Counting House

Hi everybody.I was without an Internet connection for nearly 2 days...system failure. And yesterday we went to a relative 's wedding, so I was unable to give you the bank news. I got some nice pictures of the wedding.Today my aunt Maya spent the day with us, She went to wedding with us and came home for a sleep-over.

But first let me tell you about my bank experience. I submitted Mom 's forms on Wed which the man said were in order, but he wouldn 't give me a receipt and insisted to talking to Mom once again. It frustrated and vexed me quite a bit but I bowed my head in the wind. like the willow tree does. Some medical certificates have to be submitted for Aunt S as she is unable to sign her name anymore.That 's OK, we" ll get that done.

I knew people were praying for me and so was I. So the next day I went with Mom feeling like this like this
A lamb under the protection of the LION of Judah- Jesus

and

determined to make the man feel like this

A tiny mouse about to sneeze.

Anyway when we met him, he asked my Mom to sit down and giving me a stern Samuel L Johnson -in -XXX -look asked me to wait outside. I had given a short how-how to-answer- the -officer 's -questions coaching to my Mom, she can say much more than she really should.

After a while Mom emerged looking quite relieved.The man said that we could come later on for the receipt.Mama told me that this man was suspicious of me as I had brought 2 old , helpless ladies to submit forms and one of them (Aunt S) could hardly sign her name. He wanted to know what my relationship with them was.He told mom that he was caught in a tangle once when somebody 's daughter-in-law had made someone sign forms illegally and scammed them of a large amount of money.He was satisfied when my Mom told him who I was.Well at least I looked liked an international con-woman, someone in his album of hustler 's photos.He could have asked the right questions first and not given us such a hard time.I wish I could sue him for mental and emotional torture.

Anyway all 's well that ends well.

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PET MIRACLES

Since she's been to the vet 's Sheeba ' s started eating vegetarian food...dal/lentils and veggies.Maybe they waved a magic wand over her.She used to turn away from all vegan food and tonight she slurped away some veg hot and sweet Chinese style soup with bread.

Here she is pretending to be so tame and innocent.Last night I managed to smuggle a piece of fried fish for her from the wedding feast in a doggie-paper-napkin as she insists on getting a tidbit from every party I go to.

I will post some wedding photos next time, once I get them sorted out.

Unpeeled

Your EQ is 133

50 or less: Thanks for answering honestly. Now get yourself a shrink, quick!51-70: When it comes to understanding human emotions, you'd have better luck understanding Chinese.71-90: You've got more emotional intelligence than the average frat boy. Barely.91-110: You're average. It's easy to predict how you'll react to things. But anyone could have guessed that.111-130: You usually have it going on emotionally, but roadblocks tend to land you on your butt.131-150: You are remarkable when it comes to relating with others. Only the biggest losers get under your skin.150+: Two possibilities - you've either out "Dr. Phil-ed" Dr. Phil... or you're a dirty liar.

What's" Your EQ (Emotional Intelligence Quotient)?

My 133 is not too bad?

Today I had a rather bad experience at my Mom 's and Aunt 's bank. I took them there to sign some important forms and 2 officials were very difficult and uncooperaticve, to put it midly. I would have complained had the senior managers been there (they are very helpful) but I had to keep my emotions under control as I have to deal with them again...tomorrow.Please PRAY for me.

A reminder from Psalm 37;39

The LORD saves the godly!He is their salvation and their refuge when trouble comes.Because they trust in Him, He helps then and delivers them from the plots of evil men. (The Living Bible)

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P.S.

Subscribing to my blogfriends by Bloglines is really helpful.You can do the same at www.bloglines.com

Sheeba 's Day Out

Today I took Sheeba to the vet to have her auditory system checked and cleaned and just a general look over.We went on the rickshaw, she enjoyed the ride. Here she is with my niece Mahima, when she was visiting us last summer from New Brunswick

She barked at the strays all along the road and had fun.

There was a new man at the vet 's,and he didn 't look impressive at all, so I asked to see the vet the real Mac Coy.But this chutzy little fellow said that he was him (assistant of course).I really had no confidence in him because he looked like a High School student from the lower Middle Class background, as my friend Hyacinth (of Keeping Up Appearances) would quip.But I had to give in, praying that the god of small things would keep my Sheeba safe.

