My first knit sweater

After a over week of hard work, and new challenges with knitting, I finally finished my first sweater.  I made it for my dog, Max, and it turned out amazing.  I was so excited to put it on him, I didn't even get a chance to take a picture of it, but this is what it looked like.  It ended up being a little big on him, so me and my mother-in-law sewed on some elastic so it would fit him better.  Max loved it!! He was so excited, that I decided I let him out so that he could show it off.  Then 15 minutes later little Max came back, but the sweater didn't.  I looked everywhere for that sweater, walked down every street in the neighborhood, for an hour with no luck.  It's gone forever.  All that work for only 15 minutes of wear.
I hate to say it, but I just have this feeling that someone took it off of him.  It couldn't have been that easy for him to wiggle out of it, could it? So sad.  :(

Macedonian home remedies for a cold & sore throat

Cold and flu season has arrived, and I've picked up a terrible cold & sore throat.  However, my wonderful Macedonian parents have instructed me on some interesting home remedies they use and I thought it would be interesting to share them.

MK Remedy #1.  Tea with honey and freshly squeezed lemon. 

Not sure why, but my mother-in-law always tells me to wait until the tea has cooled before adding the lemon and honey. 

MK Remedy #2.  Sliced lemons covered with sugar. 

"Lemon drop" minus the vodka. :)

MK Remedy #3.  1 tsp. of sugar mixed with equal parts of honey and brandy (aka Rakija)

This is supposed to be really good for coughing & sore throat.

MK Remedy #4.  Hot Brandy (Rakija) & Black Pepper
          Another great remedy for sore throat, and usually done right before bed.You will need:

• 2 cotton bandanna's or hand towels roughly the same size (long enough to wrap around neck)
• Home brandy (warmed)
• Black pepper

In the center of the towel add ground black pepper. Then roll the towel so that it may be wrapped around the neck & throat comfortably, pour hot brandy on the towel (be careful that it is not too hot); wrap the towel around the neck and throat.  Add an additional towel too keep the heat in, and go to sleep. 

MK Remedy #5.  Hot water & Salt 

Soak feet in hot water mixed with a few teaspoons of salt, when the water cools down, add more hot water.  Keep doing this until the heat reaches your head and your done.  (I'm a little skeptical about this one, but it's supposed to help with a cold.)

Fun Facts:
I was told at the Church of Saint George Monastery that, historically, people would scrap the eye's from the icons and use it to make potions.  They believed that the powder from the eyes of the frescoes was healing. 

The Slavic Smile

This was pretty funny and also a little sad.  I recently got married in the Republic of Macedonia and at my civil ceremony, my sister ended up taking a lot of the pictures.  A little background:  She and I are both American and my husband and his family are Macedonians. But my sister and I are a little different than my fellow slavic family members; we smile when we take pictures.  I'm already familiar with the mug shot look, given when I pull out the camera; and have become quite accustomed to it.  However, my sister didn't realize what was going on.  She was snapping away, and couldn't get a picture with everyone smiling.  After a few pictures, she decided she would take action.  She starts telling my mother-in-law, who doesn't speak English, to smile over and over.  I didn't notice she was doing this, or I probably would have burst out laughing.  Then when that failed, she started telling my father-in-law to smile.  But picture after picture, no one smiled, except for me.  After a few more attempts and motioning with her hands, she gave up and let it go.  Later when we got home she said to me, "Man I couldn't get Matza or Zike to smile in one picture. I even tried to show them how to smile."  I burst out laughing and said, "They were smiling." Btw, my sister's awesome  Canon camera took this picture. 

My Macedonian Wedding

If someone would have told me three years ago, that one day I would work in Afghanistan, meet my future husband, quit my job and move to the Republic of Macedonia and be married in a Christian Orthodox Church, I probably would have punched them in the face and told them they needed medication.  But, I would be wrong, because all of those things happened.

It's been forever since my last post, but between the wedding planning and paperwork for citizenship, it was too overwhelming to post anything.  But now that things have settled, I can finally digest what I went through.  I will start with the Church ceremony.


The ceremony was held at Saint Nikola Church in Kumanovo, Macedonia, on September 30th, 2011.