Grape Harvest

It's grape harvest time!  We were invited to go to our professor's summer home to see how the grape harvest happens and then have a feast!

Here is Mr. T helping with a cluster of grapes:

 Mr. T and the Big Mr. are harvesting some more.  We were able to bring a whole bucket of grapes home with us, so we are eating them all the time -- so sweet!:

 Rows and rows of grapes belong to the family in this vineyard:

 Making churchella (walnuts on a string, dipped into grape juice and flour):

 dipping the wal-nuts:

 dipping a few more times:

 Mr. S counting the churchella's that he helped make:

 plates...preparing for the feast:

 the kettle for hot tea and coffee in the afternoon:

 cucumbers and tomatoes:

 pomegranates:

 eggplant, chicken, olivias salad and salt:

 bread, veggies, and cheese:

It was a great together as a family and with good, new friends!

Camp, part 1

This past week, we went to camp.  This camp was a great cumulative experience at the end of one year of language learning.  We didn't understand everything, but it was great practice and we are ready to plunge back into classes this month.  This will be a part 1 (of 2), showing some shots of the people we enjoyed.

The next set of pictures will show some of the places we experienced!

Camp, part 2 pictures (places)

Here are some of the place at camp that we enjoyed.

This was the room where we had services:

 The bus that everyone else came to camp on.  We didn't know that this was the plan, so we had our cars packed and followed the bus.  Next year, we will know better:

 This is where we stayed.  Our room was on the bottom, second from the left:

 The dining hall:

 Mealtime:

 We loved seeing the beginnings of the vine -- their precious grapevines beginning mid-season:

Marinated Eggplant Salad

I know that even titling an entire post with this name could turn hundred's, if not thousands, away...but, it is worth it.  We love the marinated eggplant salad that is served here -- in every restaurant, and in every home!  This is the first time I've been able to find a recipe, in English, with our measurements on different ingredients and it is pretty close to the taste we find here.  Eggplant is about $1.00/kilo (2.2 pounds) right now, so it's time to stock up and enjoy the flavor!

Lots of eggplant:

herbs (we substitute those in the recipe for cilantro and it is AMAZING!):

and you can add anything in:

The complete recipe is found here, at Turntable Kitchen!  Enjoy!!

Our Neighborhood

Getting ready to ride bikes:

 This is the entrance of the school that the boys will most-likely be attending this fall:

 The Rock Pile!  It has been fun to climb on:

 Bike riding...a great outdoor activity this summer:

Camp

We went for one day of a week-long camp to participate in some English-speaking sections.  Since the park was in a village near home, we took Mr. S with us for the day!

Here we are all just sitting around chatting and finishing off a watermelon:

Here is a friend learning the names of some of the kids:

 Teaching new games!

 Mr. S got a group going on the slides!

We had a great time!

Trip to the Black Sea

We were able to have a vacation and team meetings on the Black Sea.  The boy LOVED throwing rocks in the water when they weren't busy splashing each other and looking for shells!

On this afternoon, there was a storm brewing, so we took a family walk just to see the waves:

The boys were enjoying parts of the boardwalk that they used to create their own games.  This was an area to park bikes, but this game looks like more fun!:

An area with all the Disney characters!  The boys went wild -- these statues were just their size:

Svaneti

The guys were able to take a trip to a town about 8 hours away.  This was a great experience to see some of the breath-taking views in the Green Mountains.  Our favorite pictures are the watch-towers:

Seasonal Cooking

Before this chapter, I didn't really understand seasonal cooking.  Although I did watch which produce I bought at what time (because of the cost difference), I knew I could find some kind of berry or a pineapple most days at some American grocery store.  After a full year of living here (in an international setting), we understand this new reality.  Strawberry season just passed.  I went to the market yesterday to look for more of these delicious berries and they were gone...totally gone.  The new fruit that is available for this month is peaches.  They are practically giving them away (.50 for 2 pounds!)
Our favorite salad year-round, but especially found on every table in the summers:

This is pretty much it, lot's of cucumbers and tomatoes.  Many people chop fresh herbs like cilantro, parsley and dill to put on...as well as a few white onions.  Sprinkle with salt and it is very tasty with pretty much anything they serve!

New Pictures

A normal small grocery store at the bottom of most apartment buildings.  We would buy our staples here: bread, milk, eggs, pasta...:

 A view of a town about 30 minutes outside of where we live:

 Mountains and old churches everywhere.  It really is beautiful:

  A new church being built:

 A landscape on our drive back into the country after leaving for our 1-year visa trip:

 churchela for sale (churchela is a bunch of walnuts strung onto those white strings, then dipped over and over again into a grape and flour mix.  Kind of like dipping candles. This was a snack, that I believe was originally made for soldiers during times of war because it was healthy and stayed good for a long time) it is hanging everywhere in the markets: