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Saturday
Apr182009
A picture is worth a thousand minutes of upload time
April 18, 2009
Well, I live on the side of a mountain. It's bold of me.
I have this friend, you see, who is one of the boldest people I know. When I was younger and depressed and unsure of how on earth I was supposed to live life, I used to go to her house and sit on her sofa and sit with my mouth open, taking in all of the boldness. Because it's bold to put an antique birdcage in your living room; you have to be able to say, "I really like that birdcage. I think I'll buy it and put it in my living room." Or, "I'll buy this carved screen here in Thailand, because I know that I'll be able to convince the flight attendants to carry it on the airplane, even though it's six feet tall."
Making decisions about what to eat was very hard for me at that point. So of course, I was the type of person that would see a carved wood screen in Thailand and say, "That's nice. Too bad it's too big to carry on the plane and I couldn't get it home."
And I would be the type of person who would look at a house and say, "That's nice, so beautiful, and the kids will have so much space to play and so many rocks to climb on. TOO BAD IT'S A TWENTY MINUTE HIKE UP THE SIDE OF A MOUNTAIN."
That's what I would have said. And then I changed, somewhere along the line. Now I can do things like get up in the morning and soak garbanzo beans for hummous, because I know that I like it, and I can learn to cook in an Indian way, and I can decide to move onto a mountain with no road close to the house.
Of course, it was Chinua who figured out the whole "hiring the pack donkeys" part.
Bringing the stroller was a bad idea.
It's warming up now.
We found the cutest little house way up high, after I had almost given up. Giving up is never a good idea. Now we have a two bedroom apartment on the rooftop of some other apartments, and the view is stunning.
If you take away the fact that we have no water today (get ready for some more NO WATER posts) it is pretty near perfect.
The children have turned into mountain goats.
Even mountain goats need a rest sometimes.
I have this friend, you see, who is one of the boldest people I know. When I was younger and depressed and unsure of how on earth I was supposed to live life, I used to go to her house and sit on her sofa and sit with my mouth open, taking in all of the boldness. Because it's bold to put an antique birdcage in your living room; you have to be able to say, "I really like that birdcage. I think I'll buy it and put it in my living room." Or, "I'll buy this carved screen here in Thailand, because I know that I'll be able to convince the flight attendants to carry it on the airplane, even though it's six feet tall."
Making decisions about what to eat was very hard for me at that point. So of course, I was the type of person that would see a carved wood screen in Thailand and say, "That's nice. Too bad it's too big to carry on the plane and I couldn't get it home."
And I would be the type of person who would look at a house and say, "That's nice, so beautiful, and the kids will have so much space to play and so many rocks to climb on. TOO BAD IT'S A TWENTY MINUTE HIKE UP THE SIDE OF A MOUNTAIN."
That's what I would have said. And then I changed, somewhere along the line. Now I can do things like get up in the morning and soak garbanzo beans for hummous, because I know that I like it, and I can learn to cook in an Indian way, and I can decide to move onto a mountain with no road close to the house.
Of course, it was Chinua who figured out the whole "hiring the pack donkeys" part.
Bringing the stroller was a bad idea.
It's warming up now.
We found the cutest little house way up high, after I had almost given up. Giving up is never a good idea. Now we have a two bedroom apartment on the rooftop of some other apartments, and the view is stunning.
If you take away the fact that we have no water today (get ready for some more NO WATER posts) it is pretty near perfect.
The children have turned into mountain goats.
Even mountain goats need a rest sometimes.
Reader Comments (18)
Now I come to your (virtual) house and sit on your sofa and take in your boldness. You amaze me.
I am pretty sure this is more brave than a birdcage in your livingroom.
Amazing pictures. Which place do your kids like the most? Just wondering if they miss the beaches.
You are bold, you have changed! An overwhelming sense of adventure is happening! I'm glad for you!
I so loved these pictures. The stroller on top of the donkey was just a classic.
I mailed my book to you yesterday, and got a kick at the image of my book (hopefully) making its way up that rocky path to your house in a month or six.
Love,
Mary, mom to many
Congratulations on your courage and the new house, it looks beautiful. The weather also looks good, sunny and warm enough for sandals but not to hot to be dressed.
I hope you have water soon. And the stroller picture really is a classic.
Wow, you are amazing.
Pushing stroller through beach-sand can hurt your back,
So put stroller on train and choo-choo down the track.
Reach a mountain quite high
And realise you can fly.
Now use stroller as donkey’s rucksack.
I'm so glad you have internet access up there on your mountain, thanks for sharing your adventures with us!!
Well, you'll never need to join a gym to keep in shape!
Crazy. I love the pictures. I wish you would post a picture of each person everyday. Just so I can stay updated. Miss you. A lot right now.
The first thing that caught my eye in the first photo is YaYa reaching out to pet the donkey. Reminds me of someone I know quite well!
So, beautiful!
Incredible. As usual. If Alesia doesn't mind, I'll come along to your virtual house too...to sit in amazement at your bold self and to dine on your delicious virtual hummous. :)
Wow wow wowie wow! So bold! Can't wait to hear more and see more beautiful pictures.
the stronkey (stroller+donkeY) picture: priceless. i laughed out loud at that one. It looks like it should be on Shrek or something...
Oh Wren, that is so PERFECT - it's a STRONKEY!!!! Now I'm the one laughing out loud!
Those are some dern cute mountain goats.
Okay, I'm so shallow, but I'm totally thinking about how toned my butt and legs would be if I lived there.