Road construction

I am always amazed with road construction in India. In the states when a road is being constructed or even just having some minor work done on it, they block the road off. Here it is an entirely different story. Sometimes you will be driving a long a really nice road and just all of a sudden the road literally runs out. Here are some photos I took while on the way home from our safari trip. We went from a nice road to a motor cross track, the boys would love to have their dirt bikes here!

This was the road:

This became the road:

Trying to find the road after it disappeared:

An overdue Thanks

Moving to India is a lot of work. Moving to India with 3 kids is a lot of work. Moving to India with a dog was a lot of work. I didn't have to do much work in order to get Millie (our dog) moved to India as I had the fantastic help of some very special people! This entry gives credit to the Wyoming Veterinary Clinic in Wyoming, Illinois and the staff of Dr. Keller, Terry and Carol. Let me just say how great they were at making phone calls and filling out the right paper work. Millie had to have a certification from the USDA, a microchip implanted and her shot record all up to date. Several of the shots had to be done in a certain number of days. One of the biggest concerns I had that she would weigh too much at the airport. I was really stressed out about this. So right before we flew I borrowed our neighbors truck (thanks Wolfe's) and loaded Millie and kennel up to get a weight check! Everything had to be under 100 # and it weighed 96.1 #! But here is the kicker, at Lufthansa, no one ever even weighed her.


Millie seems to have settled right into life in India. She has a playmate here...Scooby, a german shephard, but I am sure she misses Hannah and Penny. We are so thankful for the Walton's taking Hannah and Penny into there home and providing for them while we are away.

Excuse the change

Okay, I have been viewing other people's blogs and thought I would like a change...if only I could figure it out! I had recently changed it and a dear friend mentioned that the time feature wasn't working. I tried and tried to make it work with the template I had to no avail. So instead I found a template that would work with the time feature. Perhaps in the future I can get it figured out! Have a wonderful day.

Prime Minister in the neighborhood

This morning our gardener announced that the Chief Prime Minister was in the neighborhood. His son happens to live in the in the next block over. It was quite the event. Bhaskar and I went out, of course I had my camera, to observe this occasion. It appears that whenever the PM travels anywhere he is surrounded by police. I was able to learn that the PM's son has 2 driveways, one our our street and one on the next street and he happened to go in the driveway that was on our street. Security was very tight, the road was blocked with police cars and press cars. People were not allowed to walk past. I of course almost landed in an Indian jail...well okay it wasn't that close but it makes it more interesting! I did the dreaded no no and took pictures. A policeman came and told me that it was not allowed as I was breaching security. I apologized profusely and said I would delete the photos. I am sure my white skin had just a bit to do with the fact that I still have my camera. But now I know! The PM stayed only for 10 minutes, you would think for all that hassle he could have at least stayed for lunch or dropped by my house for cookies! Oh well.

A picture is worth a thousand words

Let me just say that this photo to me is priceless. Just before taking this photo I had been hearing complaints from one of our kids that they were bored and this little boy kind of puts things in perspective. We have so many things and yet are always wanting for more. This little boy has NOTHING and he is so happy. Here this little kid is naked playing with a shovel and some sand, just moments before he was tossing around a bicycle tire. Our kids have complete bicycles (not just the tire) but yet they are too busy fighting over a video game. Just simply amazing. We live across the road from this family but are "worlds" apart!

