NOVEMBER 2006 (Costa Rica, Thanksgiving, Masterwork...)

November was a month to retrench.  The rumor mill continues to churn out the news that we may be going to Armenia – but we have yet to get any confirmation from the people who are the would-be employers.  Roger spent the month working evenings and weekends to develop a bank training program that he will be delivering to a group of bankers in Lusaka, Zambia, in December. Rachel has been practicing with the Masterwork Chorus, the wonderful amateur choral group out of Morristown, NJ.  She will be singing the (full) Messiah at with them at two locations in NJ (Bergen PAC and Morristown) and in NYC at Carnegie Hall in December.   R&R took a break with a pick-me-up trip to Costa Rica in the middle of the month (thank you Liz!!) and stayed for a few nights at the gorgeous Villa Caletas.    Thanksgiving was especially wonderful since the Peterson-Powickis were here for the better part of the week and so we all got a lot of Grant and Myles time.  We shared a nice Thanksgiving meal on Saturday afternoon.

OCTOBER 2006 (Hangin' in NJ, MA and wondering where we're going next...)

October was a very slow month, both of us looking for short term assignments to fight off the boredom while waiting for the next long term one to come through.  Roger made a couple of trips to DC and has started in earnest on a project for EMG for training in Zambia in December.  The project is called the PROFIT project. We had a fantastic visit from dear friend Maya Mateshvili, currently studying for her Masters at UNC, Chapel Hill – We managed to cover NYC (saw the Producers, what fun!), Philly, and some local shopping! Mom’s foot is healing well and by the 18th we were able to travel to MA to visit Lydia, David, Grant and Myles.  Grant is in a wonderful pre-school and we were there to celebrate his 4th birthday….and Myles is just the happiest, sweet-natured little tyke he’s always been. The rumor is that ACDI/VOCA has won the bid for the Armenia MCC project . The Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) is the US government-owned corporation responsible for the stewardship of the Millennium Challenge Account (MCA).  The Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) is the mechanism proposed by Bush to implement a new model for providing foreign aid to the world's developing nations.  Why they aren’t utilizing USAID (the branch of the government that has been doing this for 30+ years)? It’s a mystery.  We haven’t seen anything signed but we are trying to hopeful.  We’d love to go back to the Caucasus and especially Armenia where Rachel has worked and likes very much.  If this comes through we’d be heading out there in January 2007.

SEPTEMBER 2006 (Where are we?)

September opened with a very rainy Labor Day weekend at Camp – closing for the season with Lydia and David.  With fewer things to clean and store – the closing when smoothly, quickly, and easily, even in the rain.  After a quick visit with the Simpsons, and overnight with J&D, and Lydia, David and the boys, we looked at a little real estate in the Pioneer Valley and then headed home to prepare for September travel. Rachel was scheduled to travel to Equatorial Guinea for six weeks with a small team to help with an institutional assessment for the government but that has been put off.  She may work on the implementation of some training later in the year on that project. In the meantime – both Rachel and Roger are in the middle of juggling various short term assignments in places like Vietnam, Georgia, Moldova and Azerbaijan.  We celebrated Roger's birthday with an exquisite meal at one of NJ's finest restaurants, "Nicholas" - a memorable evening!  And....September finished with the elective surgery on one of J. Peterson's feet!  It was exciting to be involved and we have been glad to be here to help out during the convalescence... through October!

AUGUST 2006 (DC, Vancouver, The Olympic Rain Forest, Camp...)

August was supposed to be a vacation month for us…hmmmmm.  A day after our arrival in the US after three years in Georgia, we were on the train to Washington DC to see what the job market was looking like.  Our ideal is for Roger to find a long term position somewhere and then I’d work short term from wherever that may be.  After a week in DC, we hopped on a plane for Portland (OR)/Vancouver (WA) where Roger’s sister Chris and husband Jack live.  We had three lovely days with them traveling around the gorgeous Olympic Peninsula in WA State – including hikes through non-tropical rainforests, and some of the best Dungeness crab ever.  Then it was back to Vancouver after retrieving Roger’s mother in Olympia – for a 4-5 day visit with everyone there (including Janelle and Chris Wagner and sweet Hailey Christine!) - We had a wonderful time with the McGibbons that even included two LOVELY sunny Sunday afternoons on the Columbia River!) From WA we "coast-hopped" to MA to spend some time at Ridge Road Camp . There we spent a significant amount of time and energy painting floors, cleaning out kitchen, camp, and some of the cabin, and Roger [bless his heart!] worked to improve many of the working surfaces in the old kitchen! After a weekend on Martha's Vineyard (we took a rest at the High Haven B&B with Bill and Holly Carter) - we had a wonderful (if too short) week with the whole extended Peterson family (Evan, Marie, Melissa, Anthony, and Lydia, David, Grant and Myles - and Mom and Dad)...  and I'm happy to report that both the bluegill and toad populations suffered fewer losses than expected.

