Indus Sports Day - Heats

For Indus' pre-Sports Day Heats, Annika competed in long jump, tennis ball throw (supposed to be Shot Put), 100m sprint and the 50m sprint.

100 Meter...


#1 in her Heat!!


50 Meter...


Checking with the Judges...

#2 in her Heat!!!

Because of her time, Annika is eligible to compete for the 100 Meter Finals on Indus Sports Day!
Congratulations!!!

Lucia Dagen

Glad Lucia dagen alla! First year in a long time I haven't made my cardamom bread, although we have made a few batches of pepparkakor! (Thanks to an ExPat who gave me a full jar of molasses when she left India.) Mums!

Farewell John

John left India...

So sad to see a friend go, especially someone who as been here as long as we have.
He hosted a farewell party at his apartment and had a great turnout. He had several complaints from neighbors to keep the noise down but since he's been the perfect neighbor for the last 1.5 years he felt one night of craziness was in order. I left around 1:00a, Erik eventually fell asleep at the party and woke up at 5:00a to see Jenne rockin' out to "Rock Band." Many guests were still going strong.


Keep on Rockin' John, you will be missed.

God Almighty

PUPPIES!!

A friendly dog near one of the gates to our neighborhood had 5 puppies last week. We went by to see them when they were 3 days old.
We brought the mommy dog some cheese and old turkey soup so her milk would be nice and rich for all those hungry mouths.

She hid her babies inside a bush. Their eyes were still closed and they were making little squealing noises.

Mamma enjoyed some petting and attention and was very gracious about us oogling over her puppies.

We looked but we didn't touch.

Sushi Party!

My neighbor, Shino, invited some friends over for a sushi making party. She had recently been in Japan and brought back bamboo mats, nori and wasabi. Apparently you can get most ingredients here too so I can make sushi at home for the family.

Excited and ready to go...

Konako did the demonstration

It was beautiful, you could tell she is a pro.

My first attempt... pretty happy with it. I used a canned tuna mixture because no one here would trust the raw fish + cucumber and avocado.

Toni ate her 1st attempt so no one would have to look at it. But she made a beautiful 2nd roll to take home for her kids.

An assortment of rolls made by the ladies.

We also learned real teriyaki chicken... Mmmm...
We all had a fabulous lunch and an excellent afternoon, THANKS SHINO!

Papaya from my own tree

Enjoying papaya grown right in my back yard.

This tree was planted as a sapling last December... a year later it is giving us a papaya nearly every other day. They ripen from the bottom up so they don't all ripen at once - convenient.

The papaya tree in the front yard was planted at the same time but is only half the size.

But it has some small fruit and every flower will eventually become fruit too.
Bon Appétit

Merry Madagascar!

Did you see it?!?

Erik just brought home the DVD, I'm excited to finally see it and all the hard work everyone put into it.
Congratulations!

Trying to make it feel like the holidays

The temps are back up in Bangalore, feels like summer but it's the beginning of December. Found some poinsettias to remind us it's almost Christmas.

Some people in my neighborhood actually have planted poinsettias in their yard - and they're RED!! I guess it's the right climate.

I have an iTunes holiday station playing in the background, every little bit helps but doesn't feel like home. Maybe some Glögg mulling on the stove would help. :-)

Thanksgiving in Bangalore

This year we had Thanksgiving at Bree & Dagan's. The Only Place catered again - makes for a very stress-free Thanksgiving.

Again we specially requested a whole turkey, instead of sliced, so someone could do the honorary butchering of the bird. This year was Dagan's turn because he has all the fancy knives.

Everything was on the menu... stuffing, gravy, cranberry sauce, assorted al dente vegies (very nice!), mashed potato, garlic bread... what am I forgetting? Ah, creamed corn!

Makes me full just looking at it - but what a special treat.






Time for pie!!


And a little exercise to ease the full bellies.

Dagan's Dad is a Soccer Ref and showed August some pointers.

Shogun was also part of the fun.

Feeling a bit small?

Apparently India can help.
Curious...