Anyway the lad (I prefer to call him that) gave her 2 shots, had his assistant clean her ears and sold me a sack full of ear and eye drops and pills.I 'm glad Sheeba turned out alright.

On the ride back home she was quite nervous and nearly crowded me out of the rickshaw.Once inside our campus she was her old self.

Here she is getting a sun tan

She gives me that look when she is ready for her Goodnight Cookie.

Where are your manners Sheeba? Give me your paw.

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Yesterday and today have been declared very auspicious for Hindu weddings.There are lots of them going on. We have about a dozen hotels and marriage venues /gardens and halls in our neighbourhood. The party music and crackers can become pretty annoying and the dancing in the street when the bridegroom comes in procession.I will try to capture it on lens.

In keeping with the atmosphere, Mom 's watching a hindi flick called Honeymoon Pvt. Ltd. Its a sweet movie.

If I were a Rich Man

Our friend S and family would never need to sing this song again.

On Friday evening they were at a Christmas Sunday School rehearsal when they got a phone call from a reputed international bank in which they have an account (me too) informing them that Rupees 4 crore and 90 lakhs about 1 million US dollars had been transferred into their account.

They were stunned as they knew of no such transaction. They rushed to the bank to get their account checked.After an hour it was discovered that a bank official had by mistake transferred all that money into S 's account as the name of the other guy resembled his. The manager severely reprimanded the young official and tried the calm everybody with cups of tea.

Oh sweet/cruel mistake, if it had happened to me I would have had to be rushed into ER.

This morning for my Bible meditation I read from Luke chapter 16 where Jesus said;

"No worker can serve two bosses;

He 'll either hate the first and love the second

Or adore the first and despise the second.

You can 't serve both God and the Bank".

Oranges and Lemon from my Garden

This is our grapefruit tree. We had two more but a disease got them.

In about 2 or 3 weeks they will ripen.I will take more pictures then.

Below you can see our oranges and Meyer lemon.

We 've got a tree of tiny Chinese oranges too. I will get a picture up.

With Thankful hearts

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone

Jehovah God is our light and our Protector. He gives us grace and glory. No good thing will He withhold from those who walk along His paths Psalm 84;11 - The Living Bible

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Garden produce

(L) Radish and spring onions

(R) Aubergine/brinjal/baigan and coriander or cilantro

Does anybody feel the same way? The photos which I click and upload take longer to upload on Blogger etc. than the ones I scan and save. Why?

Moonlight

Today was repair day. The WC in the bathroom was leaking so called in the plumber to get it fixed and the washing machine repairman brought back my machine in working condition. So life is pretty stable now.

Plucked some mustard leaves (sarson ke saag) from the garden and cooked them for dinner.Actually they are to be eaten with chapatis made with cornmeal or makki ki roti.But for breakfast we will have the left over greens with chapatis made with whole-wheat flour mixed with black gram (channa) and millet (jowar) flour.It goes well with desi ghee or home-made butter.But we 've stopped using that because of health reasons otherwise our chapatis would be smeared with it. Now I use Amul butter or Nutralite cholesterol free butter.

In his childhood and later on too, my Dad was very fond of ghee (home-made butter) or rarefied butter. All their food was cooked in it.And when my grandma was busy elsewhere he used to sneak into the kitchen when he was a little boy of 4 or 5 years and scoop out a fist full of ghee to enjoy. Of course the thief would be caught when my grandma saw his face smeared with ghee.


Another story from my Dad 's childhood.

If we adhered to popular Indian religious beliefs , we would say that my Dad was blessed by a cobra.


Years ago it was quite common for people to sleep under the stars in the summer.We laid out our light cots with comfortable bedding and put on mosquito nets and stretched out under the stars.Now no one does that because of security reasons.Crime has increased so much that you could be killed,kidnapped or burgled if you slept out in your garden.

Anyway, when my Dad was a tiny infant my grandma laid him on a cot in the garden and went into the house to fetch something. When she returned she saw a king cobra coiled on my sleeping dad 's pillow.My grandma froze with fear and was too nervous to do anything. But the snake very graciously and silently slipped away and disappeared into the garden.All their Hindu neighbours were over-joyed and said the snake god had come to bless dad and he would be very lucky.
But the poor snakes were not very lucky as my dad grew up to be hunter and he shot several snakes with a gun, which is quite difficult as the reptiles move in a zig zag manner.

