Stephanie and I just got back from a fun weekend in Vilnius, the capital of Lithuania. Steve and Betsy Dintaman, who used our car this summer, offered to keep the kids for us. This meant we could be out late and do grown-up stuff.

We left after class on Friday, arriving in Vilnius around 8:00 pm. We stayed in an apartment in the Old Town, which was cheaper than getting a hotel. We were just off of one of the main boulevards and everything was within walking distance. That night we walked to an Azerbaijani restaurant that was quite nice. Food in Lithuania is usually not spicy at all, so it was great to have a spicy meal. We then wandered down to a British style pub and chatted for a little while.

The next day, we headed out mid-morning. Our first stop was a nice cafe in the Jewish section, where we had some coffee and pastry for breakfast. We then took some time to explore, ending up down on Gedimino Prospect. We found a nice Czech restaurant for lunch and I had a delicious goulash. To top it off, I had a glass of absinthe, a liquor which is illegal in the United States. Any drink that you set on fire before imbibing is fun.

We then did what anyone would do when looking for a fun afternoon: we went to the Museum of Lithuanian Genocide. It is housed in a building that served as the KGB headquarters and prison during the Soviet period. Prior to that it was the Gestappo headquarters during the German occupation in World War II. The basement was kept the way it was during the Soviet period. The KGB left very quickly when the Soviet Union collapsed, leaving behind their equipment and documents. They have it set up to give a good sense of how prisoners were treated, how they were housed, and the torture methods that were used. Over 1000 people were executed here. It made me rather ill being there, especially knowing that my own goverment is engaging in similar practices right now. The upstairs is a museum on the Soviet occupation and the Siberian deportations.

We then headed back into Old Town for dinner. We went to a Medieval restaurant, which had a wonderful menu. I had beaver for dinner, which is one of the gamiest animals I have ever eaten. We even finished off dinner with acorn coffee, a drink that is surprisingly good. The drunk Norwegians at the table next to us really added to the ambience.

Sunday morning we went to St. Bernadino’s church, a church where I had worshipped two years ago. The church building has not yet recovered from the Soviet period, and it gives you the feeling of worshipping in a bomb crater. But it was a great service. Although the sermon was in Lithuanian, the preacher was very animated, and it was inspiring to watch him. It was a standard Catholic mass, so even though my Lithuanian is barely passable we were able to follow along. That is one of the wonderful aspects of set liturgy: even in a foreign language you can keep up. We then found a Lithuania restaurant in a cozy little courtyard and had a nice dinner.

We drove back this evening and picked the kids up. It was a very refreshing weekend. It is a shame we have not spent more time in Vilnius. Usually on breaks we head out of the country to visit other places, so it was good to get to know our adopted country a little more.

If you want to see pictures from the weekend, check out the Vilnius 2006 album in our photo gallery, which can be accessed by a link on the sidebar to the left.

My first blog ever. Kevin thought I’d never get around to it. Well, you know how it is with old fogies like me. This new technology is intimidating. For my first post it seemed apropos to discuss first days - of school that it.

Both our children have begun classes at their respective schools. Emma in nursery school and Duncan in second grade. Here in Lithuania September 1st, the first day of school for everyone, is a VERY important day. The children all dress up in the best clothes (usually suits for boys) and they bring flowers into their teachers. There are ceremonies and speeches and even the parents dress-up and attend. It’s a big deal.

If I figure out how this blogging thing works, you should be able to see a couple of pictures of the kids taken on September 1st. If I had planned things better, they’d be in the same picture, but since their schools began at different times, they were in their dress clothes at different times. Either way, they sure are cute!

  If I feel loquacious again, I may offer another post soon. Blessings!

It’s the great cat hunt, take two!

Yesterday, we went to the market here in Klaipeda and got a cat. Just today, I named her Abby, which is short for Acrobat (which she is). Ever since we got her, she has been jumping around, following toy mice, and batting at the chair legs. She is able to jump into the weirdest places. She jumped from the window sill onto the table. She also climbed onto a small wooden bar and was hanging under the table.

The day we got her, we showed her her new kitten house. It has two platforms for her to climb on, and two scratching post. One of the platforms has a toy mouse hanging from it, and she hung from the scratching post with all four paws off the ground in order to play with the mouse.

As you can see from the picture, she is black and white. I first thought about naming her Chessie (because she looks like a chess board). The white spots on her belly and chest are in the shape of diamonds.

She is a very friendly cat and very active. She explores every nook she can find. She likes to sit on the chairs under the kitchen table, where she feels safe. But she likes to cuddle too. One time, I took her off one of the platforms on her house and put her on my lap, and she stayed there very still and let me pet her.

Emma told me to write that she likes the cat too!

I am sorry to report that Sphinx has died.

Over the weekend, Sphinx was never very active. We thought at first that it was because she was in a new place and was uncertain. But she was not eating, so on Monday we took her to the vet. He diagnosed her with a viral infection, which she probably got at the animal shelter. He gave her several shots and said she would probably get well, but by Monday night she was even weaker. I slept most of last night with Sphinx on my chest because she had no body warmth of her own. This morning she was completely lifeless and could not even stand up. We took her back to the vet, looked at her eyes (which were unresponsive) and said she would die soon. We had the vet put her to sleep to avoid suffering, as she was having trouble breathing.

We have since learned that although the shelter is run by the city, it is run as a for-profit business and the owners pocket most of the money. The viral infection that Sphinx had will probably kill a number of the kittens there and the owners will do little about it. We are looking into ways to advocate on behalf of the animals there and try to get some oversight from the city.

Duncan and Emma are understandably upset. Their first cat lasted only four days. Duncan is taking is especially hard. He requested that we have a funeral tonight, which we did. Our reading was from Ecclesiastes 3:16-22.

We have since located a better place for buying a cat, so we are going there tomorrow to try again.

Yesterday, we went to the animal shelter and got a new kitten. Her name is Sphinx. She is about two months old and she has a lot of stripes on her, as you can see from the picture. I first wanted to name her ‘Stripey’. She has one big stripe down her spine, and then lots of smaller stripes on the rest of her body. She has pretty stripes coming out from the corner of each eye. But I decided to name her ‘Sphinx’ instead, because she looks like the sphinx in Egypt.

Last night, we kept her in the kitchen. She had a lot of fun exploring the house today, though. She has been somewhat shy, but very cuddly. Just tonight, we found that if I tied a string to a stuffed mouse that we bought today, she would chase it. I am teaching her to hunt for mice.

We are a little worried about her because she is so skinny and she has not been eating much. But she has gotten more active tonight, so we are not as concerned. She is drinking a lot of water, and already knows how to use her litterbox. We moved it to the bathroom today and she didn’t notice, so she peed on a lamp in the kitchen.

Today, we went out and got her a cat house and scratching post. But so far, she prefers to use us for scratching. She likes sleeping in her house. It has platforms above it so she can climb.

I have always wanted a cat. I was told for my birthday last spring that I could get a cat, but since we would be gone for the summer I had to wait until now. We are going to bring her back to America next summer when we come back. This last summer, we got a cat carrier, so we are prepared for the trip.