...after five months of frozen water and frozen toes, we're finally starting to thaw. This past week Azerbaijan celebrated the Novruz holiday - a Zoroastrian tradition celebrating the spring and the new year - which means we got a nice week off. In the last few months we've hit several major milestones - 7 years of marriage and a 30th birthday. Also, we're now well past our halfway point and have gotten our official "close of service" date - November 9th -- see y'all around Thanksgiving! Here are a few shots from the last few weeks...
 |
| The first sign of spring in our backyard - a little color in a world full of gray does good things for the soul, my friends... |
 |
| My AzETA Counterparts - Humay and Shahla. Shahla is pulling out one of Humay's hairs to do a little fortune telling - a Novruz tradition for most women in Azerbaijan. |
 |
| Most of the "fortune telling" has to do with marriage and babies. Shahla's taken Humay's hair and wrapped it around my wedding ring - they dip it in the water three times, then count how many times the ring hits the side of the glass - that's the age they'll be when they get married... |
 |
| In an Azeri classroom - "Dream Babys"...love it... |
 |
| A statue in one of our favorite parks - she seems a little weepy - I think i would be too if I was sitting in the snow all day. |
 |
| ...Soviet Swan... |
 |
| Sunset in Ganja |
 |
| Ganja's Russian Orthodox Church |
 |
| The "Bottle House" -- a Ganja attraction - a house...covered in bottles...and other stuff |
 |
| The Birds |
 |
| In Ivanovka - a little Russian village in AZ |
