Hi everyone,
I am feeling really proud of myself that I finally made it onto the blog! It was great reading your old posts and seeing the photos Andy put on the blog. I have no idea how to do this but maybe with Costas' help I can mange to post a photo of us for those who haven't met him.
As some of you already know my mum passed away last month and my dad, my husband and I continue to live in Larnaca at our beach house , which is right on the beach, with our two dogs, both beautiful muts, Hooch 101/2 yrs. old and Booby 2 yrs. We are doing OK thou'my dad has aged alot in the last year due to health problems and ofcourse my mother's death. He seems to be picking up now and i am very happy about that.
I continue to remain active in politics athough I am no longer an MP and I am in the process of translating a book my dad wrote recently about his 10 years in the presidency focusing on Cyprus'accession to the EU and the negotiations for a solution which led to the Annan plan, from Greek into English. My latest project is trying to learn Turkish as part of my reconciliation activities. However I find that living down by the sea make you feel as if you are continually on holiday and it is not so conducive to being productive. I realise now that I am at my best when I am under pressure.
In October, 8th-15th, I am invited to participate in a workshop on Cyprus at Portland State University which I hope very much to attend all being well with my father. I hope to be able to combine it with a short stop-over in NY as a guest at Mike and Jeff's wonderful apartment so I will keep you all posted in case there is any chance of a mini-reunion.
Hope you all have a wonderful summer, see you all soon on the blog,
Katie
Friday, July 27, 2007
Monday, July 9, 2007
photo from Puerto Vallarta
Hi Lois:
Great to hear about all your travels, especially this year since I will for the most part be held up in my study trying to finish with editing two books that are long overdue. No travel for me so its nice to hear about all your adventures. I tried to upload a photo taken of Mike, Jeff and Cristina while we were visiting in Puerto Vallarta. Hopefully I managed.
About almost a month ago I got a message that Katie had accepted to open a gmail account so hopefully that means she is moving towards joining the blog. I haven't heard from Ron but with luck his computer savy children will be home for Summer. Again it was great to hear from you and I still have it on my list to find old photos, scan them and put them on the blog.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
Happy 4th!
Hi Everyone - I just finished running the Peachtree Road Race, an Atlanta tradition, and thought I would wish everyone a Happy 4th of July!. I have been up since 4:00 AM because I volunteer at the start of the race and then run it. So if I am incoherent, you know why.
I'll catch you all up on my latest adventures. Amy (my daughter) and I went out to San Francisco the 3rd weekend in May. I had always wanted to run in the Bay to Breakers Race (12K) and I decided this was the year to do it. It is an inconvenient time for me since I am still in school and I couldn't take much time off. So we just went for the weekend and had a fabulous time! The weather was beautiful - sunny and clear - does that sound like San Francisco? We did as much as humanly possible in 2 1/2 days - Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, Cable car ride, Ferry to Sauslito, shopping, etc. The race was on Sunday morning and it was different from any race that I have ever run. They divide the race into 2 groups - runners and people in costume. Even a lot of the runners are in costume and some men run naked (this is a Bay to Breakers tradition). The whole race is like a giant party. I screamed when I saw the first naked man and everyone was laughing at me. I said "We don't do this in Atlanta!" Another runner yelled back, "This ain't Kansas, Dorothy!" Anyway, you get the picture. The race was a blast and I'm so glad I did it. Also, it was very nice to spend some time with Amy.
