SnidKnits and Clicks Pics

Mabuhay!

2011-08-05T13:54:00.008+05:30

Welcome! Yes, I am now in the Philippines and welcome you to a new chapter in my life!

We have been here for a bit more than a month now and while the first few weeks were difficult for me (they always are in a new place), I am starting to settle in a little and we have been able to expand our circle a bit and see some of the Philippines which I will now share with you.

First, where we live. Makati. This is the "center" of the city, well the business hub at least, and we live in a tall apartment building. Now, I have not lived in an apartment in quite some time so this is a different environment than what I am used to. Many of the residents going in and out are a bit dressed up. There is a "medical center" near our building that seems to do cosmetic surgery rather than true medical care. I kind of feel like I don't really fit in around here, particularly when I put on my camera backpack and flip-flops and head out the door while waving to the concierge. I kind of feel like a slob, but Bryan says I look "artistic". (I have seen some pretty sloppy artists - not sure that is much consolation!) anyway, we do have a nice view:

One direction looks inland towards the hills, and the other side gives us a glimpse of Manila Bay and the occasional stunning sunset.

It is a very different view from what we had in India!!

Bryan and I have been able to get out a bit and see a few things. First was Intramuros, the oldest part of the city that contains the remains of a fort built in Spanish colonial times. This is actually in the Metro Manila area and not actually so far from where we live, though with traffic... yes, traffic. We got it. Now, truth be told, we did not spend a lot of time exploring the area on this particular day as it was a bit hot. Like indescribably hot, humid and wet. It's like that a lot pretty much every day, but this day was exceptionally so! So, a little explore, Bryan got to try out his new toy a bit-

(yes, we now have twin cameras)

Hot hubby

and we did the barest bit of exploring before we dashed back to an a/c taxi. Interesting fact: there is a golf course that runs around the old walls of Intramuros, in what was originally the moat. Not sure you'll find that anywhere else!

Intramuros Golf Course

A couple of weeks later we decided that we really needed to get out of the city and see another facet of the Philippines. Like, how about exploring one of the over 7000 islands! A quick read of a blog-friend's post led me to book at - Coco Beach. It was close(ish), relatively inexpensive and available at short notice. Perfect! We had a two hour drive down to Batangas, and then a one hour boat ride to the island of Mindoro where the resort is located. We were lucky. The weather was cooperative with our trip over and we had no issues. Heard some horror stories from others who were less fortunate, but that's the adventure of traveling by boat during Typhoon-Monsoon season. The first day was relaxing, with a good meal at one of the restaurants. We had a conversation with the chef and it turns out that he drives a "tricycle" during the day, which is actually a motorcycle within a sort of cage that provides a roofed side-car for passengers as well as a cover for the driver. He offered to show us around the island some the next day, so we arranged to meet at 9am in Puerto Galera.

That morning brought some rain, well - a LOT of rain. We took a boat to Puerto Galera anyway,
brave good-swimming souls that we are. By the time we arrived we were wet, but that was just the beginning. We got soaked as it rained and rained. But we trudged up the hill to see the waterfall (hah! water was falling alright!)

And by the time we were finished there it stopped raining for a bit and we were able to actually see some sights!
Bryan and I are definitely not the same size as your average Filipino, but we managed to enjoy our cozy space anyway...We got a quick look at the market...
And greatly enjoyed our tour with "The Cook".
The return boat trip was much drier and more enjoyable and we took a little detour to enjoy it a bit more... really was incredibly beautiful out there.

An enjoyable weekend at a fun and laidback place, we would definitely go back!

So, that's a quick synopsis of our first month. Soon I'll post about my first photo shoot here with a wonderful NGO called Sambat Trust.

Mother India

2011-06-22T18:02:00.012+05:30

Today, while sorting through and packing things up I came across a brass bell. This is a bell that came from my parent's arts and crafts store from when I was a kid. I seem to recall that it was made in India. I remember when I was a child I thought of India as a very far away and exotic country. Another world from the California suburban neighborhood that I grew up in. I can recall looking at Time-Life picture books that featured images of "native" people from all over the world. I poured over these pictures as a child growing up. Fascinated with the colors of traditional costumes and the wide variety of facial characteristics... human beings were so different the world over! But it was the India books that really grabbed me. There was a richness and beauty there that was captivating.

I know, I am using a lot of flowery language here, but you are going to have to forgive me. For this week is a major one for me and I am grasping at my words, trying to explain how I am feeling. You see, in one week I will leave the place that has become my home over the last 3 1/2 years. My dear crazy India. I may have been captivated with the pictures as a child, but I have fallen in love with the place as an adult and to say I am going to miss it... words can't explain.

The people, its culture, the noise, the cows, the traffic, the autos (rickshaws)... all weave together to create a country that really is like no other. Some don't like it, but I have grown to consider it a part of my daily life. I now get nervous when it is too quiet and the chaos that greets me as I walk out the door soothes me truly.

So, before I wax on to the point of using every literary catchphrase that exists to mankind, I will sign off and simply share some of the faces and places of my dear India. Enjoy.

Oh, and next stop on our life journey? Manila (in The Philippines).

Just Another Day...

2010-06-15T07:46:00.005+05:30

...in a helluva year.

So, my oldest daughter is getting married in July, to an Australian that she met in India (his mom and I are friends) and as part of the immigration stuff she had to get a health check up. After her chest x-ray she was told that she had an enlarged heart, then it was a mass, then a cyst.... Now, after several more checks, CT scans, and MRI's she has been diagnosed with a rather large neurogenic tumor that will have to be removed surgically. Dude. Enough already. Now, I should say up front that she is likely to be just fine post-surgery so I am not too worried, but the surgery will be two weeks before her wedding. Can you think of a less opportune time?! So, just think about pre-wedding stress and add all of this into it and, well - heck, maybe it's better. There is SO much that we just will not be able to worry about. So we will go with the flow.
On the good news front, my son graduated from high school and I was there to see it! He's the one in the middle with the unmistakable smile.

So yes, I am back in the states - again - and enjoying the sunshine, the sun setting late, the flowers and all of my favorite summer fruits (peaches, strawberries, plums, apricots, nectarines!!! Yum, yum, yum!), my family, BBQ's and all of the other quintessentially Californian enjoyments that can be had in June. My son has graduated from high school, my eldest daughter has graduated from university (though was not able to attend said graduation due to the aforementioned medical issues), and several family members have had birthdays. A good life.

Stay tuned for more philosophical mutterings.

Goodbye for now...

2010-05-04T14:29:00.006+05:30

Where she was

It has been over a month now. My mother passed away on March 28th. I feel like I had a good chance to say goodbye to her and I am grateful for that. Even before she passed I missed her, but having her really be gone is a different thing entirely. I am comforted in the confidence that I feel that I will see her again. Still, it hurts.

Back in Bangalore, I am picking up the pieces of my life here. The house hunting resumed as we have to vacate this house. Really we are glad to as we have grown tired of the never ending leaks, too-close construction noise and hassles. The good news is that we did find a new house, just-right size (felt like Goldilocks looking at houses, most far too big, or small!), nice open kitchen with lots of counter space for Maya, a garden that is a usable size. We couldn't be happier! Other aspects of my life are slowly coming back as well, though it is a sad thing that so many friends have left or will soon be leaving Bangalore. I have to edit the contact list in my phone again. Still, I am not entirely alone and I am getting back into the swing of things. But normal, after what I have experienced in the last 5 months, is different. I am changed.

Moonlight on Construction

Somehow going through something like this adds a depth to your life, another dimension and perspective, you can no longer "fit" into your previous self. I am still processing what all of this means to me, still discovering who I have become really. I have had days filled with tears, I have had moments when I wanted nothing more to do with the world, but I am now at a place of equilibrium. For the moment at least, I am okay. I take comfort in knowing that life goes on, that there are celebrations to be had and friends and family to enjoy them with. That is the good stuff of life.

Quiet Night in Bangalore

Day by Day

2010-03-20T03:52:00.003+05:30

We are still here.

My mom is a wonder.

I am soaking up the beautiful Spring weather - so incredibly gorgeous. The hard part is trying to decide whether I can be happy (so hard not to with beautiful weather) or if I am sad. I think I am both. Watching someone die brings out all of your feelings and beliefs about spirituality, religion, etc. I am a believer. I believe in God (though not a personified one necessarily) and I can feel happy that my mother is going to pass from this world into another realm of experience. I know that she believes that as well and it is an incredible comfort. But that does not mean that this is all easy.

I really did not expect that I would still be writing about such things, I would have imagined that my mother would have passed by now, but the human spirit and its will to live are incredibly strong in this woman. Could be some of that famous stubborn streak that seems to run thick in our family (I'm told we can thank the Irish for that). We are now at two weeks with no food and a few days with virtually no liquid due to her inability to swallow without coughing and hacking for 5-10 minutes - and that is when I can get her to open her mouth. Really, how is this possible?

Now all of this is not without rewards though. At first glance she can appear to be completely unresponsive, but spend a bit of time with her and you will notice the little expressions - the raised eyebrows, the pursed lips, the smile and sometimes even a wink. She is still there. The other night as I was going to bed and turning over her care and attention to Ari and Brenton I called from the kitchen on my way to my room, "Good night mom, I love you!" and I heard her say from the other room "I love you too". I stopped dead in my tracks and felt such joy and gratitude. I know what it takes for her to speak and to do it so clearly is not easy for her. It was a gift I will cherish for all of my days.

So I am still here, as I have said before, watching every breath and the increasing spaces in between.

Dusting off - press reset.

2010-03-14T06:17:00.007+05:30

I have a confession to make.

This is no longer a knitting blog.

I just don't really knit that much anymore. I occasionally pick something up and work on it, but it really hit me when I went to Stitches West a couple of weeks ago and very easily breezed past booth after booth of lovely fiber and yarn. There was no yearning to stop and touch everything, no dreaming up of projects, no drooling over the cashmere (though this is the one thing that I did actually purchase). I still knit, but I can no longer define myself as "a knitter".

I think part of it is that since taking up photography again, my artistic-creative needs are being met in that way. It is possible that knitting was a placeholder for this part of me. I still appreciate patterns and textures, I just find/create them with my camera more these days. It is certainly a shift in my identity, in a way. But, it also made me realize something; knitters, crafters, spinners... you are all artists.

Now, on to other news. So, above I said that I was at Stitches. Well, the astute or "in the know" among you will realize that this event takes place in Santa Clara, California. Not Bangalore. So, yes, I am in Santa Clara. Many of you reading this will already know, but for those who don't I will give you a short run down of what is going on in my life.

I came here with my family at the beginning of December so that we could be here for the holidays. One week before we left I spoke to my mother on the phone and she had just been diagnosed with cancer. By the time that we arrived her diagnosis had changed from stage I and highly treatable to stage IV and not curable. Now, it was treatable, the idea being that she could prolong her life by doing chemo, so my mom was ready to get started right away with treatment. The short version of the story is that she had a really bad reaction to the chemo which lead to her having a couple of strokes. This made her go from a fully functioning, still working, driving and living independently human being to an invalid. She lost all movement from the neck down excluding her left arm and hand. She was still able to speak, but did not always make sense.

After one week in the hospital, they transferred her to hospice care and we had to move her to a convalescent hospital. Now, I have to say here that I NEVER thought that I would put a family member in such a place, but there was no other choice. We did find a nice place for her though and I really have no complaints about the care she received there (not sure about the food though!) After 7 weeks there I was able to have her moved to our home in Santa Clara. Our tenants had coincidentally moved out recently and she had become stable enough to care for her at home.

We have been here two weeks now. We miss some of the characters from the convalescent hospital (there were some great ones!), but here it is peaceful, the garden is blooming, we hear birds chirping and we can relax a little more. Mom is dying. I know this. She knows this. At this point, she is not really eating or drinking anything, so I really don't expect her to last too long. I am just grateful that she is here, that things are calm and peaceful and she can go at her own pace.

So I am here caring for my mom. I am occasionally overwhelmed. I am sometimes in awe. I am amazed by how beautiful she is, how gloriously strong her body is, and how "present" she is when I least expect it. My mom is an amazing human being and I am so incredibly grateful to be able to be here with her through this.

So, more another time, and it is good to be back.

Changing Seasons

2009-08-28T09:47:00.005+05:30

Somehow, even though the seasons here are quite different, I still feel a new season coming on and it leaves me contemplative. Maya is back in school again, I start up again next week with classes as well and I find myself organizing things and going through various piles of life remnants that are scattered around the house. This is the only area of control I have over my life at present. We are still waiting to hear about the contract extension, though are feeling more confident that it will be approved and are just waiting for the process to be completed. Still, it is six months only. Through June of 2010. That is only 10 months more here that are guaranteed. Not so long in the scheme of things. When people ask me how long I have been in Bangalore I at this point reply with "it is coming up on 2 years". Two years. That seems like a long time, and yet it has passed so quickly that I can hardly believe it. I sometimes find myself realizing that I have good friends here, I like it and feel comfortable. Yet at the same time, I also find myself growing weary of the noise, the lifestyle and the inability to get around on my own more easily. Don't get me wrong, I'm not feeling depressed, just... well, like I said - contemplative. The times, they are a changin'...

There are stories to tell- I went to Singapore with my daughters last week. I have visited more charities and taken some interesting pictures... I will leave you with this. Some of the many reasons why I love India. Can't help but feel that its future is on good hands.

New Zoo Review

2009-08-07T11:00:00.004+05:30

Well, the class is over. My brain has been sucked dry and now it seems as if my body has relaxed enough that it feels it is okay to get sick. great.

I am truly looking forward to getting back to photography classes in September and in the meantime am sorting the stacks of paper that have accumulated in the last eight months. In other news, our life here is in state of "wait and see". My husband's current contract ends Dec. 31st and we are waiting to hear whether a six month extension has been approved - or not. We would like to have the extension so that my youngest daughter can finish out the school year here. Better yet would have been a 1 1/2 year extension so that she could finish her schooling completely since she is starting the IB program, something that is not so readily available should we return to the states. But we really don't know; there have been so many expats who have had to suddenly go home in the last six months, there is no guarantee that the same won't happen to us. There is also no guarantee that my husband will have a job elsewhere. So, we wait and will see. What else can we do? That said, it is a frustrating position to be in.

So it's Friday. How about a photo and a little story? Okay, can't choose one, so how about three?

So, one of the charities that is supported by the OWC is called Navachetana. It is a residential home for adults who have mental difficulties. The current home that they live in is adequate, but is rather dark, has no garden, and is on a rather noisy street. They don't get out much. It is not ideal, but my understanding is that they have had a hard time staying in houses because of costs (increasing property values in Bangalore) and prejudice. There does not seem to be a lot of understanding about mental illness in India and the honest truth is that many people are quite superstitious about such things. Not everyone, but enough that it makes a difference in these people's lives.

Now, as I said they don't get out much, BUT a field trip was organized to the nearby Bannerghata Wildlife Park and Zoo and we came along to "help". We drove the approximate 1 1/2 hours to get there (I love being outside of the city!) and quickly met up with our group. First up was the safari. Yes, we saw lions, and tigers, and bears .... All through the caged in windows of our private bus. Now, there are two stories in that last sentence. First was the caged in windows. They didn't used to be caged, but rumor has it that a young child was attacked through an open window of one of the buses some years back. So now, they have metal grills. Quite logical if you ask me. Now, the second interesting mention above was PRIVATE BUS. The buses for the safari are notorious for being over-crowded and all of the bodily joys that that experience would give you. To have a private bus for our group was a real treat and much appreciated by us all. Though we must have been quite a sight. A bunch of white people with cameras armed and ready "accompanying" a group of somewhat reserved and quiet Indians who seemed only moderately interested in the wild animals just outside. Well, I had fun anyway.

This is Gracie, she is quite the model don't you think?

After the safari, we had lunch and then went into the zoo. There are many of your typical zoo animals: birds of multiple varieties, crocodiles, leopards, elephants, monkeys. Yes monkeys. That was pretty funny actually. There was a cage with some sort of monkeys inside, then outside was a group of wild and free monkeys who truly seemed to be teasing them. They were even stealing their food. Priceless!

I also appreciated the helpful signs.

We wandered around the zoo for about an hour and then gathered and said our goodbyes. It was a fun trip and a great way to spend the day and we all appreciated getting out of Bangalore for a few hours.

Laundry Day

2009-07-24T15:14:00.009+05:30

I am still mostly sitting on my backside doing schoolwork these days, but only two weeks left of this class. I admit that I do get distracted by Facebook (am finding a lot of old friends there these days!) and listening to good music on a regular basis, but I have not actually gotten out of the house so much. My dear husband though, some weeks ago he, well insisted that we should go away for our anniversary. So, we did, to Fort Kochi (Kochin/Cochin) in Kerala. The last photo I shared was from that trip as well. But today I wanted to tell a little about the laundry that we visited, the dhoby khana.

As we entered the area, we saw a large area covered with poles and ropes. This is where they would generally dry much of the clothing, but of course, this being monsoon season, few were using this area to dry things.

As we came around the side we saw the work spaces that each of them use. Each has their own assigned space where they wash the clothes. Looked like hard work.

Nearby was a covered shed, where at this time of year they hang most of the laundry to dry. Notice how they don't need clothespins?

Inside is where they also do the ironing. Wow. These are some serious irons. This guy, who I was told was 70 something years old, offered to let me pick up the iron. I couldn't. Seriously. It was far too heavy. Of course, once you lift it and place it on the fabric, that also means that the iron is doing a lot of the work for you, so that is the good part.

Another man was working with a coal iron...

And finally, someone was starching shirts.

It was an amazing place to see.

I'm still here... I think

2009-07-11T09:53:00.004+05:30

Truly, I wish I had not signed up for the English class that I am taking this summer. It is a good class but since it is a "short" course, one semester in six weeks, it is intense. During the course of this time I have to write and revise a short story and, well, it is kicking my butt.

But, since it is once again, still Friday somewhere, I will share with you a photo from a recent get-away to Kochi in Kerala.

Enjoy, and I will be back soon!

Amsterdam

2009-07-04T08:46:00.003+05:30

No one likes to write not-blogging excuses and I will resist the temptation.
Instead I will post a few photos from my visit to Amsterdam. I really, really loved the city and will try to tell you a few little stories soon! Enjoy :)

No Summary? No Summery either!

2009-06-09T01:17:00.008+05:30

I was realizing today that there is no possible way that I can summarize all that I have done on this trip. It has been so amazing (and still one week to go!). You saw some shots of Paris... beautiful, right? Yep. An amazing and inspiring city. Since Paris I have also seen:

Tournai- totally cool city. Charming, picturesque, and quiet. It is like walking into a little fairytale town or something. Check it out...

Yeah... Disneyland's got nothing on Europe.

And then there was Brussels. I really should tell you about some of our adventures in Brussels. It was a bit gray and gloomy feeling while we were there but on our first day we had a fantastic walking tour where we learned all about the history of Brussels in two short hours. We saw the grand square where the town hall is, observed some of the details on the building that give Brussels a little character, saw the Manneken Pis (as well as what we think was a TV commercial being shot there...), and got the scoop on which candy/chocolate shops were the good ones.

