Letters/43

Dear Hiking, although you're not my favorite thing to do in Korea (hiking in Korea is like a buns of steel workout, straight up stairs to the top) I'm glad we've started exploring more of the mountains and gorgeous views on our island. And maybe I'll even get a little booty out of it instead of the flat backside excuse that I have now. Dear Inner Martha Stewart, pinterest has brought you out once again but I just can't justify doing any more DIY projects when this is not our permanent home. I need to stop! Dear Students, this is how your latest speaking test went. Me: what did you have for breakfast? Student: yes...7 o'clock...breakfast. Me: close enough. Dear Apartment Hunting, this is the 8th move in 6 1/2 years. You would think I would be used to it by now but when you're moving from a place you love and trying to choose between a huge place that dark, dirty and old or a brand new place that just barely fits a bed...it's not so fun anymore. Praying that we'll find a place that fits us soon!

UPDATE: for those of you who are just dying to know. I recently finished my academies that I was working at this previous year and will not be resigning. I had an interview a week ago with hub's company where he teaches engineers and shipbuilders business English and got the job! (hence the apartment hunt since we live further away from work than we would like) This will be an exciting change from what I have been doing in Korea the first two years and we're very excited to be on a similar work/vacation schedule again. I'm both nervous and excited for this new venture since I have, after all, been teaching kids for two years and I'm not sure adults would appreciate English lessons with songs, play-dough and coloring sheets. Maybe they would, we'll see.

Also check out my guest post all about love and living abroad over on the lovely Laurie's blog!

Linking up with Ashley

Expanding my horizon

I was off fairly early this morning to drive in to visit the Folkston Funnel.  The Funnel is a very busy place for trains.  All the trains headed from Savannah to Florida, or coming from Florida to Savannah and points beyond have to funnel through Folkston, GA.

Folkston is a mecca for train lovers.  70 trains a day funnel through this small Georgia town.  I was hoping to understand why people watch trains by talking to them at this train viewing platform complete with picnic tables, a bathroom, a charcoal grill, and internet access.

Yesterday I visited the Chamber of Commerce and was given a train schedule.  I chose to come this morning before nine so I could be prepared to see the Tropicana Express from Florida bringing oranges north from Florida.  I was hoping to see the white cars which I assumed would have oranges painted on them.  I was also told a local train enthusiast named Cricket would be there on his cart.

Well folks, no one was at the platform.  It was chilly and the wind was blowing hard.  I waited for about 45 minutes, but the orange juice special never appeared.  Nor did Cricket.  I did see one train, though.

                                                                                   It came…

                                                                It went… with horns blasting.

                        Sorry SAM, I’m still at a loss as to what the draw is to see and hear noisy trains.

Across the tracks from the platform is a red caboose in the woods.  Whatever happened to cabooses?  I never see them at the end of trains anymore.

                 There’s also a nice mural across the tracks depicting the trains and a fierce alligator.

I did a little grocery shopping in town before heading back to the rig to gather my thoughts before a telephone interview.  The National Elk Refuge in Wyoming is a very popular Nat’l Wildlife Refuge for RVers that are into the volunteer lifestyle.  For every open position, there are many applicants, so it is rather competitive.

I made it through the first cut and had my interview this afternoon.  I think it went well, but then you never know.  I was on a speaker phone with several brown shirts in the room at the refuge.  However, only the volunteer coordinator did any speaking.  I find phone interviews harder than face to face interviews.  You just can’t read facial reactions over the phone.  I was honest when she asked me how I felt about 32 hours/week.  I’m not crazy about it, but knew it going into this application process.  I told her that once you do your four days, then do your laundry, cleaning, and grocery shopping, it doesn’t leave you much time to visit and enjoy the area.  I’ll find out whether or not I’ll be offered a position a week from Friday.  This was the first day of interviews, so there are lots more people for her to speak to.

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Perspective Series-In Korea

This week I'm happy to introduce Jess from the blog More Adventurous, for the next installment of the Perspective Series. This is a series about expats sharing their experience of living and traveling abroad and how it inevitably changed their outlook and perspective on life. This lovely lady was a fellow foreign English teacher in Korea so it automatically makes me feel like we have a deep bond. She writes hilarious stories about her travels in Korea which I can so relate to! Check out this post or this for some good laughs from an expat living in the land of kimchi.