What a trip- part 3

The day began early, around 6:30, just in time to see the sun continue to rise over the fog covered lake. In India we are so close to the equator that the sun always is up around 6 am and sets around 6 pm. I was really taken aback by the beauty of the lake...or river. It was just so peaceful. It seems like at our house that there are always tons of people around and you hear horns in the distance to the peacefulness was very relaxing. A long journey stood before us and we headed home around 9 am. On the way home we decided to stop in an see the Mysore Palace. We parked and headed in. I of course had my camera but a lady said I needed to check it in, well there was no way I was going to leave my camera there so Ted ran it out to Bhaskar. After walking around though we saw lots of people with there cameras, I guess you just weren't allowed to take photos inside the palace.
We walked around the grounds and decided it was time to tour the palace. We then found out that we had to take off our shoes, of course this would be the day I wore sandals and had no socks! At first there was no way that I was going to walk barefoot but then I decided that I was in India and I surely wouldn't catch too bad of a disease. So we headed through the gates as my feet picked up sand, grime, foot fungus and other peoples toe jam...gross huh? Then we were told we had to check our shoes and not carry them. So we checked our shoes and Logan kindly offered me his socks to wear...what a sweet boy! The palace was beautiful and very elaborate. I hope to go back and next time I am taking extra socks! The drive home was smooth and it was good to get home and wash our feet :-)

What a trip- part 2

We arrived at the resort just in time for afternoon tea and biscuits followed by the evening safari. The kids loved having tea and biscuits, of course their tea was mostly milk and sugar. We boarded the jeep and headed into the forest. We were expecting to see jungle type woods with vines and snakes everywhere. But instead it looked liked my parents woods in Indiana- minus the elephants and monkeys. There were alot of teak trees and other hardwood trees. We drove through the park on a dirt road and saw many creatures. It just amazed me at how beautifully God created this world and everything in it. We saw elephants, lemurs, white faced monkey, mongoose, wild boar, peacocks, a giant squirrel type creature, gaur ( like a big cow/ox), sambar (like our elk), spotted deer and lots of birds. It was incredible!


We came close to seeing a tiger. Our tour guide heard of a spotting and we drove there only to find it had taken off. On our very last safari we came very close again to seeing a tiger. When we were on our way out we stopped to watch a huge herd of spotted deer and a large group of monkeys. The animals were giving there warning sounds of a tiger in the area. Unfortunately the park was closing and we had to leave. If we had been able to to be there another 15 minutes perhaps he would have come out...perhaps next time. Unfortunately the tiger population is dwindling.

One morning safari we came across a mama elephant and her calf. We were give a mock charge by the baby elephant. Logan was the only on to get a photo of this elephant!


Another time we watched two mama elephants and two babies come out of the forest, cross the road and give themselves a mud bath. The mothers had there babies closely between them to protect them.


The resort that we stayed in was nestled along the shore of the Kabini River and was just beautiful. The river seemed more like a lake than a river. It was a very relaxing weekend. No tv, phones, video games or internet...and yes we all survived! The weather was very beautiful. It reminded me of visiting my Grandma's house on a lake in Minnesota...a bit of a chill in the morning and the lake covered in fog. We enjoyed watching the geese and ducks and the occasional cow wander in front of the lodge.

What a trip- part 1

The kids had a three day weekend and we decided to take the opportunity to do a bit of traveling within India. We decided to head to Nagarhole National Park located in Southwest India. It was about 550 km from our house and took around 11 hours. I was amazed at the beautiful toll road between Chennai and Bangalore. The road was so smooth and the median had flowers and shrubs planted. The road was kept very clean, we actually saw people out sweeping the roadsides. It was an incredibly beautiful drive. There were the most gorgeous rock formations and mountains, all surround by coconut palms, teak trees, mangrove trees, sugar cane fields, banana plantations, cotton fields, rice patties, etc. I wished that we could have stopped about every 10 km to take photos but I had to take them while drive 100 km! Oh well, maybe next time! I loved looking at the beautiful fields. The people here work so hard. I guess they must be living like American's lived in the 1800's. They still work in the field with a team of oxen and a plow (this team had wooden wheels). Absolutely amazing.

Here is a great photo of some sheep being herded through the city.



And of course it's not everyday that you get to see water buffalo being transported in the back of a lorrie. What a site!


India is truly an amazing country. This was an incredibly huge move for our family (mostly me!). But I am so thankful for the opportunity that God provided for our family to witness this land and culture. It is definitely an experience we will cherish forever.

Fabrics, fabrics, fabrics...need I say more?