Then we went to see the Brussels Royal Museum of Fine Arts some more art history, this time delving into the world of Flemish Primitives, Northern Renaissance, and the Flanders painters. Saw some great stuff... but no photos were allowed :(

BUT, when we came out to head back to the hotel we saw a glimmer of hope. The gloomy day was lifting...

huh?

We saw...

GOLD PEOPLE!!!

squee!

Now what exactly are these gold people? Well, we were asking ourselves that very question! They told us a very little bit about it, handing us stickers as they walked on. But what do you do when such a group is in front of you...

Well, duh. You follow.

So we did.

One of my classmates is now an honorary member. I think she fits in with them, don't ya think?

omg, OMG, OMG!!!!
(actually, she was quite speechless!)

Well, eventually they wandered on and I was ready for an afternoon coffee, AND a Belgian waffle thank-you-very-much! So the gold people wandered away and life in Brussels returned to normal.

So, in case you are interested, the "gold people", as I have referred to them here, are part of an art project by the Polish artist Pawal Althamer. Part of the project is to commemorate the 20 years it has been since the free elections of Poland in 1989.

Paris Drive By

2009-06-05T00:30:00.004+05:30

St. Chapelle, Paris

I know- I missed Friday.
I have been gone now for three weeks, I think. I am not entirely sure what day of the week it is. The calendar at the bottom of my computer says that it is the 5th... which I think is a Thursday. Geez.

So I spent a week and a half and a day in Paris. Wow. LOVED Paris. I love the history, the buildings, the language (just wish I was more conversational with it), the food, the mood. Really a fantastic city. I have taken lots of photos but have not had time to do a lot of processing. I have started the Art History course that I came to Europe for and am running around striving to keep up with a bunch of younger adults who are quite fun. We have seen museums... lots of them. We have seen Cathedrals and I could now write a paper on the differences between Romanesque, Neo-Classical and Gothic architecture. I have had school assignments to complete (though thankfully not the one I just mentioned!) and have marveled at how late the sun sets here.

The "you-know-what" at about 10 pm.

I am now in Brussels, but I hope you enjoy these few photos from Paris. You'll get a legit blog post one of these days when I have more time to actually write. And now... I have to go finish a school assignment on... oh yeah, Gothic architectural elements in cathedrals!

"...of Cabbages and Kings..."

2009-05-24T16:17:00.011+05:30

Are you ready for a nice long post? Well, get ready. I promise it is weird, interesting and decidedly English. So grab a cup of tea, or coffee if you must, and settle in for some stories of ghosts, kings and queens, witches, cats, rats and a-maze-ing adventures.

Yes, it is time to play catch up. It has been a fairly packed trip thus far and I have not even started my school course yet. I am, as stated before, in Paris now- but I would like to share with you about my trip to England.

Really, I did love London. It is busy, alive, interesting, friendly and I felt completely at ease walking its streets on my own.

Helpful British directions...

A wander down a random street would almost always lead to an interesting discovery. I never got lost and I enjoyed myself immensely. I wondered towards the end if I would regret leaving London to visit friends in the hinterlands of the English countryside. Not to worry... England has an interesting story at every turn and I was not disappointed.

I traveled by train to Ipswich to visit my friend Sally who is a former Bangalore expat. A quick one hour trip, only slightly complicated by my bulky luggage (it is hard to pack lightly for a 5 week trip!), and I was in the hands of Sally who turned out to be a most excellent and interesting tour guide! We started out right away by driving into the center of Ipswich where Sally pointed out many amazing examples of pargeting, a traditional plastering technique common to the area. Truly amazing stuff! Do look at the link for more information on how this is done.

Free form plastering artwork!

After a wander around and a bite to eat at a local pub we decided to visit a couple of castles that were in the area. First we went to Framlingham (c. 1190 a.d.) where they had an audio tour that was decidedly humorous and Monty Python-esque, though perhaps not quite as informative as I might have wanted- but that's okay- I also bought the guidebook.

Inside the Framlington Castle walls

It is an interesting castle in that it has a house/building still standing inside (likely re-built and such), but this allows you to envision how it might look if you were living inside a castle wall. The internal area is smaller than you might think and apparently this is one of the larger ones. My first castle! We then traveled to the previously mentioned Orford castle (last post). This one was more of a "tower castle" but was fascinating for all of the nooks and cranies that you could climb through and explore.

My most excellent tour guide!

We did climb all the way to the top where there was a view of the North Sea in the distance. At the top we also encountered a stiff, chill wind that sent us scurrying back to the car in short order.

Orford Village

That evening, for dinner, we went to The Butt and Oyster, a 17th Century pub on the banks of the River Orwell. For the record, the "butt" part of the name refers to a type of barrel used to transport oysters back in the day. If you thought otherwise, well, I suspect you would not be alone. This was apparently quite a smuggler's haven in the 19th century and it is said that the proprietors would leave a lantern in the window if it was safe to unload. The pub is quite close to the water's edge and at high tide and they can and do serve pints through the windows to boats who come close. The essential thing about the place is that they serve a good meal with a nice view, both of which we did enjoy!

Pinmill view

We ended the evening with a drive around the local area and passed by the house pictured below. This is Erwarton Hall and was at one time the home to a relative of Ann Boleyn's. She is said to have spent many memorable years here in her youth as well as some of her last days as she awaited her destined end. She loved the place so much that she gave orders for her heart to be buried here upon her demise. Quite the story, huh? Well apparently they found a small casket that contained human remains- now dust- some years back. The story is that they removed it to London for investigation, but after some strange occurances in the house, it was decided that the casket should be replaced. So the heart of Ann Boleyn is at rest once more.

Erwarton Hall

An alternate history, one that was published in the New York Times of November 13th, 1881, states that her heart was buried, and discovered, at nearby St. Mary's church (c. 15th Century) in Ewarton. Either way, her heart clearly lies in the local area. A beautiful peaceful spot worthy of her affections.

The next day we were off for a visit to Bury St. Edmunds. Another fine name for a fine English town. And what is Bury St. Edmund's known for? Well, for being the home of the ruins of the St. Edmund's Abbey-

the shrine and supposed home to the buried remains of St. Edmund of course! Local people will tell you that they would prefer that St. Edmund became the patron saint of England as opposed to St. George. Primarily because St. Edmund was actually English, while St. George was either Turkish, or African, or something else, but definitely not English. There is also the fact that St. George, lovely admirable man that he may have been, never even visited England. Interesting point!

Besides the ruins of the abbey, the area is also home to a Cathedral, recently visited by The Queen, it's lovely gardens, a brewery (I could smell the brewing beer as we were walking through the town!) and the smallest pub in England, measuring 15 x 7 feet, The Nutshell.

We cracked the door to The Nutshell and entered for a bit of refreshment. We encountered a friendly informative barman who filled us in on some of the history of the pub. The most entertaining of which was about the remains on the ceiling. Confused? Look closely below...

Do you see the dangly thing behind the front ceiling light? That would be the remains of a cat. Discovered while re-doing some brick work, cats were apparently buried alive within such constructs in years past as a means of keeping away witches. We were told by the barman that it doesn't work, as he knows several who visit the pub on a regular basis. The cat also has the company of a rat (seen dangling to the far right of the cat above) that was brought in by a customer some years ago. Since that time, the cat and rat have been joined by a human leg bone, the skeletal remains of some other unidentified animal, a blown up blowfish, and various other oddments. This pub is apparently also inhabited by several ghosts, though how they fit inside is beyond me!

After our bit of refreshment/entertainment, we departed for the coast. These are some English Beach huts. Another odd piece of British tradition, they are usually owned, though sometimes leased, and offer a bit of holiday getaway for their occupants. You are not allowed to sleep in them- only use them during the day while at the seaside. Though judging from the brisk, crisp air there, I think they are on to something!

Well, seeing as how the British are such brave souls I decided to dip my feet in the water as well. Refreshing!

The next day it was time to depart from Suffolk and travel over hill and dale in a roundabout way to Cheshire. Time to visit another former Bangalore expat, Andrea.

Now Andrea and her husband David are more recently arrived from Bangalore but they willingly put me up in their home (their shipment from India was due to arrive shortly after my visit) and treated me to the lovely sights and sounds of Macclesfield.

We started out that night with a visit to the nearby Bollington Festival. It seems that Andrea is not only a dear friend, she is also a talented performer and I was able to see her in a performance of the opera, Tobias and the Angel. This tells the story from the Book of Tobit (from the Apocrypha) about Tobit's son Tobias and his experiences with the Archangel Raphael. It was quite fun, accessible, and a wonderful way to spend the evening. After this performance we also enjoyed a tango performance. The dancers were good (though young and slightly lacking in emotional depth), but the music was fantastic!

The next day was a rainy one, so we ventured across the nearby Peak District (beautiful hills and valleys filled with farms, sheep, and lovely scenery) to Chatsworth, the estate and home of the Duke and Duchess of Devonshire. Wow. What a place. I am not sure that I would be as generous as they are- to open it up to the public 364 days a year. Entry fees do help pay for the upkeep of the estate, but I might want a few more days to myself there. It is stunning. The house is amazing enough, but what I really loved were the gardens. Really, as far as the eye could see is part of their estate. The estate has also been in several films, most recently and notably, The Duchess, staring Keira Knightly and Ralph Fiennes. This film was actually based on the story of the real life Georgiana, 18th Century Duchess of Devonshire. She was apparently quite scandalous!

We explored the house...

We explored and enjoyed the gardens...

And then we ventured into the maze. Okay, mazes should be logical, right? There are only so many entrances, only so many possible turns, and once you have tried and eliminated all previous possibilities you are led to the center of the maze. Easy. Well, we tried. We did all of the above to the best of my knowledge, we saw the center of the maze through the shrubbery, we heard a delighted child in the center... but we could not, would not, find the actual path to the center. We finally gave up once the rains stopped threatening and started falling with a peal of laughter in our general direction. We were defeated.

Ah well. We did enjoy ourselves and I felt like I had gotten a true taste of "The North" of England. Another beautiful spot in the world.

Phew. Still here? Wow. I'm impressed! I hope you enjoyed my quirky stories of England.

"...and why the sea is boiling hot, and whether pigs have wings."

Lewis Carroll- who totally makes sense to me now!

Bonjour et bon nuit!

2009-05-23T01:37:00.003+05:30

This is going to be quick. I am tired. It has been a long and wonderful week. I am in Paris. I managed to order dinner in French without the handy French phrasebook that I had bought and then helpfully left in Bangalore (I know a little, "un petit peu", French that is so rusty you would need a tetanus shot with it.) Yeah- my spelling probably isn't so great either.

I promise that I will get a nice long blog post up in the next couple of days. I owe you. In the meantime.. here is a castle that I saw in Suffolk with Sally this week! This is Orford castle and it is tres cool!

A bientot!

A day late...

2009-05-17T00:48:00.004+05:30

...but not a dollar short. It would have to be a pound since I am in London!

I love London.

I walk down the street and hear English. But it is like 31 flavors of English. And then there are all of the other languages. In 48 hours I have heard German, Italian, Ukrainian, French, Hindi, Urdu, Scottish (definitely qualifies as a different language to my ears!) and several other languages that I cannot specifically identify.

I walk down the streets and see shops. Lots and lots of shops. Shops that have things that fit me shops. Shops that have shoes that fit me shops! Really, I haven't done that much shopping. Honest. But I have enjoyed wandering into quite a few of them and admiring the styles and fabrics and such. Don't get me wrong, I like Indian clothes, but it is nice to see something different as well.

I really can't make a long list of London sights that I have seen. I have mostly just been wandering around and soaking up the city, while trying not to get soaked myself. I did enjoy the London Eye yesterday, an exhibit by Annette Messager (weirdly comic and grotesque at the same time), as well as enjoyed the Tate Modern. Fantastic museum that. I wandered back to my hotel after that and happened to catch a bit of weather. I made it about half way and realized that I was starting to get a bit soaked- so I hailed a taxi, "Where to, love?", and avoided another 30-40 minutes of walking in the rain. 10 pounds well spent.

Today I got a late start and in the end just sort of wandered aimlessly throughout Marleybone, Regent Street, Carnaby Street, and surrounding areas. The crowds were out in droves. Walking down Oxford street was a bit nuts. It was like the traffic on the streets of Bangalore except all of the autos (rickshaws) and two-wheelers (motorcycles and scooters) are people - and you have to weave your way through without getting hit. Except I think that Bangalore drivers are better at manuvering than the people I saw today!

Now I am in my "cozy" hotel room (it is quite small!) watching Eurovision. Some of these people are really quite bad. Ouch.

Here is the "Eye" view of Parliament and the Thames!

T-minus 3 days...

2009-05-09T18:51:00.004+05:30

T-minus 3 days and I will be on my way.

Wait... have I told you? I am off on a great adventure. On my own. Well, mostly anyway.
On Thursday I board a plane and fly to London. I will explore London and visit friends in the UK. I will travel to Paris where I have a few days on my own. I will meet up with fellow classmates from my school in SF for a three-week Art History course that will take us from Paris to Brussels and to Amsterdam. Then, my classmates will return to SF while I spend a few days in the Netherlands with some of Bryan's family and finally I will make my way back to London to return home to Bangalore. 35 days.

Will I miss my family?
Yes.

Am I looking forward to my trip?
You betcha.

I have never in my life done anything remotely close to this. I have never traveled in any of these countries. I have never traveled on my own. Somehow it feels like something that everyone should do at some point in their life. It's my turn I guess. I will miss exploring with this guy:

But I will take lots of pictures and will keep in touch!

Still Friday :)

2009-05-09T12:59:00.004+05:30

Yes, I am late, but I know that it is still Friday somewhere... like in Hawaii!

(although given how s-l-o-w Blogger is these days, it might be Saturday even there by the time this goes up)

So, this will be quick, I have finals to get back to and photos from a very busy shooting week to process, but I wanted to share with you... Though since I could not pick just one photo you get to see a few :)

The Bangle Ceremony

Last weekend we went to a wedding. Indian weddings are full of pomp and splendor. An "old school" Indian wedding would typically last one week. Now they have the abbreviated version which lasts 2-3 days, but they are VERY full days! So we arrived at about 6 pm, stayed until about 1:00 am, headed back to the hotel, slept (some), woke up at 7 am, returned to the wedding hall and stayed until about 12:30 pm. We had far more rest and far less to do than the bride and groom, but they held up very well and seemed happy once the day was winding down some...

Blessing the Bride and Groom

South Indian Silk Sarees

So here are some images for your enjoyment. I am still in the middle of processing all of them, but once I have I will post them to Flickr and make sure that I get a link here for you. They really are fun to see!

Saree Ari!

Sumptuous Santorini!

2009-05-01T10:15:00.000+05:30

Wow. I am really grateful that we took the many recommendations to visit Santorini. It is absolutely stunning.

We arrived on Wednesday, after a barely 45 minute flight from Athens and were picked up by a charming young man who gave us lots of helpful tips about the island (several of which we didn't get to make use of!) The plan was to do some serious relaxing on the island and we got right to that.

We stayed in a hotel that overlooks the caldera, or the sea that has filled in where the rest of the island was before the massive eruption that took place a long time ago. We had gorgeous sunsets, saw the cruise ships coming in everyday, and had a mostly sheltered spot to absorb some sun while staying out of the still slightly chilly breeze. What more could you want?

Sunset from our hotel

It wasn't long before we were itching to get out and take some photos though. It was really apparent that the island is probably one of the most photogenic places I have been in my life. I obviously was not the only one who felt that way as we saw photographers everywhere that we went. Who can blame them. The light, the colors, the fresh air and calm atmosphere make this a true paradise. We felt like we were living in a dream. The buildings on the island have a real sculptural quality to them, born out of the traditional construction techniques that combine rock walls and then stucco. As we were arriving at the start of the season we saw quite a few places getting a fresh coat of whitewash and again saw many flowers in bloom, among them one of my favorite flowers, scented geraniums.

We stayed just outside of the town of Oia (pronounced "ee-ah") that is just plain beautiful. It is filled with cliffside cafes, shops and hotels that descend down sets of steps, but no worries, there are donkey taxis that can help you get up and down! It is said that Santorini is the most beautiful Greek island, it is also said that Oia is the most beautiful spot on Santorini. Dang. We soaked it in, enjoying our many strolls to and from the town, often accompanied by "stray" dogs following/escorting us home. Not sure that they expected the tasty "tips" that we gave them once we arrived, but they certainly enjoyed them and we would sometimes wake to find the same dogs waiting outside our door in the morning :)

We did do a little exploring on this not so big island. One day we ventured out to get to other end of the island but due to some road work we were diverted through a little town (a "traditional settlement" as the sign called it), got turned around and ended up headed the other direction. Given the size of the island, it is actually quite amazing how easy it is to lose your sense of direction and get turned around! We decided that this is because the island is shaped like a large crescent. Hard to explain, but trust me, it was confusing. (add to this the fact that maps are a little vague there) but regardless, given the size of the island, you are never lost for long. It is merely an opportunity to find a different place or a different way of getting to some place you didn't think you were going to!

Santorini is also known for their wine. So naturally, we stopped at a couple of wineries while we were there and tried some. Some may have even made its way back to India.

Easter on Santorini:

On Friday, which was the Greek Orthodox Good Friday, we were told that there is a not to be missed experience at a village called Pyrgos. They celebrate the burial of Christ and then the whole town is lit up with lanterns. We observed on our way there that most other towns also had lanterns (large cans filled with sawdust and some flammable material) lining the roads awaiting lighting, but Pyrgos has the fortune of being at the top of a hill so it looks a lot cooler once all of the lanterns are lit. It really was a treat to observe this. We had also intended to attend a church service Easter Eve... they are suposed to be incredibly special and beautiful, but instead we were all quite tired and ended up tucking into bed quite early that night. Sometimes that is just the way it works out.

Finally on Sunday, Easter Sunday for the Greek Orthodox, we had the fortune to go to Santorini Mou for a traditional Easter meal. What a find. Good food, serenades by Mihalis, even stray cat and dog company (truly, all of the island owns and cares for the animals there!). If you ever get to Santorini, do drop by and have a meal there, I promise that you won't regret it.

Finally, I took many more photos than I will post here... do go take a look and enjoy a bit of Spring from the Greek Isle of Thera/Santorini.

Greece is the word...have you heard...

2009-04-24T05:05:00.001+05:30

This really should be several different blog posts... but hopefully you can deal with one long one instead :)

Greece was SO incredibly lovely. I am not sure that I can do it justice and I am very grateful that we were able to experience it. For so many years I have wanted to travel but it just was not possible. We didn't have the money. We didn't have the time.

But now, it appears to be our time so we are enjoying it, savoring it and appreciating it.

Our first few days in Athens were quite fun. We spent a good deal of time walking around and exploring the city. Observing the differences between it and Bangalore.

Stray animals? Yes, but they look much healthier and people seem to care for them a bit more.

Beggars? Yes, but they are Gypsies.

Walking street/sidewalk vendors? Yes, and they appear to be mostly Indian! (Very versatile though- they had water and sun umbrellas when it was hot, and switched to rain umbrellas when it was wet!)

