WHAT A BUSY DAY...

What a busy day we had. These are pictures from the "Tiffin Club"/OWC where we had cooking lessons in the preparation of Sushi at the Park Hotel. Okay, as much as I hate to admit it, I have never had sushi before...until yesterday. Our demonstrating chef was named "Peter" who had a quick and easy smile as Lan (whose husband is Japanese) kept him in check on the true Japanese way of preparing things. Very educational. After the demo, we had a wonderful lunch and proceeded on to the balcony where we prepared the beginnings of fruit cake fermentation for Christmastime...

Yes, tons of dried fruits slathered in rum were comingled in this huge bin. We all donned out chef hats and after a few great photo ops, returned to the restaurant for awsome green tea gellato...yummo.

This is Sejal (our fearless leader of the Tiffin Club)
Heeeerrrrrre's CHEF PETER

This is Lan checking on the sushi...............
Sejal and Karen...(Karen is just in from NYC)
I ended the evening going to the Taj Hotel to hear Liz Neisloss, a reporter for CNN assigned to India speak about being a reporter at the Indo-American Association. Liz did a nice job, Natalie (Pres. of OWC) also introduced herself and our group to the association, and we did a lot of chatting afterwards...met interesting people...fellow Americans. They concluded by playing the Indian National Anthem (all of the Indians were singing)...and then the American National Anthem. (You know, I was the only one I could hear singing...ever so softly...nonetheless, I had to represent...and yes it was pitched way to high. Nobody sings the anthem like Whitney...But my pictures were too dark to put on the blog.

They are going to have a Obama/McCain debate in a couple weeks...I'm thinking about going, we'll see.

HAPPY 25th ANNIVERSARY, HONEY

LOVE AND HAPPINESS
JUMPING THE BROOM
BONNIE AND CLYDE
Before you laugh at the clarity of my first two pictures...you must understand that, no, I don't know how to scan pictures on my printer yet, and yes...I just took a picture of a picture and that's why it's so FUZZY...

Twenty-five years of living, laughing and loving with JOHN... We met at Jasper Street Church of Christ in Decatur, Illinois, in 1983. It was summertime, he came up from Kentucky to visit his sister, Fannie. I looked into his eyes, I looked into his soul, I looked into his heart...I opened my heart, and he came in.

We committed to each other and married September 17th, 1983, in Scovill Gardens, with Bro. Mayo Towles officiating.

What an intersting journey we have had. We were so poor in the beginning, like so many couples starting out...but I think the most special magic with me and John, what ever I can envision (yes, I do have quite an imagination), he could always create. We have always fulfilled each other that way. The Lord only knows that John Sykes marches to a beat of a different drummer...and the Lord knows that I have developed a good ear for his rythms.

We were blessed with Ashley in Atlanta, Georgia. John watched the entire c-section...cut the cord...I almost died in the recovery room after her delivery. I had toxemia, swelling... I can hear my sister, Joe, telling me of the 'old wive's tales'..."You know death races around the bed three times when you have a baby..."

Thankfully death didn't linger or trip, and ran on out the door...

I was so homesick in Atlanta, couldn't go back to work...dealing with post-partum baby blues...we moved back to Decatur to raise Ashley with family. Well, it took a good ten years to get over the last pregnancy before we did it again...and we were blessed with Briana, the spitting image of John...yes, little Johnnie reincarnated.

And now, we are just one happy family enjoying sunsets in India. Wow. Okay, maybe I skipped a few things, but can you really get 25 years in a few paragraphs on a blog??? Naaahhhhh.

If I could put a song on my blog right now, it would be Whitney Houston...(Yes, Whitney is my favorite singer)...and it would be...MY LOVE IS YOUR LOVE

..."As the years pass us by...we stay young through each other's eyes...and no matter how old we get, it's okay as long as I got you baby...if I should die this very day, don't cry, 'cause on earth we wasn't meant to stay...and no matter what the people say, I'll be waiting for you at the judgment day..."

SEIZE THE DAY

Carpe Diem...

I am functioning again today...I'm up, dressed, ready to face the world, ready to seize the day.

Let me tell you about John's Ethnic Day at Work...I took the girls to visit the office where the employees all dressed in their native clothing to clelebrate Ethnic Day. I asked John if he wanted to go as an American Indian, (Cherokee) since he actually has stronger blood lines there than Africa, and a few other things in the mix (ha). He decided to wear the garb from Egypt that we got on our vacation. The guys seemed so excited decorating the office, flowers everywhere...there were sites where they had tributes to their Hindu gods, Christianity and Muslim faiths as well, welcoming all into their cubicles. They had native food dishes prepared which we could taste. (I signed up for the Tiffin Club with OWC which teaches you how to cook with Indian flare)....

Anyway, they had a great day at work and partied long after John had left. Another good day.