OCTOBER 2004 (USA, Tbilisi)

Roger left for Tbilisi on October 3rd, and our carrier and her sister arrived on the 5th (for transfer the next day).  It was two hours before her arrival to Newark that the doctors called with the bad news - ALL 12 of our embryos were genetically defective, most with multiple defects.  A crushing blow to be sure.  Our carrier and her sister spent three days with Rachel, keeping spirits up and touring New York City and the Amish countryside.  And after spending a long weekend in Leverett with Lydia, David and Grant, Rachel returned to Tbilisi on October 16. Having missed his wife tremendously during this period, Roger threw a welcome home surprise party for Rachel the evening of the 16th and it was a jolly, jolly time.  At midnight we went down the street to crash Roy and Cathy's party and had a ball and a killer hangover the next day! As the Georgian government struggles to get the country's new tax code in place, Roger is working hard to make sure that the government is aware of the effects of that tax code on the leasing industry.  It looks like his component will celebrate their first transaction between the nascent Georgian Leasing Company and a processor leasing a chestnut peeler! Rachel is hard at work with the IWA preparing for the Christmas Bazaar and Roger and Rachel both are heavily involved in the Tbilisi Christmas Chorale.  The end of the month's activities include a surprise birthday party for Amy Denman, a Halloween party hosted by Sabine and Anne Marie, and a Halloween afternoon spent with Sandro, Tamuna and Nana - playing board games.

SEPTEMBER 2004 (Istanbul, USA, IVF #7)

September began with good-byes to Terri, and a long weekend to Istanbul (Roger had an equipment trade show and Rachel tagged along).  We did some of the usual tourist things since we were also hosting two representatives from the Georgian leasing industry, but we also had some wonderful meals and did some interesting shopping. On the 5th, Betsy's hotel hosted the Annual Tbilisi Chili Cook-off, at which Rachel won a prize for the Best Original Recipe - and the judges included Mrs. Miles (the US Ambassador's wife!).  Having spent the better part of the summer deciding what to do about the family 'thing'.  We decided that since we had (contractually) one more dance on our carrier's card, we would give the IVF one more try.  Our carrier was particularly eager to try again and we had the assurances from our doctors that their labs would do genetic testing on all of the embryos so as not to repeat that last heartbreak.  Rachel got on a plane on the 18th and started a cycle the next day!  Lydia and Grant came in that weekend as a surprise - and what a delightful surprise it was for her!  Rachel was able to spend a lot of time with Evan (her brother) and his family during this cycle - including some baby-sitting, a sleep over with niece Melissa, and swimming lessons with nephew Anthony. Roger arrived on September 28th and was with Rachel for retrieval (15 eggs! 12 mature, 12 fertilized - great numbers!). The afternoon of retrieval Janet and Bob Granger drove up from Washington DC for two nights and a day of cho-die-dee, good wine, and lots of catching up and laughter.

AUGUST 2004 (Tbilisi, Terri)

Much of early August was spent in Tbilisi recovering from the sad news and enjoying friends around town and here at home by the pool.  Having never lived in a place with a pool before, we are surprised to find we really love having one... regardless of the work it can take. The best part of August was that our dear, dear friend Terri Kristalsky (see Aug '99-Nov '00, and January 2004, ) came to spend three weeks, ostensibly on a short term assignment for Chemonics on the GSME project - but really it was to visit with us.  Oh luxury of luxuries! Terri and Rachel completely surprised Roger and it was s gas from that point forward. Lots of parties, dinners, and happy hours - and it didn't take too long for Terri to make friends with the entire expat community in Tbilisi.  We even took her out on a rafting trip up on the Aragvi River - a wonderful afternoon. And the end of August was marked by a big celebration up at Betsy's for Sabine's birthday.  Johnny Saenz and the band played and Sabine cajoled Rachel to sing a few songs along with her and the band.  Roger was the official photographer and provided Sabine with a CD-ROM that she is likely to cherish for a long time.

JULY 2004 (Camp, Austria, UK, Black Sea, a miscarriage)