Colorful? Yes, but for different reasons...

Ever present Athens grafitti

It was definitely a European city, and apparently our hotel, even though it was nice enough, was directly across the street from a charming church that doubled as a junkie shooting gallery.

nice. They didn't seem to bother anyone, nor did they seem to be bothered by anyone, going about their business regardless of who seemed to be walking or driving by no more than 8-10 feet from where they were. Definitely a different world. But, this was an interesting area,

we had a rooftop view of the Acropolis and we were just around the corner from quite a few tavernas that had Greek food which we enjoyed...

Mmmm... Greek Salad! (had a lot of that!)

We saw ruins!

Now, when I was asking people about visiting Greece, quite a few people said that 2-3 days in Athens was enough. We were there for 5 1/2 days and feel like we missed quite a lot! Part of that is because we like ruins, we like history and perhaps in contrast to our European friends, being from the US we have not seen much of that sort of thing. The Acropolis, Parthenon and accompanying areas were stunning.

It was quite a treat to be there in the Spring as the ruins were surrounded and enveloped by fields of wild flowers. That first morning we were walking through the Roman Forum and I smelled this wonderful scent and when I looked down I realized that we were walking through blooming chamomile!

The pictures, lovely as they are, cannot quite show how stunning this is. Plus we just don't see this much in India.

We enjoyed the Archaeological Museum,

luckily on a day that it was raining (and if you are wondering, yes, we were cold during most of our trip!). To see things that I have read about and studied was pretty darn cool.

Even the kids were impressed by this. though even the best museums lose their charm after a few hours,

so we kind of breezed through the end of it, which included the golden mask of Agamemnon and walked back to the hotel... and passed an H & M. Well, we did plan on doing a bit of shopping in Greece as well ;)

The next day we took a day trip to Delphi.

We ordered a car for this, mostly because that is what we are used to doing at this point, and ended up being driven to Delphi in a black Mercedes limousine. Don't think I'll have that experience again! It was something to watch people's reactions as we drove by. But then we would get out, and we just look like any other tourists. We really aren't so "flash". Anyway, Delphi was also very interesting, though lacking in instructional signboards, guides, or brochures. We walked up, and up the hill.

Surrounded by more wildflowers, gorgeous views, and were incredibly grateful that we were not attempting this in the middle of Summer. Seriously. We had cold air coming down off of Mount Parnassas, which was still covered in snow and this made the climb up the hill more bearable. Still I was grateful when we had reached the top and we were able to start the descent. After viewing the main site we made a quick breeze through the nearby museum which had some impressive things,

but we were still a bit "full" from our museum experience the day before. The girls enjoyed it, but as you can see below, were ready to go in the end.

We enjoyed the street life in Athens, and appreciated so much being able to WALK around a city. While we were close by to the metro, buslines, and could have easily taken taxis, we walked everywhere, and perhaps were able to get a better feel for the city because of it. I do wish that we were more familiar with the Greek language though. It is different enough from any that we are familiar with that we were a bit fluxomed. I tried, but repeatedly failed, to remember even the simplest words. In the end I was at least able to say "Kalimera", but that's it. Luckily most people speak English and didn't seem overly annoyed by our inability to communicate in any other language.

I have posted a lot of photos here, but if you would like to see more, go here.

Next, I will tell you about stunning Santorini!

Late FPF

2009-04-19T23:40:00.003+05:30

Yeah... I know. I missed Friday. Our hotel here in Santorini has less than convenient internet access and the island itself is a bit distracting. So, here is a bit of Santorini for you and I will tell you more once we have returned to Bangalore... all too soon.

FPF...

2009-04-10T21:24:00.004+05:30

So... we are here, we are here, we are HERE!

Yup, we are in Athens, Greece.

Really, this is a lovely time of year to be here. Is it cold? Well, it is a bit chilly. Understand, we left 95 degree weather in Bangalore and that is what we are now used to. Here it is a balmy 70 degrees and we are a little shivery!

We had a lovely day today, wandering around the Acropolis. Tomorrow we will do some museum visiting and then the girls and I will probably do a little shop wandering while Bryan does something else. Really, it is better that way ;)

Sunday will be Delphi, and Monday and Tuesday we will see some more sites in and around Athens before we depart on Wednesday for a visit to Santorini.

Wish you were here!

Wishing you all a Happy Easter...

Seriously...

2009-04-07T09:40:00.004+05:30

There are occasions in life when you have to stop and make a reality check.

Am I where I need to be? Yes? Check.
Is my family well? Yes? (mostly) Check.
Am I focusing on the right things? Yes? Check.

I get a little nervous when all is well. When everyone is happy and doesn't need me to do anything for them. I'm just not used to it! But indeed, everything does seem to be well. The kids are growing up and becoming mostly self organized. My husband seems to be happy and well and even I am doing well.

Seriously, am I the only one who gets nervous when this happens?

On other fronts, I am busy getting school assignments done, taking lots of photos,

"These are the people in my neighborhood..."

...writing a paper that is due on the 20th. Oh yeah, I am trying to finish it this week because we are going to be traveling. Should I tell you??? Should I just surprise you with a Friday Photo from this mystery location? I could just give you a clue... it is going to be cold! Well, to us anyway where we have temps in the mid 90's every day! It will be substantially cooler and I am packing some sweaters and warm things :) You are all going to laugh at me though...

Had to say goodbye to two friends last week. Hate that.

Fellow crafter Gill

Elka, Tiki, The Departing Andrea, Linda, and myself...

The house feels different these days. Isha is here,

..."the boys" are often here,

Boy One, aka Brenton.
Need to get a pic of Boy Two...

...which is actually kind of nice... and life just feels, well, good!

Kabini

2009-04-03T15:59:00.003+05:30

Last weekend we had a fantastic get-away to Kabini (stayed at Orange County- HIGHLY recommended!!) It is along a section of the Cauvery River in Karnataka, but quite near Kerala. It is close to two Indian National Parks, Bandipur and Nagrahole, both of which are well known for their wildlife populations. So naturally one of the activities is to go on safari! There are many animals that we can see in this area, elephants, monkeys, leopards, deer (three types), HUGE squirrels, Water buffalo, wild boars (they are also HUGE), Jungle fowl (aka "wild chickens"), and of course, tigers. Apparently the animals that most often make trouble for people who live in the area are the boar and the elephants. Tigers and leaopards are shy and run away from people! Go figure. Still, the above list would indicate WHY we don't go camping in India. I know how to deal with bears in the Sierras, I know how to deal with mountain lions and mischievous chipmunks... but elephants? Tigers? Giant huge squirrels that look like they would cart off a young child if they were covered in cookie dust? No thanks.

Anyway, this being Friday, we need a photo. This is one of my favorites of the elephants along the banks of the river. This is definitely one that is better viewed in a larger size, but hopefully you will enjoy it anyway. You can go to my Flickr account to see more photos from Kabini. Enjoy!

And Lisa? I was thinking of you!

FPF- Cookie Monsters

2009-03-27T09:58:00.005+05:30

When my kids were little, we lived on a little street in Palo Alto, California. It was a quaint little street really, even though we were just barely "in" Palo Alto, separated from the different universe of East Palo by a mere freeway. But our little street was it's own community. We had bar-b-que's, pool parties, watched out for each other's kids and really had a wonderful time. In the midst of all this lived an elderly woman in a funky little house. There were Calla Lilys in her front yard. Her driveway was painted in a checkerboard pattern and she would putter around, sweeping her drive, tending to her roses ("Peace Roses", she told me) and generally living a quiet existence.

My children loved to go visit her and after some time I discovered why. She was the Cookie Lady. Everytime they visited she gave them a cookie. They were the cheapest, unhealthiest cookies you can imagine, which my health-food mama soul cringed against. But what actually made me feel bad after a time was that I knew that she was living on a limited budget. She was on her own and lived a very simple life. But she insited that she should be able to do this for the children and they loved her for it. So they ate the cookies. They brought them smiles and the children loved visiting her. As they grew older she bought cheap versions of classic books for them, I remember The Jungle Book by Kipling was one. She cared for these children and really meant a lot to all of us.

Well, I guess it is my turn. Across the street live a family of construction workers. They are working on the site next door to us and the couple have two young children, Abdul and Reshma, who are three and one years old. A couple of weeks ago I gave them a cookie. A day or so later I did it again. Now, it has become a daily occasion and they expect it. Though I do limit it to one a day! So here are my cookie monsters...

(... is a fairly lousy photo technically, but as stated before, I have a weakness for cute kids!)

Oh- and our cookie lady? That was Miriam Patchen, wife of the poet Kenneth Patchen, and here is a bit more about her. Yep. She wasn't just some little old lady. And those cookies? They may have been the cheapest and unhealthiest cookies, but they were certainly nourishment for my children's souls.

Friday Again...

2009-03-20T09:17:00.003+05:30

Well, I must say that this Favorite Photo Friday thing is at least getting me blogging on a regular basis again. This week, I did not have the opportunity to take any interesting pictures. I did get out to photograph on Wednesday, but it was an OWC visit to a hotel/business center and while I took some photos, they are not of the interesting to share variety. SO instead I will share an older photo with you that I have not shared here before (though if you watch my flickr page at all you have most likely seen it).

E Block Slum residents

One of the interesting things about this photo is all of the vessels that are lined up across the front. It had been raining and they were there collecting water that was coming off of the corrugated roof. I really like the colors in this photo though.

Craft Talkin'

2009-03-16T08:24:00.002+05:30

Okay, I am not usually one to share Youtube videos very often. Today is the exception. Why?

This one had me in stitches!

("stitches"... get it?!) Heeeheeeheeeheee....

Thanks for sharing Isha ;)

It's Friday Again...

2009-03-13T11:54:00.003+05:30

This will be quick, but I didn't want to forget that it's Friday!

So my favorite photo from this last week was taken at another one of our (OWC) charities, a home for mentally ill adults. My understanding is that they have a real hard time of it here in India and face a lot of prejudice and such. Although, I guess that isn't really so different from most other places in the world.

This is Gracie. I took several photos of her and she is one of those talented ones who knows just when to close her eyes- right when you are taking the picture. But I finally put the camera to one side of my face so she thought I was done taking pictures and... snap. I was able to get one with her eyes open.

Gracie is really something.

I always feel quite humbled and privileged to be able to visit these charities. Humbled as those who run them are the type who really pour all of themselves into their work and privileged as I am able to meet and get to know such amazing people.

Have a great weekend!

Favorite Photo Friday

2009-03-06T09:17:00.004+05:30

So without going into any of the reasons as to why I have not posted recently...

I would like to introduce a new weekly feature here in Snidknits land. Yes, it is FAVORITE PHOTO FRIDAY. I will post a photo that I have taken in the last week that I like. See, I can't post any knitting because... Well, I haven't knitted a stitch since I have started back at school. Yep. That would make showing knitting difficult (although I have been eyeing my incomplete and far-too-warm-for-India Fairisle recently). So... a photo! Okay, wait. How about two? I can't decide! How about this... you tell me which you like best.

Now while those load.. let me tell you what I have been up to.

Monday we had to go to Delhi because we had to renew our visas. Why Delhi? Well, we have to visit the MHA, also known as the Ministry of Home Affairs (Sounds like something out of Harry Potter doesn't it?). We had to be there by 8:30 am. So we arrive, go wait in a room, watch other people arrive and take seats, and then once the appropriate employee arrives we are all told to go "queue". This means everyone gets up, rushes outside and forms a line with no concept of who arrived first being in front. Okay, fine. We get in line and are then ushered back into the building, being handed a number card as we cross the threshold, a number that leads us to our destiny for the day. We had Number 14. We re-take our seats (though different ones this time) and wait for our number to be called.

As we are waiting I can't help wishing that I could comfortably take pictures of all of the faces that surround me. They are surely representative of every corner of the world. I am particularly fascinated by the Afghani man who looks like he could be a brother to my husband. Now I understand why we are so often mistaken for northern Indians. Anyway, we are finally called to the front where we hand over a stack of papers that include multiple copies of every document we have that in some way relates to India. At the top of this the clerk writes "14" and then we are sent off to another building.

Once there we... sit... and wait.

At about 10:30 a woman comes in, sits at a desk and everyone rushes to her desk... so Bryan does the same thing. Who are we to buck tradition after all? He comes back with three pieces of paper. More forms for us to fill out and sign. After filling these out we return the papers, along with the rest of our papers, and then they are attached together and put into a stack, along with a lot of other papers.

Then, we... sit... and wait.

At some point (time becoming a hazy concept at this point) men begin to enter the room, grab stacks of these papers and sit at a desk in an adjoining room. Now at this point I should explain that on the wall in front of us is a sign that indicates a desk number followed by a long listing of countries that will be served from the appointed desk. There may be a connection between the particular countries that are assigned to a particular desk... but I am not sure. It is all a bit vague. Next to this sign there is board which lists the numbers 1-6 followed by a blank area that could be lit up. You know, something like what they would have in a US DMV to call you to the appropriate desk, well- except that now they are computer screens. Anyway, you get the idea. So, we assumed that when it was time for us to go up that our number would be displayed in the appropriate place there. Yeah, well, no. No, they will instead call out our number from the desk and everyone has to stand in such a place that they can hear and understand what is being said. There were quite a number of people who missed being called. Now, remember that number? Number 14? So, we should be at the top of the pile, right? I don't think I need to tell you. No such luck. It was just a pile of papers with no numeric order to it. We were finally called though some hours later, at which point the clerk looked at the papers and said to come back at 5:00 pm.

We are free!

I haven't really spent any time in Delhi before, just driven through on the way to the airport from Agra. We had heard from some friends that there was a place called Khan Market nearby to the MHA, so we headed there to have some lunch and wander around a bit. Wow. It was a bit different from Bangalore! First, I saw more foreigners wandering around... we don't often see so many in one place in Bangalore (unless it is a specifically expat function or at a hotel), and then I noticed something else. All of the Indian women were wearing Western clothing. Very strange. In Bangalore, the vast majority of women wear Saree's or Salwar Kameez. So, it is a bit different. There was also far fewer people out on the streets and very little traffic as compared to just about any area in Bangalore. It is possible that it had something to do with where we were in Delhi- not sure. This was the only place we had time to see because it was soon time to get back!

Back at the MHA. Sitting... and waiting. Finally we are called and are handed...

the envelope.

What's in the envelope? No clue. It is sealed and this is why we come all the way to Delhi. To get this and take it back to Bangalore where we are to hand it over to the Police Commissioner at the FRO (Foreign Registration Office). That's it. We get into our taxi and go to the airport. Day is done.

Repeat the mantra after me... "I love India, I love India, I love India...."

Humble Pie

2009-02-04T14:04:00.004+05:30

It is easy to think, as you grow older, that you have learned a thing or two. Even though our teenagers might believe else-wise, we know a bit from life. We know that good comes with bad and vice versa. We know that good things come in small packages, and are received infrequently ;) We know not to put the cart before the horse and that pride comes before a fall.

But we have forgotten a few things.

We have forgotten how to be students. We have forgotten how to be an apprentice and that we need to put aside all that we know to be learners. And by "we", yes, I am meaning "me". Becoming a student again has been a humbling experience! Going back to studying photography, 24 years later, wow. It has changed. The basics, aperture, composition, etc... are still there, but very, very different. Digital photography is a whole different technology and I am really grateful to be learning more about it and am newly inspired to use photography as a tool for exploring life. But first, I have to start with the basics. I have to introduce myself to my camera. I have to get to know all that it is capable of and much of it lies beyond that far-too-convenient "automatic" setting. There is a difference between taking pictures and being a photographer and I can now see that I'm not there yet. But I am looking forward to the journey and the possibility of learning how to be a photographer again.

In the meantime I will share with you a photo and a story of two young men I met recently. They are both recipients of educational grants from proVISION ASIA, a local charity/ NGO that offers support to people with varying disabilities in the greater Bangalore area. These two men, Nazir Hussein (age 18) and his brother Abdullah Hussein (age 20) are both students at a local college. They, along with a younger 12 year old brother all have a visual condition that makes seeing very difficult. They are able to see only out of the corners of their eyes and only at very close range, really only having about 10% of their vision.

Here Hussein is showing me the book that he takes notes in. Yes, it is an old magazine, but since his notes are in braille it works quite well for him and is much cheaper than specialized books! These boys have been working very hard at school and consistently earn very high marks. Nazir's favorite subject is political science and Abdullah likes Economics. They are both quite cheeky and a real inspiration.

Guess I'll get back to my studies now...

New Starts and Finishes

2009-01-20T16:36:00.007+05:30

Maya and Bryan watching Obama become president!

By the time you read this, we of the United States will have a new president. This is a very comforting thought in a sense, but is also cause to celebrate. We here in Bangalore will have our own celebration. We need to. We are removed from our home country but are very much aware of how others in the world view US. We need to hope and trust that this view will become more positive. President Obama will have a tough job, but at least I feel and trust that he will do this job to the best of his ability with integrity and courage. Really, you cannot hope for more. So tonight we head to a gathering for the Democrats Abroad of Bangalore and we are going to celebrate.

Now, some weeks back I made a comment about registering for school. Now given that I am the mother of quite a few children, some several of which are still attending school at some level, you may have made the assumption that I was referring to one of them. Not so. See, it all began quite a few years ago. Twenty-Four years as a matter of fact. I had been attending a local community college, puttering along in my education trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I was successful in some of my classes, usually the ones that related to art (I also did well in English writing/composition classes). So somehow I got it into my head to apply to Art School. It was not something that I had seriously considered before that due to financial issues, but a conversation with an informed counselor convinced me that through grants and student loans I could do it. She was right. The next year I was a student at the Academy of Art College in San Francisco and had one of the most rewarding academic experiences of my life. I loved every class, got excellent grades, enjoyed spending days in San Francisco and learned much that has continued to be useful to me in life. That year was incredible. But, that year I also got married. While this is not something that I regret (even though I am happily married to someone else now) this change in marital status had a significant impact on my educational life. The grants that I qualified for previously, were no longer accessible to me and so, I never completed my BFA.

Now, some months ago I was looking at accredited online educational opportunities for my 19 yo daughter. I discovered that the school I had attended all those years ago, now known as the Academy of Art University, offered many of their degrees online. So, after a brief but supportive and pleasant conversation with my husband (I really am a lucky woman!) and a bit more research, I decided that I would like to pursue finishing my degree online. So, yes. I am going back to school to finish my BFA in photography!

This is going to mean that I have a bit less free time, maybe even a LOT less, as I will be spending more time like this...

...but it is something that has been unfinished and dangling in my psyche for a long time now. I have completed many things in my life and feel like I have spent the last 20 years raising some pretty fantastic kids, but doing this is a really, really exciting thing for me. I am also very aware that if we were living in the US at present I probably would not be able to do this, I just wouldn't have the space in my life. So, there you go.

Now... how about the knitting department?

Well, I did stock up on sock yarn while I was back in California.

Now please note that I actually gave a way quite a bit of this yarn to some of my Bangalore knitting friends! Still, I do have to keep in mind that Sock Madness is coming up again.... But, I figure that since I had so much more sock yarn that I should perhaps finish a pair that had been on the needles for a while.

