is. Seriously. 2 weeks ago, I would have sworn that this dog was elderly and on death's doorstep, but today he was as playful as the 12 week old pup.

And they play so well together. They run and jump and chase each other, one minute one will be the chaser, and the next they'll be the chased. Muppet is very gentle with Hazel- he can fit her whole head inside his mouth, but she never squeals in pain or panic, he always knows when to back off and let her breathe a little. 

For Hazel's part, she's learning so much from playing with Muppet- he lets her know when she bites too hard or when he needs a break in a language she can understand, and I think that she's finally learning how to be a dog- at least a little bit. Honestly, Muppet is just about the best thing that could happen for Hazel. I'm so glad he chose to adopt us. 

Also, now that we're looking at him with a new set of eyes and seeing him as this young, energetic dog, we're going to have to start getting some tools to train him! And figure out vaccinations and getting him fixed! And getting him home (if he ever puts on the weight we think he might, he'll be enormous...) But all these problems are for another day. Today, we're just happy that our dogs are playing together. 

Muppet's First Haircut

Now that he's eating two square meals a day, the shaggy old boy is starting to show some renewed energy, and we're starting to slowly trip away the mats that he's got all over his body so we can see what's going on under all that fur. 

She loves The Slop

Today we discovered that Hazel loves to չփչփացնել ("chpchpatsnel" or, as best I can translate "to splish-splash") in mud puddles. God help us all. 

Consolidation Point Meeting

A few weeks ago, I was the fortunate winner of a packet of Taco Seasoning in a Peace Corps contest. Today, we got the chance to share the wealth as our entire Sisian Consolidation Point group (all 11 of us!) gathered in Sisian to meet with Vahagn, our Safety and Security Manager. The point of the meeting was to establish a chain of communication and a tentative action plan to be executed in the event of an emergency in country. But the real highlight of the day for me was Sam's homemade lavash-tacos and having the whole group (minus a few folks who couldn't make it into town before the actual meeting itself) over for lunch. It was a fun day. 

Sam Loves Muppet

Muppet doesn't really move from his spot against the wall in the garden. Unless we go out to see him, he just sleeps all day and all night. But when we do go out to see him, he's such a sweet dog. He's just really happy to have us sit next to him and pet his head. All we have to do is give him a kind word and his tail starts thumping away against the ground. And Sam loves it too. 

Dog Walks

We go on regular dog walks with Hazel in the mornings and evenings. This has actually been a great integration tool for us- we get stopped by our neighbors all the time on these walks to chat and catch up while the kids play with Hazel. This is especially true in the evenings when it seems like all of Sisian comes out into the streets to relax and socialize. We have to go pretty far outside of town to get some serious walking in. Still, its' a really nice feeling to be part of the neighborhood in this way- even if it did take our quirky American attitude towards dogs to get us there. 

Wildflowers are beautiful

Just when I think that wildflower season is over in Sisian, a whole new batch blooms. Really, this place is incredibly beautiful.

Zorats Qarer, Again

We hiked out to Zorats Qarer again today, this time with PCVs Kate and Chris. It was glorious, and I think I'll let the photos speak for themselves. 

And... now we have two dogs.

So, two days ago, this dog showed up outside our front gate and wouldn't leave. He stayed there night and day. He wagged his tail at us when we left the house, and whined when we shut him outside the gate upon our return. I swear to God, this dog is the most persistent soul I've ever met. He put up with blistering heat during the day and stray dogs from across the street harassing him at night just to sit on our doorstep. 

Finally, we caved and let him in. He's so weak he can only take a few steps at a time, and his back legs look as if he has hip displasia or maybe he was hit by a car at one point in time...if he tries anything other than a slow and deliberate walk forward he falls over. He's old and weak, and will probably die this winter when the weather gets cold, but for now he'll have a full belly and a name: Muppet. 

Sam mows the lawn

Our lawn has turned into a wilderness, and this week, we decided it was time to do something about it. So we did what any Armenian couple would do in our place, we bought a scythe. 

However, it turns out that we bought a really crappy scythe, which wouldn't hold together properly with the fasteners that were sold with it. We were trying to figure out a solution to this in a low-key kind of way, but it wasn't exactly top of our to-do list. I was walking Hazel yesterday afternoon when a man called me over to him and said he had seen us bring the scythe home and wanted to know if we had used it yet. I told him that we hadn't because we couldn't get the blade to attach  to the handle properly- well, I gesticulated wildly and made some sound effects, and that seemed to do the trick because the man then told me that when my husband came home, we should bring the scythe to his house and he would fix it for us. 

