Apimondia

Apiculture is the art of beekeeping.  Bees are like livestock, and are kept for many reasons: for pollination, for honey and other products (wax, propolis and the bees themselves).  To us Southern Utahns, you might call it bee "ranching" ha.

Today after breakfast in our comfy room, we headed out to the Apimondia conference in Taksim square, north of where we are staying. We used our Istanbulkart transportation cards and hopped on the train, then the Funicular. (look it up).  It was difficult to get our bearings on Taksim square, but with the help of Athena's smart phone, we eventually found North and started walking.  It was cloudy and rainey off and on, so that was a good way to spend the day--inside.

Oh my.  Beekeeping is HUGE.  There were no representatives of the USA Federation of Beekeepers that I could see, but by golly, I think everyone else in the world was represented.  We had to stand in line a long time (about 30 Minutes) to get a one-day pass for me to attend, and we checked on the tours, BUT the highlight of the day was the exhibits.  It was a rather large exhibition hall. Not as big as World of Concrete Expo, but maybe almost as big as the ALA conventions, or close to it.  There was a world-wide representation, truly.   We wandered around and tasted honey, Athena visited with vendors, we just soaked it in. Then we went to find something to eat.  That was another long line.  Again, line  or "queuing" in the US seems way more polite and organized than lines or queues in other countries.  Pushy, pushy.  We saw such contrasts.  One guy in a line kept pushing himself ahead of us.  One guy bumped me almost out of the food line...but apologized.  Then later the fellow in front of me in line did hand me my cafeteria tray ever-so-politely AND offered me the last roll from the basket. I had to decline since I needed 2...so he took it. ha.

After we had lunch and felt a little rested, we went to attend a few of the sessions. I went to two and so did Athena.  It was huge, noisy, translators hard at work, short, didn't match the printed program.  But it WAS very interesting and Athena was thrilled to learn that she, as a small independent beekeeper who teaches and has 10 hives, has the very same concerns about the health of bees as the rest of the worlds' beekeepers, whether they are small operations or massive ones.  It's fascinating and we've had some interesting discussions on the state of the world, agriculture and health in general.


We meandered out of the convention center (it was very large) and found our way to Taksim Square and found---an antique book fair!  Or festival or something.  Dozens of booths all filled with hundreds and thousands of books.  Many were old, but not all of them.  It was fun to meander slowly through that.

Athena came to do Bee stuff and I work in a library and found  Book stuff. Cool, huh?

We had to rest after that. It was a long morning/afternoon and we had tickets to see the "Dervish Experience" that evening.  Another ride over the Golden Horn (it's the waterway between old town and new town, not the outcrop of land that may or may not look like a rhino horn) to find, in  the rain on new and different streets that we had never been on, the Hodjapasha Cultural Center.  With a little help from a pharmacist ("They won't try to sell us anything here") and another tourist from Eastern Asia, we eventually found it tucked in a little darky alley way!  But it is very popular and it was an interesting show.  Rather amazing at what they can do...but we didn't really know what to expect. We were both tired. We both nodded off at one time or another. I guiltily looked around and I don't think anyone else was nodding off. Perhaps were were just too tired.

And I was nodding off as I have been proof-reading this, so there won't be any captions on THESE photos tonight, either!  Just too sleepy. Tired. But we do rest well at night, so that's good.

We wandered the streets and alleys of Old Town Istanbul after the Dervish show and stopped at one little shop to find some little snack to tide us over.  Well, we just wanted dessert. They have a lot of sweets here. I wonder what kind of diabetes rates this population has.?   But, really, the Turkish Delight is very nice.  And so are the pastries.  They all drink sweet teas, but in very small amounts in cute tulip-shaped glasses.

The next experiences?  Tomorrow is Sunday and I'm going to attempt Church on my own and Athena's going to attempt the conference on her own. Then we'll head over to Old town to hopefuly see the Blue Mosque, perhaps ferry across the Bosphorus Strait and set foot on the Asian Side.  We feel as though we are old hands at the tram thing. Tomorrow I'll attempt the Metro (!)  It's difficult with very little sense of direction, but perhaps knowing where the Bosphorus Strait is will help.