Yup, I ran out of yarn. Cute huh?

I also managed to finish a cashmere lace scarf that I have been working on since October.

Still needs to be blocked, but it is going to be pretty lovely! (and really, cashmere? Lace? What's not to love!) This yarn was received as a gift, and my intention is to give the scarf as a gift as well. Sometimes that is just the way to go, you know?

Random Day in the Life...

2009-01-09T09:20:00.003+05:30

Back in Bangalore and life proceeds.

Yesterday morning, as it was Thursday, I got up and ready and headed out with our driver Manju to go to the Leela Palace. This is where the OWC hosts their weekly coffee morning and the Leela is known as one of the world's top business hotels. It really is a gorgeous place. So, it takes about an hour to drive there during which I pull out my book and get some reading done. (Vampire adventure-romance. Gotta love it.) After tooling through the usual Bangalore back-ups and traffic, passing bull carts pulling cement mixers, groups of camels being ridden down the street and the usual mix of stray dogs and cows we finally reach the Leela. The usual entrance area is closed off and we are diverted around the corner and directed back across the front of the building so that we can go through a security check. We wait our turn and then proceed to the usual mirror under the car, check the boot (trunk) of the car thing. Then both Manju and I are asked to get out of the car, he to pass through a metal detector and I am subjected to the "ladies screening". This means that I go into a little booth, and a woman passes a wand over my body and looks through my purse. Of course, I could have left that purse in the car and no one would have known. Whatever. We are now deemed safe for entry and allowed to drive to the usual drop off area. The doors that I usually use to go to our meeting area are chained and I have to enter through another set, leading to their gorgeous lobby filled with large table displays of tubal rose flower arrangements.

The coffee morning is a strange one in a way. I am realizing that it was one year ago when I first came to the OWC coffee morning as a new member and it is my first one since we have returned from our holiday. Everyone is passing on New Years greetings and getting caught up on holiday trips. Of course it is also a time of transitions and I had to say good-bye to two people. While I hope to keep in touch, it is likely that I will not see either one of them again and this saddens me. They will be missed. This is always a hard thing to do, we know that at some point we will all have to go through this which for me, makes it a emotionally stressful situation as I am still processing my feelings from our trip back home and such. Being an expat puts you into a situation where you immediately have a connection of sorts with every other expat you encounter. That sense of feeling homeless and foreign is hard to relate to those who have not experienced it. So, a return "home" is something that makes you feel uneasy. Yes, you will be back with family and friends, but there is now a difference in you. Some part of you that you can never quite explain and they will never really understand. You are changed.

After coffee morning I call Manju, he picks me up and we head back towards home. On the way I notice lines/queues at the petrol bunks/gas stations. Manju reminds me that there is a strike going on with the workers of two of the major oil suppliers in India, Indian and Bharat oil. The rumor is that Chennai is already out of petrol and people are getting panicked and are stocking up. We filled up on Tuesday so we are still good. As we are heading home, Manju asks if I need coffee powder. This is the usual term for ground coffee which I get fresh from a supplier in Malleshwaram. Manju is pretty good at keeping track of when I am getting low and might have a sense as to how dysfunctional I am without good coffee! As we reach Malleshwaram (a really wonderful area which I have blogged about before), I notice that the streets are quite busy with both shoppers and many extra vendors along the streets. There are flowers, the usual pirated dvd sellers, impromptu vegetable stalls and all manner of bangles, bindis are earrings to tempt the meandering crowd. But we skip all of this and we reach the coffee shop where I dash out of the car, order my coffee as well as answer a call from my trainer at the gym. Yes, yes... I am coming. Once home I have a quick bite to eat (peanut butter and banana sandwich) and Ari and I leave for the gym.

Gyms in India are a bit different. First, they all seem to have trainers, and while you can pay extra to have a personal trainer, it really isn't necessary. They always have lots of available trainers on the floor and they will make sure that you follow your routine, and as evidenced above, will call you if you haven't come in for a while. They knew we were back in town and there was no skipping out on them! Well, they were at least sympathetic to the fact that we had been away for some time and so we only did a 45 minute, but much needed, post holiday cardio workout. Afterwards, we are told that it is time to have our measurements taken (they do this once a month I think) and I have to admit that I am grateful that these are done in centimeters and kilograms. I am still not overly aware of the conversion factors involved and so these "foreign" numbers have little emotional effect on me.

After we have changed and picked up needed milk from the shop downstairs, we call Manju and head back home. Several of the petrol stations that we passed on the way there, ones that had long lines as we headed to the gym, are now cordoned off and closed. No more petrol or diesel. Near our house we encounter a bit of a traffic stop up and we realize that the petrol bunk there apparently still has stock as it is one of the few companies that is not on strike.

The scene is a bit chaotic, but there is a policeman there directing traffic and keeping the calm. Cars queue up, but the two wheelers just clump and jumble together. I am very grateful that we have fuel still.

Now I am home, but my day is not over yet. Another VERY dear friend is leaving Bangalore (there really have been too many good-byes today). She and her husband come by for a quick coffee and a hug. I am determined not to break down, to not say goodbye, in an effort to help her cope with what I know is a very hard move. This particular family was supposed to be here for another year yet and due to some changes within their company they were told that the contract would be ended a year early. They are not the only ones to face this and we are all aware that this is the way that the global economic situation is impacting us here. We are both very grateful that her husband gave her a ticket to return to Bangalore as a birthday gift. So I am certain that I will at least see her again.

Everyone I have said good-bye to today is going to Australia.

After they leave, Bryan and I quickly dash off to a social get together for parents at Maya's new school. Yes, after we returned it was decided that she might be happier at a different school. We were very happy with the academics at her old school, but it was just too small of an environment for a teenage girl needing a social life in a foreign country. So, we head to yet another five star hotel, pass through the now-becoming-standard security checks, (commenting along the way that we are grateful that we have already been in Bangalore for a year- so we are not freaked out by all of this) and go meet up with parents from the school. Luckily I already know many of the parents at this school so we quickly feel comfortable and get to know people better. After a couple of hours of chit chat accompanied by a couple of glasses of surprisingly decent wine (at typical Indian high prices) and the requisite passing out of business/calling cards we head out to the car and go home.

I have managed to stay awake until a normal hour, my first time to see 11 o'clock since we have returned from the US and so I figure I am finally over my jet lag.

Yep, we are back in Bangalore and life proceeds.

Home Again, Home Again ...

2008-12-29T00:07:00.004+05:30

It is a bit hard for me to believe, but our visit home is starting to wind down and in a few days we will be heading back to our Bangalore home. It has been a strange visit in a way. Hard to see people in terms of arranging the time, hard to see people in terms of not knowing when I will see them again when we part, hard to see people in terms of making priorities and such. I still have so much to do, things to purchase and yet I just want to go up to the hills, find a rock or a tree log, take a seat and breathe. It is so beautiful here. I really had forgotten how close nature is. The fresh air, the green hills and trees everywhere are gorgeous and refreshing. I used to complain that is was hard to get to when we lived here, now I appreciate it far more. Bangalore feels almost strangled in comparison. But this is the way it is.

I have enjoyed many things about our visit. Hanging out with friends and family in particular. We joke around that we have given a boost to the US economy while here with all of our stocking up and such. I have enjoyed being in a hotel with a Mexican restaurant next door!

This is the one cuisine that we cannot find in Bangalore and if you have grown up in California is is practically your native cuisine and culture. Friday was Brenton's birthday. Brenton is an Australia expat living in Bangalore with his family, and his family came along to California with us for our holiday here. Brenton is quite friendly with my eldest daughter. Anyway, on his birthday we decided to go to Los Charros, the Mexican place for some Mariachi and Margaritas. He was serenaded. It was beautiful!

Feliz cumpleaños Brenton!

Customers singing Mexican Ballads

I am having a hard time being very expressive about our stay here. I think that part of that is that I feel a bit confused about my feelings. It is good to be here but in a sense a bit uncomfortable. The economic downturn is apparent, we have heard and overheard many talking about salary cuts and lay-offs. Businesses that have been part of the local landscape my entire life are closing their doors. And yet in Bangalore we are isolated from all of that. We still live in the Golden Bubble. We have a driver, a housekeeper, and live what can only be called a privileged life. We know it. It is a bit hard to imagine that the global economy will enable us to return home for good anytime soon. This definitely makes our stay bittersweet. We are the migrant workers of the 21st Century. Visiting our house was odd as well. There are several young men renting it and it felt the same but so empty. No chaos of stuff everywhere. No blaring music competing from opposite sides of the house. No kids arguing or joking around. Just didn't feel like home. weird.

So we move on. Life is a transient experience after all. We are surfers. We catch a wave and ride until it is time to hop off, paying close attention so that we don't get dumped too hard. We want to be able to walk away with our board in hand and our head held high. Grateful for the experience and looking forward to the next ride.

Eduardo the dancing waiter

Wishing you and yours a very Happy New Year filled with joy, love and prosperity!

It's a Verb, it's a Plane, it's Santa Man!

2008-12-16T07:04:00.006+05:30

The new verb. Bobbitised.

I love Indian newspapers

The Plane.

We arrived via Hong Kong at about 10 am this morning. Long, but some sleep was had and we are now officially stateside for the first time since last January 2nd! Jet lag sucks though.

And lastly, Santa Man and his Merry Elf.

Read all about it from Santa's perspective here.

It is good to be home, although I don't think that it has really hit me yet. It is green. The sky is clear and crisp (and cold!). Since our house is being rented out we are staying in a hotel with a view of the lowest gas prices I have seen in quite some time.

The plan is to see friends and family, to share our lovely bit of the world with Aussie friends from India who have joined us here, to register for school (more about that later!) and to take care of necessary tasks. A lot to fit into the 2 1/2 weeks we have here, but we shall do our best.

Tonight? Pizza and sleep.

A Turkey of a Day w/o the Poultry

2008-11-28T16:20:00.004+05:30

It was a weird Thanksgiving. As it was our first Thanksgiving in India I was prepared for something different, but nothing like what the day became.

First, the weather has been cold. Truly actually cold. Sweater weather. Wool sock weather. Thank goodness I have some of those. There was a cyclone that came ashore the southwest coast of India and we have been getting the fringes of it here. Nothing too extreme, but definitely cold and damp. First time I have worn a sweater, socks and shoes here in India.

Secondly, I woke up yesterday to a phone call from home with a family member making sure that we were all okay given the situation of the last few hours. Situation? I hadn't even had my coffee yet. I had no clue what was going on, but I turned on the TV as I continued the conversation and was soon caught up with the events in Mumbai. This event, even though it is further away than the bombings that struck Bangalore in July, feels as if it has hit closer to home. Why?

Westerners Targeted
High Profile Sites
Oberoi, Taj
Hostage Situation

These phrases and words were scrolling all over and on everyone's lips. As a Westerner who often visits High Profile Sites, including the Oberoi and many Taj hotels here in Bangalore and elsewhere, I felt a bit vulnerable or perhaps... well actually I can't think of an adequate word to describe my feelings. I don't feel unsafe necessarily, but wary? Yes.

Then third. As I was sitting on our second floor, reading news from the computer, I heard a loud sound and then screaming from the construction site next door. I went down the stairs and outside, mentioning to my neighbor who was looking over his front gate that someone had gotten hurt. We walked over to the site and up to the floor where the accident had taken place. There was a boy, probably about 14-15 years old as well as a man about 25-30 who had been hurt by a wall that had collapsed on them. These walls are made out of concrete cinder blocks and somehow it came down. No speculation on their construction skills, it just happened. The boy had hurt his leg as well as gotten a bit of a bump on his head. The older man had obviously gotten a good solid concussion out of the deal. Having suffered a good concussion myself and seeing how spacey he looked, I was quite concerned about him. Apparently in situations like this the construction workers are to call the contractor and owners who are supposed to take care of them and make sure they get medical treatment, etc... Well, they called them but they did not arrive until this afternoon. Helpful. I made sure that they went to see a doctor and gave the boy some pain medication for his leg. I also went over with our housekeeper Lalita
(since she speaks Kannada and I don't) this morning, to see how they were doing. The man looked a bit out of it; tired, but otherwise much more responsive and okay. I told them that he will probably be okay but he needs to rest and take it easy for a few days. The boy was complaining of a headache and was a bit feverish. His foot had been cut on the edge of one of the bricks (they work barefoot or with "slippers"), and when I looked closely I saw that it was a bit red and very sensitive. I was concerned about infection so I told them to soak his foot in some warm salt water and then to keep it wrapped and clean. We gave them some blankets, I tore up some cheap cotton pillowcases to make bandages and told them to let me know if anyone gets worse. As all of this was happening Ari's physiotherapist (yes, he makes house-calls) was arriving and he said that it was so good that I was doing "social work". I tried to tell him that this is just what we do where I am from. If someone needs help, you help them. To me it's called being a good neighbor. I guess that is what I am thankful for.

So, that was our first Thanksgiving in India. Luckily Maya made an apple pie and with the Domino's Pizza that we ordered we felt like we had had a bit of a celebration, but still. Like I said, weird.

Stitch and Bitch

2008-11-18T17:24:00.001+05:30

I know that my offerings have been a bit sparse as of late. I know it isn't so interesting to hear about how busy I have been but I have been

Busy caring for my family
Busy trying to care for myself (in needed downtime and even joining a gym...)
Busy in my new role as photographer for the OWC's Rangoli publication
Just generally busy

I am long overdue for a knitting update so how about I show you what I have been working on. Yes? Good!

As I think I have mentioned I have been a little concerned about how cold I am going to feel when we return to the States to visit in December. I know that there are probably some of you who assume that California is sunny and warm most of the time, but I am here to tell you... not true! It can get cold, even when you are used to it, and now that I have been living in a tropical climate, where temperatures rarely drop below 70 degrees Fahrenheit and are usually closer to or above 80, those moderate and damp Northern California winter days are going to be cold! Definitely sweater weather. So after much thought and contemplation (always an important part of starting a sweater) I decided to start my Philosopher's Wool sweater. I think I mentioned that before... but here is my progress so far:

I have the two sleeves done, Have started the body and am just sort of changing colors as it seems to make sense at this point. I do have a couple of concerns about this sweater. I think my gauge is a bit tight (I seem to be changing my knitting style a bit) and this is made more difficult because this particular yarn does not have a lot of flexibility to it. It is possible that this is partially due to the fact that I have been storing this sweater kit for almost two years and the yarn has a lot of lanolin in it. I have knit with yarn that has this kind of a stiff hand before, but doing a whole sweater of it feels a bit like I am wrangling with it or something. Not a particularly pleasant knit in a sense. I feel fairly certain that once I block it that it will loosen up a little bit, but this particular form of fair isle gives a fairly heavy weight fabric. It will be warm!

My other concern is that I may not have it done in time to be able to wear it for our trip. That would be a bummer. Particularly when I could have chosen a different pattern that would have been a faster, and probably more pleasant knit. ugh. Well, I will just have to keep my fingers crossed. It is not going to be one of those beautiful flattering sweaters, but I DO hope that it will be one of those beautiful and yet utilitarian sweaters! I had an older Norwegian sweater, obtained at a second hand store 10+ years ago for next to nothing, and when we were packing up for our trip to India I realized that it was getting holes, wearing through and was in need of retirement, or at least a vacation! I think I packed it a way in a box (I really HOPE that I did!) but it was my beautiful utilitarian sweater. I need a new one.

Have I rambled enough? If you are not a knitter and have gotten this far, you have my gratitude! Just for you I will tell you another Bangalore tidbit. Yesterday.... what a day. Ari and I decided to go to the gym. Now, our gym is at most 10-15 minutes away by car. Quite close by Bangalore standards. I had read in the newspaper that there was going to a political rally in town, complete with bussed in villagers who are paid and/or fed in exchange for attending the rally (it's true- I kid you not) and that traffic would be a bit heavy. So with all of that I wasn't surprised that it took us 30 minutes to get there. We passed busloads of people obviously heading back home so I figured by the time we were done at the gym everything would be cleared out. I could not have been more wrong.

"Are we there yet??"

We got into the car to head home at about 4:15 and did not get home until 6:15. I kept thinking that Ari and I should just get out of the car and walk home, but our driver Manju was quick to point out to me that he couldn't do anything but go forward anyway.Hours in the car. Everyone was complaining and comparing notes, talking across divided traffic, grousing and whinging. After dropping us off Manju then went to pick up Bryan who works about 30 minutes away. What time did he get home? 11:00 pm. Almost four hours to get him and bring him home. Unbelievable. Sounds like a really smart political rally, doesn't it? Somehow I have a feeling that they won't be getting many votes from this part of the city!

A New Day...

2008-11-06T16:48:00.002+05:30

No, we were not there, but the heartfelt and deeper than I thought feelings keep coming back.
I have hope for my country once again...

This is a video from a street party in Seattle after the US Presidential election results were announced...

Oktoberfest November

2008-11-03T08:48:00.004+05:30

Yes, it is November. Even here the weather is changing. The monsoon rains have passed away, the air is fresh in the mornings and last night I was even cold in bed! There are no falling leaves though and while the days are glorious and beautiful I do find myself longing for a crisp nip in the air and what I can only call sweater weather.

I am creating my own personal sweater mood though- I have finally started the Philosopher's Wool sweater! This is a kit that I purchased at Stitches West in February of 2006, right about the same time I started this blog. I figure that I am going to need a nice warm sweater for our visit back home in December. I am long overdue for a knitting update, but that is not going to be today ;)

Today I am going to tell you about Oktoberfest!

On Saturday, November 1st the Indo German Cultural Society hosted an Oktoberfest party here in Bangalore. wow. Never in my life have I experienced anything quite like this (and that is saying something!)

Imagine, if you will, a typical Bangalore 5 star hotel, cars pulling up in a queue, moustachiod Indian doorman greeting you as you enter... And then the lobby is packed. Lederhosen, dirndls and all. We proceed upstairs to the main halls, one for food and one for everything else. There were hundreds of people and as we relaxed and settled into our tables, it was apparent that we were united. Drunk Germans, crazy Finns, wild Indians and all the rest were here for one reason only, to have a party. The band, flown in for the occasion from Germany, started the evening with a long set of German beer drinking songs, interspersed with toasting songs, followed by drinking. Yes, there was lots of drinking.

Oktoberfest Band

No, there was no good German beer, we were stuck with Kingfisher for the night, but in such good company even it was palatable. There were sights I will never forget, like the young Indian guy dancing on the table with the Lederhosen clad band member, the unidentified crazy Finn dancing with shoes in his pockets and the long line of dancers, surely representing every country in the world, snaking through the hall.

As the night progressed the dancing moved up onto the benches, some number of which broke, and up onto the tables

Broken bench #2 and counting...

But it was an experience I am very grateful to have had. We all felt welcomed into a German cultural experience and I for one won't miss it next year.

At 11:30 it was time to finish. We truly could have gone on for many, many more hours, but Bangalore law being what it is, this was our cut off time. We all knew we had already bent Bangalore tolerance (and broken the law) by combining live music, alcohol, and dancing at the same event. The band was shooed away from the stage, a very brave Indian hotel representative announced to us all that "Our friends the police are already here" and so we slowly accepted our fate and dispersed into the night.