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I’ve always loved traveling. I was lucky enough to visit both Korea and Australia by the time I was in Middle School. That’s when it became real: I needed to experience other places and other cultures. It was this weird feeling of being simultaneously entirely out of my element but so incredibly comfortable. While I knew that I loved traveling, I wasn’t ever sure that I’d want to live abroad. Part of my favorite thing about traveling was coming home, and if I lived abroad, it meant those two things would collide.

I sort of had a breakdown my senior year in college. It seemed like all my friends knew exactly what they were doing with their lives and all I knew is that I’d work for my father for the summer and then I had no plans. I applied for a teaching job in Korea because it sounded exciting and I already had some familiarity with the country since I had visited before as a child. I sort of self sabotaged by applying late, knowing that the program would probably be filled, but I thought, “What have I got to lose?” I heard back from the program. They were full. Two weeks before graduation, at the height of my “WHAT AM I GOING TO DO WITH MY LIFE?” crisis, I got a call from the hiring lady with the program in Korea. “Someone backed out last minute. Can you be in Korea in July?” It was one of those moments that completely caught me off guard but after several quick conversations with family members, I saw that this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Things ran a little behind schedule and I ended up getting there in early September, but I knew that I was going exactly where I was meant to go. 

Arriving in Korea was wild. That’s seriously the only way I can describe it. I looked around and couldn’t begin to grasp the concept that this was my new home. It was so strange. I remember trying to get my bearings on the city but I realized that if I was abandoned on a street corner, I probably would have died there.

It didn’t take me too long to get a feel of the city and pretty soon I was navigating it like a local. It doesn’t hurt that Korea has the greatest public transportation ever. I’ve never, ever lived in a place like that before. I grew up in Southern California where you drive everywhere and then went to college in Idaho where you also drive everywhere you need to go. Korea was a dream. I could hop in a cab, bus, or train and get virtually anywhere within the country in a matter of hours and for chump change! The only downside to taking a bus or a cab was you basically risked your life any time you got in one. I swear there were multiple times when I was convinced that the bus I was on would tip over or the taxi would get in a head on collision. I tip my hat to those foreigners living in Korea who drive. You are all infinitely braver than I am!

One of my other favorite aspects of living in Korea was the fact that I was an anomaly. I taught at a relatively poor school so my students weren’t familiar with too much outside of their culture. My first graders would ask my for my autograph every time I taught their class. If kids saw me outside of the school, they would literally squeal with joy! When I arrived at the school in the morning I heard shouts of, “Songsaengnim (teacher)! Jessica Songsaengnim!” I was basically Taylor Swift. That whole “stick out like a sore thumb” thing did have it’s downsides. Sometimes I just wanted to blend in, be a part of the crowd, but even things like shopping would become a little bit stressful because everyone would want to talk to you or look at you.

One of the strangest things about living abroad was how quickly that foreign culture and environment became home. When I first arrived, I thought I was destined to feel like an outsider for the duration of my time there. That wasn’t the case. I got so settled in my routine, I made an incredible group of friends, and I really allowed myself to grow roots in Korea. It’s strange having this huge part of my heart that still belongs to that place. I didn’t think it would be like that. I thought when my year contract was up, I’d pack up and be entirely fine with coming “home.”

I realized that leaving Korea meant leaving a big part of who I had become. It meant leaving children who had touched my life. It meant leaving a place that helped raise me in a sense. I know that sounds pretty heavy, but it was. When you fully immerse yourself into a foreign environment and culture, there’s so much growth that happens in a short period of time. I love Korea for that. I love Korea for helping cultivate me into an “adult.” I wish that a member of my family had been able to visit me while I was there. It is hard having something so meaningful that the people closest to you don’t fully understand. I can show them pictures, share videos with them, and tell them stories, but they’ll only ever be outsiders looking into my experience. I am definitely grateful to be home in America though, I have a great job where I am basically paid to be a friend to college students, I can eat delicious Mexican food whenever I want, and I can drive without fear of dying. It’s just funny how life takes you places you never thought you end up  and you fall absolutely in love with your surroundings. How is it possible that my heart calls three very different places (California, Idaho, & South Korea) home? Maybe after graduate school there will be another opportunity to live abroad. I am not exactly sure what life holds for me, but after Korea (and with a little help from Justin Bieber), I’ve learned to never say never.  

