the holidays. A little touch of something that had us coughing and light fever for several days. We both went to the doctor who said we had bronchitis (early though) and got on an antibiotic and decongestant which has done the trick. We have a little lingering cough still, but not much.
So, now that I'm better and can begin to catch you up on some things, how about some pictures from our Christmas celebrations? First off, here is my handsome husband and your friend, Mark, looking relaxed and happy on Christmas Eve. The party we attended was pretty much perfect.
All the foreigners came out for Christmas celebrations, and rather than staying to ourselves, once the fireworks and spiced wine started flowing we all got together to talk and laugh and toast. There was a family from England, one member of which is actually from Australia, us, two ladies from Ireland and our hosts, John and Paul, who are Indians.
In this picture, Eddie, the 
father of the English family is helping Paul to cut the cake. John, in the fancy duds in the background has just finished reciting a rather long and very sincere and heart warming christmas poem, much to everyone's enjoyment.And I'll have to show you our little Christmas tree that we improvised at home, decorated with shells and candles. Here is a second picture of it, looking a bit more like home after the arrival of a package from Indiana. After a second package arrived from Texas we were well set with games and goodies; we could almost hear the jingle bells and smell the snow.
Here is another picture of our house on Christmas Eve, before we went out. And I hope you won't mind if I show off the beautiful shell necklace Mark got me for a Christmas present, knowing how much I would love it.
And finally, here is me dancing with Santa at the Christmas Eve Party. Christmas is celebrated here, but so differently than in the Western world that it almost seems, well, kind of creepy, like a clown out of context. The music is more dance party and less sentimental than we do it, and the santas go around boogie-ing down. After weeks of watching I finally got the spirit and joined in.
The following day we had the pleasure of serving a huge feast to Vinesh, his mom, sister-in-law, cousin and neice, returning the favor they have done us on more than one occasion now. The food and day was enjoyed by all, except that I was feeling the first touch of the sickness that was coming and was well ready for a rest once everyone had gone. Here is a picture of our guests once they had been thoroughly stuffed.
And finally for no reason other than that I have them on this CD all resized and ready to go, let me share a couple of pictures that have nothing to do with Chrismas. They are: a couple of pictures of Vinesh's beautiful 100 year old grandmother. I guess after living that long you can really look at someone without being self-conscious. Every time she looks at me she seems to be totally in possesion of herself, interested, with a warm energy that is so strong and clear I sometimes feel slightly uncomfortable, as though she can see more of me than the average person takes the time to. If she weren't so nice it might feel bad, but as it is I just hope to be that old and centered myself one day. And a picture Mark snuck of me washing clothes and a picture of me at a restaurant near our house that we frequent, Temple Garden.
Well, that's it for now. I hope you are all enjoying a great new year! Love from us in India. All is great here, couldn't be better. -A