Crazy fun.

Catchy catchy...

2008-10-17T12:24:00.006+05:30

This post was started about a week ago... yeah, it's been one of those weeks

It has been a weird week- preceded by a nice long weekend in Varkala, Kerala and then a few days of feeling under the weather. And yes- we have the monsoon rains back again the last week or so. If I understand this is part of the "retreating" Monsoon, and is not likely to be as long of a rainy season as the previous one. Monsoon seasons, Indian Holiday seasons, not to mention the coming "Western" holidays make for an increased level of chaos and hub bub. It has certainly been festive. Well, to catch you up, I'd better just dive right in! Ready, set, ....

Go!

Last week was Dasara-Vijaydashmi (hope I'm spelling that right!) and this is when, among many other things, people decorate and do a pooja with their vehicles, as well as other work tools. The idea, if I understand correctly is that this pooja will ensure that these tools work good and properly in the next year. Well, our car was not excluded from these festivities!

It was quite fun to drive around and see all of the festively decorated vehicles. Ours actually looked quite simple!

Also last week, I received this:

Yay! I count!

I have now voted, even donned the "I voted" sticker around the house just for fun and now we just keep our fingers crossed that they arrive sae and sound and actually get counted. Yeah. That would be good.

So since last week was the big Dasara holiday, Bryan and Maya had time off from work/school so we headed out to Varkala!

Varkala is a small beach area in Kerala State. For those of you are are not aware, Kerala is the state that is at the South West coast of India. It is referred to as "God's Own Country", has the highest literacy rate in all of India, and is the home of many beautiful, warm and generous people. It is a breathtakingly beautiful spot in the world and other than being far more warm and humid than Bangalore, is absolutely idyllic. We chose to go to Varkala because while it is a little bit of a tourist destination, it is described as a "laid back" one. Perfect. I've been to Goa and wanted to experience something a bit different. Also, as it was "off-season", due to the effects of the retreating monsoon, the prices were far less than Goa. Yay!

We didn't really do a lot. We enjoyed being able to walk without the interference of traffic and such and we also enjoyed a lot of relaxing, whether it was by the pool, or overlooking a beautiful sunset with a Rs. 100 Mojito in hand. Life was definitely good.

Varkalahhhhh

I think I am already ready to go back....

Not sorry...

2008-10-06T10:19:00.006+05:30

So, I am slowly marking off "things to do while in India..."

Saturday night I wore a Sari for the first time. Our opportunity was provided by an OWC fundraiser, "India Night". It was the perfect time to try a sari. I have to admit that I was a bit nervous. I had heard stories of saris slipping down or off at inopportune moments and I was certain that if it would happen to anyone, it would be me. I have never really been a "girly-girl", rarely wear skirts or dresses and generally wear jeans or here, the salwar kameez "Indian pants-suit". The highest high heels I ever endure are rarely over one inch, and lots of sparkly jewelery? Ummm... nope. Not me. So a sari, along with all of the traditional accessories, is the antithesis of "me".

Some weeks ago I knew that this event was coming and so while at one of the many, (and a particularly good one) handcraft and handloom expos, I oggled and purchased one and then two silk sarees. My choices felt limited due to my coloring. There are many bright and beautiful colors here in India, but given my light brown hair and light olive toned skin, not many of them look good on me. There are some that work but given my aversion to sparkly, I tend to be drawn the simpler, subtler designs. These are the ones I purchased

So, the plan was to meet up at a friends' house and aided by her dear housekeeper Violet and daughter Ruby, we were folded, tucked, pinned and adorned.

Marian gets draped by Violet

We were SO grateful for their help. I'm not sure how one could put a sari on unaided! We felt like we were getting ready for a wedding or something. Then the finishing touches, our flower garlands, were put on. These were a gift from our drivers, who were very concerned that their "madams" looked respectable and proper in their Indian attire.

Me, Marian and Jackie

A small photo shoot followed and we were then off for the event itself.

Our men-in-waiting!

A lovely garden setting, Indian food and chaat, Hindi music and singing... it was a lovely night and all for a good cause...

The full sari shot- including head!

Now, at this time I feel inclined to share a story about one of those causes.

A couple of months ago I joined the OWC charity committee. My "job" is to act as a contact for some of the charities that we support. Finding out what their needs are, acting as a conduit for that support, and ensuring that funds are used properly and appropriately. While on a visit to one of the charities last week my friend and fellow committee member, Andrea, asked if I would like to join her in visiting Home of Hope. It is one of "our charities" and is a home where people go who are homeless, unable to care for themselves, mentally ill or disturbed, sick and dying... really a last stop for many. They are brought here by concerned citizens, police officers, etc... Here they are provided with a place to sleep, medical care where possible and needed, and some food. They are kept alive and cared for. This facility is Christian, meaning that the organizer is Christian and inspired by Christians like Mother Theresa. It is not a church, nor is it a conversion center or anything else of the sort.

Well, a couple of weeks ago there were some troubling things that happened in our area. In Orissa there has been trouble between the Hindus and Christians for some months and here in Karnataka there were some epoisodes where churches were attacked and ransacked and holy relics were destroyed. Something like this happened in Bangalore and when it did there was a situation where the organizer of Home of Hope was wrongly accused of making trouble and arrested. He was held for three days, beaten, and in subsequent news stories was apparently passed off as someone who takes advantage of people's donations and gets all of this money and... this is just so not true. If you could see this facility. There are people everywhere, of all ages, (yes, including children) and they currently house about 250 people in a facility that is meant for 150. The organizer, Raja, lives on site with his family and this is what they do. Because of these accusations, many of his local supporters have stopped (hopefully only for the time being) giving donations. This is someone who has been well respected and honored in the community and this situation has hit him very deeply, not just in terms of being able to do his work, but also on a personal, emotional level. He is hurting. Locally, we are trying to get food to him ASAP and support Home of Hope as we are able.

If you feel so inclined, it would be such a support to him to get some help at this time. He is very burdened at the moment and even small contributions can go surprisingly far in India. They have a website - New Ark Mission - also linked above and they are already all set up for Paypal.

If you do make a donation, let me know in the comments... you won't be sorry. ;)

The Next Best Thing...

2008-10-02T09:23:00.000+05:30

I have to admit that I am finding it hard to blog these days. Keep thinking "a post is due..." but then I open my computer, read my emails with links about politics, serial bombings, the economy, energy scarcity, bailouts and such and I am quickly overwhelmed and drained. If I were smart I would just not read these things, but somehow I feel like it is important to understand what is going on in the world at the moment. These are interesting times, as the supposed Chinese curse would describe, and I have a sense that if I am aware of what is happening then I can stay afloat in this crazy world.

But luckily there are distractions.

Living in Bangalore we are of course introduced to other cultures. You would think in a country like this it would be "All India, All the Time!", and you are partly right BUT we were invited to a special get-together over the weekend that was "All Aussie!" It was the AFL Grand Final.

AFL: Australian Football League
Grand Final: Just that, like the Superbowl in the US.

Some of the kids watching Footy

What a party. Australian Football, or "footy" as they call it, is very, very different from American Football. The ball looks similar but that is about the only similarity there is. These guys chase, kick, "handball" (a move that looks like an underhand volleyball serve), and bounce the football as they move down the field in an effort to score points. They do this all with no protective clothing (other than mouth guards) and do so with typical Aussie grit and balls. It is a fast moving game and luckily is far easier to understand than cricket, which despite my best intentions remains a complete mystery to me.

There was of course good food,

Australian brekkie

good drink, and good friends...

Brad, Rob and Steve

I am also a fan of American football and while this in no way took the place of the Autumn games that I am missing from back home, it was good fun. I am a fan.

The Winners!

Olympic Awards

2008-08-26T09:24:00.005+05:30

While I was knitting away on the husband sweater I was often watching the Olympics. This is the first time that I have watched them while in a foreign country and I wasn't really sure what to expect. In the US people often complain the the Olympic coverage is US-centric, overly commercial, too heavy on human interest stories and edits out many of the lesser known sports.

Here in India there was what seemed to be a lot more available to watch, although I never knew what was going to be on until I sat down and turned it on. There didn't seem to be any way to know the schedule. Because of this I missed many events that I usually like to watch, like diving, gymnastics and many of the track and field events. The commentary was also fun to digest as they generally had two people, speaking to each other, one speaking English and the other speaking Hindi.

So, while I do feel like I missed out on a lot- I did catch a few things and have my own Olympic medals to award! Without further ado we have...

The BRONZE award goes to Usain Bolt in the 100 meter.
Did you see this race? Did you see him at the end? He actually slowed down, to bask in his glory, before he crossed the finish line! What a way to win an Olympic gold medal and establish a new world record.

The SILVER award goes to the unknown boxing commentator.
He kept the action interesting with such quotes as:

"...he's getting more hits than a Pamela Anderson Website!"
"...exhibiting more control than an episode of Get Smart!"
"...he's got his rhythm and like Gloria Estefan says, the rhythm is going to get you!"
and my favorite, in reference to the Chinese heavyweight boxer, Zhang
"... hes got an arm stiffer than a box of Viagra!"

But the GOLD, the Gold has to go to the Chinese Olympic organizers themselves. Why? The song lyrics for the closing ceremonies...

Beijing, Beijing I love Beijing
Beijing, Beijing I love Beijing
Beijing, Beijing I love Beijing
Beijing, Beijing I love Beijing
Beijing, Beijing I love Beijing
Beijing, Beijing I love Beijing
Beijing, Beijing I love Beijing
Beijing, Beijing I love Beijing...

Closing Ceremonies

2008-08-24T18:50:00.005+05:30

Okay- I can't leave a post like the last one up for too long. Thank you all for your kind words and thoughts. I am feeling a lot better today and yesterday my daughter took good care of me and even suggested we watch a mindless, romantic comedy movie (The Holiday) rather then the intellectual thrillers that I tend to choose when left on my own. She was right. I laughed, relaxed and woke up this morning feeling much better. Again, thank you!!!

(and Tigerr- I need your email address! I can never reply to you!!!)

So, as I write I am watching the closing ceremonies of the Olympics (it is broadcast live here) and I have my own Olympic, er RAVELYMPIC accomplishment!

Here we have what I have termed The Husband Sweater (Ravelry details here)
A sweater I started for my much loved husband on March 1st, 2007.
But it is finished and I can't wait for him to get home and try it on.
(we will all keep our fingers crossed that it will look stunning on him!)

Toodles!

Down, dooby doo, down, down...

2008-08-23T09:14:00.003+05:30

I am having some downer days.

I am always a little hesitant to blog about such things because I don't want people to feel sorry for me or feel like they have to do something special for me or anything like that. But I think that it is a reality of living life as an expat. Sometimes you just miss being at "home". I walked to the store yesterday to get some necessities and while it was lovely out, an early evening where the air was clear and cool and filled with the scent of blooming flowers rather than sewage or garbage, I was filled with feelings of

I just want to be invisible.
I don't want to stand out.
I am tired of being stared at.
I want to feel normal.

There is no real cure for it. While I can hide away in the house for a time, this just becomes depressing. If I go out I am faced with all that is getting me down. I am stuck. I just have to wait for it to pass (which it will) and in the meantime I am dreaming of living someplace where I feel normal, where knitting makes sense and where I can enjoy quiet, walks, and having some outdoor space that is my own. Le sigh.

So you will get a knitting update today and soon I will share a bit about our Summer of Guests.

For the Ravelympics I have been working on the sweater for my husband, originally started on March 1st of 2007. At this point I have completed the back, both front pieces (as it is a cardigan), and am almost finished with the second sleeve. I feel fairly confident that I will be able to finish it in time- by tomorrow afternoon- and will be very grateful to do so! I think my husband will be too (and he'd better like it!!!) This is a UFO that has been hanging over my head and conscience for a good long time and now I feel incredibly silly for delaying its completion for so long as it has actually been a fairly pleasant knit! Here it is in its unfinished state:

Well- I am off to eat brekkie, wake up the daughter and ponder the day's activities. I'm sure knitting will be in there somewhere and I promise I'll be in a better mood next time ;)

Swamp(ed) Monster

2008-08-06T20:43:00.005+05:30

It has been one heck* of a month.

We had family visiting. We have traveled. We have explored. They have left and since then I have been sick.

I am only now starting to feel as if I am crawling out from under the rock of busy chaos and am staring at the wreckage of my life. Unfinished and In-process surrounds and defines me. I need to make lists. I need to prioritize and I need to get busy. Thankfully I am feeling better and am powered by a massive desire to be on top of things again.

Remember the green yarn? Remember the green blanket for the baby that is due to arrive in about three weeks? Well, that green yarn became this

And I am almost done! Just a nice cast off or crochet border and a good blocking...

But dudes. My lovely knitting friends and those who can empathize with projects gone wrong.
I screwed up.

Blocking.
Lace.
ACRYLIC.

Apparently those three things don't go together so well. I never thought about it. I have never knit with acrylic before, how was I supposed to know! What the heck* am I going to do??!!

I have done a little research and apparently you can KILL acrylic yarn. Yeah, yeah, I know- that's how I feel too, but really that's what they call it. It is a process of steam pressing the yarn and it somehow releases the fibers in some way. But it doesn't always work, or really I should say that it is irreversible. You blow it, you suck. Oh man. This is not good.

So I have an almost finished blanket that needs to be killed, the Ravelympics start in two days (for which I am WIP Wrestling with the ever in-process Husband Sweater) and yeah.

I'm starting to wonder why I decided to crawl out from under that rock.

* no further cursing required

Hampi

2008-07-13T20:33:00.001+05:30

Last weekend we went to Hampi.
We took the train there.
It was an adventure.
I'm not sure I should even tell you the train story. Really, it is a bit appalling. But it is a slice of India so I guess I will share- but please don't make any rash judgments about us OR India based on this story!

So, we decided to take the "Hampi Express", a train that runs from Bangalore to Hospet so that we could get a look at Vijayanagara or Hampi, a 400-600 year old city that is absolutely amazing. Not quite ruins, but not quite abandoned, it is in the North of Karnataka and I'll tell you right now- it is a photographer's dream. But, back to the train. I had tried to book the tickets online but kept having problems and then Bryan's assistant, whose husband's brother's cousin- or something like that- worked at the railway office said she would be happy to handle it for us. Okay, no problem. The help is appreciated as I have been busy showing Isha around Bangalore and all. So, for some reason our tickets, once we finally received them, were labelled RAC. Looked like "Reserved Air conditioned" to me. Fantastic. Well, we arrive at the station Friday night (July 4th!) and discover that RAC is actually...

Reserved Against Cancellation.

Oops! But, as our names were actually on the list that was taped onto the side of the train we were told to get on... but where? What we had reserved (and paid for) was 2nd class sleeper. But those berths were all full. The conductor took us down to the regular non AC sleeper cars and sort of waved his hand at an under-occupied area and left. We had absolutely no clue as to what was going on. Our driver had said that we might have to give the conductor 1,000 Rupees. I suspect he took one look at us and figured we could afford it. I was irritated, but felt like we were sort of stuck. Anyway, the girls found empty berths nearby and Bryan and I sat down while we waited to find out where we were supposed to be. Soon it was 11, then 12. Bryan and I also took a couple of empty berths and tried to get a little rest. Then a couple got on the train and it seems that I was occupying the berth of the very pregnant wife. Okaaaayyy. I got up, gave my husband, who I love very much, a bit of a look and I soon encouraged him to go find the conductor. Good man. He got up and came back in about 10 minutes and said that we had two berths in one of the other cars. Honestly, at this point I would have been happy with any seat to call my own, but I followed Bryan up to the next car and soon Maya came along as well and we occupied the two bunks that we had been told were ours.

Unfortunately this is not the end of the train saga. Ten minutes after I had settled into my bunk the conductor came by and said "Where is your husband?? This isn't your bunk, this is someone else's, you have to get out." Now at this point, about 1:30 am I think, I am fed up. I have no clue where we were supposed to be, I have no clue if he is telling the truth or what. But I did know that I was determined not to move from that bunk. He wanted me to "go get my husband". Nope. Not moving. He came again about 15 minutes later and I told him that he could go talk to my husband in the other car. Then, I rolled over, covered my head and decided that if he wanted me to get out of my bunk he was going to have to remove me himself.

I did end up staying there, but Bryan had to give the guy 1500 Rupees (train robbery!!!) and he found spots for all four of us. Isha was nearby and Bryan was given a spot in the car we had reserved for, but that's his story. Ugh. We survived though and in the morning we were in Hospet, about 12 kilometers from Hampi.

Hampi. Wow. Normally this would be monsoon season there, so there weren't a lot of tourists. The weather was perfect, not too hot, no rain, and a nice breeze when you needed it. We had a great guide and really really enjoyed exploring it all as well as taking turns using our new camera! (none of which are posted here... these are all from my lovely little mobile still!)

Really I think that all I can do is to show you some pictures...

A view of Virupaksha Temple from Hemakuta Hill

Krishna Bazaar

I think I just need to call him "Temple Watchman Dude"

Elephant Stables

Hanuman Shrine

Gratuitous Cute kid photo

So we did learn something interesting while we were there. We kept having people come up to us and wanting us to take their photos. Apparently some believe that if you take a photo of them that you will make them one year younger -or something like that. I figure it was a rumour invented by some eager photographer!

In a few days I will post the rest of my photos up on Flickr. And tomorrow ...we are off to Kerala!

She's Crafty...

2008-07-08T11:10:00.014+05:30

100 and counting... That is how many blog posts I have to read in my Google Reader. Down from 200-300. I spent the morning clearing it out a bit and hope to be a little more caught up soon (until the next trip away anyway...) So if you haven't heard from me in a while please don't be offended!

But now it is time for me to make my ongoing contribution to world wide electronic information overload ;)

Well, first I need to share a bit of good news..... (insert drumroll)

I have a FO!
Woot!

The Ribby Pulli that I started in the Spring of 2007 was finally finished at the craft group meeting that we had at my house a few weeks ago.

Ta da!

Crappy pic- but you'll have to deal with it as I want to get this post up!

I can't tell you how nice it is to finish something that has been sitting around for a while!!!

Now I just need to finish the Print o' the Wave, and the husband sweater, and... well, you know. There are a few.

Now, at the last craft group meeting... wait, let's call it by it's proper name. Back home I had Bobaknit (that is now boba-less on Thursdays. What is the world coming to???) and here we have Khelana Bajana which means "playing" in Hindi. The name was suggested by Connie. Connie is dynamic, enthusiastic, cheerful and a lot of fun. Connie's husband came here to Bangalore to learn how to make prosthetics. pretty cool. Except now her husband has received a job offer in Ethiopia that starts in a few weeks. Cool, but dang. I am going to miss Connie!

Anyway... Khelana Bajana met at my house and we knit, stitched and chatted, and chatted, and chatted! Usually we meet for about 2-2 1/2 hours. We went for almost 5 hours! We had a lot of fun, but I think everyone stayed to see me finish the sweater! Anyway, it is a great group and I am glad that Gill got it started. I'll share pics of them all another time...

Now, I have also gotten a lot of yarn recently. My husband has taken to saying that I need to learn to knit faster!