July started out beautifully in South Carver, MA at Ridge Road Camp where we enjoyed the company of Ed and Janice Lopes in addition to time with Lydia and Grant and Mom and Dad (Peterson).  We also received the news that our carrier was pregnant - would this actually be the trick??!?!!!  We were lucky with the weather and ate too many fried clams and steamed lobster in drawn butter.  Oh, did I forget to mention the 1273 trips to Erickson's Ice Cream Stand?  Sadly, they are being sold - what will next summer be like (with the exception of higher prices)?   We left the US on July 4th and ended up in Austria, where Roger spent two days visiting with the John Deere group in Schaffhausen (a lovely town and wonderful hosts).  We travelled from Austrian to Britain where we spent a quick three days in London so that Roger could visit the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development).  We ate ourselves silly there, too - in addition to some sightseeing (London Eye, etc.) and a chance to take the edge off the inevitable jet-lag.   Back in Tbilisi by July 12 to Matt Weber who had been dutifully house-sitting for us - and making the ultimate sacrifice and taking a swim every day. Life here kick-started to poker, singing, dinners, and for Rachel - lounging by the pool with lunchtime and afternoon guests (Tania d'Allonnes, a very pregnant Gina Holdar, Matt Weber, Sandro and Tamuna Tsintsadze, Christina Heyer and Dana Thomas and little Annika) in addition to the weekend and after work splashes with David K, Cathy and Roy, David Jones, to name a few.    On July 28th, our dear carrier miscarried and so there will be no baby next March.  Lydia Peterson (Rachel's sister) however, is expecting their second child in late February 2005 - so there will be another grandchild in the family - just not ours.  In addition, we received the news that Roger's niece, Janelle, is also expecting for mid-winter 2005.  We are glad that there are good people out there who are able to have children.     At the end of July, Roger and his team hosted a training conference on leasing out on the Black Sea in a little town called Chakvi.  The hotel we stayed in was typical soviet - horrible infrastructure, dirty grounds, non-existent service, awful food - but a survivable experience. Rachel found plenty of shells on the pebbly beach to bring home for the terrace.

JUNE 2004 (USA, IVF #6, Carrier from Heaven, Camp)

June was spent in the United States - going through all the complications of invitro - sadly, by now, this is all second nature, the shots, the hormone imbalances, the two weeks of daily treks (2 hours each way) to Abington.  And while we adore our reproductive endocrinologist and his staff - it is a long way to go and it is a painful process.  Our carrier and her family are unbelievably wonderful.  Two sweet little girls who are just troopers.  We did New York City, we did Philadelphia, we did the Crayola factory in Easton, PA, they did the water park at Sesame Place, etc... It was a crazy schedule but one that everyone was happy with.  Roger spent some time during his visit home in DC working and he also took a brief trip to Seattle to visit with his mother.   On June 18th, we transferred 4 embryos to our carrier - we are cautiously optimistic since we were unable to do any genetic testing on these and so our risk for miscarriage is, we believe, great.  She is delighted to be carrying for us and is feeling very positively about the whole cycle.  She is a real gift for us.   In addition to being in the IVF throes, we also got a lot of shopping done (clothes, kitchen items, all sorts of things that are unavailable in Tbilisi) and even had the chance to send a load of garden tools to a friend's brother in New York - to be sent out to Tbilisi later in the year.    The last week in June was spent catching up with Lydia, David and Grant in Leverett, MA and then off to Camp for a few days in early July.  Although the building that is going on around the pond (lake) is surely making my forbearers roll in their graves, the building is better than what we will be facing when the hoards move in by next summer.

MAY 2004 (Masked Ball, poker, singing, softball and Leasing is approved!!!)

Early May was wild with last minute ball activities - and the 2004 IWA Masked Ball went off without a hitch on the 8th.  Roy Southworth was our MC, and we ended up raising over $25,000 for the Street Children's Shelter in old town Tbilisi.  We danced the night away.   Lots of time was spent this month with Dr. Mike McCarthy (our local doc - American/Irish) getting all the tests done prior to the visit home in June for our sixth IVF. We are in constant contact by email and phone with our carrier - she and her family will come out for ten days of tourism and sightseeing in addition to the transfer in mid-June - we are all very excited.   It was a wildly social month with a weekly poker game (Dave Jones-World Bank Roads, Bob Evans - IREX, Donald McClaren - British Ambassador (really!), Darren Woodcock, UK EMbassy, Will Robinson, UK Embassy), weekly Okros Stumrebi practice, Saturday softball games at the hippodrome, and lots of other events (Betsy's Hotel's 10th Anniversary party, Krauss' Wheels Up party, Vanessa and John's good-bye brunch, not to mention dinners in and out).   At the end of the Month, Roger finally got his component's approval from USAID in writing.  He has been such a trooper - almost exactly one year after we arrived, he is finally approved to do all the work he has been doing and wants to do.  It has been a long hard winter for him, turning in explanatory papers and analyses and even designing power point presentations for use by USAID.  Congratulations - FINALLY!!   At the end of May, Rachel headed back to the US (for the first time in a year) to get all of the doctor visits started - Roger will join her in June.