 In one of the conference presentations.  Speaker is at the podium, the screen on the wall for the powerpoint, etc. is MASSIVE, but upstairs in the rooms behind the glass windows are where all the translators are working. Many people were wearing headsets. Oh, the presenters presented their talks in English!  The first one I heard was from Tanzania, but his accent was very difficult for even me to understand. Next fellow was from Australia. Much easier.

 Athena is holding an itty-bitty ice-cream cone - type cup.  And it was used for honey tasting at the (below) Honey Bar.  Those jars are filled with honey and they put some in the little edible cups for us to sample. 

 Other venders just had little teeny plastic spoons that we could sample.  And really, there wasn't all that much honey eating going. on.

 The exhibit hall spread all over, and parts were massive.  Other parts were cramped and crowded.

 Look at those silly ladies behind us with the bee costumes on! ha. One lady teaches children beekeeping and they were from somewhere in Russia.

 There was a children's art contest that was going on.  Cute stuff.

 I found a loom. There was someone weaving at it earlier. But I do gravitate toward fabric.  And I did to this exhibit, especially since we are going to that town that was featured in this booth when we travel to Asia for the beekeepers technical tour later next week.

 This was the other part of that booth, above and below. Lots of honey comb-shaped boxes and shelves.

 And tiny beekeeper outfits.

 There were quite a few booths with huge commercial machinery for commercial operations.

 And Athena attempted to document it all!

 Book Antiquities Festival.

And someone needs to find those words in Google Translate and tell me what it means.

Istanbul, Day 2

It was a BUSY and full day.  We had breakfast in the hotel lobby area. European and nice. Different. Cucumbers and tomatoes, granola, yogurt, scones, fruit.

We went to the Tram Station at the bottom of our very very steep street.  Honestly, I am huffing and puffing after a trek up that hill to our home away from home!  But even going down is rather treacherous due to fast traffic, cars parked on sidewalks and uneven walkways.

We had some help at the terminal to buy our rail/bus/ferry/metro cards. It was complicated, but we did it.  We boarded a tram to the old town area and got off and tried to get our bearings.  Eventually we opted to have a guide take us through the Hagia Sophia and the Basicilica Cistern.  Interesting.  Very old. Very facinating. Hagia Sophia was a Basicilica once, then a Mosque and now a Museum. But it doesn't fit my idea of a museum as a display of art or artifacts.  This is a very old and empty building. But the walls and ceilings are filled with art. And I was captivated by the doors, actually. And floors. Marble, marble everywhere.

We went to lunch at a cafe and enjoyed people watching, noon-time Islam preaching along with calls to prayer. We walked past a number of shopping areas. Lots of rugs. ha. And we wandered through the Blue Mosque's outer courtyard and grounds, but it  was closed for Friday worship. It's like their sabbath. It's really big and we hope to enter it tomorrow.  Aftern lunch and the mosque, and picking up some dessert at a shop, we went back to our room. We're getting the hang of the rail transportation. It is fun to see the old OLD wall the tram goes by and all the other interesting shops.  On our trek up the hill, we stopped at the little store down the street and bought bottled water and I hauled that  up the hill. Whew!  And a few pieces of fruit.  We spent the rest of the afternoon poring over maps and the Apmondia website to figure out how to get where we needed to go tomorrow to inquire about conference goings-on.

In the evening, we had an appointment to have dinner at a local home. We met our guide down near the old town area, he showed us around on the map first and then we went walking around and around. Suilyemen couldn't have been any nicer and we had a lovey time. Sariya was our hostess, she has 3 children and was delighful. Traditional Turkish food.

After that dinner, I went to a Hookah Bar. Bet you never thought you'd hear those words slip from my fingers! ha.  I abstained from tea after dinner, as well as the apple flavored smoke/steam from the shisha pipe.  We also were taught how to play Backgammon. It was a very full evening, with hikes up and down very steep streets of cobblestone, and a bit longer.  Long day, nice folks and good food. Basic food, actually.