Thanks so much for writing Jess! Be sure to stop by her blog and show her some love! 

If you have lived abroad and would like to be featured please email me at lostintravelsblog@gmail.com. I would love to hear from you!
You can read more of the Perspective Series here.
Linking up with Rolled Up Pretty and Shanna

House guests and a small triumph

Holy Moses, we’ve had a lot of rain!  My guess is about 5 –6” in the last four days.  Emma and I only made short forays out the door so she could relieve herself yesterday.  On the positive side, we really needed the rain and it was a great rest for my hip.

Emma and I were able to sit outside this evening, and while we were doing that Connor, the biology intern, came to tell me that he had spotted some guests taking up residence in my rig.  Thankfully, it wasn’t mice.

The view out his window is of the driver’s side of my rig.  He had noticed a couple of Carolina wrens visiting the space under the front slide out.  I went to take a look, and here’s what I found:

I pulled out this rather large nest that they had built in the protected area where the slide arm goes in.  No eggs yet, so I yanked it out.  Male wrens usually build several nests, and the female chooses which one she likes best.  I’m guessing she liked this one and would have been laying some eggs in the near future into the cup that is located near the top right of the photo.  Had there been eggs, I probably would have left it there.  Not sure I want the mess of a young family under my table seat.  If they rebuild in the same spot, I’ll probably leave them alone as they should be done with the brood by the time I pull out.

As for the small triumph, I’ll try to explain.  Ever since I’ve arrived here at Okefenokee, I’ve noticed a foot bridge in the forest each time I drive to work.  I tried to get to it before my hip replacement, but it was beyond my abilities at that time.

So once the rain quit and the sun came out this afternoon, Emma and I hopped in the car and made our way to the Canal Diggers Trail.

It’s only .65 miles long, but that was more than I could do before.  If you’ll enlarge the photo on the right, you’ll read that the entrance road to the refuge and many of the trails were originally established by the men of the CCC.  Eventually, I’d like to do the longer Longleaf Pine Trail, but today’s challenge was the Canal Diggers Trail.

It starts out nice and level through the pines and palmettos, but it soon has dips and rises in the path.

                              Can you guess that Emma was thrilled to be out and about on the trail? 

This was just before we had to head downhill to cross the footbridge over the canal and then trek uphill to the other side.  I’m afraid the photos don’t give a true idea of the steepness for someone with a new hip.  I told Emma to go slow so I wouldn’t slip, and she did.  It’s amazing sometimes what she understands.  Of course there are other times when I’m shocked at how she totally ignores what I have to say.

At the top, we encountered the junction for the four mile Longleaf Pine Trail.  We turned right today.

Then, there it was.  The illusive footbridge.  Yahoo!  I finally went up and over it, and I made it all the way around the trail and back to the car without pain or having to quit.

To paraphrase a famous quote from Astronaut Neil Armstrong on Apollo 11, today was “One small step for mankind, one great leap for this woman!”

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Travel Tuesdays-Thailand

Just a little something to cure your wanderlust for the week.

via

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. – Mark Twain

48 Hours in Bangkok

I didn't know what to expect before going to Bangkok. I heard mixed reviews of people either loving it or hating it. Wanting to move there or find the first flight out. We arrived late on Saturday night and were greeted with much welcomed humid air, smiling faces and a friendly cab driver who, though his stifled laughter, still couldn't seem to get us to pronounce 'hello' and 'thank you' in Thai properly. We eventually got better with the 'sa wat dee ka' and 'khaawp khoon ka' with time. It was a warm welcome from the city I was so unsure of.
In this site seeing mecca, we hit the ground running the next morning and saw as much as we could in the short 48 hours we had there. Here are my top picks of how to spend even a short time in this bustling concrete jungle.

.Markets, markets, markets. One thing I love about visiting other countries is looking through the local markets. Buying or just looking are equally enjoyable as you peruse stall upon stall that would intimidate even the most experienced of shoppers. Filled with textiles, jewelry, bags, sculptures, knockoffs and more, you can find everything your traveling heart was hoping for. In Bangkok alone there are several to choose from, the most popular being the Floating Market and Chatuchak Weekend Market (known to the locals as 'Che Che' Market). 

