HOME BUILDING OR HOW FAST CAN YOU PUT UP A GER

It's moving day for the Mongolian family.  Let's call them the Smith's.  The moving company arrives first thing in the morning, hooks up the engine to the trailer and sets out for the new digs.

The new address is located and home building can begin, but we must have music to build to.

 

 

 The ger must be completed by the time Grandfather arrives.  The pressure is on, but the children are up to the task and have the home built in 10 minutes.

 Just in the nick of time, as Grandfather turns the corner onto their street everything is spick and span and ready for occupancy.

 

Grandfather is pleased with how nice the new house looks and blesses the house and its surroundings with a prayer of thanksgiving and a sprinkling of mare's milk.

ps.  I ate beef tongue and drank fermented mare's milk this past week.  It was Naadam you know, which I think is the time to try new things.  Beef tongue was pretty good...nice and lean but the fermented mare's milk will not be a favorite of mine anytime soon.

I HAVE A GARDEN

I'm finally someplace long enough to grow a garden.  Look at my fine crop of cherry tomatoes.  I'm now onto my second picking.

 

Where there's a will there's a way.  Egg cartons and cut off coke bottles make great places to grow babies.

 

This is my fine crop of basil.  Last night I made a chicken pasta dinner for the missionaries and cut basil from my plants to flavor the meal.  My basil did me proud.  My windowsill garden is up and running.

 

My first failure is trying to grow rosemary from seed.  Somehow it doesn't like its home, but...

 

look at the baby geraniums.  I am imagining them blooming during the winter.  That could be a bright spot on my windowsill and a happy face to come home to when we are in perpetual darkness.

I'm in my happy place just looking at my babies.

YOUTH CONFERENCE JUNE 2014

It started out like any other Youth Conference held in the wilds of Mongolia.  Rough roads or no roads still take you where you want to go...or almost anywhere.  This one was like riding a wild bronco.  Hold on!

 This little guy was soaking up the sun.  I think he was the youngest camper there.

Could this be a photo of somewhere in Cache Valley or maybe Eden or Midway?  But its Mongolia.  There's been a lot of rain so everything is very green.  We camped in the middle of a meadow full of wild flowers.

 

No sterno for these folks.  You want fuel for cooking?  We'll be back in a jiffy with a whole tree.  There are plenty of hands to saw logs to feed the cook stoves.

 

And look what is cooked up.  The food was yummy.  Lots of soup with carrots, potatoes and sheep.

 

This is how many big pots of soup it takes to feed around 300 people.  The stoves were going all day long and the cooks were chopping, cutting and boiling all day long to feed the hungry hoards.  All I had to do was sleep on the hard ground.

I think we call this a big box of water.  The hose feeds into a trough of faucets so the kids can wash up and brush their teeth. You know me and teeth.   It did my heart good to see 200 kids brushing faithfully every morning.

 And two by two we dwelt in tents

in the wilderness. 

 There were animals to see...

 

and spiritual skits to watch...

 

 and a little bit of americana to show off...

 

and words of wisdom from King Benjamin's tower...

 

and hands that needed holding...

 

and hugs to be given.  

GUESS WHO THE HORSEFLIES LIKED BEST!

I didn't come home with one bite.  Take one for the team, Dr.

OLD MULE - NEW MULE

 

 I saw it coming, first the wobble and then the whole wheel fell off.  Had I asked too much of the mule?  He was a good mule while he lasted.  I paid good money for my mule and expected him to last 2 years.  And maybe I could have gotten along with 3 wheels, but not 1 wheel.  

 

 If a Mongolian person were to see the event of the wheel falling off he/she would have said it was because the mule was imported from China and China makes cheap stuff.  And then the Mongolian would have told me not to buy stuff from China and I would have nodded in agreement.

THIS IS MY NEW MULE!  I like the model.  Its old but reliable.  The only bad thing about my new mule is that he complains when I give him too much to carry.  I will work with him.

NAADAM, A TIME TO CELEBRATE

Dang!  Our costumes are not as pretty as the ones they have on, but what the heck, we are just observers here.

 

 Because Naadam lasts 5 days (which are sanctioned by the government...they added 3

more days to the celebration just this year) and everything closes down for the holiday, we have had time to visit some of the preliminary events that take place before the big day.

 

 

 Look at these specimens.  They hit targets about 50 yds. away.  There were people standing by the targets ready to pick up arrows and restack the  cans (stacked tin cans painted red were the targets).  I think they had great faith in the accuracy of the archers.  To me they were sitting ducks.

 The opening ceremonies were held in a big stadium and of course we must have a parade from the participants.  There were lots of military men in different uniforms and then there were the performers.  I love the rainbow umbrellas.

 Just a heads up.  Soccer is really big in Mongolia.  Who'd a thought.

The Mongol steeds are quite the lookers.

I love taking photos of people in their costumes.  So colorful and exotic looking.

 

 These are the ballroom dancers.  They look like flowers when they twirl.

Love the costumes.  There are costume stores where people can rent the look they want.  This is just like Halloween, only prettier.  However, the guy on the right does look scary to me.  And I bet no one ever asks for the haircut on the left.  (I think it would be fun Meg and Laura for you to have this  pigtail photo on the wall of your salon and offer it as one of your "special do's").

 

See the wrestlers.  They are pretty meaty, but look at the one in the middle.  I think he was over 7 ft. tall.  I will call him Goliath.  These guys are taking over the Sumo wrestling in Japan.  And it looks like they start the training young.

 See how Goliath towers over regular folk.  I've seen some tall Mongolians but he takes the cake.

Naadam reminded me of the Utah State Fair.  Lots of people, lots of games of chance, lots of places to buy food (big difference here...mare's milk for sale instead of diet coke and hoshiers (their version of meat pies) instead of hotdogs and hamburgers).  But where is the big yellow slide?