It’s hard to know if the arrival of my mother- and father-in-law bought us local capital or just made people ‘round here wish they could swap Andrew and I out for an upgrade. Suffice it to say Kathy and Gary were a hit, and we’ll be hearing about how beautiful and wrinkle-free they are until August 2007. I’m not joking about that. We probably will.

Should also mention the diabetes clinic we did Oct. 10-12. We screened about 260 people for diabetes and one person for a really gross bald patch on her head. I hope to never see that thing again. Anyway, the clinic was a success. Every patient got a blood pressure check, blood sugar test, height/weight measurement, and one-on-one consultation with the good doctor.

Now, Andrew and I are going to conduct classes for the diabetics who attended and distribute blood sugar testers to those who qualify. Just one problem. The testers and about 1,000 test strips are hung up in customs and guarded by an underfed grizzly bear. If anyone knows how to tame said grizzly bear, please respond. Quickly. Andrew wants his arm back.

Enough about work. Everyone wanted to hospitality* the fam, so we ended up eating enough dolma to turn into dolma (Have you had this? Ground beef and stuff rolled up either in grape or cabbage leaves. Pretty tasty). We also drank enough coffee to turn into coffee, and over the coffee, exchanged stories of family heritage, work, and how the kids’ generation always has it easier than the parents’. Universal stuff.

To work off some of the hospitality, which has been settling into my hips for about 16 months now, we went on a hike. The hike took us from Jermuk, home of the healthiest water on the planet, to Gndevas, home of people my counterpart tells jokes about. It was about 14 kilometers, uphill both ways and so snowy we had to walk along the fencetops. Wait, wrong story. It was a pleasant fall day with no snow at all. At the end of the hike, there was a big old monastery, dating back to the 10th century.

... And along that hike I took the above photo of Kathy. She stands proudly at the base of the 2nd Most Scariest Stairs in the World. They’re made entirely of rebar.

-m