One of my very favorite parts of our trip to Turkey was a brief, but memorable experience with an elderly lady and her daughter who sit all day and make Turkish rugs to sell. I learned that a medium sized rug takes them about 90 days. They are made entirely by hand and these women come up with the patterns as they tie the knots. They were initially quite shy, so while I wanted to stay there and take about five million pictures, I also wanted to be respectful, so I only took a few. Much to my delight, the daughter motioned for me to come sit down by her and showed me how to tie the knots (which Geoff videotaped). It is certainly not an easy or quick task and I will never lament the cost of a Turkish rug again. We had very limited contact with Turkish natives in their element, much to my chagrin, so this was very special to me.

Meet Chloe. She works on a ranch most summers, spent another summer in China volunteering at an orphanage, and got her associates in her spare time. That’s right, she’ll be starting out at BYU as a Junior! And to top it off, she’s beautiful and fun to be around. I’m confident this one’s got a bright future ahead.

I know, I know, I haven’t posted in a while. I’m buried in work which is good, but is making me neglect a few areas in my life, which isn’t good. So, I’ll try to do better and keep this blog updated and hopefully very soon I can post some of the work that has been keeping me so busy! I plan on being caught very soon so I can fully enjoy Geoff and I’s trip to…TURKEY!! I couldn’t be more excited. We’ll be staying in Antayla which is on the coast. Thanks be praised for Geoff’s international conferences that I occasionally get to tag along on. Have you been to Turkey? Any recommendations? Anything I should know besides stay far away from Syria?