There is something about standing at the top of the world that takes your breath away. Maybe it’s the elevation. At 17,000 feet and some change, there’s not a lot of oxygen in the air, particularly if you’re used to living at sea level, like I am. Or, it could be the view. Not many […]
Tibet
Yakity Yak
Big Papa has an expression he’s fond of using.” I haven’t [insert phrase here] since the high slopes of Everest. For example, “I haven’t seen this many pigeons since the high slopes of Everest,” which is a true statement since we did indeed see pigeons at Everest Base Camp. So this past Friday as we […]
Lunch with a lama
Inky blackness greets my eyes as I step outside our hotel’s front door. My skin prickles from the intense sharpness of the cold air. As my eyes adjust to the darkness, I can see millions of stars filling the darkness, like a Pointillist painting. The Milky Way spills out in a cloudy haze. I feel […]
A monk and a fish
Thwap goes my hand, as I smack it down hard on the table, leaving one mortally wounded fruit fly. A remaining undamaged silvery wing twitches a bit before I flick my fingers and send the fly sailing over the table’s edge to its demise. Big Papa shakes his head. “I guess you haven’t completed your […]
Shepherd’s Pie
“Breeep, breeep, BREEEP!” The sharp piercing staccato of our fire alarm fills the airspace. Big Papa and I are making Shepherd’s Pie from scratch and setting off the fire alarm is part of our annual tradition. For each of the five Christmas seasons we’ve been a couple, Shepherd’s Pie has been on the menu. I […]
The Reward is the Journey
This past October, my husband (hereafter referred to as Big Papa) and I were fortunate enough to be able to visit Tibet. He was completing a work project that required a trip to Beijing and I decided to join him. We talked about taking additional time for a vacation after the project launched. Initially we […]