Cruising

Greetings,



As we have set sail and are on our way. Everything is pretty much as the last post. We wake, eat breakfast, nap, stroll around the ship, eat lunch, nap, watch t.v. in the room, eat dinner, then call it a night. Eat and sleep… that pretty much sums up our vacation so far.

And I am NOT complaining. We are enjoying every minute of it.

The only problem… we chose the 8:45 p.m. seating for dinner and find ourselves starving before our time to dine, but we found the buffet for a quick little snack to hold us over. I have a feeling we may gain a few pounds on this vacation.

Our neighbor Todd has a saying… fat, dumb, and happy. And that pretty much describes us at the moment.

Blessings,

Kristie

Legend of the Seas

Greetings from a state of elation,

Harry’s new home is aboard the Royal Caribbean. I am not sure he will ever leave. And this is just Day 1.

Key features of this cruise for him:

Unlimited food supply
Unlimited food supply available 24 / 7
Unlimited food supply available 24 / 7 within walking distance
Steak with every meal
Unlimited COFFEE
Someone to prepare your meals
Someone to clean your dirty dishes after the meal
Someone to clean your room
Someone to make your bed every morning
Someone to turn down your linens before you go to bed
Everything is within walking distance

I am not sure if I will be able to pry Harry off this ship once it is time for us to leave. I hope he does not get so spoiled he expects me to turn down his bedcovers for him every night!

Blessings to those taking it easy,

Kristie

Vacation at last

Greetings,

It is a good thing we are on vacation…. because I am already tired and worn out. We left Souda with a wakeup call of 3:30a.m. with a 6:00 departure. The flights ran smoothly so that was a plus. Once we arrived in Rome we decided against sightseeing. We have been there many times before and it was cool and raining. So we decided to train out to the port to stay the night and wait for our ship’s boarding time.

The first problem with our plan came when there was not a taxi anywhere in the vicinity of the small port city.

Second problem…. in Souda the rainy season has begun and our Internet has been out for the last three days. So we did not book a hotel. Instead we were going to grab a cab, find a hotel, and relax until cruise time. Of course by now you see the real dilemma in our thinking.

We wondered around town for several hours, in the misting rain, dragging our bags around trying to find a hotel.

Finally, we found one… not the best of rooms, but at a certain point we would have settled for a cardboard waterproof somewhat heated box. We are eagerly awaiting the ships boarding time… that and a taxi company in this small little Italian village.

Blessings to those with bookings,

Kristie

Leaving on a jet plane

Greetings,

As we head out the door to catch a flight to Rome via Athens. Where we board a ship headed to Africa, stopping off in Egypt, continuing through the Suez Canal, sailing by the Somalia pirates, and ending in Dubai.

Man are we excited! So if you do not hear from us in a while…. we’ll be cruising around for the next 2 weeks!

And we’re off,

Kristie

Fall Festival 2009

Greetings,

Here are a few pictures from the fall festival…. more to come once we have permission from the Public Affairs Office. And the media department filmed the event…so once I receive a copy I will post it. All these pictures are inside the building.... during the preparation stage.

Boxes with booth supplies are everywhere!

A little shredded paper forthe burried treasure box

And the icing of over 80 small cakes...

Again, thanks to all you guys back home who made this possible with your care packages. And thanks to everyone here in Souda lending a helping hand with set-up, working the food and boot tables, and especially with the clean-up. We could not have accomplished such an event without everyone’s support!

Thanks to great friends,

Kristie & Harry

Happy Anniversary

Greetings from an upset housewife,

It’s that time of year again…. Our anniversary. I woke up this morning to nothing. Literally, not even a card.

And to think I gave him a 2-week cruise this year.


Happy 8th Anniversary Harry Hansen!


Your loving wife,

Kristie

Fall Festival Cake Preparation

Greetings from the bakery,

Notice I said bakery… not decorator! Our house is like covered from kitchen to dining room with cakes, cupcakes, and icing galore. For the fall festival we are having a cake walk so I decided to bake a few cakes. Then a few turned into a few more until I had a total of twelve cakes in various stages of baking.

I had downloaded several patterns for decorating, but soon realized…. Decorating is NOT my thing. So I enlisted the help of Vasilli say neighborhood and asked / made neighbor Paul come over and decorate. I am not sure he understood what he was getting into and definitely I kind of downplayed the fact that I had 12 cakes that needed covering in icing in a decorative kind of way.

But Paul was a trooper and jumped right in (for the next several hours)… so here are a few “Creations by Paul”

A special thanks to Paul the creator and our other neighbor Todd who helped store several cakes over at his house… we ran out of frig and counter space! Notice I did not thank Harry…. Because all he did ALL night was complain about how I dirty every dish in the house every time I bake, which he has to wash!

Blessings to those able to create masterpieces,

Kristie

Smelling a Good Book

Greetings,

Maxim Chattam, author and a new favorite of mine, had an interesting Author’s Note in the beginning of his novel the Cairo Diary. I found it quite interesting.

“Reading is an entirely personal experience: a crazy feeling of exaltation, resulting from a meeting between black marks on fragments of wood treated with spirit and a brain that captures the words and interprets them, according to its particular sensibilities. The engine that drives every story is the readers mind; his or her imagination is its fuel. All the author does is describe a more or less malleable landscape, and then works hard to ensure that the reader follows the guardrail…. The perceptive process of reading involves the senses.”

He goes on to suggest how the reader uses their senses to read. His suggestion is to listen to various musical pieces. I prefer peace and quiet, but then I guess I like to use a different sense when I read.

I have forever…. preferred older smelly books. Not a bad smell, but the musty smell of an aged book. Several folks have thought me odd, and even Harry thinks me mad, but I enjoy reading more when then book has the fragrance of aged paper.