TIP: double check the times and days of the markets you are wanting to see. Every market has different operating hours and days. I have been spoiled by markets in Korea being open seven days a week so I didn't even think about most larger markets in Thailand only being open on the weekends. Both the Floating Market and the Chatuchak Market run on Saturday and Sunday and unfortunately we missed them both. Just another excuse to come back and visit right?

No worries though, there are 'smaller' markets hiding around every corner of this country and we saw our fair share. The picture taken below is from a market near Soi Rambuttri Street (an amazing bohemian, backpacking haven filled with eclectic restaurants and hostels). The market was several blocks long on either side and was shut off to cars and transportation during shop hours. 

.Feel the tranquility inside of one of the many temples. Similar to the markets, tourists can find several different temples without even meaning to. In order for us not to get 'temple overload' we picked three or four temples that we wanted to see and stuck with those. If you try for all of them, you can literally spend days visiting the 19 'well known' ones in the Bangkok area. We decided to stick with The Marble Temple, Wat Pho and Wat Arun. Even though we still wandered into several others as we were walking down the street. 

Another one to check out is the Royal Palace. We didn't exactly make it all the way into this one. There is a lady standing at the gate and her sole job is to tell everyone passing if they are appropriately dressed or not...while yelling through a megaphone. I was one of the lucky ones blasted for *gasp* wearing shorts. In any temple associated with the government, you must cover your shoulders and knees in order to enter. Don't worry though, there are garments for rent with a small deposit that is returned when the garments are. After seeing the line to rent these said garments, we turned and walked right back out with the intention of coming another time which unfortunately didn't happen. 

TIP: Go early! Any of these temples are sure to be swarming with site seers by the early afternoon. To ensure great pictures and not having to rub up against dozens of strangers, aim for mid morning and beat the rush.  

The Marble Temple

Wat Pho was definitely my favorite temple that we saw in Thailand. It is the largest temple in Bangkok and is home to a 46 meter long reclining Buddah. I realize it looks large in the picture but it's nothing compared to seeing it in person. As soon as you walk into the room, your head automatically goes all the way back in order to take it all in.

Wat Pho

 

Wat Arun was another one I was very excited to see. We never made it across the river to go inside but the views from across the way were just as magnificent. When lit up at night, it's especially beautiful.

.Take a ride down the Chao Phraya River. This is one of the best ways to get from one end of the city to the other. You can either take a private long-tail boat taxi or opt for the cheaper way of traveling and hop on one of the many ferries that travel along the river. It's also a great option to take a tour of the river around sunset and see the coastline come alive with lights as the guide tells you about history of the river and temples that line it.

.Spend the night sipping cocktails and overlooking the city of Bangkok from the Banyan Tree Hotel's rooftop restaurant and bar. While the cocktails are a bit high for the land of cheap eats and drinks (around $9 for the local beer and on up from there for mixed drinks and wine) the views of the city are well worth it. We decided to make a date out of it and enjoyed the views of the sprawling city below us mixed with the stillness that comes with being so far above it all. 

TIP: there is a dress code for both the restaurant and the bar area. Men need to be wearing long pants and ladies cannot wear jean shorts. We learned this a little too late as we came straight from sightseeing that day and hubs was still wearing his shorts. Thankfully they do have loaner pants to wear, although it doesn't look as classy when they're about three sizes too big.

We loved the city a lot more than we thought we would and would love to return someday. Even though we both agree that two to three days was enough for us to see and do all that we had hoped to. Any other suggestions on what to see in Bangkok?

Today was my Friday

After four days of work, I’m ready for a few days off.  Three of those days were split between roving and working the VC, but that floor in the VC is still doing a number on my hip.  We are entering the busier season for visitors, so that helps with the boredom, but I still prefer the roving assignments.  They not only get me outside, but I also enjoy the interaction with visitors on the trails and nature drive.

Winds were absolutely calm this morning after last nights thunderstorms and rain.  Alligator pond was very reflective, and if you had a pair of binoculars, you’d see a gator on the far bank.

I thought I’d include a picture so you can get an idea of how the Honey Prairie fire of 2011-2012 resulted in stands of totally burned out upland forest.  That fire, which lasted a year, burnt through over 80% of the refuge.  While it looks rather devastating here, Mother Nature knows what she’s doing, and the swamp will come back rejuvenated.

