A "Weekend Warrior" Weekend with Dinner at Beteseb!

What a great weekend catching up with one of my BGCC roommates, Rosalie Franek, in Crofton, Maryland. She is currently training for an upcoming marathon in September and needed to run 20 miles. Considering we have a 10 mile loop inside the Crofton Parkway, I thought 2 loops of 10 (including running by the house) would be a good option. I did not run, rather rode the bike to keep her company, hold her water and an extra water bottle, and cheer her on until she reached 20 miles by golly! She was a champ out there, and even though we started early, the temperature was rising, along with the humidity, but she finished and did awesome!

We continued our "play date" with some relaxing pool time (which did include lap swimming) until she met up with the rest of her family in Baltimore (her son lives there). I certainly hope the swim time and being in the water helped her zing back to her natural energy and vitality! Running 20 miles on a hot summer day can certainly zap all the energy out of you for sure!

The following day we met up with her and her family for a superb Ethiopian dinner at Beteseb in Silver Spring, Maryland. A little celebration of congratulating the engagement of Josh Franek and Kristina Fabi and meeting her lovely parents. Out of the eight that joined us, only two of us had Ethiopian food before, but it seemed like everyone really liked it. Keeping with the culture, we did not use forks and used our right hands to scoop up the injera with the meat and vegetable toppings. I was thankful to use a gift certificate that I bid on (and won) at the Ethiopian Embassy in May to benefit the Aslan Project.

Interestingly enough, the owner of Beteseb, Ayneye, catered the Aslan Project event and was so captivated by the story of treating cancer children in Ethiopia that he volunteered on the spot to have his business be an auction item. I was the lucky winner, and could not be more pleased on the wonderful meal, service and overall magical evening we all had thanks to Ayneye.

I will end the post with a quote by Clevelander Jesse Owens:

"Awards become corroded. Friends gather no dust."

BSoleille! The bright side of old friends and new friends! And...the feeling like I was back in Ethiopia for a spell last night at the restaurant!

Terri

Rosalie with twins Don and Bill

At Beteseb: Rosalie & Tom Franek; me and Bill; Kristina Fabi with her Dad, Perry Fabi behind her, Josh Franek and Kristina's Mom, Lourdes Fabi

Our gang with the owner, Ayneye, seated next to Rosalie on her left.