26.11.06

Guest Blogger #2 - the Father-in-Law

Wow! What a week! We have traveled to the other side of Planet Earth, and spent about a week experiencing a vastly different culture. We visited one of the seven wonders of the world, ate some taste bud tantalizing highly seasoned foods at several street side vendors and some nice restaurants. We were harassed on every side by beggars, walked thru ancient ruins, saw an edited version of the new James Bond 007 movie on the big screen, and met many of my son and daughter-in-law's new friends. We rode in taxis and auto rickshaws and experienced cows, elephants, bicycles, and monkeys, etc. sharing the same roads as we went. We drove thru the countryside but spent much of our time in unbelievable traffic jams. But the traffic jams were not bad because we talked and laughed and cried because we were able to spend the time together, and the weather was perfect. Now we are about to return to our home. This was an adventure that I will remember forever with great fondness.

Daughter-in-law and son are doing even better than before, now that they have moved. We must all remember though to hold them up to the Boss continually.

It will be hard to give hugs goodbye again, but this time it will be easier, because we have been blessed to get to see first hand how our loved ones are getting along, and they are getting along just fine! It looks like they will continue to be fine, too, after all, we are leaving them in the best Hands.
-the Father-in-Law

Real South Asia - by M-I-L

My oh my what a time we have had. Today we went to do more shopping in a taxi. Which seemed to be a rare breed. It was mostly rickshaws, bikes, or people on the street. We saw several traffic jams and such. Unfortunately, most of the shops were closed but what a sight to see. Of course, we were the only Americans there. We also went to eat a very nice restaurant with these wonderful chocolates "heaven". After that we got to go shopping again YEAH what bargains. There is so much to see that your eyes are full. Such beautiful fabric. Lots of hand embroidery and needlework. I was finally able to pick a fabric and buy some. Most of it was for suits and they did not sell it by the meter but at the end one was found. This has been the most awesome vacation we have ever been on and we also had our 28th anniversary. You never know what the boss has in mind. If you ever get the chance, come to South Asia...but make sure you have a guide. the Mother-in-Law

22.11.06

Guest Blogger - the Mother-in-Law! :)

What an exciting time we are having in South Asia. The sights and sounds are beyond what I expected. The flavors of this country are outstanding. We have gotten to seem some wonderous sites and they are truly amazing. The people of this land just grin and smile when we are out. I am sure they are not only use to seeing white people but those with red hair. We have had so many wondrous opportunities to explore here. One was getting to eat off of a street vendor. The food was great but getting to eat outside and sit down on their man made benches was so cool. We went on a great adventure the other day and had to travel for 4 hours to get to our destination. There were so many things along the way. The camels pulling carts. The cows everywhere. The women dressed in these beautiful colors and having so many items piled upon their heads. I never dreamed as a child that I would ever get this opportunity to explore this side of the world. It really takes my breath away but the most awesome thing of all is getting to hug my loved ones that I have missed so much. When you get an opportunity I say come this way and you will never regret it and the memories that you will carry will be with you always. Mother-In-Law

18.11.06

the family is coming!

Husband's family is coming! We're actually leaving for the airport in 20 minutes to pick them. I made an embarrassing elaborate Welcome sign, and we are very excited. I actually had to blog to keep myself occupied.

We've been working on getting the house ready for them. Between ceiling fans, washing machine, computers, and our kitchen sink, we had a lot break in the past two weeks! Here's a picture (sideways...sorry) of the sink repair man. Interesting position to work in, but hey, got the job done!
I've been cooking up a storm today, and at the last minute I decided to bake them a Welcome cake. I have some leftover cake mixes, and thought, why not, that's easy. Of course I had to improvise quite a lot, and so easy became weird looking. First, I don't have a 9x13" pan. So the cake was made in one square pan and one hexagonal pan. So the layers look goofy. Second, the oven is too small for both of those pans to lay side by side, so one was leaning on top of the other in the oven, and of course baked uneven. And finally, my cake writing skills need some improvement. At least they'll have jet lag and maybe won't think this looks weird...or maybe not.
And finally, if that doesn't look sweet enough, here's a picture to leave you with. Since I won't be able to blog a lot in the coming 10 days, this picture is a great one to keep coming back to. She's such a girly girl, isn't she?
There may be some Very Special Guest Bloggers coming up soon...if I can convince them. :)

13.11.06

it's a beautiful day in the neighborhood...