As we near the end of February, the first hatches of butterflies are occurring.  This is a zebra swallowtail that I first noticed yesterday while roving.

You probably would have chuckled if you had been able to watch me try to get these shots.  I was hobbling a bit yesterday trying to get this creature to sit still long enough to find it in my viewfinder.  The sand was wet from all of the rain, and I almost made myself dizzy wheeling around with that big lens following it’s flight path.  I think, perhaps, it was getting a drink from the moist sandy soil.

Then this morning, I found this Palamedes Swallowtail near the secret pond.  Thankfully, it alighted and sat still long enough for me to creep up on it.  The Palamedes is the signature butterfly species of the southern swamps, including Okefenokee.  This was the first time I had seen this species, but I suppose now I’ll see them just about everywhere.  That seems to be the way it goes.   You search and search for something, and once you find it, it seems to appear every time you turn around.

I want to assure you folks up north that spring is coming.  The pine warblers are beginning to sing all over around here.  I’ve been surprised that the droves of robins haven’t entirely left yet, but I’m sure they’ll be on their way shortly along with the greater sandhill cranes.  Our local sandhills are already beginning to nest.  I don’t know about you, but I’m ready for spring!

After taking care of my mundane chores on my next three days off, I’m hoping to visit the Folkston Funnel if the rains hold off.  I don’t know much about watching trains, but I’m open to trying to figure out why people want to watch trains rumble by.  This may be a real stretch for me. 

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Needed rain

As I write this post tonight, there’s a nice moderate rain going on outside.  The swamp needs it badly.  Over the four months I’ve been here, I’ve noticed the water levels drop.  Ponds and borrow ditches are drying up.  That’s not a good thing.  Rain has been forecasted for the next two days, and I, for one, hope the forecast is correct for a change.  I would also much prefer to have rainy days on the days I have to work, so it can rain all it wants for tomorrow and Sunday.

Yesterday was supposed to be a day of training about the environmental programming we do for schools.  The morning almost went as planned, and our volunteer/intern group followed along as fellow volunteer Barry led us on a hike to discover those things that most people wouldn’t notice along one of the trails.  He did an excellent job pointing out things you’d normally just walk past.

The afternoon didn’t go as well, as there were a couple of unexpected emergencies.  One involved a visitor that had recently had brain surgery.  As he was sitting at a table in the picnic area, he began to bleed profusely from his head.  Staff went out to help him, but the men’s bathroom and the picnic table needed taking care of.  Reminded me of my blood born pathogens' training from my working days.

Then the eighth grade school group arrived and descended on the Visitors Center.  Half of the group went on a boat tour, and we handled the other half in the VC.  After 90 minutes, they traded places.  I was scheduled to give a program to them before they left.

There were delays with the boat tours, and even though the VC closes at 5:00, I wasn’t able to start my program in the auditorium on the red-cockaded woodpecker until 5:30.  So how does it go with 64 hungry eighth graders for a half hour at the end of a long day?   Well, I put on my dancing shoes and kept them glued to the subject and interested in a little bird for the duration.  I get pumped for these presentations, and thankfully it was successful.  Sometimes, the ‘Force’ is with you!

Today, it was back to a normal morning working the VC and roving in the afternoon.  Although overcast, it was warm enough to do my roving in the open electric cart.

It had been several days since I’d been down Swamp Island Drive, and I noticed the bladderworts beginning to bloom in one of the borrow ditches.  They are a carnivorous plant that ‘eats’ microbes in the water.  There are little bladders hanging down in the water at the end of each of the star shaped stems resting on the water top.  Each of the little bladders has a trap door that closes when something moves inside.  Then it’s curtains for that microbe as there is no escape.

As I drove further, there seemed to be a pretty large hatch of what I thought were pink butterflies.  As I got out of the cart and tried to chase them down with my camera, I found it impossible to get a good sharp shot.  They never stop moving.  When I got back to the rig, I couldn’t find any pink butterflies in my field guide, so I’m thinking it’s probably a moth.  All the splashes of pink in the swamp were a colorful surprise today.

