I found out last week that we have a quince tree in our backyard. What in the world is a quince and does anyone have any earthly idea what I can do with them when they ripen in the fall? We also discovered that we have a ginormous apricot tree in our backyard that we never knew was there until they literally started falling on our heads. I need to start freezing some of this fruit ASAP because I hear it is truly slim pickings in the winter.We had a major injury this week. Mary (aka accident waiting to happen) managed to trip and fall while walking through the park with the kids. She banged up her knee pretty good and took a major slice out of her toe. Not to worry, however, our little Dr. in training took very good care of her. Mary is very proud of her injuries so i felt I owed her a pictorial "nod" in this week's blog. You may want to shield your eyes from the next foto. 
We ventured out on our first road trip trip last weekend to an old monastary called Orhei Vechi. It was about 45 minutes or so outside of Chisinau so we packed a big picnic lunch and headed out of the city. Easier said than done, we discovered, as there is not a single street sign in Moldova. We even stopped to buy some maps on the way out - and quickly found that maps are only useful when STREETS ARE LABELED!! At any rate, we made it and it was an absolutely beautiful day.
The monastary is actually carved into the cliff underneath the church that has been built on top of the site. Apparently there is a monk that lives there year round - in the cave, not the church. We were able to walk through the caves and sure enough ther was a mattress and blankets in a carved out little niche.
I have to share my chicken story (especially becuase I have pictures to illustrate). So I cooked the $7 chicken that I mentioned the other day last night for dinner. Looks good to start, right?
What came out of the oven (at right) was the most pathetic excuse for a chicken i have ever seen. I literally put my knife through the bird (see hole) when I tried to get some breast meat off (think Chevy Chase in christmas vacation). I ended up throwing the chicken away becasue if I recall correctly, I purchased this chicken from some old lady who had it sitting out (unrefridgerated) on a table for who knows how long. The potatoes were good, though.
No other news to report. Things here in Moldova move pretty slow. Oh, our household goods from DC (and our food) arrived last week so we now have everything here. Almost eveything is unpacked, but it is SUCH A PAIN!! All our our cereal and who knows what other dry goods taste like soap becuse the movers crated the laundry soap with our food!
Hope you all have a good week,
~L