Having neighbors was something I totally took for granted! It's so nice to have that connection with someone just because of proximity. Last night, I made a pure veg dessert and took it over to one of our neighbors. Pure veg means no eggs or meat...not that you'd put meat in a dessert unless of course you're making Rachel's traditional English trifle. "What's not to like? Custard? Good. Jam? Good. Meat? Goooood."* So I took it to the neighbors, did the South Asia thing of informing them it was pure veg, and then I got to hang out and have coffee with the lady of the first floor. We had a great conversation, mainly about Bollywood and our mutual favorite actor, SRK. See, there is a positive side to my Bollywood obsession. I think the two of us are on our way to forming a friendship. Thanks, SRK!

Please send money for husband. Poor guy has had pink eye since last Friday. He thinks it's getting better today, but that was just as of a few minutes ago. His family arrives this weekend so we want to be healthy and energetic while they're here.

*if you're not a fan of Friends, I'm sorry. I'm especially sorry if you don't like this episode, because it's one of the best ones. (Season 6, Episode 9) "I love Jacques Cousteau!"

8.11.06

Chini Houdini

Husband has done a fantastic job training our dog. She is so obedient that our landlord told us she was going to send her daughter over to husband for him to train. One of her favorite things to do is go on a walk, so when we say to her, "Chini, you want to go on a walk?" she starts flipping out, jumping all over the place and yelping in excitement. We'll then say, "Get your leash!" and after a few more yelps, she will get her leash (hanging on the wall) and bring it to us.

This morning, I left Chini in her crate and took a walk by myself with the intention to come back early to join husband and Chini for a walk. When I entered the house, I saw that Chini was sitting on the floor, with the leash at her paws. I asked husband, who was still in the bedroom, if he had let Chini out of her crate, and he looked puzzled and said no. After me several times asking, "You're kidding, right?" we realized that little Chini had found a way to get out of her crate and was waiting for me to return so she could entice me to go on a walk with her.


I always knew she was a super dog. I didn't realize she was also an escape artist.

6.11.06

house pics

We've been so busy moving in that I haven't had anything interesting or blogworthy happen to me lately. Or it could be that we've been in South Asia for long enough now that funny things are normal to us, and we don't notice them anymore. That's a little sad if that's the case because I like seeing the humor in our daily lives. Is it weird or normal that we watched the World Series live at 6am? How about having a beggar woman, with a cane, mind you, chasing me down the road asking for money? Or taking my morning walks along side cows; that's normal, right? Or going to watch your "nephews" play Little League baseball at no less than te American Embassy...doesn't everyone go to the Embassy to catch Little League?

Well one thing that I k
now that's new is our house! It is definitely still a work in progress...for example, our living room is currently enjoying a Christmas theme. We inherited the couch and chairs, and they came with bright red cushions. We had already decided to do the living room in a light-ish green, a color that would give off a cool vibe in the summer, but could still do a nice warm for the fall and winter. Luckily the cushions will be re-covered tomorrow, so I can stop explaining in an embarrassed voice that this is not how I'm keeping the living room. Here are some pics:


The Before Picture of the Living Room


Oh yes my friends, that's a bathtub!


The camel design in the other bathroom.


My favorite parts of the kitchen: the organized pots and pans rack, and my alphabetized spices.


The Yellow Room - when the sun shines through at midday, the entire room turns yellow.


Chini loves her new house! Here she is snuggled up on Husband's sister's bed away from home.