APRIL 2004 (Tbilisi, gardening, pool parties, and Surrogacy Miracles)

April was another busy month with lots of dinners, brunches and evenings out.  We are spending 2-3 nights a week with Roy and Cathy and have been just delighted to have such good friends so close by (they live two blocks down!).  Rachel joined the Democrats Abroad and is happy to be in the company of lots of other sane people who are crazed by the destructive and lying current administration.  We'll do what we can from here (including getting people registered to vote).    The big work has been on all of the preparations and meetings for the Masked Ball in May.  Rachel also spent a week taking a silk painting class with a renown local weaver, artist, and teacher, Maia Tsinamdzghrishvili (say THAT three times fast). She produced a couple of neat pieces - one of which she will eventually make into a pillow.   We spent a couple of Sundays at Fady Asly's house at his (heated indoor) pool - a delight on grey cold days.  And Jim Holderbaum, from the ACDI/VOCA home office spent a week or so with us - always with at least one requisite late night of talking, laughing.   We also found and began to work with a small agency out of Coplay, PA (near Allentown) called Surrogacy Miracles.  They deal with both traditional surrogates and gestational carriers.  Since we have been textbook in all of our IVFs up to transfer, we are thinking that maybe the answer is to put our genetic embryos into a gestational carrier.  Never thought I'd have a child but no stretch marks!  Through Surrogacy Miracles we have found a carrier whom we like immensely. A young mother of two from Boise, ID (for her privacy I won't give her name). Hope is quite alive once again!

MARCH 2004 (Tbilisi, dinners, SAVE party)

March was cold and grey but we found ways to keep real busy.  Rachel spent a lot of time with Cathy, a trip to the infamous Lilo market outside of town (hundreds of freight containers full of junk (literally) from Turkey, Azerbaijan and who knows where else), and a nice tour of Tbilisi's old town with our IWA tourguide, Marina Nizharadze.   We had dinners with Roy and Cathy, Gerry and Mai, Tania d'Allonnes, Pat Fachot, Ed and Anne, and Dale Key visiting from ACDI/VOCA home office (thanks for the care package), also a visit from old friend, Paul Poletes who was in from Turkmenistan for a week (We enjoyed Paul and Katya's company in Dhaka!).   Rachel continued to sing weekly with Okros Stumrebi - the Georgian folk choir, made up of expats.  It's an interesting group, Americans, Brits, French, Germany, Belgian, Italian and more - all brought together by this beautiful music.   Finally, March was the month of the IWA Ball beginning.  To be held in early May, the IWA Masked Ball is an event that is one of the largest in Tbilisi annually.  We raise a significant amount of money for a local street children's shelter and we have lofty goals this year - over $25,000.  Rachel is the ball treasurer and expects to be busy on that for a while.   Lastly, on March 19, R&R hosted a party for the SAVE - now AgVANTAGE project team to celebrate the approval of the project contract (Roger's leasing section is still in review at AID, can you believe it?!).  Steve Johnson's people catered it and we played the name game - with everyone having a wonderful time.

FEBRUARY 2004 (home in Tbilisi: Opera, Bowling, Mardi Gras)

The better part of February was spent in Tbilisi at home and happy.  We met Roy Southworth (World Bank Country Manager) and Cathy McLain who became fast friends.  Old friend, Patrick Fachot joined the AgVANTAGE project as the Marketing Advisor.    Although Roger insists that he does not celebrate Valentine's Day (a Hallmark holiday) - Rachel got him ticket to see the opera - Don Giovanni (Mozart) at the Tbilisi Opera House.  Luckily we had the libretto at home so we could follow along without much difficulty.  The local opera company did a lovely job - in particular the male leads.   On February 19, the American Chamber of Commerce (Amy Denman) sponsored the public viewing of the movie "Power Trip" that documents the trials of the American power company, AES Corporation, as it tried to operate an electric company in an "environment of pervasive corruption, assassination and street rioting". Incredible interviews and footage...read about it here.   R&R ended up hosting a Mardi Gras Party on the 24th with Sabine Mau (US Embassy), David Kirvalidze (former Minister of Ag), Roy and Cathy, Rusty Schultz, and Paul Roberti (US Treasury) - Rachel made her first (but certainly not last) "King Cake" - and Cathy McLain got the coin and will be King for a year and host next year's Mardi Gras party.. At the end of the month we went bowling with Marina and Gevorg - yes there is a local bowling alley.  The lanes are lovely, the machines are as well, but interestingly enough, the balls are very old and dented and dirty (used balls brought in from the US?).  It was very amusing to play again after years (Roger kicked our sorry butts) and even more amusing to watch the Georgians bowl.  The standard roll was more of a toss and so the sounds of bowling balls cracking onto the alley surfaces kept us alert and ready to leave after two quick games!   Finally, at the end of the month, Rachel watched the Oscar and having participated in the annual Oscar contest with Debbie Ingram and Karen Casper and friends and family, tied for the win this year!  Lucky for her the winning prize comprised of a gift certificate to Amazon - the perfect prize.

[Eariler events diary.]