Our Turkish Bassinet

We finally brought home our Turkish bassinet! We think it turned out perfect. Now remember, this was our third trip. And when we go to the store, the guy that's there speaks not a word of English. Since we only know the most basic of greetings and thank yous in Turkish, communication can be funny. To recap, the first time we were there the guy called his brother-in-law who spoke "a little English." He said come back in one week. We did, but it still was not ready. The guy called his brother-in-law again and he was trying to get us to come back on Monday. We were having a hard time getting him to understand we had to wait until Saturday. With all the communication problems, we were only able to get across that we wanted the white and blue bassinet they had but that we wanted it done in white and pink. But we had no specifics on design other than that. As you can see, it came complete with white and pink, as we asked, but with a sleeping kitty cat design that Karen just loves. We all were lauging when we picked it up. We had to ask my boss, Major Alicia Edwards, to go over with us in her SUV because the bassinet wouldn't fit into our car. I followed them in our Toyota but we became separated at the light. By the way, we went right by the stork on the way over - saw her again - and yesterday we sat two storks in the nest! So Karen and Alicia got there first. I guess the guy came up and was just speaking Turkish as fast as he could as if they understood. Karen said Alicia got the funniest look on her face like the guy was crazy because he was talking like they understood Turkish and of course they did not. But the workers pointed to the crib and when Karen realized it was hers and ready - she was very happy. The workers were smiling and very proud of themselves. But Alicia said, "I don't understand. If they don't understand anything you said how did they know to put cats on there?" We tried to explain it was a coincidence but Alicia kept saying, "That doesn't make any sense to me - I mean how would they know to put the cats on there? Did Slinky make a call?"

In the first shot you are looking from above. The heart pillow and pink pillow under the cats are removable. the cats are actually own a removable blanket. In the second shot you can see the sleeping kitty on the front.

The third shot shows the woodwork. It is a very nice bamboo-type wood except much darker and stronger. Everything was made by hand. So we are hoping the furniture will arrive on Wednesday. We have two dressers for Katie, the Camel bar, and a homemade Turkish rocking horse on the way. We bought a lot of stuff at The Praktiker store (kind of a Turkish Lowes) over the weekend for Katie's room. Curtain rod, bamboo shade, storage. May not post for a little bit as next weekend is all about Katie's room. Also, we have received so many nice things from everyone! Thanks everybody. The help has been much appreciated.

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.

Katie's Baby Shower

Maybe she didn't exactly know she was in attendance but let's face it the shower was for Katie. I will repost on this again as soon as we get pictures but it was FABULOUS! My boss Alicia Edwards and Lesley Evans put on the most spectacular shower I have ever been to for us. We had it at a great place in Adana called Pastabahcesi last Friday on April 4th. This is a great indoor/outdoor restaurant in New Adana that overlooks the Seyhan Lake. They specialize in desserts and pastries. One of the most modern and clean restaurants I have ever been to. Very nice for Adana. We had around 17 in attendance . As soon as we get photos we will post. On the web site, to see photos of the restaurant, click on the bottom on "Kurumsal" and wait for it to come up, then click on "Fotograflar" on the left. Once a photo appears, click on "ileri" or "geri" at the bottom to see other photos. Play around a bit and you may be able to see some menu shots as well. We received some fabulous gifts from everyone. And of course friends and family have been sending stuff all along. Many thank yous are on the way.

Yesterday, we also bought a camera since our Kodak crapped out. We bought a cheap Samsung but it seems to work well enough and take good photos. We also purchased two dressers for Katie and a special wooden camel we will post pictures of when all the furniture arrives. We also found a place just outside Incirlik everyone calls Furniture Alley. Karen found a nice bassinet we hope to maybe get next week. Just to show you how the locals see dollars sign when they see Americans coming - the first shop quoted us $350.00 for this bassinet. The second shop was 50 yards away and said $220 for the same bassinet. But the guy didn't speak any English and we wanted pink material instead of the blue he had. So the worker got his brother, who spoke English, on the phone and he said to come next week and he would be there after 1PM. Karen and I are going to offer $200. Then we will almost be set with furniture. We still need to get some wall shelves and a rocking chair for Karen. We will also need to get the crib set, the wall border, and the diaper genie to complete the nursery. OK, more photos of the shower coming soon.