Thank You Jackie

My dear friend Jackie of Mother Of the Lot gave me this award. Jackie you deserve it much more than I do.Jackie is the mother of 5 lovely daughters.She understands the distinct personalities of her babes so well and gives each of them space and recognition with a great big dollop of humour and wisdom.

The browser and internet difficulty is continuing.The bigwigs in the "Silly Con" Valley must be working on it.

Mom saw on the telly that the under sea cable has busted due to bad weather.

Spiritual lesson here...when our connection with the Lord cracks up due to bad weather called sin...missing the mark, we cannot open our browsers and read our emails...the Bible doesn 't speak to us and our prayers only hit the ceiling.

But when we confess our sins the Lord is kind and gracious to forgive us and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.these days I am reading the old magazines (25 years old) which Keith Green 's Last Days Ministries sent me. They are a blessing.

Slowdown

Since yesterday my broadband connection is giving me trouble and my yahoo server is even worse. I am unable to comment on your posts my friends. I 'll call up control room (local) and complain.

PaPa Tom says he is having trouble opening my webpage. Is anyone else having the same problem? Please let me know
I want my site to be user friendly.

Friends Forever

Isn 't he the most darling dog in the world. He is just like my Jimmy who crossed over the rainbow bridge last April. I got this picture from Nurse Ratched.

My friend Sara writes very insightful and thoughtful posts which touch my heart. Please read her post entitled Un-Depressed. Your heart will be warmed.

My friend Donetta is a very artistic and talented lady.Her sowing skills are superb.She blessed me with an award.Thank you Donetta.

My friend David is an acclaimed author and photographer.On his blog he asked his readers - How efficiently or inefficiently would your household function without batteries?

Our household would be greatly affected because during our daily 3 hour + power cut we run a battery powered generator.Our power goes out frequently.And in the summer life would become unbearable without it.and also without batteries I would not be able to use my cameras,cell phone and radio...watches, clocks...I am getting silly.

What about you people?

Another question. Can I sun-dry broccoli to preserve it? I 've run out of ziplocs.

We the People

Today India is celebrating its 59th Republic day.It is a national holiday.
On this day our country 's constitution came into force and we became a sovereign state. It is marked with parades and various functions .Prestigious military and civilian awards are given to distinguished people.A very impressive parade takes place in New Delhi attended by diplomats and foreign dignitaries and common people. This year 's chief guest is the French President.
We like to watch the Parade live in TV but as usual we were denied our basic constitutional right to do so because of the daily power cut.Sigh...
So we listened to the commentary on the radio like in the pre-TV days and tried to use our imagination (which is a good mental exercise)
I have posted a YouTube video. Its a lovely song with spectacular Indian images.



Here is another video showing the emerging modern, progressive India

The Dog wants a Bone

These days Sheeba wants to eat meat and is rejecting bread. I usually mix the meat and bones with bread. But she is fussing about the bread.But when she gets hungry enough she goes back and finishes her bread.

Its 3 pm now and in a moment she will arrive and nudge me for her dinner.She will get chicken left-overs and bread.

If only she could be like this sweet fellow I got from Nurse Ratcheds. Now he 's got self control

Today

Yesterday

The whole of North India is experiencing a cold wave. Freezing winds from the Himalayas blow down on the plains bringing rain and fog and temperatures below 10 degrees C and nights are colder.Our homes and infrastructure is not weather proof several people have lost their lives.
Today I have to go to the bank and pay my landline and cell phone bills.I don 't mind walking in the rain as long its not pouring heavily and the roads are not flooded or slushy.
Posted by Amrita at 7:43 PM 0 comments Links to this post
Tuesday

Advice

To myself, and to everyone else who is either trying to lose weight or feeling under the weather.

I beg your Pardon - I DID pomise you a Rose Garden

I love that song with one different word of course. Remember anyone?
I got up this morning to a cold below 10"C ( 40s F) temp. and an overcast sky with chilling winds and thought of livening up the day by taking some pictures of our roses.

Don 't they look pretty.They are our pride.

I want to send a special bunch of roses to Terry Anne 's Dad Golden, Donetta 's MIL,Felisol 's Mom, Ruth ,Becky and John

I have all my friends blogrolled.

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Today I went visit a family in dire financial straits.(I liked listening to Dire Straits as a teenager). The poor widow P auntie is in a bad shape as her daughter (only child), son in law and two small kids are living off her meagre pension and not taking care of her.The daughter and hubby don 't want to work.They 'd rather live like destitutes than find employment, we helped find work, but it was rejected.Some people are like that.

