A Stork for Katie Marie

The stork has literally paid us a visit at Incirlik! Apparently a stork migrates through here on her way to and from Africa every year. She build a huge nest in an electrical tower just outside the base. Karen had heard about it and kind of forgotten it - but we were leaving the base the last week and you can't miss her. The nest is about 4-6 feet tall and at least three feet wide. She mostly sits but she does stand every so often and I was luck enough to get a shot of her here. I believe she is actually leaning over here paying attention to the eggs or whatever is down there. What appears to be her left leg in the picture is actually her neck and head.

Bad news for the baby shower pictures - we have none. Major Edwards felt really bad but when she went to load them they had simply disappeared from her camera. Oh well, they still did a fabulous job and we have GREAT memories. Lesley Evans did get some shots of the cake and set up and I will post those soon.

Karen and I think we bought a bassinet today. This was a Turkish transaction so we really aren't sure. Last week we found that bassinet for $220 that we really liked except we want it in pink not the blue. Well the guy there spoke no English but got his brother-in-law on the phone and he said to meet him there in a week. We did but no brother-in-law. But they are very nice. So he called the brother-in-law back and he said "You come on Monday night after 5 and it will cost $200. " I said, "I can't come on Monday." He said, "No, it is a finished deal - you will come on Monday." This went around and around like this for a few minutes before he finally agreed to come next Saturday afternoon. We are not really sure why he needs to be there because the guy there understands what we want to buy and knows how to write out $200. we shall see next week.

Now you may be wondering how all this baby stuff seems to have fazed Slinky the cat. as you can seem below, he seems quite oblivious to the whole thing:





What? You say you can't even tell that is a cat? Neither could we. His hair is so long that when he gets all puffed up and curls up you literally can't find his head. We were laughing so hard at him I had to get up and go over and see where his head actually was. And....

...even standing right on top of the damn cat - I still can't make out any features except his two legs and an ear sticking out the side. What a life.

Oh, if only he knew of the troubled days ahead. But I'm sure he will adapt he always has. I keep telling him every time he cries, "Slinky, you're going to meet somebody soon that will teach you what crying is really all about." He ignores me.




Lastly, just wanted to show you all what our back yard has looked like for the last....well pretty much ever since we moved in. And yes this comes complete with jackhammers, bulldozers, and singing Turks. Our backyard is fenced in but only about 20 feet to the back fence. This is the view directly over the fence. Scheduled completion date is not until October. Luckily, when we get back from Germany, this should mostly be done.