GARBAGE IN...GARBAGE OUT

There are days when I've simply "had enough" of seeing the piles of garbage thrown over the streets of India. I can't fathom why people can be so content or oblivious to trashing their environment. There are days when I just put my ipod on, and blast my favorite tunes, hoping the pleasure in my ears will outweigh the pain in my eyes. Well, today I am forcing myself to revisit Phillipians 4:8..."Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things"...

As I looked out of my car window at the ubiquitous trashing of India, you know there was the most beautiful, exotic tree that stood there, so beautiful and strong with the most beautiful orange blossoms you can imagine...gorgeous. It took Sylvia Carlton to teach me to slow down and stop and appreciate the beauty of a flower...and it's the sweet memories of my mother's yard, always beaming with every flower of your wildest dreams planted there, a bountiful garden, full of greens, tomatoes, beans, squash...always enough to feed our huge family and then some...those are such lovely memories to cherish.

Training your mind to go to the right places has never been easy, but with the world being so negative, a flower in the midst of filth and trash can give hope. I have found this scripture very comforting.

ANOTHER YEAR OLDER...

Hey, I made it through another year. John took off from work and we celebrated my birthday all day. We took the girls out with us for dinner. It was really nice. I've decided that I have got to leave my camera in my purse. Too many things have been happening and I never have my camera with me to take a picture and show you guys.

I have become an avid reader of the newspapers here, cutting out articles that have been very impacting on me (this place really has me trippin'), or just "what to do in Chennai", and taping them into scrapbooks. I saw where a jazz quartet from New York City was coming yesterday (Eli Yemen Jazz Quartet) Yeeaaahhhh, Americans.... so I drug Ashley and Bri into the car, and we got there. They were cool. Bri is studying keyboard at school and has a good "ear" for music. I gave a shout out to the "brother" on the sax before we left at the interlude. This guy could definitely "blow". Yeah, I miss home.

Got an email to come meet other Americacns, register to vote abroad, and watch Barack's acceptance speech. I am so glad we did. We met some really interesting people, including a couple of teachers who are at the school we were trying to get Bri into. Maybe there will be hope she can get in after Christmas there. This newspaper guy was there taking pictures of everbody. It was a fun night.

Ashley got her certificate yesterday for Occupational Therapy Assistant. I am so thankful she has finally completed this step. She is studying ayurveda (panchakarma) which is so interesting. I picked up one of her books and it was so interwoven with Indian words/yoga/and sanscript (picture writing), it gave me a headache. I was on line looking up every other word to try and comprehend it...this is truly a LABOR of love for her.

Okay I have booked a cruise and will tell you all later about our plans of travel during October. Boy is this one really exciting.

UPWARD AND ONWARD...

Well, my sisters are gone. I'm at a loss to describe my "zone" right now, but I am so grateful to have family come and see about us. We went to the OWC book club meeting and discussed "Sea of Poppies"...took a story trail tour through Parry's Corner in a bicycle rickshaw (yeah, we almost got creamed by a bus), and did another shopping trip with the same ladies. They were so much fun...I think I asked them everything I could possibly think of, from how do you really use a sprayer instead of toilet paper all the way to... why aren't you letting your daughters marry for love...No, they won't forget us anytime soon.

We didn't do much in Pondicherry, just got out of town and got lost trying to find the permit place to bring a car into their town. We saw our first funeral pr0cession there. The flowers,the body laid out on a wagon...the procession is reminiscent of what you might see in New Orleans.

We found a pretty good local food place, Dhaba Express, recommended by the women at OWC. Our waiter kept staring at us so much, I just asked him to come and sit down and eat with us. He graciously declined. So overall, my sisters got a really good view of India. We didn't make it to church here, our driver had an emergency issue which couldn't be helped; that's just the way it goes sometimes.

We are doing okay. No, Bri is not happy at her school, and I may end up homeschooling her...but I'll worry about that tomorrow. Our last moments were spent kicking through the water at the beach near our home. It began raining on us and we raced back to the car wet and sandy, and cruised through the streets of Chennai one more time. I can't get the pictures to load up for some reason. Guess I'll have to get Judy to email me the pictures. The two weeks went way too fast. I wonder who will come and visit us next? The last week of October we'll be gone...Fannie, are you coming for Christmas?

FUN, FUN, FUN

Synchronized swimming in the back yard........

Dorothy sporting her new frock (swarma) from a shopping spree

Ashley styling in a new top from Aunt Dorothy
St. Thomas basilica (from the Storyteller's tour)......

Chatting in front of the Wharf Restaurant

Temple shots outside of Temple Bay Resort....

Temple Bay Resort....

