I woke up this morning to a bunch of Sheriff's department vehicles (including a mobile command unit) outside my house...and armed, camoflaged men coming out of them. I was quite relieved when they put out a big sign that said, "Training in Progess" -- but wish they had done that BEFORE I had a heart attack. I swear, it looked like Osama bin Laden was hiding in the woods across the street! Freaked me right out. You'd think they would have let us know about that in advance, wouldn't you?
In other news, I had Ethiopian food TWICE this week. The first time, I took my friend Nancy to Asmara, an Eritrean/Ethiopian restaurant in Portland. She'd never tried Ethiopian cuisine before, and she loved it! The spices are so good...mmmmm...I'm getting hungry just thinking about it. The second time was last night. My friend Shalom had been telling me for a while that I needed to meet her Ethiopian friend Zewdu, and I called her last night. Immediately, Zewdu was giving me directions to her house, telling me to come right over. I sat in her living room and talked to her for about three hours, and she is such a delightful woman. I feel incredibly blessed to have met her. She's a mom, and a grandmother...and she is very excited that I will be adopting two Ethiopian children.
While I was there, she asked me if I liked spicy food, and once I said yes, she brought out the most amazing food! Homemade
doro wat,
injera, and all sorts of other delicious stuff. She was so welcoming and kind. She also offered lots of advice about raising Ethiopian children...clearly, I will need her help to do so properly! I'll be getting together with her regularly, because she has offered to teach me some Amharic, and I am going to help her learn to read and write in English! I'm hoping to get some recipes, too! :)
Looks like my kids will have an Ethiopian grandmother here in the U.S.!!! :)
One more thing: earlier today, one of the overhead fluorescent light fixtures in our office came crashing down from the ceiling and hit my co-worker Patty in the head. Sounded like a bomb went off…she staggered forward a few feet and went unconscious on the floor. She came to a few minutes later, and they took her to the hospital in the ambulance to make sure she was OK (she is, thank heavens).
HOLY COW, I'm ready for the weekend!