Okay, you guessed it, this entry is about fabrics. This week I had the opportunity to go with our relocation around town and one thing we were able to see was Fabric Street! Let me just say that this was a wonderful experience. One side of the street was lined with fabrics, all different kinds and colors. Since I love to quilt I was searching for fabric and low and behold I found some of the most beautiful Moda fabrics. Okay for those of you who care nothing about fabrics, Moda is a wonderful quilt fabric maker. This guy had about 7-8 coordinating fabrics and I was able to purchase them for about $1.90/mtr and in the states this would sell for over $9/yd (I since have learned that a yard is just a little over a meter). I bought lots of fabrics!! I can't wait to go back.

Our dishwasher

Yes, we have a dishwasher in India. There is one style of dishwasher and everyone who has a dishwasher has the same model. The really interesting thing was that when the plumber installed it no one knew what it was. It was just amazing that they were hooking up something which they had no clue about. The dishwasher can not go under the counter top as the counter top is about one inch too short. So the dishwasher stands next to the counter top which is no problem, except for the drain hose...normally I just put the drain hose in the drain hose at night and turn it one. Except last nights, yes you guessed it. I forgot to put the drain hose in the drain, just left in on the counter and woke up to water everywhere. What a mess! So now the plumber will permanently fix the house to the drain. There happens to be a small gap between the counter top and cabinet door that I wanted him to run the hose through but I was told there would not be enough water pressure for the water to drain out but now we know for a fact that this is not true. There is plenty of pressure and I had the mess to prove it!

Flowers after a rain

Well, well, well

I came home to an interesting site on Friday...Sampeth our gardener was going down into the well. Evidently the pump was going bad. So Sampeth at one point was swimming in the well to get the ladder positioned so they could stand in the water. The well looks to be about 30 ft deep with maybe 20 ft of water. Of course I am thinking he is swimming in the water I take a shower in....
The pump eventually got replaced that afternoon. Then on Saturday and Sunday we had a lot of trouble with water pressure. So of course trying to find a plumber to come on Sunday afternoon was pretty hard to do. At one point we did manage to have 2 plumbers here....one knew what he was doing. India is very good in the technical field but you give them things like plumbing and there are troubles. Fortunately Ted is gifted in the technical field and began troubleshooting the problem. He had Bhaskar translate to the plumber what seemed to be the problem so now it is fixed and we are back in the water business again! The water gets pumped from the well to the top of the house to the water tower. The water goes in one tank and then is filtered into another tank and then it comes into the house. Somewhere there is a pressure tank that provides us with a a lot of water pressure which is awesome. The water seems to be coming just fine but Bhaskar informed us that the wrong type or size of pump was used....that will be a whole new story. We have found that when something doesn't work quite right don't bother trying to fix it!




Note the photo of the man in the well is one of the plumbers. The man standing on the well is Sampeth the gardener. The last photo is of the water tower...very top of house with ladder going up.

Shopping in India

Emily has Mehndi on her right hand, this was part of India week. It is a temporary skin decoration.


I mentioned in my last post shopping along Pondy Street. Here are a few photos from that trip. It was an interesting walk. I managed to pick up a traditional Indian outfit for Logan as he was a king in a school play. I also purchased another Indian top and skirt for Emily. She loves wearing her Indian outfits. She was in a dance at school and Logan was in the play for Indian week. It was quite the production. There was a great turnout and lots of beautiful outfits. The Indian clothing is certainly beautiful!


This is one store where I get quite of few of my groceries. It is called Amma Nanna which I believe means mother father.

I have just recently started to purchase fruits and vegetables from people on the street rather than in stores. The quality and price seems to be better, all except lettuce. There is one store in the city that I like to purchase from as it is wrapped in plastic and is actually in a refrigerated section...very unusual here. The pineapples, bananas, oranges, grapes and watermelon are delicious. I need to get a blender so that I can start making smoothies...yumm!

Sea Shipment has arrived!!

