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After the New Year and with the recent and sudden loss of my father-in-law we set a few goals for 2019. Number one, our health. So settle in and sit down before I give you this play by play. My first experience with Albanian healthcare sent chills down my spine for the wrong reasons. Art had to update one of his immunizations for his visa back in February 2018 and we went to this small shack of a clinic. The scene was not pretty for someone that had spent the last 20 years working in healthcare. The immunizations were kept in ice cream coolers, the were no gloves in sight or hand soap or hand sanitizer, no sharps container for the needles (just threw them in the trash near the door), and the bathroom pretty sure had not been thoroughly cleaned in years (no toilet paper, no toilet seat, and no SOAP). I wanted to bathe my husband in rubbing alcohol upon exiting the clinic. So going in to this years health goal I was a little on edge. Health Insurance coverage for both of us for a year cost $278. It covers two annual check-ups, emergency coverage (ambulance and visit to ER) and some specialty visits. It is for one specific private hospital but healthcare in Albania is socialized so citizens can go to any public hospital for care. We weren't sure of how to schedule so my husband made a call, the answer blew my mind. It is open Sunday-Saturday 8-6 walk-in, no appointment required. We live two hours north of this hospital, we fasted the night before and left before 8 am. When we arrived we checked in filled out a single form, took copies of our insurance card and ID, and then we waited maybe 10 minutes and were called to do our labs. Quick, clean and painless, next we were escorted to another floor where we both had EKGs, a consult with the cardiologist and complete History and Physical. I was able to go and complete my yearly gyn visit and even received another order for an ultrasound, old softball injury to the left chest. We followed the instructions to the basement and made the appointment for the same day just a few hours later which was great because we were HUNGRY. We left and went to his sister's for lunch and came back received the ultrasound, all good by the way and then we met with another doctor to discuss our lab results. I also received a Dermatology consultation again SAME DAY. We left the hospital with the only bill which was for the Dermatology consultation $20, results and peace of mind. The staff for the most part was able to speak English so my visit was a breeze, the facility was clean and up to current standards. Healthcare abroad not so scary after all. So January is the coldest and also wettest month to date for me in Albania. We received the first real snow accompanied by loud thunder, yes THUNDER SNOW, I initially thought it was an avalanche. The amount of snow that typically falls in this valley town is a dusting at best but this was an exception, it snowed for three days. We made the most of it via snowball fights with the kids next door, a true and honorable snow queen of the vines and snow angels. After the snow came almost two weeks of rain, our yard was a giant mud pit until mid February. Other year goals to grow what we eat, spend wisely and when only necessary and explore every nook of this beautiful country.

We have had my husband's family visit from the states but this spring I had my first visitor of non family origin visit from San Francisco, Lauren. We have been friends since freshmen year of college (19 years ago), we were proud residence of Freddy's 3WW. We have had several adventures through out the years but this was very special, showing someone my forever home for the first time. It started with a two night stay in Rome and then short puddle jump flight to Tirane, the capital of Albania. My husband played the chauffeur/tour guide to this adventure. On our way from the airport to our homestead we stopped at two castles, Lezhe and Rozafa and had lunch in a small but beautiful beach town Shengjin on the coast of the Adriatic Sea. The next day we spent exploring one of the most scenic drives from Bajze to Vermosh, a small valley town tucked high in the northern mountains of Albania. The drive includes a large overlook of a canyon, beautiful river, bunkers, snow, wandering animals, waterfalls and little picturesque towns along the way. One of my favorite routes to wander so far in Albania. Lauren could have spent hours wandering a trail we found along the way, next time my dear, next time. The following day we explored my town of Bajze from the mount behind the house, garden, the lake to the small cafes and shops in our small city center. We made our way back south stopping in the city of bikes, Shkoder to walk the main strip of shops and even found an artisan jewelry shop ran by the same family for three generations (Lauren is a master craftswoman in the art of jewelry) right across from a restaurant called San Francisco. And we spent the last night of her visit in Tirane since she had a very early fight out in the morning and had a feast at my sister in law's home. In true Albanian tradition she was fed until she literally could not chew any more. Next trip for her will hopefully be for much longer and with her husband and the college family, we would get to explore much more like the southern coast and even a few days hiking. My next visitors were from New Zealand hailed via bike all the way from Greece. They are on an epic bike trip from Greece to Scotland. My friend Johan and his beautiful wife Deborah stayed with us for just one night, they share the dream of one day homesteading in New Zealand and living quite similar to Art and I. We had amazing conversations and laughs through out the evening. To read more about their amazing bike trip check out their blog: https://tourtheeurope.blogspot.com/

Our small town borders a large lake called Lake Skadar. It shares borders between Montenegro and Albania. It is a fresh water lake fed by many springs and surrounded by mountains. It is a 15 minute bike ride to the lake's edge from our front door. Unlike the crowded lakes back in Missouri, when we visit the lake to fish or swim we are met with surreal silence with the exception of nature or a bird's call. It is peaceful and wonderful to relax and enjoy the scenery. The lake can be cold especially near the spring's eye but otherwise very refreshing on a hot day. We have had some minor success fishing. At one of our favorite spots there was an abandoned building that is now being converted into a restaurant and the other is a abandoned restaurant that was destroyed by a flood some years back but both locations are ideal for both swimming and fishing. Spring's Eye View from Montenegro looking back across the lake to Albania.

In total we had 27 baby chicks, 2 baby turkeys, 6 hens and 2 roosters in our poultry department this spring. By midsummer the count is 11 baby chicks, 2 roosters and 5 hens, loss to predators: two feral cats and either a hoot owl or hawk. The mother hens left their chicks about 6 weeks after hatching to fend for themselves. We left their shelters near our bedroom window so we could hear of any distress and several went missing without a sound, enter hawk or owl. Others we heard the distress but came to late to the rescue, enter said cats. The decision to move them to the larger coop with the hens and roosters in the back was made when we were losing a chick nearly every other day/night and the grapes are starting to ripen (the chicks like to roost on the vines). Let me set the ambiance of this scene. My husband has his big toes wrapped two days post op and can barely walk let alone run, it's dusk and light is fading fast and our yard is anything but level with lots of obstacles (random holes, fences, bricks, rocks, trenches, tree roots, etc). So we (my husband, his mom and I) gathered and corralled the baby chicks with the hens and the roosters towards the larger coop (shiny one on the right above) all good so far, but then it was like a game of tag. One would walk the plank almost into the coop and another would tag it, it would then a. fly and roost in the nearby fig tree or b. run flat out to the front yard. This ensued for an hour, dusk had faded and trip hazard increased by 100% we had only managed to get three of the baby chicks inside at this point and we were forced to start catching each chick one by one and placing them in the coop. Have you ever tried to catch a chicken? Have you ever tried to catch one in the dark without putting pressure on your big toes? It was MAYHEM. We managed to catch four more and place them in the coop, one decided to find shelter in an old coop so we secured and resigned to leave it there. We still had 5 on the loose, four had fled to the front yard to roost in the vines, we found and caught three but couldn't locate the last one in the front but did locate and caught the last one in the back. We walked the vineyard with flashlights twice trying but no luck. So 12 out of 13 were secured but as our luck would have it the night predator won and then their were 12. The following night we started the corral again as thunder was rolling in, the storm broke into a heavy rain storm so they were left to seek shelter or else. Well at around 2 am we hear a break in the rain and then the worst sound of distress. We saw the cat but were too late to save the chick so we are now down to 11 baby chicks. Free range chickens are a wonderful but it is a deadly game of chicken. Rest in peace my dears.