Tolors

I went on another hike with our host mom and siblings today. It was really fantastic. This time we walked about 2 miles out of town to a mountain lake named Tolors. 

I was suuuper impressed with our host mom, who spend the majority of the hike not only walking, but towing one or another of her kids on a sled. What an incredible workout!

And while it wasn't exactly rough terrain, the snow was uneven and lumpy where the cars had driven on uncleared roads. 

The countryside here is beautiful. 

One of the most astounding moments to me was when our host mom said "we'll have to come back in the spring when everything pretty". I was at a loss for words. I think this it's beautiful as it is. 

When we finally got to the lake, it was magnificent. It's apparently a reserve for a local hydroelectric plant, but you couldn't see any of that from the lake shore.

We at a small lunch at the lake, and I admired the scenery while the kids played around.

As we walked back home, we were all exhausted, but thoroughly satisfied with ourselves. It has been an excellent day.

An even longer extended vacation

Okay, this is just getting ridiculous. School's been cancelled for the third week in a row. At first, all the vacation time was nice, but now we've spend a week vacationing in the capital city and a week kicking around the house: I've read 2 books, watched a whole season of the West Wing, and knit until I've given myself a mild case of tendinitis. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm ready to get back to work...

But until then, here's a picture of a puppy:

I miss gardening...

I've been reading gardening books since the end of PST Phase II. I can't stop thinking about alternative irrigation techniques and scheming about what season extenders could be successfully implemented here- cold frames are out (no wood), but low-tunnels are a definite possibility...

Yes, ladies and gentlemen: it's officially January, as I have started dreaming about gardens.

I miss gardening so much. I miss the satisfaction I get from growing our own food and having Sam cook it. I just flat-out miss vegetables. One of the major impulses t ogarden here is that fresh veggies just aren't available in the stores during the winter in Sisian. A low-tunnel and some cold hardy asian salad greens would go a long, long way to alleviating this problem. The climate here in the summer is also perfect for broccoli, which I've ever even so much as seen in Sisian.

I miss rice pilaf and steamed broccoli with lemon juice. Or pasta with broccoli and onions cooked in olive oil with lemon juice. Really any starch with broccoli and lemon juice...

The point is: I need a garden.

Khach Mountain

We went on a small hike up the hill in the back of our house (which the kids call "Khach Mountain") today with our host mom and host siblings. It was incredible. I think I'll let the picture speak for themselves:

And... A little bit longer extended vacation

Snow continues to fall here in Sisian, and the start of the school term has been delayed again as the  incidence of swine flu in Armenia continues to rise.

It's nice being back at home, and not having to be back at work right away isn't half bad either. 

Back at home!

After a week of training and a week of Yerevan vacation, we're back home in Sisian. It was a good vacation, and it was really nice to live independently for a while, but I'm glad to be away from the city. I can only take so much of its noises, smells and lights before I dream of being back in the countryside. I know that before too long the luxuries of Yerevan will seem like a treat again, but for now I'm enjoying my renewed appreciation of Sisian and all it has to offer.

Yerevan Yarn Shop

One of the best finds during our stay in Yerevan so far has been this yarn shop. It was shown to us by another volunteer, who kindly took us on a brief jaunt around center city to point out stores of particular interest- and this one totally merited it's spot on that list. This shop's name "Teler" translates into English as "Yarns". Up until now, the only yarn I've found in Armenia have been thin acrylics. But this shop had yarns of all weights in wool and cotton polyblends. I still think that most of my yarn is going to be shipped from home (or perhaps purchased as fleece if I can ever figure out how to source it...), but it's good to know that this kind of product is available here if I want it.