The last month has seen Jim
getting his bike out once again to wend his way through the streets of Bishkek
to work and sometimes up and down mountains. We saw late snow, some sun and a
lot of rain, temperatures rose slowly and with the city heating turned off we
even used hot water bottles at night. And now it is 28 degrees!
Felix has taken up football again,
playing three times a week at a local club. He comes back on his own on a
trolleybus but occasionally there are surprises and the bus turns the wrong
way. He always gets home eventually and is learning his way around the city
pretty well. Rosie has been busy learning the dance, lines and songs that she will be performing in a production of “Conference of the Birds”
later this month in which she takes the role of the parrot! And Jane went on retreat to a beautiful valley a few hours
east of Bishkek…
Traditional
embroidery is known as ‘Saima’ and a piece like this (which adorned my room)
would be started when a daughter is born and sewn throughout her life until her
wedding day when it would be hung and used to decorate the yurt.
Situated in the bottom of a
valley, Ashu has beautiful mountain scenery all around and village life was
buzzing now that the harsh realities of winter are over.
One additional highlight was the
delicious Kyrgyz food; many breads, homemade jams, local honey, soups, salads
and a rice and carrot dish, a bit like risotto, known as plov. We ate on the
balcony of the restaurant drinking small bowls of black tea and appreciating
the beauty and productivity all around us.