And I'm beat.  If I can find any decent photos, I'll post them.  If not, go find Athena Contus' Facebook page because she posted some stuff there of us.

In front of the Blue Mosque

Inside the Cistern

Inside the Hagia Sophia. HUGE doors!!

Hagia Sophia. One cleaned marble pillar, other marble pillars NOT cleaned of all the centuries of soot and smoke from candles and lamps used to light the interior.

You can see the remnants of crosses that had been covered over in the window area. Crosses from when it was a Christian building; covered over when it became a Muslim place of worship.

Massive big halls, doorways, marble, and little signs on the walls indicating where inspections have taken place to show where things are safe (or unsafe?) for earthquake. Or damaged from earthquake?  They were inspection signs, at any rate.

Lots and lots of scaffolding in the interior as they continue to restore, uncover, clean.
Below is a closer shot of the cleaned pillar on the right.

Linda and Athena's Excellent Adventure in Isatanbul, Turkey. September 2017

Is it really all about food?  Not really, but that's where I'm going to start.

Perhaps it will be better to start wit the TRAVEL. It takes a lot of travelling to get from Cedar City, UT to Istanbul, Turkey.
Tuesay, September 27, I arose at 2:30 am to get up, washed, dressed and out the door by 3 am. Mike drove me to St. George to catch the 4 am shuttle to the Las Vegas Airport. I was there in plenty of time for my 7 am flight in terminal 3. I wasn't even hungry, it was so early. I'd expected to grab a Cinnabon or something, but I didn't. I flew from Las Vegas to Chicago, where I had a 3 hour layover. I bought a paper, read it. I ate my banana and 2 huge pumpkin/chocolate chip cookies for breakfast (equavilent to a muffin, I figured). I walked the concourse a couple of times. Then I rode/walked to another terminal when they made a gate change.  Then I caught a flight from O'Hare to Logan airport in Boston.  I had to change terminals via bus, find Turkish Airlines and get checked in and get my boarding pass. I was there by 7:30 or so; my flight left at 11:30 pm.  Again, lots and lots of time in airports, but I would rather have it that way than have to be dashing and risk missing flights.  I also still somehow manage to have my TSA pre-check, so that is nice.  However, I was  not able to keep my rolling carry on with me.  Turkish Airlines said it weighed too much, so I had to check it. Darn.I like having all my luggage with me. I felt kind of like I was missing something after trailing it behind me all day long...and now NOT having it. And having to shoulder my bag instead of riding it atop the rolly one. And all my makeup was in that bag I just checked, so I rather looked a fright for the remainder of our travels.  No biggle.

 I decided to have dinner at this airport, so I had a crab cake with salad and rice at Legal Eagle Seafoods.  Seemed like a good thing to do in Boston!  Yum. 
Then I eventually headed down to the gate Where I awaited Athena's arrival.  We had a fun visit all the way...well, half way to Istanbul.  We haven't see each other in several years, so it was nice to catch up and just chat.  We also ate and slept on the plane. It is an 8 hour flight from Boston to Isatanbul, two meals are included. I ate both. Oink, Oink. But I really hadn't eaten much on Tuesday. I definitely made up for it on Thursday. I did manage to get some snoozes in on airplanes, shuttles and buses through the course of the days of travel, so when we arrived in Istanbul, I could still function. Sort of.
 We eventually made it through the Istanbul airport and customs and found our driver who took us to the hotel.  The hotel is lovely!  Our room is a roomy suite with one king bed, kitchenette, living area--and views!  Oh, the views.  Amazing. I took those photos on my camera, so it'll be a while before I can get those posted on here, but here's one shot of the room.  Central tiled pillar with bed on far side, windows on two sides, posh modern bath.  Just lovely.

Two tired bodies at the Logan internationl Airport in Boston.  The adventure begins!