I tried to catch the moon above the neem trees tonight.

Sunday Blessings

Morning service at church was good.pastor preached from the Epistle of Colosians, my favourite book of the Bible.

I made a quick egg curry with lamb pulao. Maid K left for the village with her DIL, I had meat curry and chapatis and nan , so I didn 't worry.She just makes the chapatis anyway.

(Above- chapatis...flat round whole wheat bread baked on a hot skillet or tava.

Got some fresh ninva or courgette from the garden, so I made courgette stew today.Here are my veggies.

With the courgette peel I make vegetarian kebabs.They are really good.

Here are some pictures of our papaya and banana trees.I don 't like papayas at all. I either let the bananas ripen or make a green banana sabzi or stir fry.

So Sweet and Clever

While I am cooking Aunt S (86 yrs) pops in and offers to help me, (like in the good old days when she was fit).I jest with her and ask her to do those things which she normally didn 't like doing, like making chapatis (quite tedious) and boiling rice (her rice never came out right)

Today she came around when I was cooking and offered help.I said ,"Yes phupi, can you make 25 chapatis". (Way too many deliberately)

"Oh!" she goes,"I am very slow and it will take too long, you all will feel hungry. So you make them."

Very clever eh?

Waiting for Godot

Here is Sheeba waiting for Godot the rat, she killed it early yesterday morning (5 am) in the bathroom as I was brushing my teeth.Had to clean up the mess. There is another Godot in the offing and she 'll get it.

Today she is limping a bit saying,"Ouch my right foot!".I applied an ointment on it.She is an keen hunter , should have named her Diana after the constellation.

We are getting BBC Entertainment and I watched Faulty Towers which I enjoyed a lot. We used to get it on DD aeon's ago.I also liked watching American Inventor on Star World.

My landline phone connection is off...they say its cable fault. Thank goodness Internet is on otherwise I would have started to have withdrawal symptoms.

Under Construction

Some pictures I took today of the construction work, This is the platform they are raising all round the sanctuary to prevent water seepage etc.

Mom asked one of the masons who was new if the technique they were using was OK and he said it was fine. So we have laid our doubts to rest for the moment.

Gordon aka Govardhan

Britain's Prime Minister Gordon Brown has become an honorary Hindu, taking the name Govardhan Brown, during a ceremony to mark the Diwali festival, an umbrella organisation for British Hindus said on Thursday.Brown, wearing marigold garlands around his neck and a bright vermilion teeka on his forehead, received the honour at the Hindu Forum of Britain's annual event to celebrate the faith's festival of light at parliament on Wednesday.Hindu Forum of Britain general secretary Ramesh Kallidai introduced the prime minister to guests, including prominent Indian businessmen and politicians, as "Shri Govardhan Brown".He told Brown, who is a Scottish Presbyterian, "Govardhan" had a "sacred and auspicious" meaning in Sanskrit as a hill in paradise.

Govardhan is a hill in the vicinity of Mathura where god Krishna had his lilas or escapades with the gopis or shepherdesses.


Well, you never know tomorrow someone may decide to become an honorary gay, lesbian, vampire, alien, schizo, Al Qaeda... the list goes on.

In the middle of all this we worship a God who says."I am Who I am"

I can be concerned for people different from me but I don 't have to assume their honorary identity.

But Politicians...


My main concern in life to search myself to see if I am an authentic, genuine Christian and not just an honorary one.When Jesus returns will He find faith on the earth? Nobody can be an honorary Christian. Either you are one or you are not.

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Went to a revival meeting at the Bible College last evening. Enjoyed the worship and praise time.

Our construction workers are not complying with our instructions and we are very unhappy with them.Pray that we may be able to deal with this situation.

Children 's Day

Children's Day is celebrated to honor childhood and is celebrated on 14th November in India, the date which marks the birth anniversary of independent India's first Prime minister-Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru. Nehru was born on November 14. He belonged to my hometown and his palatial house is now a museum.After his death in year 1963, his birthday has been celebrated as children's day. The reason of celebrating his birthday as children's day is because of his love and passion for children. That 's the reason he is also known as Chacha (Uncle)Nehru. Apart from being known for his skills as a statesman, Nehru was also immensely fond of children.