Our sea shipment arrived into port on Tuesday and was delivered to our house on Saturday. What a fun day we had seeing familiar things from home. The kids were great at showing which room boxes went to. Everything appeared to be in good shape as I don't think customs even opened up any boxes. I was so excited to see my KitchenAid mixer! Emily & I made cookies Sunday afternoon and they tasted so good as it had been quite sometime since we had homemade cookies. We were so exhausted that night and it felt wonderful to sleep in our beds again. Wow! Even Millie seems to be thrilled to have her kennel back. I managed to get most of the items unpacked which has kept me quite busy this week! It is so nice to have things from Illinois. It really feels like our home now. The kids have there bedrooms all situated. We are still needing to unpack all the books and games but we'll get there. I have unpacked my sewing machines but haven't had time to use them. Life here seems so busy. Today I met some wonderful ladies at a quilting club I was invited to. We talked "quilts and fabric", had lunch and then shopped at Pondy Bazzaar- a famous street lined with shops with anything you could want. I bought Emily and Indian top and skirt and Logan an Indian tunic top, pants and matching scarf. He looks quite handsome. He is a sultan king in a play on Friday and needs to look the part!

Another excited thing happened today...Scooby the watchdog that came with the house was "fixed". The vet came (and I had to miss it all!) and did the operation on a sheet spread out in the grass. I wish Dr. K could have witnessed this procedure. The guards took video of it with their cell phone and it looked quite interesting. Poor Scooby looks like he has seen better days.
I feel pretty guilty that he had to undergo this but we just can't have puppies over here. And if we wouldn't have agreed to keep him they would have given him away or perhaps he would have become a street dog.

Today while out I saw a site that just made me shake my head and if the traffic wasn't so bad I would have had Sundar pull over so I could grab a photo. There was a man driving his cart pulled by oxen while talking on his cell phone. You talk about the old and new technology working together! I never cease to find something new to look at. Just going through town can be mentally exhausting because there is so much to process.

Is there a doctor in the house...I mean India?

Well, today one of the kids (I won't mention any names as to not embarrass her/him) visited the doctors office. I figured this would be pretty interesting and it indeed was. Our child has been having tummy troubles ever since playing in the Indian Ocean last week. A lot of school has been missed as the child just has not been feeling "right". So I called a friend yesterday to get some doctoring advice. This morning I called our company doctor who was unfortunately out of town but he did give me a referral. So I called Dr. B and was told to come by 10 am...granted I called at 9:10. Never would this happen in the states! Wow, that was fast. So we headed out. I grabbed some cash but had no clue what it would cost. When we pulled up to the office our driver was a bit concerned as to how I found this doctor, but he was relieved when I told him the company doctor referred us. When we walked to the door the sign said, "PLEASE REMOVE YOUR SHOES BEFORE ENTERING." I thought to myself there are no way these feet are coming out of these sandals. So in we walked and were motioned to sit in the waiting room which consisted of about 8 chairs. The lady motioned for us to walk through another door and there was the exam room. Again there was a sign about shoe removal and we ignored it. The doctor introduced himself and we sat down to discuss symptoms. I was about to come unglued when he got a metal tongue depressors out. Of course those of you who knows of my germaphobia knows what was going through my mind. I later asked if those had been properly cleaned and was told yes they had been washed. So lets just pray they were really washed well. For the family member in the medical field please send me disposable tongue depressors:-)

So the exam was complete and it was determined that a bit too much ocean water just caused some bacteria to get out of hand in the stomach so now we were off to the pharmacy. But first we had to pay the bill...$3.75! I told the driver in the US it would normally be about $80. He then informed me he normally only pays $1.50 for visit at a different office. Before we left the office the doctor wanted to hear about where we moved from and what we think of it here. Propably this is the first time an American has been in his office.

So the pharmacy. I had a list of medications. The pharmacist dumped sacks out on the counter to find the right meds. After getting the medicine I settled the bill and paid about $2 for the medicine. It wasn't a bet experience just so different but than that is part of living in India, let's just say I hope none of seek serious medical care here!