Today was auntie P 's birthday. So I invited myself in, otherwise they wouldn 't celebrate it. I said I 'm coming for lunch. So the daughter made meatball curry and peas pulao (she is a good cook)

I took some food, a box of sweets,candy for the kids,lots of veggies from our garden, bananas, a coffee mug for auntie and face cream for the daughter (her birthday was 3 days ago).

Jesus commanded us to love people unconditionally.I am learning that.I used to expect people to come up to my expectations in order for me to really love them from the heart. But that 's not God 's love. He loves us the way we are.Its irrational love. Don 't you agree?

Baby Talk

Who 's the Boss man?

The parents of this little girl Chandnee (name means Moonlight) are pure vegetarians and they want her to eat meat, but she doesn 't want it either.

Look who 's talking!

Sunday Blessings

Sunday was a very blessed day for us.Bishop Dr.J Masih gave the message after which everybody relaxed and had tea and cake while our Pastor and his wife cooked lunch with the help of the youth.It was chicken curry and fried rice with the usual side dishes and sweets.
Below you can see Aunty Edwards, Bishop Dr. Masih Aunt Sybil (her back) and the Bishop 's wife chatting

Above Pastor S, and the youth leading in prayer. Bro. S in the checked shirt lead in prayer. He is from a Sikh background.

On the left is Dr. Sunderaraj, Principal of the Bible College.We 've known him since his student days.

On the right is Josh with his dad Dr Justin.Justin is the Bishop 's son. I gave him his first guitar lessons.Now he is an accomplished musician and teaches chemistry in a university.

Here are some more people chatting and eating.

Click on the photos to enlarge them.

Green Stuff

Broccoli and tomatoes growing in our garden.We called up our American friend and asked her if she wanted some broccoli as it is rare and very expensive here and she was very willing to have some.The ones we harvested are much larger than the one shown here.

Happy Birthday Mom

Mom Dorothy has been my pen pal, friend and mentor forthe past 32 years.Today she is 81 years old. I will call her in a while.

I used to listen to radio messages by Dr DeHann and wrote to them asking them for a prayer partner.When prayer requests were being passed around in a little town in central MN, Mrs M picked up mine and thus began our long years of friendship.

Dad passed away 30 years ago and Mom remarried about 10 years back to a wonderful man.We are like family. I have never met her personally. Talked on the phone a number of times.But she is a part of my soul.We write to each other every month.I also send her emails which her daughter passes on to her.My life would be incomplete with her.

I called her a short while ago and gave her a birthday surprise. It is just over a 12 hr time difference. They are going to church and then a celebration with the family.Each year they go to TX for a holiday but this year they are skipping that as its too much for John to drive...he 's 80 and has had by pass surgery (Mom too) and a knee replacement job.Mom says they might fly to Arizona to visit her sister.

My Mom also chatted with her. It was so good. Although international dialing is very expensive its worthwhile. wish I could call Mom more often.
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My friend David of authorblog asked his readers if they wear denim. Yes I do David.Mainly jeans and I had a denim jacket for years which I gave away a few weeks ago for charity. I have a Mark and Spencer 's denim skirt which a friend handed down to me and I can 't part with it even though its well worn.

The photo on the right (click to enlarge) was taken light years ago in a local park.

(L-R) myself in a white denim jacket which I still have, Namrita, Sonia,my BIL 's younger brother Anand, sister Anjali and nephew Ashish.

Time for a Change

Getting inspiration from my blog friends I thought I might also change my template and give my blog a new look. My friends Carol Ann and Sasha gave me instructions and after several unsuccessful attempts It worked out.

It was a long winding road uphill as my computing skills are not very sharp.And I thought

But it all turned out OK.

Now I have to put back my page elements and links back on.

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I am feeling OK . Headache 's gone.Today was a pleasant sunny day.I made a stove top vegetable casserole with broccoli,mushroom,peas,potatoes.green peppers, cottage cheese(paneer) all in a white sauce.Mom and Aunt Sybil likes it a lot.Even Sheeba.

Just feeling a little down with a headache. I am allergic to temperature fluctuations.Want to write about some Indian festivals etc. and visit all your blogs but can 't with this headache.

I also want to change the photo on my header and maybe change the template.Asked a friend to help me, she did a wonderful job for me. Maybe some of you can give me ideas. You have such nice templates too.

See ya.