Excited about this, when Sam came home from school that afternoon, we set out to this man's house carrying the scythe. But we didn't get to ask him for help, because before we even reached his house, another man walked up to us, asked us what we wanted (I don't know, we're just walking along the street, do we need to want something??), and when we showed him the problems with the scythe handle, he called his buddy over to check it out, and his buddy told us to come with him.

It turns out this last man is named Sasoon, and lives only a few doors down from us. He's a cabinet maker and has a great little woodworking shop in his basement/garage area. He spent about 10 minutes jamming wood slivers into the loose fitting at the base of the scythe before handing it back to Sam, telling him to soak it in water overnight and then use it tomorrow. He wouldn't even take any money for this work and materials. Instead, we promised to bake him some American style cookies. 

So, we went home, put the scythe in water, and then this morning Sam got to work:

It's actually pretty impressive to see in action. I'm looking forward to having some space that's more like a lawn and less like a field outside our house. 

We have a temporary Cat!

A PCV friend of ours is going on vacation and needed someone to watch her cat, Tigran, for a few weeks. She dropped him off today. She seems confident that he and Hazel will get a long... I hope so, for Tigran's sake: Hazel is a little terror when she wants to be...

Our first Armenian Wedding

Today, our friends from Sisian, Arus and Tyler, got married, and so we were able to go to our first Armenian wedding. Here are some photos from the day. 

Sometimes, the mountains take my breath away.

Our New and Amazing Imersion Blender

Okay, we have a huge, huge thank you shout out to give today: recently, our PCV friend Lisa gifted us her incredible immersion blender. In addition to the blender, it has a whisk attachment. And that whisk attachment makes amazing soy lattes. (We stocked up on soy milk at the fancy foods market in Yerevan when we got Hazel her shots.) Seriously, this is incredible. Life altering levels of incredible going on right here right now.

Aaaand: Back in Yerevan

Really, all I want to do is relax and integrate back in Sisian, but we keep getting pulled away. this time, we had to get Hazel's first set of vaccinations, and the nearest small animal vet is in the capital. So, on our first 4th of July away from home, we traveled back to Yerevan and got our puppy her Puppy Passport. Only in Armenia will you find a yellow dog called "apricot" in color. 

Home At Last

Wow, it's felt like a long, long time I've been on the road. But I'm finally home, in pajamas, and- bonus- there's a puppy. That's actually turning out to be more work than rest, but she's super cute when she's asleep:

I think I did something right?

So, fun story:

Today, I was riding back from Yerevan on our local marshutney. I thought I had the crappiest luck in the world, because instead of one of the normal seats, the driver assigned me to site on a small chair (like the type they have in the schools here) that he had just put in the aisle space of the marshutney. Needless to say, it was uncomfortable, unstable, and most definitely unsafe.

But, when we were a few miles outside of Yerevan, we pulled over at one of those random pick-up points that make no sense to me, and out of no where this little old woman appears and climbs into our marshutney. I assumed that the folks on the bench seat in front would skooch over to make room for her, but instead, the driver magically produces a small foot stool (from God-knows-where..) and puts it in the aisle next to my chair- except that all 4 legs of the stool don't fit in the aisle, one of them is hanging precariously over the foot-well next to the door. The old woman had to cling to the back of the seat in front of her in order to stay upright as we traversed the bumpy road south for the next hour or so. Every time we hit a bump or made one of the many hairpin turns on the mountain switch backs, I looked at this old woman gamely keeping herself more or less in her designated area by hanging onto the headrest in front of her for dear life, and reminded myself that I didn't have it so bad. At least all 4 legs of my chair were on the floor of the marshutney.

Finally, we stop for a bathroom break (really, a smoke break for all the dudes in the vehicle), and I see my chance to do something about this situation. I try to offer to change seats with this old woman. My chair may not be comfy or safe, but least it has a back to it, and doesn't try to tip over every time we go around a turn in the road. The old woman grins at me and shakes her head, indicating I should sit in my assigned seat as we board the marshutney again. But then a few of the guys notice what's going on, and decide to help me out: the make the old woman and me sit in their seats, while they take the chair and stool for themselves. I really appreciated this gesture, and I was really glad that old woman wasn't going to have to cling to the seat-back in front of her for the rest of the long trip home. 

Then, something really surreal happened. As the marshutney started up again, every single person on that van quietly reached into their bags, pulled out an apricot or two, and passed them up to me. Three minutes later, I was sitting on the marshutney, with a pile of apricots on my lap. The old woman next to me patted me arm and grinned at me again. I think I may have finally done something right...