Our hotel desk person, Burak, checked us into our room and offered to make reservations for us. He asked what we liked to eat. I said, "Everything, anything." He asked if we were vegetarians. We said, "Oh, no. " "We love meat,"  said thoughtless me in an Islam country where most people are basically vegetarian most of the time!! Yikes. So thoughless. So, poor Burak kept that in mind when he made reservations for us at a kabob place down the road. It sounded fine.  Well, it was a FINE restaurant, but totally devoid of customers.  Number one, because it was very late at night, 7:30 ish. Number 2, many/most folks don't eat a lot of meat.  Honestly, our waiter just hovered. I felt really bad that we didn't order a main dish of kabob, but we really just wanted a variety of the appetizers, so that's what we had.  He brought out a sample tray with about 15 options on it, so we selected 5 that looked good, we had lovely pillow bread, plus he brought out a couple of extras just as 'a gift from the kitchen'... and we ordered no meat and no alcohol.  And I think the gratuity was included in the bill, but it was hard to know since I don't speak or read Turkish.  We paid in Turkish Lira and walked back to our hotel.
The views come with a price.  There may be a tram station on the next block (convenient), but our hotel is UP a very steep hill from it.  VERY steep.  Had I not been practiced in doing stairs each day at work, it would have killed me to do that steep hill with uneven walks and treacherous streets. And we're at sea level here basically. Easy Peasy. We'll see how I feel about that in a few days after trekking across town through all these hills!

Our adventure of the day: crossing the street.  The tram way tracks are in the center with vehicle traffic on both sides. Pretty normal.  There is a cross walk with pedestrian lights.  The people just cross when it is clear, no matter if the light says so or not.  Well, it was clear so we crossed the car lanes with everyone else (but a bit slower than they were) when it was clear--only to have to stop before the train tracks because the electric tram was quickly pulling away.  So there we were with a tram whooshing by about 10 inches or less from our noses and toes and traffic whooshing by about 10 to 12 inches behind our backsides.  I think I will cross with the lights from now on, no matter what the rest of the more local population is doing.

When we came back from the restaurant, we headed to the very top of our building which has a roof-top garden.  Even more spectacular views--again, those are on my camera and it was a night, so they may be just big blurs.  I was impressed. The weather is mild. The traffic noisy, our room quiet with air-conditioning so we can keep the windows closed.

I'd like to say I slept well when we fell into be at 9:30 pm.  And I did, but only for about 5 hours.  So I'm blogging at 3 am Istanbul time.  Already the traffic is buzzing outside. 

Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes

Head:

Thursday, I took some time off in the morning to go get a hair cut. Same-old, same-old. [but my selfie skills are improving!]

Shoulders:
 [blank]

Knees:

This is my knee with a little hole in it.  I actually fell down at work last week.  So very embarrassing.  I was just getting up out of a chair and tripped on my own foot/shoe. I went down about as fast as I was trying to go up. Thankfully, it was not to go help someone at the front desk, so there were no witnesses. I said in stunned pain, "Ow. That hurt," and got up.  But I did notice that many heads out in the lobby turned. I made a rather large noise when I hit the floor with my hands and knees.  I moved the little rolling desk I was sitting at, the chair banged and rattled, AND I dumped over empty iPad boxes that were stacked on the floor under the little desk, AND knocked over a pile of books and they hit the floor, too.  Like I said, "how embarrassing." I expected a large bruise to form, but it did not. Just a little skinned, carpet burn sort of teeny wound. Lucky me. (there was one witness--a student worker was sitting nearby and heard me go down, but didn't actually witness my stupidity and clumsiness)

Toes:

On the day that I got my haircut, I also made an appointment to have my toenails painted after she was done with my hair. I seldom take the time to paint my nails because it takes a while for me to do it so they dry enough to not be smudgey. That was THE Best one dollar I've spent in a good long while. Yep, one dollar at Evan's Cosmetology College to have your nails just painted.  I didn't opt for the full pedicure treatment. Honestly, my heels and feet are in some of the best shape they've been in for a long time. I just filed the nails smoothly and evenly before I went. AND, she did it really fast!  15 minutes and I was out of there in my flip flops, drying them more thoroughly on the bike ride home. ha.  Or, rather, back to work.