The Garden Variety

From our garden.Sweet potatoes, radish and broccoli.

Broccoli is frightfully expensive and rare. One small head costs Rs 20 or more.Although we have to invest quite a bit in the manure, fertilizers and labour, its worthwhile getting your own fresh organically grown vegetables and its my Mom 's hobby and interest something which makes her tick.Wish I could send you all my dear friends vegetables and fruit from my garden.

I bought a single "dear" kiwi fruit from the Mall. And although its grown in cooler climes I 'll save the seeds and try growing it.

"And the earth brought forth vegetation ,plants yielding seeds after their kind; and trees bearing fruit with seed in them, after their kind; and God saw that it was good".

Genesis 1;12

(Bible...story of creation)

Thank You Sue

Thank you Sue for sending me your message CD entitled The Power of Christmas and a magnetic calender.It a real blessing to me.

Sue has a real inspirational blog which is a blessing to so many of us and she has regular giveaways.

Christian materials are available here but not very freely in my town and they are very expensive so I 'm so glad when I get a gift like that.

Sunday Blessings

Before and After the whitewash

Sunday was a good day, although a cold chilly wind blew all day.

In the evening we had our Union Prayer meeting. About 30 leaders and Pastors gathered for prayer and worship. A Pastor from Delhi gave the message.

Its a good time to come and pray for each other and our city and country without discussing our doctrinal and denominational differences, although some brethren do not agree to that.

Our church freshly whitewashed looks very nice. Praise God for providing the finances.Still a lot needs to be done, we are looking up to Him

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For lunch I made egg curry with peas pulao. You boil the eggs and simmer them in a curry gravy, with veggies and tomato paste.

For dinner I made clear vegetable soup with veggies from the garden

bottle gourd (lauki)

tomato (market bought...ours are too small to be harvested)

spinach

carrots

garlic and onion

I save the hash and put it in my lentils (dals).Tastes good.

Nano - The World 's Cheapest Car

Here are two of my favourite cars.
(Left) Toyota Innova
And (below) Maruti Swift

(Above ) the newly launched Nano

The $2500 Tata Nano, Unveiled in India
Indian automaker Tata Motors has finally unveiled the Tata Nano -- its already legendary $2,500 (1-lakh)car. As expected, the car that Tata claims will change the face of not only the Indian car market, but the global auto industry will be a four door, five seat hatch, powered by a 30 HP Bosch 624 cc four stroke engine mounted out back and mated to a CVT. That makes the Nano the first time a 2-cylinder gasoline engine will be used in a car with a single balancer shaft. The Nano's also expected to get 54 US miles per gallon or 25 km per liter of petrol.

Mr. Ratan N. Tata, Chairman of the Tata Group and Tata Motors, today unveiled the Tata 'NANO', the People's Car from Tata Motors that India and the world have been looking forward to. A development, which signifies a first for the global automobile industry, the People's Car brings the comfort and safety of a car within the reach of thousands of families. The People's Car will be launched in India later in 2008.
Speaking at the unveiling ceremony at the 9th Auto Expo in New Delhi, Mr. Ratan N. Tata said, "I observed families riding on two-wheelers - the father driving the scooter, his young kid standing in front of him, his wife seated behind him holding a little baby. It led me to wonder whether one could conceive of a safe, affordable, all-weather form of transport for such a family. Tata Motors' engineers and designers gave their all for about four years to realise this goal. Today, we indeed have a People's Car, which is affordable and yet built to meet safety requirements and emission norms, to be fuel efficient and low on emissions. We are happy to present the People's Car to India and we hope it brings the joy, pride and utility of owning a car to many families who need personal mobility."

Well, we 'll have to see how it does on the road.But its pretty affordable for the common man. But we mave to improve our roads for the influx of cars.

$2500 is pretty cheap. The Swift and Innova are 5 to 8 times that one. Why do I like expensive stuff.?

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The court business went well. We had to file a reply to our opponent 's letter. it was uninventful.

The last 2 days have been pretty warm, today was cold with a chilly wind.

Now Sheeba is pestering me to give her extra dinner and after that I 'll watch the thriller"When a Stranger Calls" on HBO

Say What

Got my photo up in the local museum.Just kidding.

Saying goodbye to Sonia and Abner, (I jokingly call him my thorn in the flesh). I told Sonia ;leave him with me for a month and I 'll discipline him and transform him.He 's good with Mom and me because we discipline him and love him.