I received a package from Cookie in exchange for the test knitting I did... Wow. Really, really nice and can't wait to knit it!

Mmmmm... Bohus!

I received a package from Jo of some absolutely beautiful cotton-linen. She probably got tired of me complaining about knitting wool items in a tropical country! Jo- muah! These are SO gorgeous!!! (psst... she sells on eBay!)

Luscious colors!

I received a package from Jeni and Hannah (who is apparently no longer a blogger, but I love her anyways)- with some items that they picked up for me at Stitches West. Can I tell you how lovely it is to know people are thinking of me as they are surrounded by all of that yummy distracting fiber and yarn?!

These two will match quite well!!!

And lastly, I picked up some yarn when we were in Singapore. Yes, one of the many lovely things about Singapore is that they have real yarn shops, that carry real yarn made out of real, non-petroleum based fibers. Oh my. I unfortunately (or fortunately from my family's perspective!) only had time to go to one shop, Spotlight in Plaza Singapura (conveniently located near our hotel that was just off of Orchard Road). Truly though, that one shop was enough! I was very quickly on overload as I looked at the yarn and dreamed up possibilities...

One of several aisles filled with yarn

Some of it followed me home...

Now, luckily I did have a yarn "agenda". My real purpose was to get yarn so that I could knit a baby blanket for our driver. I really, really wanted something non-acrylic and his wife is pregnant and due on August 24th. Now apparently in India a "good luck" color for babies and such is green. I never realized how hard it is to find a nice color of green! I did pick up some yarn in Singapore though. Unfortunately they did not have enough of the type I really wanted, so I had to settle for this:

The actual color is a little more olive green

I started knitting it and realized that all of these little fibers sticking out, which looked like a "heather" finish in the yarn when it was inside the packaging, was actually little pieces of plastic! Now, the label on this says "100% wool". Sorry. No way are those little fibers wool! After knitting a swatch and washing, I decided that it was not the best choice for a baby blanket. Argh.

So then I was left with option #2. Find some yarn in India. Well I did have that cotton yarn/thread that I picked up on Avenue Road. So I doubled it (to make it thicker) and knitted a swatch. It looked nice, but when I washed it, by hand, in cold water, it lost a lot of the color. Hmmmm. Maybe not a good idea either. So, I went back to Avenue Road and found this. A nice bright green acrylic.

Okay, it is a bit TOO bright. (and this picture is pretty accurate!)

Next, I went to another craft shop. I ended up picking up a softer green (I think at this point my housekeeper thinks I am going a bit crazy about the green yarn thing!) It will work, but I have to admit that it just isn't a color I am thrilled with.

I am stuck - but hopefully whatever I do will be appreciated. It's just that I know that whatever yarn I choose to use, I will not be completely satisfied with it. I just have to accept it. C'est la vie.

Now, there is something else I wanted to share. While we were in Kuala Lumpur we went to the Craft Complex where they had exhibits, demonstrations and several artisans with shops. The exhibit that they were showing, on Embroidery and Needlework, was amazing. Photos were not allowed though so I have nothing to show you. The artisans actually do their work there in little "huts" on site and you can (if you are interested) do a little workshop and learn how to batik. Now, growing up with a mom who owned a craft store, I already knew the basics of how to batik (as well as do macrame, Tole painting, pot throwing/ceramics, beadwork, Ukrainian egg dying, etc...) but these batik pieces were really beautiful to behold.

I walked into one hut and there was a man reclining in a chair, snoring away. He had a large horizontal stand set up nearby that he had obviously been working on nearby as it was still damp with color. As I was looking around he stirred and woke up and then started chatting. Really interesting fellow. Now, there are apparently several different styles of batik work. He worked with many different styles or batik processes, but the one I liked best is called Cap, Tjap, Chap, Chop or simply Stamped.

He explained the detailed process to us and we soon came to realize that what he did took a lot of time and hard work.

He showed some of the pattern blocks that he uses...

I think this one is made from copper

... and in the end I bought a couple of pieces of fabric because they were so beautiful. Below is one of the pieces that I bought alongside some of the other stamps.

Here is a link to a fairly informative site about Batik.

It is SO easy to fall in love with textiles in this part of the world! I just want to hang them all over the walls.

Next time, either a Bangalore update OR Hampi, OR...

Hi! Remember me?!

2008-06-27T14:14:00.007+05:30

You know, when you get very behind in your blog posts it's hard to know where to start. Do you know that feeling? Kind of sucks huh? I mean I want to tell you about so much...

There is travel content
There is knitting content
There is "life in Bangalore" content
Two of my daughters have had birthdays (Happy Birthday my dears!!!!!)
We had a wedding anniversary
We have been in Bangalore for six months (eek!)

and last but not least we have family visiting!

Well, I guess I could just dive in and start, right?

Fine. Will do.

So Let's start with a bit of travel.

In June we went to Singapore. It is such a stark contrast to Bangalore! It is pristine, clean, organized, quiet, orderly... truly everything that Bangalore is not. There were no cars honking and everyone stays in their lanes while driving. amazing. We took to calling Singapore "Merlionland" because it is sort of a grown-up Asian Disneyland-esque kind of place. I had the impression that I was in a Gotham like city, although a very cheerful one.

Singapore Skyline

And then there was the shopping. OMG. Shopping!!! Shopping malls were everywhere, huge, and filled to overflowing with people. Anna and I decided that we would be happy if Bryan took a job there (unlikely- but we can dream...), although I now realize that I don't think I could take a long term assignment there. It is just a bit too surreal for me, as well as incredibly expensive! Bryan has written a more detailed account of our travels that you can read about here.

Here are a couple of my photos from Singapore.

Chinatown in Singapore

Orchids at the Singapore Botanical Gardens

Now, after our weekend in Singapore we caught the night train to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. We almost missed the train, and it was my mistake, but thanks to my on-the-spot husband and a bit of dumb luck, we got on just in time. The train ride was uneventful- which is good- and after a bit of sleep we woke up to bad coffee and a sandwich (unidentifiable I'm afraid), and the Kuala Lumpur train station.

Petronas Towers, Kuala Lumpur Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur is in a different country from Singapore and this was obvious at first glance. While not quite like India, it has some of the same feel. Things are a bit more run down and the city has a bit more more of the chaotic feeling that we have come to love about India. It is predominantly Muslim and everywhere women wore headscarves and long flowing robes. As a tourist, the major contrast between Singapore and KL (Kuala Lumpur) really is accessibility. Singapore had large tourist centers filled with brochures about all of the different areas and activities that were there. KL had... a not so accurate map. So it took us a bit more time to find what we wanted to do. But we did have a good time and again, Bryan has blogged about it a little more here.

KL photos:

Shopping in KL...

Wanna buy a Rolex?

Shopping Center in KL

Batu Caves outside Kuala Lumpur...

Lord Marugan at Batu Caves

After Kuala Lumpur, we travelled to Langkawi which is a group of islands off of the northern coast of Malaysia. Langkawi is absolutely beautiful and I would love to go back there for a week to relax and do little. Nice.

Ahhh...

Then we were back to Singapore for a last evening and day before our return to Bangalore via Tiger airways, thankfully we didn't need to sleep on this flight!

FYI- to see all of my photos from this trip you can go to my Flickr set here.

Next time I will tell you about crafty/knitting things!

When it Rains, it Pours... and Drips

2008-05-31T19:00:00.006+05:30

Sometimes you just have days where you have to drive around the city and take care of things. Saturday was one of those days. We had to go to the hospital to get our final Hep B vaccination, we had to go to the furniture rental place to arrange for a bed for our "Summer guest season", (eldest daughter Isha arrives in less than three weeks!!!) and then we had to go to Thom's Super Market and Bakery. Thom's is one of the older expat haven type grocery stores in Bangalore. We can get Corn Flakes there (if we wanted), we can get meat there (even beef), we can get baking cocoa and Betty Crocker baking mixes there (I can smell baking brownies as I type!). Bryan can even get decaf coffee there. As far as we know this is the only place in Bangalore that has decaf, even if it is only Nescafe... but sadly they were out of stock (Monday after 3 it shall be there!) Anyway, Anna came with us today and she was so happy to find these:

I believe that they are actually made in Thailand, but still, to her they are a taste from home!

Here is another interesting sight from the streets of Bangalore.

You often see trucks like these around. This truck is actually being used as a bus. It transports people into and out of the city from the villages. This bus appears to be a little on the empty side as sometimes you will see a full batch of heads inside and a full row of bottoms off the back. As you see they have a rope to hang on to and handles on the side. I think sitting on the back would be a fun view, although I would want to hang on real well through all the bumps on the city streets!
I also saw a guy on the back of a two-wheeler carrying a goat across his lap. A LIVE goat! Sadly I did not get a picture of this one but it was one of those "oh yeah, I'm in India" sights. They were probably headed to a barbeque or something.

We then dropped the daughter off on Brigade road (she was meeting a "friend") and Bryan and I headed home. It wasn't long before it started to get a little dark. Then it got even darker. Soon it was 4:00 p.m. and I was turning lights on inside because it was so dark. Glancing outside I saw this:

I really had the feeling that IT was coming.
Yup, I think I can safely say that The Monsoon started today.

Aaaannnd, we still have a few leaks. Nothing torrential, quite. But the rain is really something to behold. About 20 minutes after the above picture was taken, things looked like this:

and this:
At the top left of the above photo you can see a little shack (click if you would like to see it bigger). This is where the construction workers for the site next to us are living. I think there are four of them, probably all under the age of 25 - if that. Some time later they were out in the downpour trying to fix a leak that they have in one of the corners.

This was after about 30 minutes:

Did you notice how much water is around the motorcycle tire? He's not going anywhere soon!

That's a lot of water. And as mentioned, we had our leaks to contend with as well. Oh, and marble floors, when wet, are really slippery. All things considered we are lucky that more does not come in the house!

Catch the Bullets

2008-05-19T16:39:00.005+05:30

It is inevitable that once in a while it is necessary to do a "catch-up" post.
This is such a post.

I bought the Charkha. I told my husband it is art. It is beautiful.
With the help of a like minded knitter (really she is spear-heading it!), we have started a craft group. Knitters, crocheters, sewers, scrapbookers... Yippee! We have met twice and are meeting a third time at my house on Friday.
I am tired of knitting socks. I'm sure it's just like a short term virus or something. I will get over it.
I have too many knitting projects in an "in-between, need to think about the next stage" stage. This leads to me wandering around the house wondering what the heck to do. Not pretty.
We celebrated Mother's Day, along with a group of Aussie/Kiwi friends, with a brunch at Leela Palace.
I am a little tired of going to fancy expat functions. Can't we just meet for cheap Masala Dosa, idli, and coffee?
We were invited to and my husband was introduced (and garlanded) as an honored guest at this ceremonial function.
I have realized that I am more familiar with and communicate more with the workers in my area than any of the residents in my neighborhood.
I found an organic food store 5 minutes from my house. It is the only ISO certified organic store in India. Had no clue it was there. How cool is that?
Speaking of cool, last week it was cooler here in Bangalore than it was back home in Silly-con Valley. Who'd a thunk it?
The bombings in Jaipur last week were incredibly sad and senseless.
We are planning a trip to Singapore and Malaysia next month.
There are yarn stores in Singapore.
Monsoon Season is coming soon.

We are close to the "June 5" area

Stop, Children, What's that Sound?

2008-05-06T17:37:00.000+05:30

Do you hear that?

No, not the buzzing saw from the construction site.
No, no- not the train in the distance.
Nope not the auto rickshaw putt-putting down the road, nor any of the honking cars.

Don't you hear? The loudspeaker?
What is it saying? No clue, still haven't learned Kannada.

So, I think just about everyone in the world is aware that this year will see a presidential election in the United States. Can't miss it. But did you know that it is election season in Bangalore? Yup. If you live here you can't miss it either. There are the processional trucks with the loudspeakers, the gatherings of white clad politicians and supporters that meander in large groups around neighborhoods or just loiter on corners, sidewalks or streets. There are the occasional tents that have sprung up, which may or may not be used for serving lavish feasts in an effort to woo voters. (It's illegal, but they are there and I have heard that it happens.)

It wasn't long ago when Bangalore received a visit from the young, the dashing, Rahul Gandhi.
Despite his seeming discomfort with it, he is India's political poster boy in a Tiger Beat kind of way, being the heir apparent to the Gandhi political dynasty and head of the Indian Youth Congress. His visit was accompanied by large banners, posters, flags and lots of traffic tie-ups.

It can appear that Sonia Gandhi's Indian National Congress party (INC) is in an election battle with The Bharatiya Janata (BJP) and the other major player in Karnataka politics, Janata Dal Secular (JDS) but truth be told- I really have no clue! Election day is on the 10th of May, and while I will state again that I in NO WAY have any in depth understanding of Indian politics, I do think that this is a pretty big election. Since October, the government of Karnataka (the state that Bangalore is in) has been governed by "President's Rule". I believe that this was an effort to cool things down after there had been some political turmoil between BJP and JDS and disagreements about the coalition government that they were supposed to be running.

Don't ask me what the different parties represent, stand for, or any of that. Again, I have no clue. I did see one ad in the newspaper that had been taken out by BJP that listed all of the woes that are affecting India (and the rest of the world) at present such as higher prices for food stuffs, grains, petrol and gas, and implied that the Congress party was to blame since they have been in power for such a long time here. It is surely a simplistic explanation, although I know that this sort of thing happens in politics all over the world. Of course, luckily for Indian politicians, Bush has stuck his foot in his mouth again and they think that the US is now blaming India for higher food prices world wide. So nice to have a diversion.

Political campaigners parading and handing out leaflets

It is interesting to see all that is going on here though and yet also feel a bit isolated from all of the politicking in the US. Yes, we hear about it in the news, but it is always the after-effect, the reporting of the event that we hear about. We are not able to participate in such an intimate way. So I am trying to at least understand the process here. It does seem that people are passionate about voting and elections in Bangalore. Lalitha, my housekeeper came late the other day so that she could get her voter ID card and she reported that there was a huge line and crowd with people jumping line and the police had to come to control the crowd. When did you last hear about that happening in the US?

Campaigners and candidates

Well, I just hope for a peaceful election. No strikes, no riots, no trouble. But maybe the US could take a lesson from Indians and at least DO something if things don't turn out the way they should. It would be nice if we were able to actually elect our next president. For real this time.

In the meantime, I am just hoping that the local politicians will address the trouble with sidewalks.

Mysore and Mayo

2008-05-05T15:22:00.008+05:30

I told you that the 1st was a holiday, right? So both my husband and daughter had Thursday and Friday off. We had actually intended to get away for the weekend, but tried to make plans too late- so instead we decided to head to Mysore for the day! Mysore is .... (below out take from Wikipedia)

"Mysore (pronounced /maɪˈsɔɚ/ in English (listen); to be renamed Mysuru) (Kannada: ಮೈಸೂರು) is the second largest city in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the headquarters of the Mysore district and the Mysore division and lies about 140 km (87 mi) southwest of Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka. The name Mysore is an anglicised version of Mahishūru, which means the abode of Mahisha. Mahisha stands for Mahishasura, a demon from the Hindu mythology. The city is spread across an area of 128.42 km² (50 sq mi) and is situated at the base of the Chamundi Hills."

Manju arrived at about 7 am and we headed off...

Mysore is, according to all of the guidebooks that I have read, approximately four hours from Bangalore. Well. Hah- what do they know! We arrived in 2 1/2 hours on the button. Of course, part of this improved time may have been the new 4 lane (meaning they could fit six cars across if needed!) road between Bangalore and Mysore. This is easily the nicest road I have been on thus far in India! We did share the road with vehicles of all kinds, including ox carts loaded up with sugar cane, but we made good time and arrived in Mysore nice and early.

We decided to start with the Palace since they are actually open early. I had heard from a friend that they have guides inside and have their rates pre-printed on a card for all to see (of course there is nothing to prevent them from having more than one card in their pocket with multiple price sets!) Whatever- we found a guide and began our journey- oh but first stop- the toilet. Now, I am sure that you have all heard about squat toilets, right? Well, believe it or not, I have thus far been able to avoid using one. Bangalore is pretty "Westernized" for good or bad- and I have never been faced with a squat toilet being the only option. Well- not here. Squat toilets they be. Not too clean, but not too dirty either, and I had to go. I do actually have a picture ( No! Not of it in use! geez...) but decided against posting it here out of respect for those of you who are "squeemish". But I came, I went, and I survived. Really, it's not bad. Now, on to the Palace!

Mysore Palace

The palace really is pretty magnificent and I wish, oh how I wish, that they would have allowed me to take pictures inside. But it is not allowed. The Mysore Palace was the abode of the Mysore Royal Family (the Wodeyar family) and seat of the Kingdom of Mysore. They have lived in the area for many hundreds of years. The current royal family (king I think?) still has a private area of the palace for his use, but if I understood correctly the Mysore Royals actually live in Bangalore. It sounds like the Mysore Royals were pretty good - they sponsored many social projects and seem to be well respected to this day- of course this is all according to our guide! There is far too much for me to describe here. The palace contains some beautiful stained glass, spectacular mosaic floors, and incredible halls with ornate colonnades. I was really saddened to see graffiti in some of the areas though. The palace could do with a bit of a face lift as the Indian weather and moisture takes a heavy toll on the best of constructions. Well worth seeing though!

After the palace we were all ready for a bite to eat. When we said to Manju that we needed some lunch, he immediately took us to a local nice hotel. It wasn't exactly what we had in mind, but we really can't blame him as most of the time when he drives us somewhere to eat in Bangalore it is usually located at one of the many nice hotels in town. We do actually eat at other places- it's just that he isn't with us at those times! Anyway, we had an okay but overpriced meal and then decided to head to the local market area. We really didn't want to do a lot of shopping this trip, but we were curious to see the market area. So we roamed around, were offered lots of fruit (which I would have been tempted by if we had had a cooler or something) and I think I saw more bananas than I have ever seen in my life. We did find and stop by Guru Sweets, supposedly the place to get Mysore Pak (good stuff that!) and bought far too much as I am still figuring out that 1 kilogram is actually a good amount of something.

Well- we were soon done with the market and Anna really wanted to see Saint Philomena's Church. It is a Gothic style church and really is not what you expect to see in the middle of Southern India!

We were dutiful Christians and wandered around. Bryan quizzing me on just who exactly is St. Philomena. When my memory of Catholic saints and their iconography came up blank he had to resort to other methods...

Anna posed in St. Philomena's Grotto while Bryan is trying to look her up on the web. Here is the Wiki page if you are interested... Apparently she was dropped from the list of "celebrated saints" on the liturgical calendar in 1961. That must be why I didn't know who she was.

But enough about that. Today is Cinco de Mayo! I have to say that I have been craving isolated Mexican foods lately. The one thing that you just can not find anywhere in Bangalore is real corn tortillas- nor can you get Masa Harina that would enable you to make your own! I absolutely love corn tortillas. I grew up in a very Mexican neighborhood you see, so the things that bring back memories of my childhood are Mexican pastries, (not only the fluffy pink ones, but also the molasses flavored ones that are shaped like pigs! Yummmm) Mexican folkloric dancing, (always loved the endings where the man leans down over the woman with his sombrero covering the two of them- always wanted to know which ones were really kissing!) and fresh corn tortillas. Many an afternoon of my childhood was spent enjoying these tortillas, made by my friend Mark Gonzales' grandmother. We could eat them as fast as she could make them and to this day there are few foods that can compare.

