My Weekend!

I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!  Just wanted to share an update from around here! 

Early Saturday morning was very rainy and brought a wonderful treat - a cool front!  I am so happy about it!  You can't tell from this picture very well, but it was cloudy, the leaves that had fallen were all clumped up and wet from the rain, and I just love it.  

But the biggest news of this weekend is that I finally got a bicycle!  I am so thankful for a new friend who drove me and my roommate to Decathlon (it is a huge sporting goods store). 

I will spare you the pictures she took of me riding around the test track (with dozens of small children...) They captured the moment but are less than flattering!  Instead I'll share the one of me with my newly purchased wheels on my driveway! 

Y'all, my bike has a bell and a basket!  Oh and don't worry, I got a maroon helmet too! By the time we got home, it had cleared up nicely and turned sunny! 

Today I tested it out with a ride to school and back and then to the grocery store and back. Both trips are about 1.2 miles one way.  I wanted to see how long it took and what the hills felt like.  I live on the Buda side of Budapest and it is known for being hilly.  I think I have figured out routes that minimize my uphill biking! 

Something about being on a bike makes me feel like a kid again.  My dad would say "Who is up for a bikel ridel?" We rode bikes as a family a quite a bit.  I loved growing up in my hometown with so many greenbelt trails! 

Later on I took a really long walk and did something I have not done since I moved here...listened to a podcast.  Thank you to Melanie and Sophie at the Big Boo Cast for making me smile.  They are both writers that I love!  One of the (many) reasons I love their podcast is that they both have southern accents but I can hear the regional differences when they talk.  They just chit chat about a million things and something about the phrases they use just make me think of listening to my mom and my aunt talking when I was a kid. "Listen, let me just tell you..."  "I got so tickled..." and so many more.  Anyone who remembers my mom knew she was a champion phone talker!  When I was a kid, she and my aunt were on the phone all the time (even thought they lived in the same town) (see also: me and my sister when I lived in Texas)! 

While walking and listening, I found a few cute new spots near my neighborhood!  

Cute little restaurant on a corner! 

A pretty park!  

Flowers on balconies are a thing here and I LOVE IT! 

Pinkish-purplish flowers! 

My house is just up this road - I loved how the sunlight coming through the clouds and hitting the pavement!  

In the interest of keeping it real about life around here, I tried to make dinner by myself today and it didn't go very well.  Cooking here is very different for many, many reasons that I will go not into now -- but suffice to say, it can be frustrating!  The silver lining is that part of what I made was still edible!  It's all part of the learning experience, right? 

This next week is only four days at ICSB because we have a staff retreat next week. SO excited about a little getaway!  It'll be nice to  have time to connect with other staff and hopefully spend some quiet time just reflecting on this school year so far! 

I hope y'all have had a fantastic weekend!  Thank you for all the love, support and prayers! 

   

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