Outings

Kruja tower

The weather this fall has been strangely warm, like everywhere else around the globe - though it's been nice to have some more rain this week. Well, nice except when we're walking to or from school. Building character! We have had some cold days, a couple weeks ago the nights were hovering around freezing - but this week has been Bogota-like weather: 16 degrees C and rainy. I'm trying not to use the space heater too much though to keep our electric bill down. 

A couple weekends ago I had the opportunity to play tour guide to a friend-of-a-friend who was wandering loose in Tirana, so we took a bus to Kruja - the stronghold of national hero Skënderbeu. The sky was so blue and clear, it felt like you could cut your finger on the line of the mountain edge against the sky. It was fun to be the "local expert" even though the trip definitely gave me a sense of the many gaps in my knowledge - especially of Albanian history.  

Then on Sunday we took the kids to Dajti - they'd go every weekend if we'd pay for it, but we've made it a once-a-month treat. Even though we could see from below that the mountaintop was swathed in clouds, they still wanted to go. 

These photos do not nearly do justice to the intensity of the fall colors. So beautiful.

Just as we sat down to eat the clouds rolled in and it started to rain - Terry took Gabe outside to try to punch the fog, it was such a little-boy heaven out there climbing the rocks and fighting the elements. Val got into it a bit too.

I was happy to stay inside and enjoy our delicious meal! The waiter actually knows us now - I think we tip pretty well - and he brought us a carafe of fresh squeezed blackberry juice and a fruit plate of apple and orange slices sprinkled with blackberries, walnuts, and honey - on the house!

Process

Moving is such a process. This move has been so, so much easier than the last two, in that we were coming back to something beloved and familiar.

Street Art

Albeit we have been in the midst of a major decision just now, that brought me at least to face some of my lingering grief from leaving in 2012. We have the opportunity to move back to our old apartment, where we lived before, and in the beginning that was our plan. In fact when I inquired to find out if the apartment would be available for us this fall, it felt like a "sign" that the answer was "very likely."

So at first we thought we'd be in this villa for a few weeks, but as time dragged on regarding the other apartment we got more and more used to being here. We have our rhythms and routines organized, we know where to shop for everything, and people in the neighborhood are friendly. Our landlady is... very involved, with both the pros and cons that come with that, but on balance it's mostly great. But after two months in this home it has grown on us, and there are enough pros and cons both ways that it has been really, really hard to make a final decision.

Evening moonrise

But, I think we are going to stay here. There are so many things I love about this flat, and I've come to realize over the past couple of days that it's not about trying to recapture the past but about moving into and building something new.



Our life now is not what it was then, the kids are in school, far from the baby/toddler stage. So this is not the room where we celebrated Gabriel's first birthday or where Valerie taught herself to read, but it is the place where we can make new good memories.

Halloween Ninjas

 So we have a little time yet to make a sure decision but I feel a lot of peace and happiness about staying here.