OMG--less than two weeks?

Suddenly I have less than two weeks left to enjoy Yerevan. Where has the time gone and why do I feel an impulse to cram lots of stuff in at the last moment, feeling guilty somehow I haven't made the MOST of this (which explains a lot)?

Tracking down those folks who have been elusive contacts, being sure I get every possible concert in (3, starting tonight), trying to find a day to go to the Vatican of Armenia called Echmiatsin, getting in one more restaurant kitchen cooking lesson and one more IWAY meeting, finishing a baby sweater,  reading as many books as I can on Denise's Kindle before she takes it back, and yes, trying to figure out what I will say at next week's national social work conference about what it takes to be a strong profession. Oh! and going to the new GIANT mall that just opened here in Yerevan featuring Marks and Spencer and Carrefour as well as paying one more visit to the Vernissage for goodies to bring home.

Unique floral arrangements

Kitty wonders where the Batsat cafe went?

And you just thought I was lolling around. Well, if I have been, I blame the weather. With days still sunny and warm, my impulse is to be outside or at least have the windows open while I speed read. Wiser folks than I have started to batten down the hatches for winter even though nary a clue of it has been sighted. Flower shops stubbornly display fall arrangements. The cafes that frame life in Yerevan through more than six months of the year are closing. Life is moving indoors. Today I saw a premenopausal woman with a white wool scarf around her neck wearing a red down coat, while I chided myself for dressing too warmly in my lightweight track suit and long sleeved tee, no socks in my Merrells.

Even the ice cream vendor wrapped up the season

I'd stay and chat, but I only have an hour to read before dinner and the finale of the International Music Festival, featuring two pianists from Israel.