Library Books and the Red Shelf Raiders

Hello all.  You know I work in a library.  It's a medium-sized academic library.  Not small or tiny, but big enough. I've worked here for about 22 years now. I've been in the same department doing the same things for that many years.  Things change. People Change.  There is plenty of change in technology alone to keep things interesting.

Libraries are organized.  They are organized very meticulously so people can find things.  We've worked hard all summer really doing a thorough inventory of EVERY book in the Main collection on the second floor. It's a lot of items. Student workers have scanned book barcodes by the thousands every day to make sure the catalog record is correct and that things are neat and tidy.

At the end of each long range of books is a sign on the wooden end panel that indicates what call numbers are located on on that range, with a note that clearly states that one should "place used items on any red shelf".  There are red shelves at the end of every range of books.  They're everywhere.

Neatly organized books, ready to go up to the stacks to be reshelved. Yep, they go up by the cart load.

An end guide. Most of them in the stacks don't have thermometers and sticky notes on them. This is the RESERVES stacks behind the front desk. We're special. (And one year when the A/C went out, I wanted PROOF that it was blazing hot in my work area!)

But today....ohhhh, today.  What a day. Yesterday, (Thursday, actually) my student worker reported that she had seen some boys upstairs on the second floor while she was working and they were taking books off the shelves and placing them on other shelves. Or on the same shelf. Or on a red shelf. But they were NOT using the items! They were just walking around, taking books off the shelves and moving  them!  She is very shy, she was in a hurry to get off to class. She didn't talk to them.  I forgot about it until this morning when I went to gather some items from the second floor.

Oh. My. Goodness.

Someone really had been just maliciously and randomly moving and shifting books around!! I have never seen anything like that in all my years here.  I picked up close to 50 . I found stacks (like a large handful) placed at the ends of shelves after the book end, so they kind of look like they are on the shelf correctly. But they are not. I found L in the B section and P in the H section. And more. Stacks of books, individual books. On red shelves and not on red shelves. I found items that were pushed clear through to the other side to an empty shelf--now backwards and on the wrong side of the stacks. Books were all over. I was so steamed.  But I was not nearly as steamed as my student worker who has done a large bulk of the scanning and organizing lately.  SHE was livid. She said, when I reported this incident to her and some other library workers, "If I see someone doing that when I'm up in the stacks working, can I confront them?"  And my answer was kind of mild, "Well, I would prefer that you get a supervisor for that. We could go and talk with them and find out if they are having difficulty and explain how this ruins things for the rest of our library users if the items are no longer in order."  "Oh," she said. "That is way more mild that what I would have said."
"That's not what I WANT to say to them, " I explained.  "We have to not burn our bridges and make enemies for the library, etc.  Would you like to know what I'd really like to say to them?"  And of course they all said, "YES."  And it was just what they would have wanted to say as well. Mild-mannered Library Ladies we are NOT. Mess with our books and we get steamed.

Some people can be so mean and cruel.  Most of the books are still in order. I think. I mean, we don't really know for SURE unless we go up and shelf read and re-read every single call number . AGAIN.  AAARRRRHHHHGGGGGG.

But, on a happier note, Natalie made this pink piggie in class. Yes, she pays thousands of dollars in tuition and fees to build pink paper piggies in college. Then, she put it in her "cubby". Ha. She's really an elementary education major. They DID make pigs in her class and the "cubby" is where our student workers store their backpacks while at work.

And SOME times, I just really need to sit down at my desk and GET THE WORK DONE instead of letting it pile up all day.  I'd rather take pictures of cute pink piggies and end guides with thermostats!

Dog Days of Summer

 Summer will be ending soon. I'm kind of sad.  But I have been very HAPPY about the peaches that came off our tree!  This is the last bowl full I picked this morning. They are small, but oh-so-yummy. I only bottled a dozen quarts and we've eaten all the rest.

I know that summer is ending because it's time for the Iron County Fair. Berenice entered some paintings. She won ribbons on both of them. She got a sweepstakes purple ribbon for a painting of Zion canyon and a yellow "Judges Choice" ribbon for the waterfall painting she did.

