July 2nd

Up and at 'em at 8 AM. Alli showers, I shower and shave. Our cleaning girl arrives promptly at 9 and begins with the bathroom. She's interrupted twice to help serve breakfast to other guests. I actually make the bed while she is gone for the second time because we must be in the room while she cleans, but we don't want to be in the room past 10 AM if we can help it (we're going to the open air market at 10). She's finishing with the vacuuming as Dana arrives to take us shopping.

It's VERY warm again today. Bob and I do a little videotaping for a flavor of the market: very tight quarters; long narrow aisles of kiosks and booths (average size about 12' x 12'); and on this day, very little air moving. Bob and Beth buy Russian dolls, Beth buys sneakers (though she has trouble finding her size - size 8), Alli and I buy toys for the kids and a babushka for Molly, and I buy two nice shirts (Nike and Adidas) for about 1300 TT (about $10) each. At 12:40 we leave the market and walk to the baby home.

Wow, is it hot! It's as warm a day if not warmer than any day thus far. It's a relief to walk into the long, dark, cool corridors of the baby home. (They don't have air conditioning, but they open doors at the ends of the hallways to create a pleasant draft & generally turn out all unnecessary lights.) Molly's dressed and ready when I arrive - a nice sleeveless onesie & socks - and she's in a great mood. We stop to visit the rolly, poly bell doll and I decide to take it to the marble room with us. The doll is a big hit with Molly and Nicholas, but Aidan appears somewhat disconcerted: The doll is as tall standing as he is seated and weebles relentlessly into his personal space, and he lacks his sister's charming knack for sending it pinwheeling across the room. Aidan is not having a good day overall. In contrast to Molly, who is boisterously chatting and fully engaged in playing, Aidan's grumpy and pretty unhappy with just about everything. I decide to invoke the magic of the Snuggli, and it works like a charm. He and I wander the halls, visit with the women baking bread, and stop to chat with one of his care-givers. While we never get so far as a smile, he stops grumping and seems content with the diversion.

It rains quite hard for about five minutes during our visit, but the rain does nothing to alleviate the heat and appears to increase the humidity. On the walk home, dark clouds gather to our left and a cool breeze picks up. Fearing the impending storm, the four of us cancel plans for grocery shopping and the internet cafe in favor of napping in our air conditioned rooms. The rain never comes....

Dana, however, arrives promptly at 5:30. We decide to try a new place for dinner: We named it the pancake place when we poked our heads in the other night after eating across the street at the pizza place. The pancake place has a full menu (soup, salad, entrees and desserts) and offer two pages of pancakes (crepes) in combinations/varieties of fruit, vegetable and meat & cheese. Beth & Alli get dumplings in personal-size crock pot (Beth gets salad and ham & cheese crepes, Alli gets salad and a side of rice with mushrooms), Bob abd I get crepes with jam and chicken (two delicious drumsticks) with vegetables & pineapple. Alli and I split three Tyan Shan beers: another nice meal! The staff (we think it's a family-run business) are very nice and encourage us to come back again.

On the 1/2 way walk home with Dana, we get caught in a bit of a downpour and see two rain- bows, one over top of the other, the lower of which touches down not more than a block away in the street on which we are walking. Bob and I get a couple of good photos.

Alli and I head to the Gros for tissues and bath soap, then it's back to the hotel for laundry night. I write in my journal and Alli reads. Church tomorrow: We'll be praying for success in our pre- trial hearing on Monday and a date in the not too distant future for our final court appearance. Dana is joining us at church so we can speak with the priest. We plan to take the camera along for shots of the church and, maybe, a group photo.

Tomorrow is July 3. Alli is doing the Blog for July 3, so I have to say HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MOM today. In addition, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY UNCLE MUTTY.