Then Ron and I took a week's vacation out to the Pacific Northwest which I had never been to before. We flew into Seattle and rented a car and went down the Oregon coast. We stayed at Cannon Beach which is beautiful. I am not used to being cold at the beach but it was quite chilly and our room had a fireplace in it. We went to an Oregon State Park - Silver Falls - which has 10 waterfalls. We got there very early in the morning, so we had the place to ourselves. I love to hike when there is no one else around. We then went to Portland and then drove along the Columbia River Gorge. The gorge was pretty but not spectalular as we had expected. We went on to Mt. Hood and stayed at the Timberline Lodge, built in 1937 by the WPA. It is a great place to stay because you are right at the foot of the mountain. I could look out our window at the Lodge and see snow on the ground! Actually, they have year round skiing at Timberline so the place was packed with skiiers and snowboarders. I had never been to a ski lodge before, so I really enjoyed watching all the skiing. I would really like to try skiing someday, but Ron is not at all interested. Anyone want to go skiing with me? I would have to take lessons. After Mr. Hood we went to Mr. Ranier and stayed at the National Park Inn. It is very rustic, no phone or TV. We did not get to hike much near the mountain because there was still so much snow. We did one "easy" hike and almost killed ourselves in the snow and ice. Apparently you have to go in August if you want to avoid all the snow. We did find several nice trails at lower altitudes that led to waterfalls. We finished the trip in Seattle. I really enjoyed Seattle - we had great weather - no rain! I visited the original Starbucks several times and drank coffee constantly.
Well, that's about it for me. I need to take a nap so I can stay awake for a 4th of July party tonight. What have you all been up to? Hope everyone is well. Take Care!
Lois
I'll catch you all up on my latest adventures. Amy (my daughter) and I went out to San Francisco the 3rd weekend in May. I had always wanted to run in the Bay to Breakers Race (12K) and I decided this was the year to do it. It is an inconvenient time for me since I am still in school and I couldn't take much time off. So we just went for the weekend and had a fabulous time! The weather was beautiful - sunny and clear - does that sound like San Francisco? We did as much as humanly possible in 2 1/2 days - Fisherman's Wharf, Chinatown, Cable car ride, Ferry to Sauslito, shopping, etc. The race was on Sunday morning and it was different from any race that I have ever run. They divide the race into 2 groups - runners and people in costume. Even a lot of the runners are in costume and some men run naked (this is a Bay to Breakers tradition). The whole race is like a giant party. I screamed when I saw the first naked man and everyone was laughing at me. I said "We don't do this in Atlanta!" Another runner yelled back, "This ain't Kansas, Dorothy!" Anyway, you get the picture. The race was a blast and I'm so glad I did it. Also, it was very nice to spend some time with Amy.
Then Ron and I took a week's vacation out to the Pacific Northwest which I had never been to before. We flew into Seattle and rented a car and went down the Oregon coast. We stayed at Cannon Beach which is beautiful. I am not used to being cold at the beach but it was quite chilly and our room had a fireplace in it. We went to an Oregon State Park - Silver Falls - which has 10 waterfalls. We got there very early in the morning, so we had the place to ourselves. I love to hike when there is no one else around. We then went to Portland and then drove along the Columbia River Gorge. The gorge was pretty but not spectalular as we had expected. We went on to Mt. Hood and stayed at the Timberline Lodge, built in 1937 by the WPA. It is a great place to stay because you are right at the foot of the mountain. I could look out our window at the Lodge and see snow on the ground! Actually, they have year round skiing at Timberline so the place was packed with skiiers and snowboarders. I had never been to a ski lodge before, so I really enjoyed watching all the skiing. I would really like to try skiing someday, but Ron is not at all interested. Anyone want to go skiing with me? I would have to take lessons. After Mr. Hood we went to Mr. Ranier and stayed at the National Park Inn. It is very rustic, no phone or TV. We did not get to hike much near the mountain because there was still so much snow. We did one "easy" hike and almost killed ourselves in the snow and ice. Apparently you have to go in August if you want to avoid all the snow. We did find several nice trails at lower altitudes that led to waterfalls. We finished the trip in Seattle. I really enjoyed Seattle - we had great weather - no rain! I visited the original Starbucks several times and drank coffee constantly.
Well, that's about it for me. I need to take a nap so I can stay awake for a 4th of July party tonight. What have you all been up to? Hope everyone is well. Take Care!
Lois
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