But here we have to make do:

Yes, a taco kit. We ate them all up and they were really quite good. No, we didn't have sour cream. No, we didn't have guacamole (no "butter fruit" in the store these days- butter fruit=avocado) But we did have tacos in real corn tortilla taco shells and they were yummy.

And yup. That's Fosters.

CccrRrrraaAAAcckkk!!!!

2008-04-30T17:42:00.004+05:30

gggrrRRrrruuummmmbbbbBBBBbbbllllleee

You can always tell it's coming. The light changes. It gets darker. Then a little yellow. (Yes, yellow- the air takes on a golden glow and despite my many efforts to capture this it seems impossible to do so!) You see the flash of light, followed by the grumble of thunder. Then a few minutes later... the rain.

We had this weather almost every afternoon in March. But most of April has been dry. Then hot. Really hot. Yeah, I know I already told you about that, but I have learned that I do actually sweat and it can drip down my back when I am standing still. The rain cools things off but it does get a bit more muggy. They call rain at this time of year "Mango Showers" or so I have heard, but apparently the March rains really messed with the mango crop and since it is now Mango season, the prices are said to be a bit higher. Still yummy though!

Knitting? Well, I am out of Sock Madness. Round 4 was started and I just did not have a lot of energy , so I didn't push myself the way I had in previous rounds. I was knitting away last Monday afternoon and as I was checking to see who posted their finished socks on Flickr I saw my undoing pop up. I put down the sock, sulked for a few days and then picked them up again. I am done with all but the heel on the 2nd sock and already started on the Round 5 sock- but I will wait to show you the socks until they are all done (hopefully this weekend). I must say that they really have some beautiful patterns this year! I can't wait to show you! Okay- I give ... here is the first finished sock from round 4:

Tomorrow is Mayday. If we were home we would be waking up early, heading to a dear friend's house for a dance and sing around the May Pole followed by strawberries, whipped cream (or ice cream!) and shortcake for breakfast.

sigh.

Here it is a worker's holiday (including our driver and our housekeeper) so I expect that we will sleep in, and try to figure out what to do with ourselves for the day. Maybe I'll put on some fiddle music or something to help us feel a little better.

Lastly, I spotted this yesterday and am sorely tempted to buy it! Do you know what it is?

What do you think? Should I get it??!!!

All Sock Madness... All the Time!

2008-04-21T16:46:00.002+05:30

I am really trying to not have this blog turn into a 24/7 Sock Madness news channel.

I had intended to do a nice interesting post for you this last week, but I was so busy doing "stuff" that it just didn't quite materialize. And now I am online waiting, waiting, waiting for the next pattern to be released.

Enjoying the hammock as the air starts to cool

It is Summer here. It is hot. Not unbearably so, but somewhat uncomfortable and we are now using the AC at night -hot. I am very grateful that we live in Bangalore (average current temp. 36-37 C./ 98 F.) rather than someplace like Delhi (40-41 C./ 104-105 F.) Ugh. I'm good thanks! It also doesn't get as humid here so it is still somewhat tolerable. The cats, particularly Benny, have taken to lying on the floor, tummy up, underneath the ceiling fans. It really looks quite ridiculous, but I will leave it to your imagination and try to preserve a bit of Benny's integrity and respectable image.

We spent the last weekend getting plants for the outside areas, moving furniture around (family members can insert laughter here), and hanging things on the wall. It felt like a productive weekend and I am starting to feel more comfortable in the house... it doesn't feel empty anymore. It is actually starting to feel like a comfortable home!

Ok- I give up. Things are going wonky on my computer and I want to post before the next round of Sock Madness starts. Will check in again soon!

View from the hammock before the mosquitoes come out...

Oh yes, I have also enabled word verification in an effort to reduce the comment spam that has been popping up on my blog lately... hopefully that will be enough and I won't have to go to comment moderation. But please, if you see any comment that says "See Here" with a link- don't go see it!

Round 3 done!

2008-04-13T10:11:00.004+05:30

Just a quick post- I did finish the Round 3 socks for Sock Madness last night, approximately 39 hours after the pattern was released.

I was the first one finished in my division, but I know that the benefit that I had this round will not be there every time! The pattern was released early in the morning my time, so I had a good long day to knit. I finished the first sock on the first evening (Friday) and was able to get a start on sock #2 before I went off for a bit of sleep. Even though I went out for a couple of hours with my daughter on Saturday, I still finished the second sock last night at a reasonable time.

I know- this isn't really so interesting. but the point I am trying to make is that I know I will not win this competition. There are faster knitters out there. I have reached my goal of making it further than I did last year (I was beat out in the third round) and I still hope to make it a bit further. But there are some speed demons out there who I have no chance against!

Without further ado, the socks...

Slippin' Stripin' Socks

yarn: Merino Lace from The Knittery in Moonlight and Warm Pink colorways.

It was a great pattern and I am quite happy with the outcome! And, I will be in Round 4 whenever it starts...

Slippin' Stripin' sock #1

2008-04-11T21:07:00.001+05:30

Slippin' Stripin' sock #1
Originally uploaded by SnidKnits

One down....

Casting on #2. Later!

India Post

2008-04-10T18:14:00.005+05:30

I have some dear friends, Mary (aka Spinnity) and Janice (aka Bogie) who gave me a very sweet present before I left the States. Knowing that decent yarn is difficult to find in India, they gave me a gift certificate to Webs and yes- Webs ships to India! Well, after a little hmmming and such I decided to use my gift certificate to order some yarn. Lace yarn. Valley Yarns Merino/Tencel. 2 cones of it! Yippee! I perused the site and sent in my order March 3rd. I also ordered some other lace yarn the following day from The Knittery in Australia. Turns out I also really needed some Superwash lace for one of the Sock Madness patterns. The Knittery yarn arrived in about one week, but then it took about one week for them to notify me and for me to figure out exactly where I needed to go to pick up said yarn. With me so far?

Anyway, back to Webs. Finally this week I decided that I needed to try to track down this package. It had been a month after all! I sent an e-mail to Webs and they assured me that it had left the country. So I knew then that I had to go bug the people at India Post. I have by now heard many horror stories about missing packages, missing items from packages, packages that are damaged beyond all recognition, etc, etc...

Great.

So, I spoke to my driver and he said we needed to go to the GPO (General Post Office). We drove into the city and pulled up to this grand old building surrounded by many lush plants and the always constant traffic. I walked up to the building, saw a window that said "enquiries" and headed that way. Within a few minutes a man called on me and I explained that I was looking for a package that had been sent from the US. He then told me that I needed to go to the FPO (Foreign Post Office) in the even more congested part of Central Bangalore. Goody. Luckily my driver knew where it was (since the gentleman's directions were "St. Mark's Cross Road, near the State Bank of India, ask someone- Second floor" and actually those directions probably would have worked just fine~)

We headed over to the FPO and I walked up the stairs to the second floor (reminding myself that it is actually the third floor) and I entered a room that was filled with large burlap and cloth bags containing packages. They were everywhere, piled, tossed, and helter skelter. I stepped over a couple of bags to get to the desk that someone pointed me towards and approached a wary looking woman. I explained my predicament and she asked if I had the package number. Argh. Well, yes- but that would be in the e-mail that I had received from Webs. Did I think to write it down? Nope. Okay- she said that without the number I could look through this book... and she hands me a register book that is filled with page after page of handwritten entries. These are all of the packages that had been received in the last couple of months. Each day has 2-3 pages of entries. Fantastic. But, then she says, "You could also check here" and shows me a folder with some computer printed entries and low and behold I was the second one listed! That's me! I say and she eventually tells me that the package left there office on the 1st (one week ago) to go to my local post office.

Of course!

So, back to the car and we drive to the local post office (not the LPO!) and I walk in the door, a man looks up from his desk and says, "Ma'am, your package has arrived."

He knows me. Okay. Guess maybe I stand out or something. Anyway, I paid the import duty and brought my package home. While it took almost two hours, I was actually able to get my package without too much of a problem! The Indian Post works. And here is the result...

Package with the requisite heavy twine and sealing wax. It has been inspected.

Yarn!

Thank you Mary and Janice!!!!!

Now this is my last post before the Madness kicks in again. Yes, that's right, Round 3 of Sock Madness starts tomorrow. I have swatched with the lace yarn from The Knittery, have balled my yarn and I am ready to go. There are now 20 of us in each division (down from 50 or 60) and the first 12 done in each division will move on to Round 4. Wish me luck!

Harshakala

2008-04-04T11:15:00.001+05:30

Okay, now that the second Sock Madness round is done (for me at least!) I can get back to our regular blogging! I am going to tell you about...

So, I of course love textiles and I was thrilled to be able to go to Harshakala, the National Handloom Expo. There are really few words that can describe what these pictures can, but it was awesome to see. There was a very large tent filled with row after row of vendors displaying silks, hand printed fabrics (silk, cotton, etc...), carpets, wall hangings, clothing, even wool socks (mine are better though!) All of these items are fashioned by hand and are beautiful to behold.

Now, they do use some machines. This is a Jacquard loom that is being used to make a silk Jacquard fabric.
The shuttle zipped back and forth as he pulled on the knob (just next to his face in the picture), but the thread was so incredibly thin it was difficult to see! Silk has some amazing properties in that way. It is an incredibly strong fiber and can be spun very, very, thin (I know - you spinners already know this!) This particular loom had a pneumatic function which I believe makes it a little easier to operate (less muscle power needed).

This is the upper part of the loom and those green things hanging on the left are hole punch pattern cards of some sort. Each card has different holes in it and this will then effect which of the things to the right are used , which is what makes up the pattern. I know, this isn't a very good description, I just am not finding the right words. But dude, it was cool.

Here are some more of the pattern cards:

Here is what the silk fabric looked like:

There was also a display about silk and where it comes from, complete with live silk worms and all. We used to raise these every Spring when my kids were little, although we never used the silk itself. This was a cool, and traditional way of holding the cocoons:

We always used egg cartons, but this is a lot prettier!

I spotted some silk thread (couldn't really call it yarn) and was examining it to see if it was plied in any way when a man came up near me and was talking on his phone. As he hung up I asked him if he worked here...
He didn't, but we got started talking and it turns out that he owns a business that makes and distributes silk yarns to the EU and N. America! Wow. I could not believe my luck. And actually, he is the one that makes the base yarn for Tilli Thomas yarns.

Did he say Tilli Thomas?!
Tilli Thomas, one of the most expensive yarns I know of?

Someone pinch me. This can not be happening! Well, I immediately asked him if I could come by and see what he has, and yes, can I buy some? I am not in the US or the EU at present. I am here and would love to be able to get some decent yarn!!!! He gave me his card, asked where we lived, said he has a place nearby there and yeah... Made my day!

So, I will leave you with a little slide show of what I saw and maybe even some of what came home with us (Bryan helped too!)

Sock Madness- Reversai Pair done!

2008-04-03T00:25:00.001+05:30

Reversai Pair done!
Originally uploaded by SnidKnits

Not the prettiest pic- but I am done with the Round two sock for Sock Madness. And now? Off to bed!

Greener!

2008-03-31T19:47:00.001+05:30

Just had to let you know that I have transformed a UFO into a FO!*

Introducing.... Greeners!

These are in honor of my oldest daughter' school, Evergreen State College and yes, that color is pretty accurate.

Sock Madness, round two starts soon -so more sock knitting will be coming up!

* non-knitter translations...

UFO: UnFinished Object
FO: Finished Object

Goan Goals Gone

2008-03-27T17:34:00.008+05:30

Well, Friday was a bit of a wash (ha ha), but we were hoping for an improved Saturday. We started off by deciding to take a walk after breakfast since it was nice out. We started out down the beach and enjoyed exploring some of the sites along the way. It really is a lovely beach, even for us spoiled Californians.

We did notice that the skies were darkening as we walked on though. Anna and I decided to turn around at one point while Bryan wanted to walk on a bit further. We soon realized that we had turned around just in time, for as we got back to the hotel it started to rain. Pour. Pelt. We got wet. But nowhere near as wet as Bryan did. It eased up a little bit and we retreated to the hotel room to dry off and get ready for our outing! Yes, It was Saturday and time for Ingo's Saturday Night Bazaar. I suspect that any tour book on Goa will say something about it...

"... firmly established on the tourist agenda that Saturday night means Ingo’s. ..."

"...Ingo's saturday night bazaar has come a long way to be a jewel in the crown ... The best tourist market of Goa."

"Every Saturday after the sun goes down People make there way to the Mother of all Indian night Markets"

This is going to be so cool! I had been saving up my shopping all week for this! So we called the driver who we had used on Thursday and headed North.

This is what a lot of the sites of Goa looked like for me...

On the way there I did want to stop by a place I had found listed in the Rough Guide to Goa book, Sangolda. Sangolda is a shop housed in an 200 year old Palacio and it contained the most beautiful furniture, housewares and artifacts that I have seen in India, all priced accordingly. Wow. But check this out:

This is a quilt that they had hanging in one of the corridors.

Pretty cool huh?

Well, look closer...

That isn't fabric. It is stitchery. Embroidery. Are we impressed? I sure was.

Okay, back to the plan. Ingo's here we come. We fought our way through the Saturday night traffic. It isn't nearly as bad as Bangalore, but being that it was Holi, the crowds (highly colored ones at times) were out in force and it felt like a big party scene. Which Goa has a bit of a reputation for. But, back to Ingo's we finally get through and.... it is empty. closed. not there.

So... we tried another market. Ditto. We were never really able to get clear as to whether it was the fact that it was Holi, or the night before Easter, or just the continuing rain, but there were no markets open.

BUMMER

So, our driver felt sort of bad and took us to see Baga Beach.

Glad we weren't staying here!

So, the tally so far. We left the hotel at about 3:45pm, it is now about 6:30 and we have seen one shop and a very crowded beach. Perhaps we should just try to find a nice restaurant to have dinner at. Well, our driver pipes up that he knows a nice restaurant and so we start to head South. It really is a long trek, but we enjoy the scenery buzzing by outside the window and 1 1/2 hours later we get to the road the restaurant is on and .... it is blocked. We can't get through.

At this point I am starting to think that someone has it out for us. But our driver turns the car around and after a momentary pause, during which he is seen to be drumming his fingers on his lips and muttering "hmmmm", he says he knows of another place. He drives us, drops us off and we proceed to enjoy one of the best meals I have eaten on any vacation. Goan cuisine, with fresh fish (this restaurant has their own boat) is absolutely divine.

Believe it or not, it was all worth it.

Easter Sunday was spent enjoying a last bit of Goan fresh air before we returned to Bangalore.

Now we are "home", although it is a bit strange because now that we are back I realize that it doesn't quite feel like home yet, but regardless the cats were very happy to see us!

Someday I hope to return to Goa again, although I think we will not go during Easter week next time!

Good Goan Friday

2008-03-26T12:03:00.010+05:30

So, where were we- Thursday, we went to see some temples and went shopping in Panjim. Right.

So guess what we did on Friday? We went on the tour that was organized by the hotel. We were supposed to go to the old churches in Old Goa, but because it was Good Friday (this would be the day following Maundy Thursday) the church was not open for visitors. So..... we went to see some temples and went shopping in Panjim. Sound familiar? yeah. We were not pleased, but by the time we heard this we were already captive on the bus so we had to go along for the ride. We arrived at the first stop, which was the second temple that we had viewed the day before. Since we didn't want to go into the temple again we instead walked up the road to where all of the little sales stands are and got something to drink and snack on. While doing so there was a young man who ...well see for yourself.

It is a strange (to us anyway) behavior that many Indians seem to have the need to take photos or video us, I can only assume it is because we are not Indian. While we are generally good sports about it, my daughter does not always appreciate the attention. Unfortunately, I think when I took a photo of him taking a photo of us, I only encouraged him and his group of friends. They were very friendly, I think. Chatting away in Hindi, I couldn't understand what they were saying to each other- but I am pretty sure it was Hindi. Well, we walked on and found a shady spot to sit and soon we found ourselves surrounded by a group of giggling Indian girls wanting to have their picture taken with us. Bryan got a shot as well.

OK. We're done now. Can we go yet?

So, back on the bus we proceeded towards Old Goa and drove by a cool looking site that obviously had the ruins of an old building, I think our "guide" (I am being very generous to use that term) said that it was one of the original churches of Goa. Cool! We get to stop there and check it out... wait we are still driving... are we looking for parking? Nope. We aren't stopping. Instead a few minutes later we arrive at a "Handicraft Emporium". Here we can get out and shop and use the toilet.

Rug loom at Handicraft Emporium

Well, they do have some very nice things here, but I am hesitant to buy much because we are going to go to the night market in North Goa tomorrow. It is supposed to be very cool and have the best things. Plus this place is really expensive thank you very much. So, back on the bus and we continue driving into Panjim where we stop at a parking area where there are some shops that sell cashews and feni. Our "guide" says that we can get out here and buy some of these things. Well, fine- we did want to pick some up so we oblige. Once we finish we head back to the bus and are told that we can now walk to the boat tour. This is supposed to be an optional add-on to our tour, but I think they are feeling bad about how lame this tour really is and so they decide to foot the bill for our boat trip.

So, the boat. What can I say. If you ever go on a vacation that is near a large body of water you will come across this sort of thing. Boat, music, drinks, food (sometimes), and entertainment. The boat leaves the dock, the drinking and the entertainment begin, and then at a later point the boat returns to the dock. Raise your hand if you have encountered some variation of this-

Yeah- us too.

So, in keeping with the spirit of the day the boat left the dock and then had to return right away as the DJ had forgotten his bag that had all of the music. So we set out a second time and things got hopping with some Hindi pop and an invitation for all of the children to take to the stage and dance.

As I think I have mentioned before, Indians love to dance (so do I) and they love music (so do I) and they love to do it with others at ear splitting noise levels (yup- me too!). So, the kids grabbed the stage and got the party started (Anna took a pass). Then it was time for the couples, although most couples seemed unwilling to admit they were couples, but Bryan and I decided to get into the act and we went up on stage to join the one other couple that had copped to it and so we were a couple of couples. Once the music started and we began dancing, Bryan and I doing our best impersonation of Bollywood style boogie, more couples joined us- maybe so they wouldn't have to watch us making fools of ourselves. Well, the gods were well pleased and we were soon being pelted with a blessing of rain. But our dancing was so enthusiastic that the rain came down harder and harder! (it doesn't seem to sprinkle much in India) Our audience fled downstairs (I swear it wasn't our dancing) and we all... kept dancing! We were having fun! Well, finally the DJ said that we needed to go downstairs and once the music stopped we really had no choice. So we followed the other dripping dancers to the lower level where there were no chairs, just lots of people standing around, dripping. It was raining for quite a while and we tried to make do with looking at the scenery passing to either side of the boat. The skies really were something!