However, 20th November is universally celebrated as Children 's Day. 14th Nov. is marked with a lot of activities for children. But the fact remains that only a section of the country’s children actually have an opportunity to celebrate their existence. Schools organize events and activities that their students thoroughly enjoy, but there is an entire populace of young ones that are left ignored on this special day – the downtrodden street children.

Some of the plagues which infect our children are, infant mortality, female infanticide,child labour, human trafficking,illiteracy, disease, malnutrition and abuse. What are we doing for the next generation ?

Please say a prayer for the children of India

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I want to say Thank You to all my friends for their kind comments regarding my photography.I just want to show you a little glimpse of my life , community and surroundings.

Sunday Blessings

Mama looking so happy.

Church was good. A new family visited with 2 skippy little girls.The music and preaching was encouraging.

We are a small church and our collection is usually small too, but we decided to donate some money for a crusade the seminary students are organizing later this week, and the Lord gave us triple that amount in our offering."Prove Me", He has said.

In the evening we had our inter-denominational prayer meeting. Pastors and leaders from all over the city came.

(Above)) People praying for our city and country.

V and Dr. John Thomas conducting the prayer meeting.

After the meeting Brother R shared with us about his rebellious teenage son Abner.He has requested prayer for him. R was the financial Director of a University but now he is into teaching work in the same place.

On the right R sharing with Mama.

Please pray , his son Abner may leave bad company and accept Christ as personal Saviour.

Aunt Sybil - Yesterday and Today

Dug out some old pictures of Aunt Sybil 's .The pic. above was taken in the 80s.Auntie was an elementary school teacher and manager of a girl 's hostel (dorm).

On the left she is bride 's maid at her best friend 's wedding whose husband later on became VP of a Swiss

Bank.

On the left she (L)

is with Aunt Marjorie

her elder sister.

Here she is at the girl 's dorm.

These last pictures are the latest.

After a bath and hair brushing.She had long thick hair which I had to cut when she was first hospitalized

four and a half years ago.

How Does Your Garden Grow?

Yesterday I bought a Sony Cybershot T20. It was over my budget but I got a good discount so I went ahead. Took time to read the manual.Got up at 3.30 am. to read some more. I love reading instruction manuals.

So this afternoon I took some shaky photos.I am in the Early Childhood Program Section of Photography and probably will never graduate out of KG. but here I am. I 've got my tube rose, coxcomb , roses and yours truly on.

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In the morning when Maid K started doing Aunt S

's hair, she said ,"Why are you doing my hair? Soon it will get untidy again."

Is that Murphy 's Law?

Diwali - The Festival of Lights

To me Diwali means dazzling lamps, brightly lit streets and houses, sweets and fireworks.

Diwali is one of the major Hindu festivals, it is celebrated to commemorate the return of the Hindu god Rama and his consort Sita to their kingdom Ayodhya after fourteen years of exile. Though, Diwali is mainly a five- day festival people prepare for Diwali weeks ahead by cleaning and decorating their homes. on Diwali night innumerable lamps are lit on the roofs and windowsills of the houses. These days its electric lights .It is said that Lakshmi, Goddess of wealth roams the earth on this day and enters the house that is pure, clean and brightly illuminated. Young and old, men and women, all dress up in new clothes . They worship the deities, Lakshmi and Ganesha, and share sweets and gifts with their relatives and friends. It is also the beginning of the new financial year for the business community. However, it is the crackers and the fireworks that attract the kids the most and form the highlight of the festival. People gamble all night to usher in good luck and thieves go out to try their luck, if they are successful they will prosper all year round. So there are many robberies committed during this festival time.

When we were growing up we also illuminated our house with candles and oil lamps and burst baskets full of loud and colorful fire-crackers.Tomorrow is the main celebration .All day long people will be bursting crackers and at night the sky all around with be be lit up with fireworks.It also adds up to the nose and air pollution, and there are many accidents too.

Seeing my city lit up beautifully I am drawn to the Bible verses which say

Psalm 27;1 The Lord is my LIGHT and my salvation

Matthew 8;12 Jesus spoke to them saying,"I am the LIGHT of the world,he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness but shall have the LIGHT of life".

Matthew 5;14 (Jesus says to us)"You are the LIGHT of the world.A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.

v 16"Let your LIGHT so shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven."

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One of my blogfriends wondered if Diwali celebrations cost so much how can the poor people (a majority) afford to celebrate. They can 't celebrate at this level. Their celebrations are very simple and rustic.