On the drive home, I was thinking that I should have entered my weaving of Twin Islands in the fair.  I kind of thought it turned out cute.  Or maybe my "Ella Witch" fabric collage from last Spring's class.  Oh, well. Too late, now.  I wouldn't have had time to take it over and enter it on the proper day.  I didn't even end up going with Berenice to enter her paintings--we had Eric do it instead.

******              *****************                    *****************              **********

Random stuff to make my kids laugh. Or be embarrased. Or perhaps *I* should be the one who is embarrased!

I noticed when getting a drink while brushing my teeth that my bathroom cup matched my shirt. Perfectly.  And here's a picture to prove it.

 And summer days and nights ARE hot. Eric walked by and thought this was cute so he took of picture of us laying in our messy bedroom, napping on Sunday afternoon/evening. While holding hands. I asked him to try to NOT include the clutter.  Welp, that's pretty much impossible in my house.

 If that box (photo below) of an Atari Video computer system from early 1970's really does have an Atarie Video Computer System in it, would it be worth any money? Like, you know, as an antique-y  sort of thing?  It's out in the fruit room at Mike's Mom's house, way up on a top shelf. I just happened to notice it when I was putting some canned peaches out there. I remember playing PONG!  I really do. I am that old, and it was really that fun. :-)  Truly.

 Below are some photos of the O. C. Tanner Amphitheater in Sprindale, Utah.  Eric obtained tickeds for a free concert by the Utah Symphony and Mike and I and some of Eric's friends joined him.  The Symphony was touring the state in a few days, hitting a few rural areas, and our area was one.  Well, Springdale is not as close as Cedar Breaks, and that was one other venue they were doing with a small chamber ensemble the next night or so.  It's a fast tour over about 4 days, but really fun-sounding.

 I had never been to the Springdale Amphitheater before, and it's been on  my bucket list for quite some time.  Perhaps August is not the best time to see an outdoor performance down by  Zion National Park, as it was scorchingly hot, but we survived. I attempted some selfies, but my rear camera is partially obscured by my screen protector (it was my first time applying one to that size of a device), so most photos were dull and fuzzy.  But the one below is clear because I peeled back the screen protector for at least one clear shot of the rocks, etc.  The concert was great.  I do love the symphony and the Utah Symphony is superb.  Thanks to Eric for sharing tickets and letting us share that experience. We went on August 29, Damian's Birthday. So that's how we celebrated his birthday! ha.

Below: I think this is one of the first bowls of peaches that I picked.

Another thing we did last week was attend the Cinema. Mike and I went on Friday September 1 to see "Dunkirk."  Good show.  Very intense war film, but we liked it. We even had popcorn!  Two dates in one week.

I was assigned to stay late at the Utah Shakespeare Festival for my ushering shift on Saturday night, s. I got to see for the first time "Shakespeare in Love."  They did a good job with it and I liked it. It was cute.  I have managed to see almost everything I wanted to see this season.  There's only a few more days left, so I may not ever get a chance to see "Treasure Island." I think it closes this week. I even have two more vouchers left.  AND, I have access through work to get two free tickets because I work at SUU. Tuesday or Wednesday for "Shakespeare in Love" or "Romeo and Juliet". Any takers? I'd like to see the "Long Lost First Play by William Shakespeare", too.  Oh, so many plays, so little time.

We'd really like to squeeze in a trip to the temple this week, too.  It closes in St. George for maintenance on the 11th of this month.

The 11th.  Of September.  Two weeks prior to that, as I checked out books in the Library, I'd really have to stop  . . . and try NOT to say, "Thanks! Your books are Due September 11th" and instead say "two weeks". Or anything besides "September 11." It still just makes my heart hurt to say those words.

But I LOVE checking out items on March 1, because then when I tell them their books area due March 15 and "beware the ides of March," well, it's worth the one or two smiles it evokes during the course of the day.  But really, just one or two?  It should be way funnier than that, right? ;-)
And I am just a Shakespeare nerd this time of year.  Peachy!