After we left there, we dropped Jan and Elif to visit a friend, Jane, in the hospital. We dropped them off and as Mina took a nap in her car seat Tolga gave me a nice tour around the parts of the city I had not seen. The area known as the “avenues” is the expensive part of the town and the houses certainly showed that.

We picked up Jan and Elif from the hospital and returned home. Around 2:30 pm, Marjorie, Susan, and Janice came to visit with us. It was very nice to see them again and they all looked wonderful. We immediately called Binnaz on Ojo and everyone enjoyed the almost face-to-face conversation. The joy was apparent in everyone’s face and heart.

After they left we all went out to Paris, a nearby French restaurant. Of course, Mina dressed for that occasion too from her haute couture selection. At Paris, I ordered a dry martini straight up. which turned out to be a mistake. First, the martini came in a rather smallish martini glass and with ice shavings in it and the glass was not chilled. I called the waiter and asked him to correct the problem as I did not want any ice. Ten minutes later, my smallish glass of martini came with a thimble size drink in it; it did not even come to the midpoint. I called the waitress nearby and asked her to remedy the situation. Five minutes later, the bartender came and told me that he could not serve, according to Utah laws, more than one ounce of drink. Fiasco! I immediately switched to wine. Then, my supposedlywell-done steak came. Oh, that was pink inside! I ate the outside and asked the waiter to take it to the grill one more time. The meat was good but simply not cooked enough for my taste. All in all, it was an enjoyable evening with the kids.

Below are some photographs from today.

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Related posts:

1. Christmas and the next day
2. Tolga and Elif’s new house
3. Mina in her Annie Hall outfit

This morning, after the heavy snow of last night, Tolga went out to try the new snowblower Elif got for him. But it is a bit on the small side and he preferred the manual snow shovel. Elif helped him with the blower. I think the snow blower is going back for a little larger one. Now, Tolga is out using the blower to make the finishing touches on the driveway. Mina went out with them for a while and enjoyed the snow.

Christmas and the day after

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Related posts:

1. French food day
2. Tolga and Elif’s new house
3. Mina in her Annie Hall outfit

The second series will take you to Mina’s room with her canopy bed. She is very proud of her bed. It is also her play room when she is upstairs. It has her toys, a small table and chairs, and on another corner a giant leaf almost like a tent. I did not get a chance to photograph the leaf, perhaps will add it later on.

The third series is the basement, Tolga’s office, the large play room, laundry closet, Elif’s corner for her computer and crafts, and a large storage area that Sophia the cat loves.

They are off to a good start, new furniture is modern and practical. They need a few photographs on the walls (hints to self), and other small odds and ends.

Living room, dining room, kitchen

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Mina’s room and Mina in her play tunnel

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Tolga’s office, play room, Elif’s corner

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Related posts:

1. French food day
2. Christmas and the next day
3. Mina in her Annie Hall outfit

[Show as slideshow]

Related posts:

1. French food day
2. Christmas and the next day
3. Tolga and Elif’s new house

In the lobby of the concert hall, there was a small concert put on by the children, which Mina enjoyed watching. The kids did a very nice job and look very serious as they performed. After a sneak peek at Santa, who was seated in his chair in the lobby, we went up to the balcony where our seats were. From that vantage point, we could see the hall and the orchestra very nicely. Later, we found out that our seats were on the side of the balcony, very near the orchestra. That made the view even better.

Mina behaved like a real lady and watched and listened to the performance. Towards the end, Santa came to the stage and told all the kids how they should behave and what kind of cookies to leave for him on Christmas eve (chocolate chip, no nuts in the cookies). The music was very enjoyable, it put everyone in the mood and the Christmas spirit. Below are some photographs from this outing.

Mina Goes to Christmas Concert

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Related posts:

1. French food day
2. Christmas and the next day
3. Tolga and Elif’s new house