Somewhere between living here and visiting

The title above is how I'm feeling today. I guess you could say I've hit another wall. The novelty of being here has worn off. I've seen most of what I'd like to see in town (but not all.) We've had some fun and interesting experiences. Now I'm ready to go home. I miss my bed, my house, my family, my friends, clean water, Chipotle and being able to drive when I need to.

It's hard for me here. Blake works 11-12 hour days. I only have one set of friends, but understandably they're busy preparing to leave here after 4 1/2 years. It takes a lot of energy and time to shop for groceries, especially fruits and veggies at the outdoor bazaar. And I'm using up most of my energy taking care of the kids. I told Blake I don't know what we were thinking having me come for a month. Two weeks would have been perfect. He reminded me, "we were thinking we would be together." Yeah. (It really is great to be together.)

Okay---that's my pout. What's new here? Well, we went to Merve for dinner again last night. Zack was feeling horrible. Thankfully he didn't eat a thing, because half-way home in Blake's boss' car Zack puked all over the backseat. His sisters screamed and scrunched against the far side of the seat. Zack cried hysterically. But amazingly, after we got him washed up, he was perfectly, 100% fine. Today he was his typical mischievous self, with two days' worth of energy. This is the same Niva with the malfunctioning horn! That will show the Niva!

I soaked our new fabric yesterday but discovered that the dye on mine bled everywhere---I still have blue dye stains in my bathtub. But eventually I got it all dry and we delivered it to the dressmakers today. She'll make us each a national dress and with whatever material is left over, she'll make dresses for the girls' beloved American Girl dolls. Afterward we went out for tea at the famous Rahat tea house. I then took Hannah to Morning Star cafe for a special Mommy-Hannah time. She ordered mint ice cream pie.

Tomorrow I may go on another real adventure----braving the Green Market. I'm in search of fabric samples for my quilting friend, cheap plastic shoes from China for Zack, a plastic ball, lettuce, bananas and seedless grapes. It will likely be over 100 degrees. I will be sweating from head to toe, and it will take all morning. Thank goodness I can count on my driver to go with me.

Oh, forgot to mention that yesterday we went to a local woman's apartment who makes traditional Tajik dolls. Her living room window overlooks the new American embassy. She served us fried eggs with cumin, and cherry compote. I bought 4 dolls and a bundle of Christmas ornaments. One of the dolls came with her own passport!

So, as you can see, there are more adventures to be had. Of course, there is another belly dancing class on Thursday. I can't miss that. But I'm tired and missing my home in Indiana.