Lean Cuisine

I am so happy my knee pain and swelling has subsided.

It is God 's mercy.

Otherwise with the onset of the cold weather

I would have had a lot to deal with.

My younger sister and her two boys are coming for Christmas and winter vacations after several years

and I don 't want to be hindered

or mobility impaired in any way.

The temperature is ranging between the 60s - low 80s ,

that is very pleasant for us and we are using light

winter clothing.
I have entitled this post Lean Cuisine

because that 's what the plain man is being

forced to opt for due to rising prices.

Eggs have become a delicacy.
One egg costs Rs 4 and in Kanpur ( another
city its Rs 6)
Prices are likely to go up.
My Indian FB friend says its madness.


The Poultry Association says the prices of maize, polished rice oil, soybean oil-cake and vitamins
has double or even tripled that 's
why the eggs cost more.
Sugar is Rs 40 per kilo.
It seems this Christmas we 'll have to make
egg less/sugarless cake.
I make an egg less chocolate cake
which is very nice.
I use vinegar in it, but
of course sugar is needed.
My newspaper jokingly suggests
that its a good time to go on a diet.


We are struggling with our church wall building materials.
Already our bricks , cement ,
sand and gravel cost Rupees 60.000 ($1,300)
We have used up most of our church funds
that we saved up in the past several months.
The prices of building materials
is zooming upwards daily.
We are in need of another
Rs 30,000 ($650) for labour and other expenses.
This is our major concern.
We have stepped forth in faith
believing God will provide.
Please uphold our financial needs in your prayers.
Any help will be greatly appreciated,
however small.
Little becomes much when God is in it.
We are standing or walking, trusting
hoping in the promises of God.
The Lord is faithful in His promises.
Blessed are all who wait for Him
to help them.
Isaiah 30;18

Photo Day

Yesterday afternoon my right knee developed throbbing

inflammation and swelling. Old arthritis resurfacing after a gap of 3 years.

I just couldn 't believe it.It has been raining since Friday and

the wet - damp weather brought on a bit of trouble, but I did not expect it

to flare up like this.

I massaged my knee with herbal oils and creams

and woke up this morning able to walk.

I was virtually dragging myself everywhere last night.

There was a time when I wondered if I would be able to walk normally.

And God healed me in His own time.

Thank you Facebook friends for your prayers.

I posted a request there.This morning we got 2 tractor loads of bricks .

Two more to come tomorrow.

They were supposed to arrive in a truck,

but it couldn 't enter city limits because of traffic restrictions..

The tractor drivers have to grease the palms of (or bribe)

traffics cops and check points to get in.


I went to the bank with Pastor to withdraw the money
for the payment. Quite a large amount.
I asked him to hold the bag for safety reasons.
Purse snatching can happen.
They accept cash payment only...
to avoid income tax , I suppose.
The kiln owner has a fleet of 25 trucks and tractors
which are used to transport bricks all over the district.
He must be a very affluent man, but if you meet them
you will never know.
They keep a very low profile.
Just like ordinary working men.
The older conservative and traditional businessmen live a very subdued
life, they don 't flaunt their wealth.
But the trend is changing with the younger generation.
They are living it up as a part
of the swish set.


Our coxcombs. We have lots of them.
My blogfriends

DAVID
PENNI and DENISE JETER
very kindly sent me packets of seeds to plant in my garden.


Above is the corn coming up.
There are Indian okra or ladyfinger plant growing in between.


This is an okra flower


Here are some seedlings.

We had to wait for cooler weather to plant them.

A while back I went to the Post Office

Above are the newer buildings.

The older British style building is on the other side.

They are all very well maintained.

I saw some pots of these very pretty leaves.

And helped myself to a tiny bunch.

We planted them in a pot which is thriving now.

Ravens and eagles are frequent visitors in our area,

scavenging for food from the rubbish bins of nearby eateries.

Some of them perch on our mango and neem trees to eat

their treats. Often they drop the bones in the grass below

much to the joy of naughty Sheeba.

Here she is sniffing out her ' gifts from above '
When we call her she doesn 't want to

come into the house. So I have to bribe her with

biscuits. I shake the biscuit tin

and hearing the pleasant sound she comes zooming in.

Sometimes I think she tempts me to create biscuit music.

Just like the ravens brought food for the Prophet Elijah.

Our ravens drop tasty morsels for Sheeba.

What a thought!

All this would make a very bad sermon illustration. LOL

So I am dissuading Pastors from incorporating it into their homilies. Laff!

These are eggplant, brinjals or aubergines from our garden.

Today is an auspicious day for Hindu weddings.
It is close to 11pm and there are lots of wedding parties

going on in the marriage halls and hotels in our locality.

Loud fireworks and music.

I want to laugh

This dog is an artist