Of course, the alligators were out this afternoon.  This guy (?) lives in the ‘secret pond’, and was out cruising this afternoon.  I saw a fish break the surface, and the alligator literally blasted out of the water and dove after it.  What a sight!  I guess the alligators have begun feeding again…

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy

Letters/42

Ko Phi Phi Island

Dear Thailand, I'm already missing your white sandy beaches, cheap delicious food and friendly people. Hopefully it won't be long until we're back again. Until then I'll be making green curry weekly. Dear Home, after two amazing weeks of traveling, you felt good to come back to. Even though both of us paused when we came through the door because we couldn't quite figure out where we were. The affects of city hopping for two weeks. Dear Hubs, I'm so glad I have such an amazing traveling partner. Another adventure this summer? Dear Persuasion, you were used well on the trip by hubs as we sat on the beach looking out at the moored sailboats. Maybe his dream of sailing around Asia will come true after all. Dear Stomach Bug, you're finally done and over! As nice as it was to get you as a welcome home gift I'm going to say I don't miss you one bit. Oh and thanks dad for packing our bags full of antibiotics before leaving the states! They sure came in handy! Dear Hubs, I came home unexpectedly early one night this week and found you watching me through the window as I pulled in and doing a little happy dance that I was home. I found a winner.

Linking up with Ashley, Amelia, Chrissy, Lauren

We're Back!

Us and a two month old sleepy tiger at the Tiger Kingdom in Chiang Mai, Thailand

And all in one piece surprisingly.  Especially seeing as how we just spent the last two weeks traveling around a new country, being swatted at by tigers (ok, ok, they were only 4 months old but those claws are still sharp!), riding bareback through the jungle on elephants, rock climbing free style above the ocean, and oh, deciding it was a good idea to take a guy with a motorbike as a form of a taxi (not our brightest moment. I've never been so scared in my life). But aside from all of the adventures we had on our little get away, what I loved most was just that. Getting away. Unplugging, shutting down and getting back to the basics in a beautiful country with my favorite travel companion.

With that being said, being away from technology for just over two weeks can sure take a toll on your inbox! So please be patient as I try to catch up on all of your sweet emails and comments. I have some amazing posts and photos that I can't wait to share with you all in the weeks to come! Just as soon as I hubs goes through the 48gb of pictures we he took!

Linking up with Shanna

This and that

After the great day on the swamp on Friday, I worked the next two days in the VC.  Business has picked up as predicted, so at least there aren’t hours and hours of no visitors.

When I drove to work on Sunday, I noticed one of the pine trees about to explode with pollen.  Luckily I’m not allergic to this pollen, as it has been coating everything for a couple of weeks.

I found each end of the branches to be very geometric with the round spread of needles, and the bouquet of catkins in the middle.

The centers kind of reminded me of those ‘snakes’ you light with a match.  Remember those?  As a kid I loved the smell of the sulphur when you lit one of those little black pellets that grew before your very eyes.  This looked like a whole box got lit at once to me.

                                              A SMALL FOREST OF CYPRESS KNEES IN THE SWAMP

I was pleasantly surprised to get an email yesterday, on a National Holiday, from the Volunteer Coordinator at the National Elk Refuge (NWR) in Wyoming.  I had applied to volunteer there for the coming summer, but it is a very competitive process since lots of people want to volunteer there.  It’s located in Jackson which is close to both Yellowstone NP and Grand Teton NP. 

My friends, John and Diana, have volunteered there the last couple of summers, and alerted me early last fall to the possibility of some openings for this summer.  Folks that volunteer there tend to return for several years.  So I was happy to hear that I’ll be granted an interview within the next couple of weeks.  I’m thinking I’m good to go, but one can never tell.  Diana, of course, has put in a good word for me. 

                                                                  WILD BLUEBERRY BLOOMS?

I seem to remember some bloggers like Gypsy mentioning that they really like Biscotti.  I’ve never really had it before, so when I saw it at Publix this morning on the buy one/get one free table, I decided to try it.  I don’t need two boxes of it since I didn’t know if I’d like it, but at Publix if you only buy one you get it for half price.  I chose a package with cranberry/pistachio Biscotti.  I tried a piece tonight, but the jury is still out.  I’ll see if the taste and dryness of the bread grow on me.  Do you like it?

Thanks for stopping by… talk to you later,  Judy