Our day couldn't have been better. We started with breakfast at LeMeridien and Dorothy and I had our eyebrows threaded. She was skeptical at first, but it went well, and we were both pleased with the outcome. Now we are at Temple Bay, eating dinner after having watched fireworks explode in the sky at a catered function near The Wharf. We sat in The Wharf restaurant watching white capped waves roll in, feeling the musky warm air as it caused the palms to dip and sway and bobbed our heads to faint echoes of Ray Charles coming across the sound system. Vendan drove so fast weaving through blockades getting us here, we finally had a chance to S L O W down.

This place is so nice, so calming. We strolled the beach, vendors hit us up, but we left all of our rupees back in the cottage...shucks. John swam in the infinity pool, Judy, Dorothy and I found our way to the fish pond to have our "happy feet" treatment. How can I begin to describe the feeling of seeing a swarm of fish surrounding you, and attacking your feet and legs. I was the first one in...Screams eeked from my throat...wow. It tickled, I panicked. Dorothy put her legs in...what a squeemish chick she was...so what do you think of the pictures!!! Judy can't wait to show her biology class these shots. Tomorrow morning Bree goes in.

Last night we went on a guided tour by "Story Trails". We visited a temple in Chennai. I can't remember the name of it, and heard stories of Hinduism. We went to the church where they have a piece of the original spear that was used to kill Thomas, the apostle. This is the way the storytellers told us the story...Thomas was there, had been there about 15 years or so and had favor with the king. Christianity was growing and this caused great anger among many Hindu there. He was killed with a lance thrown into his back. They buried his body and I think they said it was the Portugese who built a church over the top of it. Later the body was exhumed and moved I think to Spain. (all that remains in Chennai are a bone chip from the hand and a piece of the spear). The English later built a huge beautiful church building over the site. So there are like 3 places in the world where churches/basilicas have been built over apostle's bodies. Rome, Mylapore (Chennai), and I think the third one was in Spain.

We drove through the streets in rush hour traffic in a rickshaw. Yes many of these carts run on propane gas..nothing like getting high on propane fumes and smog filtering into your lungs...probably a lot like the air in Bejing right now with the Olympics looming ahead next week...(ha). The city tour culminated with eating at a vegan restaurant where we had a sampler platter of south Indian food. It's amazing the way they use spices, hot, sweet...cool yogurts... It was a good day.

As happy as I am with my sisters being here, I am already anticipating this sinking in my heart when they leave next week. I'm not ready to deal with that, to let go. Everything seems surreal. Time seems to be moving so fast. I spend so much time remembering "when" we did this or that 10, 15, 20, 30, 40 years ago. Time seems to stand still, but this old "clay body" seems to be aging...

It began raining as we finished our dinner at The Wharf, and we rode back to our seaside cottages in golf carts. (This driver could almost challenge Vendan the way he raced and swerved on the winding sidewalks). I can still hear Judy expressing wonder at the effect of those devastated by the Tsunami just a few short years ago as we had looked out into the bay earlier that day. Yes, many, many lives were lost in Chennai as well as other places. But the trance of that thought was abruptly ended when I heard Judy exclaim about bugs in her room. (No way!!!) Yeah, way...so they have called for an exterminator. John crashed hours ago, and of course Bree ran off to be in their room and see the bugs since that is where all the excitement is. (John and I are just boring deadbeats I guess who go to bed way too early). Well, Bree came back and reported that four men arrived to spray the bugs and to change a light bulb...I'm gonna leave that one alone. Ha. But get this...I wasn't going to even go into it, but I guess I will. John's company threw a "FAMILY DAY" party for the their employees last Saturday. I hated that my sisters missed it by two days, it just couldn't be helped. Anyway, all I could say was WOW... unbelievable, like totally professional with the dancing, pyroglyphics (?), and the fashion show they put on portraying the garb of each state of India was breathtaking. Be that as it may, as John swam around in the pool earlier today, he told me that he had met a Bollywood producer/choreographer, and as they chatted, he mentioned the fact that he had choreographed the dances for the Family Day affair thrown by the company...Oh yeah, one of his good friends worked for this same company...Oh yeah, come to find out that John has been training his very same "good friend" at work. How wierd is that. We really do live in a "small world".

We hit the mall earlier this week, and only made it to two stores before we had to race out and get Bree from school. Be sure to ask Dorothy about her jewelry. You know she's definitely into jewelry...rubies, tiger eyes. Judy didn't do too badly either. But the point I was making is...as slow as mom was when it comes to shopping...Dorothy is a chip off the old block. We had so much fun. The store owners had tea brought in, chairs brought in for us and anything we could think of that we wanted, if he didn't have it, his side-kick ran out the door to another spot in the mall where it was, and brought it back. This was crazy, but we had a great time, and that is all that mattered. We have two more shopping excursions set for next week, and tomorrow we head on to Pondicherry after viewing a few of the temples here. Time for this day to come to a close...I've gotta crash too.