Not exactly a snow day but it starts with s

I haven't felt much like blogging lately. But today I had an unexpected amount of free time. The 10k race which twelve of us signed up for was cancelled late last night because of an impending sandstorm. I only found this out at 6 am as I was getting ready to leave, so it was back to bed for another couple of hours. The weather started out calm today but was quite cold (like below zero). Nevertheless, Maria and I bundled up and went for a brisk walk on the Hilton grounds, which was utterly invigorating. We got in at least six kilometers so felt ok about missing the race. Right now, it is definitely more windy and we are battening up the hatches. The windows in the apartment are not very tight and we are trying to do what we can to keep out the inevitable dust and sand.

I think another reason I have not felt like writing is that it has been a very long month, which in retrospect now seems like a blur. We returned from the US only a few days when we heard of the death of Russ' childhood friend which was very upsetting. Now we are facing the terminal illness of another friend. We are feeling sad a lot of the time.

Medically, Russ is working through knee pain. The good news is that he got his heart checked out and everything looks solid. We have had nothing but excellent experiences with the doctors and hospitals here, and for that we are extremely grateful. The level of expertise and state-of-the-art equipment is impressive and the people at school have also been very supportive of Russ' health.

I made tamales last weekend and invited a couple of friends over to join the process. Any kind of slow cooking takes stress down a notch. Which is why with some of my free time today, I took a couple of hours to bake pumpkin muffins and make a big pot of soup which we then devoured (with plenty of leftovers to spare). Russ on the other hand is busy with all sorts of projects - making shelves, installing a laundry table, hanging photos, and a couple other home improvements. He and Justin have been scavenging the construction site which is our neighborhood for good lumber and other pieces that might come in handy some place sometime. There are quite a few tools available in the building and always someone to lend advice and a hand.

Life here is good. We have found support from friends in our complex, and also from the church we have been attending. We had a really wonderful weekend, eating with different people, celebrating birthdays, and connecting with long-distance friends. If school was called because of a sand day tomorrow, it would be almost perfect.