Soon the rain slowed down enough that the DJ, prodded by a group of enthusiastic (and possibly inebriated) young men, started up the music again.

I should add here that there were a couple of ethnic dance performances thrown in here, Goan harvest dances and such performed by four brave locals, but we would be kidding ourselves if we said that was the real show. We were the show thank you very much! I even got my dear teenage daughter to join me on stage in the end. I think, it is possible, perhaps, that she might have even enjoyed herself (and so did I!)

"Hare Raam, Hare Raam..."

Well, the show did have to come to an end and so we returned to the dock and returned to our bus and drove for about one hour so that we could return to our hotel. What a day.

Goa, Goa, gone...

2008-03-25T11:19:00.006+05:30

Tuesday (3/18): Time to go to Goa! It is an amazingly short distance, well- I am still getting used to the distances here in India, not being familiar with kilometers and being somewhat disoriented by how long it takes to get anywhere in Bangalore, but Goa is a short, barely 1 hour flight away. So we arrived, got settled into our “villa” (they had upgraded us from our two rooms we had booked) and settled in for some relaxation and downtime.

Wednesday (3/19): I should know better. We spent the day relaxing by the pool because Anna had a lot of studying to do (she has mid-terms next week!) Now sometimes, occasionally, once in a while, I over-estimate my body’s ability to absorb the sun’s rays. I really do tan fairly easily, but I sometimes forget that I don’t spend a lot of time in the sun these days. So- I think you can guess the rest. Yes- I resemble a lobster. You know it’s bad when you are applying blush to the non sunburned areas so that they blend more. I think I will recuperate fairly quickly, but at the moment?- Not pleasant.

Thursday (3/20): today we wanted to get out a little. (we won't mention that I was wholly incapable of "lounging by the pool") So we hired a taxi for the day and headed to Sahakari Spice Farm. This was about a 45 minute drive from where we were staying and they grow… spices; vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, etc.... We took a tour and learned about all of the spices that they cultivate as well as medicinal uses for most of them. It was actually pretty interesting. We also saw how they harvest some of the fruits that are up high in the trees.

Best left to professionals

One courageous visitor even gave it a go himself. Suffice it to say that he showed how hard it really is. I did learn something new as well. See this...

These are cashews! The cashew is the little part at the end and the rest is what they call the "apple". They use it to make Cashew Feni, one of the local alcohols- they also make a palm feni and a coconut feni. We tried a bit, it is quite warming.

After the spice farm we asked to visit a couple of the Hindu temples in the area. We were interested in seeing them because they are a bit different from most Hindu temples.

Shri Mahalasa Temple

Goa is mostly a Catholic state and was a Portuguese colony for many years. So these temples are said to have architectural influences from the Christian buildings in the state. I really can't make a good comparison myself as we have only visited the ISKCON temple in Bangalore which is a very modern style of architecture. Still, they were interesting to see.

Then we paid our respects to the Christian God by visiting the Bom Jesus Basilica in Panjim.

Now if you are paying attention you will notice that we were doing all of this on Maundy Thursday. So, basilica closed. Fine, we had actually had a little bit of a hard time finding a driver for the day because they all go to church for big Maundy Thursday services. That’s okay, we saw a bit and then headed in to Panjim itself to have a bit of a look around.

Tomorrow I will tell you about the rest of our stay and the little misadventures we had!

Zombie Socks

2008-03-16T10:51:00.004+05:30

Originally uploaded by SnidKnits

Well, I am finished with the round one socks!!!!!!

Took a little longer than I had hoped, but I am definitely "out of training"!
Last night my hands ached, I couldn't focus my eyes anymore and all day I just felt like my speed was not up to par. Woke up this morning, warmed up my still aching hands and finished them off. Very nice pattern and a fun knit!

I estimate that each sock took approximately 12 hours to knit.
I am pretty sure that I made it to Round Two. Now it will start getting tougher!

Sock Madness-Zombie Sock #1

2008-03-15T01:09:00.001+05:30

Zombie Sock #1
Originally uploaded by SnidKnits

So the pattern for these socks was inspired by zombies. I really should be watching Shaun of the Dead while knitting these! But, I am done with the first sock and I should be able to finish the second one without any problem tomorrow. Great pattern!

Now, I am off to bed.

(all sorts of thunder and lightning and then rain outside! Just like a Summer storm in the Midwest! Cool!!!)

Creative Post? Well...

2008-03-12T21:21:00.006+05:30

Okay, this one is for the knitters!

I know, I know... I have been absent. Actually I have been sick. Attacked by the Indian version of a flu. Dang- it kicked my butt. I was sick in bed for four days. I cannot even begin to explain how frustrating that is to me. I HATE laying in bed. Drives me nuts. But, I am finally starting to feel better on day 6, just in time for Sock Madness! Yup. In about 24 hours Sock Madness starts and I will be knitting with a frenzied pace. Just incase you have no idea what I am talking about I will give you the quick rundown. Sock Madness is a speed knitting competition in which we are grouped into divisions, we knit a pair of socks and the first ones done move on to the next round. And believe it or not it is more fun than you can possibly imagine. I wrote a little poem about it last year- but you'll just have to re-read it as I don't have time to get too creative right now... :)

My sock yarn awaits...

One of the reasons I was so frustrated being sick was that I was really hoping to get some other things done in the last week. Let me show you. I bought this:

And this:

to make some....

Can you guess? Yup. Curtains. I particularly wanted to get them finished before those late nights of Sock Madness start up, but it looks like the first round will have to be done without them... sigh.

Well, hopefully I will get the first pair of socks done real quick and then I can get the curtains done... before we go to Goa. Geez.

Okay, one more thing, check out this yellow lace weight yarn I bought down near Commercial street. For comparisons sake, it is laying next to a FULL skein of Socks That Rock. That's a lot of yardage there isn't it. I asked the clerk how many meters/yards there were and he just looked at me and said "no meters, weight." It is acrylic, but doesn't feel too bad for the cost. It was about 80 Rupees.

That's just shy of $2.00 US. I think I can play around with it some...

Random Daily Adventures

2008-03-05T11:19:00.004+05:30

I just don't have it in me to do much with the creative writing at present. I have been in a bit of a downer mood the last couple of days... felling a bit lonely for home as well as being a bit bored. The creativity is coming though and I hope to have a more interesting post in a couple of days, but in the meantime I do have some sights I would like to share with you...

So as you travel around town, sometimes you are just struck by how different things are. There are the signs:

Observance of one of India's major religions:

That would be watching cricket...

Everyday sources for traffic problems:

Leak on Vittal Mallya Road

And then there is the shopping, I always spot something different that catches my eye...

You know you've got market share:

Vegetarian China...

A different kind of green beans:

Those would be coffee beans!

I also found a local store that carries absolutely everything that I have been driving all over the city to find. Everything. A few blocks away. It is one of those stores that you walk by and don't take much notice of because it looks small from the outside. I should have been clued in by the quantity of people that are usually in the area though. The store is MUCH larger than it looks, has every imaginable thing, including the ever elusive vanilla extract (or "essence" as they call it here). They even have lettuce and basil! (I can in no way communicate how incredibly exciting this is!) I took some shots in the second floor so that you can get a sense of what I am talking about...

Looking left

Looking right

I really wish I had discovered this store sooner. I will chalk it up to newcomer blindness.

And finally some sights from around the neighborhood...

Bees

Cow

Heading home...

And...

2008-02-24T15:29:00.003+05:30

Had to put in an extra post* here because there was something else we picked up at the auction that I wanted you to see:

Dowry Box

*While I like the Flickr Slider tool for adding slideshows when I have a lot of photos that I want to share with you- it seems to have a bug and makes it difficult for me to add anything more to my posts afterwards! Very frustrating!!

Officially Jealous

2008-02-24T12:21:00.004+05:30

So, I have been avoiding doing a blog post for the last few days and have to admit that I have been in a bit of a funk. There may be hormonal reasons contributing to this, but the truth is that I am jealous. Jealous that I am not at Stitches West with all of my knitting friends. I have been avoiding reading blog posts and have tried to pretend that it isn't happening. But today I finally sat down, read said blog posts, and drooled. Even my mom reminded me about Stitches and said that there was a article in the San Jose Mercury News about knitting. (The online version even has pictures of knitting friends Chloe and CJ and features my two favorite shops, Purlescence and Bobbins Nest!) Everyone is getting lovely shwag, Ravelry and otherwise, and I am stuck here in the land of day-glo acrylic. sigh. Oh well.

It hasn't been all knitting related jealousy around here though. We have had our adventures as well. What have I been up to? Well, on Wednesday I joined fellow OWC members on the monthly "road trip". This time it was a visit to a school that is one of the charities that is supported by OWC. Called Shristi Special Academy, it is a school for children who have special needs. From severe mental retardation to Autism and Down's Syndrome, they serve the needs of these children with a smile and much enthusiasm. Now some of you may not know this, but I used to work with kids with special needs, so I was particularly interested in seeing the school. I was very impressed with the is academy, not because they have a lot of special equipment, but because they do their work with a lot of creativity and and with respect for the children. Their aim, when possible is to get the children placed in a regular school. If this is not possible, they train the students for jobs that they might be able to do, either at the onsite vocational center or at outside positions. I felt proud that the OWC completely sponsors the pre-vocational program. After touring the campus and seeing the many facilities and students hard at work we were treated to a delicious lunch and then a performance by some of the students there. They LOVE to dance! The joy and enthusiasm they expressed to the Hindipop (well yes- AND "the Chicken Dance") was -beautiful and heart warming to see. Here are some photos from the visit:

Created with Admarket's flickrSLiDR.

One of the ways that the OWC raises money for this and other charities is through its many social events and outings. It really is a win-win situation because it helps us (the "expats") to get to know people and feel comfortable here and the money that we spend goes to support many schools and facilities in the area. Well, Saturday night was one of these events, the OWC Charity Ball and Silent Auction. We went for the social aspect and enjoyed ourselves very much. We got to know people a little better, enjoyed some good food and drink, danced and may have come home with a few things from the silent auction (hey- all items were donated and it is for a good cause!)

Black Pottery from Manipur

Sorry, no sari!

2008-02-19T21:08:00.008+05:30

It's a funny thing. To walk down the street in a foreign country and suddenly realize that you know where you are, you know where you are going and this is where you live. This came to me last week as I was walking to meet my fellow knitblogger friend, Rima. And it really is true, I am starting to feel at home. Not always, but sometimes, yes.

Part of that feeling is that we are starting to make friends. I have on several occasions seen people who I have previously met while I am out and around. This is a bit amazing to me in this city of many millions, but there you go. It is a small world after all!

So, we were invited to a wedding. Actually, not the whole wedding, just the reception. We felt very honored to be invited and when we were there we were treated as very honored guests. As we entered (Standard Indian time = 1 hour late) the bride (a co-worker of Bryan's) and groom were just entering. We were shown to our seats as they walked up to a stage and took a seat on a dais. Soon they were standing and a procession of men came on the stage, offering congratulations and then posing, very seriously, for photos and video. Right after them, we were ushered up onto the stage along with the bride's mother and brother (I think...) for the same ritual. I'm afraid I was not able to look very serious as I was enjoying the experience so much.

We were then quickly escorted downstairs where we were served a traditional South Indian wedding dinner. I wish I had a photo that I could share, the food is distributed in specific places on a banana leaf and as in all of South India (to my knowledge anyway) you eat with your fingers. No utensils. Rice, Raita, Sambar (hot spicy tomato soup), etc... eaten with fingers. We did exactly that and I think we even looked fairly okay doing it. It isn't entirely fair as Anna and Bryan both get to practice this every day in their respective cafeterias while I am usually dining on leftovers or peanut butter and banana sandwiches! Anyway, we ate slowly, but finished most of our several servings and then washed our hands and proceeded upstairs for conversation while the wedding procession (of the guests onto the stage as mentioned above...) continued.

We chatted with several people and I flirted with some of the kids...

Somehow, I am a kid magnet and these dears very much enjoyed me taking their photos and then showing them to others.

The other interesting thing about the wedding was that the men were not necessarily dressed up very much. a little, but not much. But the women? The saris were absolutely stunning and they were wearing a lot of beautiful jewelery as well. Even the young girls were in their finery:

Isn't she cute?

So- would you like to see what I wore?

Yup, me-not ready for a sari yet!

Wet.

2008-02-11T16:32:00.001+05:30

One of my favorite Winnie the Pooh movies is The Blustery Day.

"The rain, rain, rain
came down, down, down
in rushing rising rivlets."

Well, as we were going to sleep last night it was raining and thundering, and lightning was striking all around. We went to sleep to the sound of pouring rain and woke up to the same sound.... almost.

Bryan got up and discovered water on the floor in the living room. It was coming from upstairs, cascading down the three stories like a nice little water fall. When we went up we discovered this

Water was pouring down from the ceiling, along the wall

and was about 1 inch deep throughout the entire room. My craft room.

If you look closely, you can see the puddling

I grabbed a push broom and started pushing the water towards the floor drain in the bathroom (one typical Indian housing feature I am very grateful for!) and Bryan went to figure out where the water was coming from -as it was no longer raining outside! He turned off all of the pumps for the water tanks and the water stopped coming!!! I'll have to explain how the water systems work here in another post, but I was most grateful for a stop to the cascading falls.

I started pulling things out to dry and when Lalitha arrived she helped as well. It could have been far worse. Some of my knitting got damp, but not wet.

My spinning wheel was, fortunately, against the dry wall so it only needed to be wiped off.

My Scrapbooking materials did not fare as well. They were right underneath the main leak and some items absorbed quite a bit of water.

And the thing I am quite thankful for is that sweet Lalitha had put most of my yarn and fiber away here last week

I have to say that while the day started out quite bad, I am feeling much better now. Just when I was feeling incredibly frustrated by everything that had happened, Lalitha came in with a plate of Idlis and chutney for me. She was sharing her lunch with me. I have to admit that I really needed someone to do something nice for me right at that moment. As she turned away to go eat her lunch out back, I couldn't help it, I started to cry. I was just incredibly touched that she would do that.

And how did this all start? Well it is a bit of a long story that isn't really that interesting, but basically the owner flipped a switch she shouldn't have when she was showing Bryan something yesterday. I don't blame her, it was a simple accident. It just happened. But I should add that this came after a faucet broke in the servant's toilet and the water ran and ran and ran, until it ran the water tank it was connected to completely dry (leaving our kitchen and guest bathroom without water as well.)

Now- I need to go attend to a drip in the bathroom.
Anyone know who the Hindu god of water and/or plumbing is?

UPDATE: It happened again! So, there is definitely something broken- but we think we have a better idea of what it is - so now we can pass that information to someone who can (hopefully!) fix it. Keep your fingers crossed!

It's All About the Love

2008-02-09T19:34:00.001+05:30

Warning...knitting related content ahead ;)

I realized something on Friday. I realized that knitters almost always get along well because they share a love.

A love for COLOR

A love for TEXTURE

A love for PATTERNS and NATURAL GEOMETRY

I realized this when I met Rima. Rima is a lovely young woman who found me through Ravlery- and asked if I wanted to get together some time. She is from Bangalore and is currently living in New York City, but is here until March visiting her family. Well- being the far too home bound person that I am at present I jumped at the opportunity to get out of the house and do something with a like minded individual. So a plan was hatched for her to show me some of the craft related stores in and around Commercial Street.

Now, Commercial Street deserves its own post some day as it is really something, but- not today. Today is all about the crafty stuff. So, we met and headed for the first shop, Ravi's Craft Shop. I didn't really know what to expect as I had only visited one other yarn related shop in Bangalore before (Bombay Embroidery Store in Raja Market on Avenue Road). Ravi's is different. For one thing it was larger - take a look:

Yes, this is larger! And they have a LOT in this store. Fabric, sequins, ribbon, embroidery floss/thread, pattern books, Sari "falls", and of course- yarn. This really is a full fledged craft store. Word from Rima is that they are very reasonably priced and won't try to "fleece" you (always love that term in relation to knitting!). We throughly checked out the store and Rima bought a few things.

Now the next store, Surya Emporium, looked to have a better selection of yarn and larger quantities as well. Yes- it is all acrylic- but it did at least look to be decent acrylic and not the really cheap scratchy stuff. They even had some nice looking lace weight here! And of course, crochet thread...
They also had some sequins.. and beads! I like beads. It's all my mom's fault...

We then walked around and looked at some of the fabric stores. Wow. Indian textiles are absolutely gorgeous! Rima showed me some of the nicer stores and all I can say is that I am now contemplating getting a sewing machine. It would be heavenly to work with some of these fabrics. And I did bring some sewing books with me (somehow I had a feeling...)

On the other hand, I can also buy some textile items made by others! And Rima was able to help there as well. Turns out a good friend of hers, Nasir, runs a shop called Zara on Commerical Street that deals in fabrics for curtains, upholstery and the like. They also have a floor of ready made items. They have some of the most drool worthy textiles I have seen here. I was really bummed that I have already had most of the curtains done for the house as the fabrics here are far nicer!!! (I do have one room that still needs drapery though... I think I am going to have to go back there!) Look at some of the silk quilts they have.

The ones draped over the banister/handrail are made out of recycled saris. I LOVE the blue one!

Rima has also blogged about our visit here and and even has some pictures from our delicious lunch. Yes- she was even smart enough to have pictures of us. Somehow I spaced on getting a nice picture of her. Bad blogger. I will though... we are hoping to get together again soon.

Now on to other yarn related things. First, while you may have caught a glimpse of this in my list post I want to chose you a closer look of what I have been knitting:

This is the test knitting project for Cookie I have been working on and all I can say is that it looks to be a really fun pattern! She is currently looking for other test knitters so you can check out her (and Kristi's!) blog for more details if you are interested.

More knitter news... it's almost time for (insert drumroll)

Do you remember this from last year? I do. The late nights, the cramped fingers and sore wrists, the sometimes confusing patterns, the tension and stress as we raced against other knitters sometimes half a world, and perhaps an advantageous time zone away. And you know what? I wouldn't miss it for the world. Sign ups are under way for all who participated last year and will open for new participants on February 15 th. So, what do you think? Have you got the balls? ;)

So I will leave you now with a sunset. My own Saturday Sky. A happy day to you all!

Taken from my rooftop...

Ladder Day Saints

2008-02-07T20:19:00.001+05:30

Quick post here but check it out! The workers finally arrived to install the lighting fixture in the dining room. So, in the "some things never cease to amaze me" category...

They needed a ladder to reach the equivalent of a two story ceiling:

Yes, that is two ladders, one made out of some type of local wood, the other of bamboo and they have put them together and are holding them in place. So the electrician is getting ready in the above photo and below he heads up the ladder with the fixture in hand while the guys hold the ladder for him.

Here is the brave soul installing the fixture.

Now here I think I need to say something important. When I see things like this I am amused, yes. But I am also amused by our reliance, well obsession really, in the West with safety and technology. This would never be done in the US. But in a way I think that we have robbed ourselves of a lot of creativity. This was an excellent, low cost and quite safe solution to the problem of how to hang this fixture. Yes, I am amused, but I am also impressed.

Next time? Knitting content!