BRI'S SCHOOL OLYMPICS

This is Bri's school. Saturday they had their olympics event to kick off a two week break. Bri got to help carry the torch around the track and eventually as the torch came to each of the strategically placed students, they would pass it off and all run in unison to the podium in the picture below (bottom right), where they lit the torch. It's amazing, Bri seemed happy. The principal listed the students interests and hobbies over the sound system as they passed the torch off...I was just mad because I was too far away to get a good shot. Oh well.

Whoops...I don't know how this got in there...anyway this was the infinity pool at Mahaballpurum (I can't spell)...this was when my sisters were here...

This is Bri waiting impatiently for the event to start in the hot sun...
Here's Bri's relay race...They got third place. I don't know how these girls run in their bare feet on the hot sand (maybe they think that will help them to run faster...go figure). John noticed that they didn't bother to stagger the lead runners on the track...What does it matter, as long as you are having fun, right? Too bad Bri didn't get the inside lane.
Here we have the 5th, 6th, and 7th grade boys building a pyramid. Yes, the day was so close, yet so far from coming to an end. I could be very cynical and sarcastic in the manner which this entire event was played out. Yes, I lost my patience and John finally broke down as well. Maybe the fact that you couldn't leave after your kid was through with their event factored into this...or the entire team she participated in would receive a "zero"...nor will I go into the tedious games they wanted the parents to play walking in a circle, running in a race, guzzling down a bottle of water, and running to the finish line ...(John actually competed in that event)... I must learn patience. (The things I do to keep everyone happy). Yes, Bri had a couple of metals as well. It was worth it all to get a positive reaction out of this kid. The students seemed very happy, dignitaries were there to encourage the students and pose in many pictures. What a Saturday...I felt totally drained after sitting in the sun (there was shade) for... 4 1/2 hours. I practically slept all day Sunday, lots of napping.
Now, if I could just get Bri interested in picking up her school books and studying a little more, then we would have really accomplished something.

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?