I enjoyed Chattam’s idea that reading with your senses personifies the reading experience.

Now I can show Harry that a published author acknowledges and promotes reading with your senses. Bring on the smelly books!

Blessings to those enjoying a good book with their nose,

Kristie

Fall Festival Mail

Greetings from Harry’s messy office,

But it is a good mess. A few weeks ago I sent out a request / plea email asking / begging for some Fall Festival Supplies. And I have to say:

“We have some pretty darn good friends”

because the outpouring of support was amazing!


We received decorations, candy, goody bags, prizes, cake decorations,…you name it and it was sent to us! Greece does not have decorations for this holiday… and of course there is not a store resembling Wal-Mart or Target to even buy something resembling fall décor.




So a great big thank you for your support in Souda Bay and our ministry here. Pictures will follow of how we used everyone’s goodies!

Blessings to good friends,

Kristie

Birthday Party

Greetings,

This weekend we had Harry a little birthday party. Several weeks ago he asked me if we were having him a party. I asked him if he was turning 8 instead of 41. To which he informed me that he had never had a birthday party. I did not believe him, but felt sorry for him nonetheless.

You see, last year…. we were going to have a blow-out 40th party, but Harry dad’s Big H died the month before and Big H’s birthday is a few days after Harry’s… so we did not feel like celebrating. So this year Harry wanted the blowout he was due last year.

So with the help of Chef Dan and the entire Vasilli say neighborhood (story for another time, but it’s what we call the neighborhood of 4 houses we live in) we gave Harry a birthday party.

Due to the winds and rainy weather we have been having the last few days…. I decided to have the party on the 3rd floor balconies. Which meant not just the first floor and bathroom area had to be spotlessly clean, but all 3 floors needed to be immaculate. So with the help of a devoted house cleaner …. who usually cleans for about 3 hours, but had to stay over 5 hours scrubbing our dirty house… the house was fit for a party. Except for 2 rooms… that was where we hid all the junk.

SO an entire days worth of preparation and hours worth of work, we celebrated Harry’s birthday with over 50 of our close friends here in Souda Bay. We had an amazing time… at least I think everyone did… I was in the kitchen almost the entire time.


Now we just need the house cleaner to come back and clean up the mess.

Birthday Blessings,
Kristie

Special Packages

Greetings,

I think Oliver has had enough of Greece as well. He is ready for his unlimited supply (without the delay of the postal service) of Hill’s Science Diet dry food with a scoop of Fancy Feast.

The other day we received a package from the US. I guess he smelled home…. he decided to climb in and stay a while.








Either that or he was trying to mail himself back to the States.

Gosh, I love that cat,

Kristie

Navy Ball 2009

Greetings,

It's that time again.... Navy Ball. Unfortunately, I had amigrain and was not in the mood to celebrate this festive occassion.

So Harry took most of the pictures... and as you will see... Harry is not the best photographer, but I still love you Harry!

Russ you are a mad man!

Not sure who was the focaus of this shot?

And this one was just out of focus!

We had an okay time considering I wanted to go home and crawl into my bed and hide under very cold and dark covers.

BLessings,

Kristie

oh, and I bought (online again) my dress, a MAXAZRIA for a fourth of its original cost. I had to have it altered quite a bit... but hey... I live in Crete. NOT A LOT OF OPTIONS!

Birthday Boy

Happy Birthday Harry....

You are now into your 40's...

Love You,

Kristie

we are having Harry a little party later this weekend...

neighbors

Greetings,

Just thought I would share a few pictures of our new neighbors....

They moved in when the watermelons began to rot.

Not sure if I would rather have the rotting smell of watermelons or sheep pooh next door?

Blessings,

Kristie

Straw that broke the Camel's Back

Greetings everyone,


Everyone's heard the saying, "The straw that broke the camel's back"... well here in Greece the saying goes "the wind that knocked the camel off the mantel that broke the camel's back".



Literally, figuratively, and physically our camels back has been broken. The windy season was begun and is whipping through the Hansen household.


Below... you can see all the mantel junk we have... but for some reason the camel was the only one that bit the dust. Our poor little camel that made it all the way from the desert of Israel, back in the suitcace to Atlanta, only to travel over ocean voyage for 3 months to Greece. He made it here, lasted over a year, but that was all he could take.

You would think all these little elephants from Africa would have been whisked away first, but nope... Mr. Camel took the plunge.

The Arab proverb or phrase the straw that broke the camel's back meaning "the last/final straw", used when something is deemed to be the last in a line of unacceptable occurrences. One of the earliest published usages of this phrase was in Charles Dickens's Dombey and Son where he says "As the last straw breaks the laden camel's back", meaning that there is a limit to everyone's endurance, or everyone has his breaking point.

There are many times when I feel like my endurance is being tested and there have been those times when I feel like I am as my breaking point. That was probably the entire first year we were here in Greece. And I felt like Mr. Camel and wanted to take the plunge (not off the mantel) but I wanted to call it a bust and go back to Atlanta and live out the "normal / before Navy " life. That or to push a few elephants off the mantel.

And like all things placed in God's hands... He works them out. He finds a way for you to endure. The moment before your breaking point... He is looking for you to turn to Him and submit. (Did I just say that word?) But He says He will never give you more than you can handle.... 1 Corinthians 10:13 (NLT)

"No trial has overtaken you that is not faced by others. And God is faithful: He will not let you be tried beyond what you are able to bear, but with the trial will also provide a way out so that you may be able to endure it."

So when the trials seem they have overtaken you, or it is beyond something you can bear.... remember He provides a way for you to endure. He did not say that you will NOT endure trials... just that He provides a way to endure and press through.

If not... there's always the elephants.

Blessings to those with endurance,

Kristie