The Final Countdown: Survived Sunday, Four Dig Days to Go
We are a pitiful little team of eleven people, most over 50 (Linda and Irene are our "youngsters" these days). The Bad News: The work progresses much more slowly. The Good News: We’re done with pottery washing in no time!
Mark made a miraculous recovery from his intestinal problems on Saturday evening (helped by the prayers of many, E-mail advice from Dr. Anders, and a dose of Imodium). So I didn’t have to be interim site supervisor of the day again. What a relief!
I did, however, move up the ranks of volunteers today: from unskilled (I’m really good at emptying buckets, especially if people fill them two-thirds to three-quarters full) to skilled labor. After breakfast I was reassigned to work on mosaic preservation. This requires working on one’s knees or rear end, and actually required some patient training from Irene in the various steps to re-mortar loose tesserae (the pieces of the floor) and to fill in some of the holes. It’s too late to do restoration, so instead of filling the holes with the recovered loose tessera, we’re just cementing in the "blanks."
Why was I so exhausted in the afternoon? Must have been those two days as nursemaid. I’m happy to report Mark is back to his cheerful self. Many thanks to all for your concern and prayers!
Mark made a miraculous recovery from his intestinal problems on Saturday evening (helped by the prayers of many, E-mail advice from Dr. Anders, and a dose of Imodium). So I didn’t have to be interim site supervisor of the day again. What a relief!
I did, however, move up the ranks of volunteers today: from unskilled (I’m really good at emptying buckets, especially if people fill them two-thirds to three-quarters full) to skilled labor. After breakfast I was reassigned to work on mosaic preservation. This requires working on one’s knees or rear end, and actually required some patient training from Irene in the various steps to re-mortar loose tesserae (the pieces of the floor) and to fill in some of the holes. It’s too late to do restoration, so instead of filling the holes with the recovered loose tessera, we’re just cementing in the "blanks."
Why was I so exhausted in the afternoon? Must have been those two days as nursemaid. I’m happy to report Mark is back to his cheerful self. Many thanks to all for your concern and prayers!
1 Comments:
At 2:59 AM, Steve Chambers said…
Hi Rhoda;
Wonderful blog-- thanks so much for the time you're spending on it. I'm reading this at my parents' place in Vancouver, BC, where our family has been on holiday for a couple of days. If it's any consolation, the weather here is every bit as hot and muggy as it was in Ein Gev-- we hit 40 Celsius today.
Our prayers continue with you, Mark, and the rest. Until reading your blog just now, I didn't realize Mark's injuries (and subsequent malaise) had been so serious.
I've shared memories and photos of the trip with several small family groups already, and have at least three major presentations booked for the fall. The level of interest in this project has quite surprised me. Of course, the political/military situation probably has a lot to do with it... Still, any excuse to talk about this work will do!
Blessings;
Steve
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