He likes our home so much, doesn 't want to go home, tells tall stories about Alld back home.

Tomorrow I have to appear in court for our next hearing.

Please pray.It will evening according to North America time zones, early morning in Europe.

A Card Game

I've been carded by my friend of livingbeyondmyself

I have to list 5 New Year Gifts I want for 2008



1. To be more Christ-like in my daily life.

2. To see my church flourish and develop like the Garden of Eden.I pray

a revival may take place and our legal hassles may be over.And our

school project may begin.

3. A fulfilment of several home improvement projects for my house.

4. Some people I 've been praying for may be saved.

5. ...an arm to lean on.

Say a prayer for me as you read these gifts, desires or prayers for the New Year.

In turn I also have to card other people.

Here are the rules:1. Each player starts with 5 gifts that they would want for the New Year.2. People who are “CARDED” need to write their own Blog about their 5 things & post these rules.3. At the end of your Blog, you need to choose 5 people to get “CARDED” and list their names.4. Don’t forget to leave them a COMMENT telling them they’re “CARDED”, and to read your Blog.

The people I am carding in turn are
Aura in Portugal

Donetta in USA

Terry Anne in Canada

Julia in India

PaPa in USA

Some more Pictures

The church wedding was at 4pm.It was a long Anglican ceremony one and a half hours in duration..Dinner would be served at 8.30pm. So we took a break at home to check on the elders.We arrived at the reception hall after 7, by that time the cake was already cut and dissembled. So I couldn 't get a picture of that. But you can see the pieces of the cake which was served. Its a rich fruit cake with marzipan icing beautifully decorated. The above right picture has the silk confetti pouches, wedding program and thank you card.

From the handicraft fair I bought these lovely golden grass baskets from Manipur (NE India)

The flower is made of sea shells and painted.The seller claimed it would float in water but it didn 't.

The dolls behind it are old.They are a Hindu bride and groom.

You can click on the pictures to enlarge them

Sunday Blessings

Abner wanted me to take his photo holding Nani 's garden basket.This 6 yr old is quite a scamp.He is hyper-active and needs a good deal of disciplining.

After they left I discovered he had broken my inverter (battery operated generator) switch and I had to send my servant to 10 different places to try and get a replacement.

Sonia asks for prayer for him

That the Lord may give him a peaceful, obedient spirit.

My maid' s just returned from a wedding reception.This was the groom 's party. Here the wedding celebrations are shared by both the families.But if the groom is from out of town then the wedding costs are borne by the bride 's family and then after the wedding the groom 's family hosts a party in their house and lots of people are invited. Its called "At Home" Its an occasion to welcome the bride to her new home.

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We had open air church. Out on our sun porch, in our garden. Our Pastor and most church members were away at a conference in Calcutta, so the responsibility fell on me to take the service.My topic was Optimism in Old Age (as most of my audience were elders).Its was good. We sang the song"Heavens came down and glory filled my soul" recalling the day of our salvation. I love that song.

We invited Aunt Virginia for lunch. Had peas pulao, salad,veg stir fry and gravy.

In the evening I went to a Handicraft fair and bought two baskets from North East (Manipur state). Everything was being sold at a reduced rate as it was the last day of the fair.I will post the pictures.

Here Comes the Bride

My cousin 's wedding took place at the Anglican Cathedral which was beautifully decorated under an Aunt 's supervision and expertise.

On the right you can see some of our family in the choir. Granny was the first Indian pianist of Alld. during the British Raj.There are great musicians and composers in our family.

On the left is the happy couple.Below is a cousin 's daughter who was one of the bridesmaids.

You can see Aunt Emerine who lived in New York most of her life. Now she has retired in India.She is in her 70s and a close friend of my Mom.

Sonia and I attended the wedding ceremony and reception along with Abner.We had a good time and met many relatives and friends .The reception and dinner is a long relaxed affair.Once the couple cuts the cake (9 tiered this one) cake and coffee is served and there are speeches and music.My cousin brother sang several songs. He sings like Elvis Presley and Tom Jones.Then the bride goes off to change into her dinner clothes.The priest prays when the couple returns for dinner and then the soup and starters are served followed by dinner.Everybody is relaxed and social.People keep coming and going. When we were leaving after 10pm guests were still arriving, many of them from the medical fraternity as the groom 's Mom and some of my cousins are doctors.

I saw my family doctor and felt guilty as I 've not had my BP checked recently, Mom 's too.

Sonia left the day after the wedding (Jan 5th)