Stomping Ground

Alison reached out to me on Friday to see if I wanted to go to a soap making class. It was a 4.5-hour commitment with an early start time but Alison had been asking me about going somewhere so I said "yes" even though I felt like I was shirking my duties.

The reason that soap making takes such a long time is waiting for the lye to cool. I straight up did not know that, once activated, lye gets so hot. 

The instructor, Rebecca, told us that we would be working with three ingredients: lye, lard and color. We also added essential oil. My group let me choose and I went with lavender and rosemary. 

Photo Credit: Alison...That raccoon though...

As Rebecca talked about buffalo, pig and deer fat, I wondered about vegans and vegetarians... Told Alison that I'm grateful for all of the people who discovered things by accident or by trial and error. 

We spent the smallest portion and last part of class making lotion bars. Had I know about the workshop, I would not have purchased the lotion bar that I have in my possession.

I love lotion bars and I'll definitely make some but I won't be making soap. Having said that, props to the Soap Queen. We watched some of her videos in class.

During our break, I went for a short walk and ran into one of my former coworkers who wanted to know if I was still there. His wife, who I had never met before, said She's a lifer. We chuckled and talked a bit. The place that I work at is very interesting in that many current and former coworkers keep up with each other. 

No Mushroom Harvesting!

The soap workshop took place at a conservation place. There are three short trails and two of them have different degrees of steepness. I felt like I was home again as I used to walk there when I first started my weight loss efforts.

Love this picture from last ??? year's contest.

Vantage Point

When I set out for my walk this morning (earbuds in), I had an hour-long walk as my goal but little did I know that a local would strike up a conversation and continue walking with me despite my efforts to dislodge him.

Once the hitchhiker started telling me about "the real Jamaica" and giving me facts, I knew that he'd want a fee and he told me so as soon as the thought popped into my head.

I will say that I saw landmarks that I'd never seen before and I heard facts that I didn't know about. It was my kind of tour -- a walking one and my guide, David, even told me when to take pictures.

About Sam Sharpe and the Christmas Rebellion

Vantage Point

At some point, David's speed increased. Plus, the culmination of the tour was at an elevated point. I was glistening at this point and told him that I needed to stop to catch my breath. I guess you could say that David was my tour guide and personal trainer for the day because by the time I got back to the hotel, I had gotten in 13,000 steps and it wasn't even noon yet.

Just Four of Us

It's been nine days since I took off for my journey and eight days since I've been in Bosnia. I have yet to open a book, peek at a magazine or listen to the many podcasts that I downloaded. Guess that's a sign that I am immersed in my home away from home...

On Tuesday night, we made a dash to the grocery store and I was surprised to look up and see three children warmly smiling at me. The youngest was really curious but hesitant to engage. I did give the older children high fives. It was such a sweet encounter -- the open faces and warm energy.

Yesterday we set out to catch a ride on the city bus tour. We had gone several days ago but the the tour was canceled because five people are needed and there were only four of us. Even though we all agreed to chip in for a phantom fifth person, the bus driver wasn't having it. 

There were the same number of people yesterday but, this time, the bus driver took us up on our offer to pay for a fifth ticket.

There is no air conditioner on the bus and, with the windows down, it was impossible to hear the tour guide who was on the first level of the bus. This woman from Croatia went to strongly suggest that he come upstairs. There was also a microphone port upstairs but the quality was questionable and I ended up moving to the seat behind the guide. Had I not had the 'Fugee to fill in the gaps, I would have missed a lot of information... I'm enjoying the directness of Europeans. It kind of cracked me up when the Croatian woman's husband asked for the English version of the tour map. The bus driver unceremoniously "snatched" the Bosnian version. He was not a rude person but fluff was not a consideration...

One of the things that the guide talked about was the poor condition of the trams which were made in the Czech Republic 30 years ago. There are a few new trams, one donated by Turkey. He also talked about funds, in general, that were donated after the war but how large amounts of money have seemingly disappeared which made me think of the funds mishandled by the Red Cross after the earthquake in Haiti.

Going down the main boulevard, mortar scars are everywhere. I remember the TV images of the Holiday Inn from the news coverage and when the guide mentioned that we were on Sniper Alley, also remembered that and thought about the horror of people being picked off while riding the tram or going to get water...

Former Holiday Inn

Sniper Alley

Olympic Venue, 1984

End of the Line, Bus Tour (Serb Republic)

Later on, we met up with one of the 'Fugee's friends for lunch then went to a mall for coffee and dessert. The mall was big but still seemed stylish and efficient. 

In general, love the Austro-Hungarian architecture. The 'Fugee's friend is appalled by an "awning" recently placed on one of the buildings. She was like How could they?...

The Academy of  Fine Arts (Green Dome)

Wooden Bridge

Offensive White Add-On to Entrance Area