Shoppers beware - and will we have water

Two things here.

First thing:
Heather went to a fairly high-end shop that sells furniture, bedding, curtains, etc. and bought a couple lamps. They didn't come with bulbs, so Murthy went out and got some. Our nanny Manika put them in the lamps and plugged them in.

I came home and was looking at one of the lamps and saw some plastic connectors on the cord. Closer inspection showed a switch had been removed! And the bare wire just twisted together! It seems you *always* have to inspect your purchases before you leave.

Now Heather will be going back to get them to make an 'exception' to their no returns policy.



As it came from the store



The other lamp didn't seem to have any problems.



Second item: As far as we can tell from the paper, Bangalore will be without water for the next 3 days. There is a major public works event in progress to connect the city feed at a different location. As the paper says 'Most areas in the city will be deprived of drinking water in the next three days'.

The neighborhood we are in has 'bore well water' so we should have water. 'Make sure to boil and use it.'

There are a couple concerning things about this event though;
1) The paper says the upgrade is the 28th-30th, the sheet we got says 26-28th. They are still watering the lawns here in Palm Meadows...what water shortage?
2) Parallel connections? You might expect construction to be complete, then just flip a switch/lever?
3) The bridge on my way to work was supposed to be complete in August, then October, now January... I hope the 3 days is a conservative estimate.

Plants!

Time to get some more plants for the garden. Heather went to the nursery and picked out a trailer load of plants. They were delivered on a tractor-pulled wagon. Travelling Palm, Hibiscus, everything grows year-round!

A few missing pictures

Hi.

Just two more pictures that needed to be added. :)




Replicating the famous Hawaii shot





Brian

Mauritius

Hello everyone!

The kids are now back in school, and Zach is catching a late-morning
nap, so I finally have some quiet time to write to you. I'm still in
shock that it's mid-November!

We have made it back 'home' safe and sound after a wonderful,
beautiful, fun, LONG trip to Mauritius! It was our family's first
time in the southern hemisphere, but can you believe it -- I forgot to
watch the water go down the drain to see if it does go the opposite
way! ha! We had a fabulous time, except the sitting in the airport
layover part! The Indian Ocean is beautiful, and we spent much time
on the beaches and in the water. If you haven't already, take a look
at the 500 pictures on www.ellaanne.com that were the best of the 2000
we took overall. We even spaced them out for you over 4 albums, so as
not to overwhelm you :).




Some highlights of the trip were swimming in the ocean with dolphins,
snorkeling 3 different times and places (with ELLA!), riding on and
interacting with REAL, LIVE giant tortoises in an amazing park,
collecting coral and shells on the beach, discovering ocean life by
the shore at low tide (including an amazing lionfish, starfish, and
part of an octopus--the rest was hiding!), seeing the sleeping
volcanic crater, eating wonderful fresh seafood AND tasty
french-influenced food, visiting the Ile aux Cerfs island for the day,
and so much more! The pictures are all labeled, so check them out to
get a better idea of what Mauritius is like.



We were the ONLY Americans there (that most people had even heard of
coming!). Many Europeans, mostly French, were vacationing there, as
well as Indians. The locals spoke French, the food had that great
French influence as well, and occasionally you could get a glimpse of
French-style beaches...! We enjoyed our breakfasts each day by the
beach with great croissants, hot chocolate, omelettes, fresh fruit,
great coffee (for Brian, anyway). Every evening we had fun dressing
up a bit for dinner, which started only after 7. Sacia only made it
through dinner awake a few times, usually falling asleep in Brian's
lap 3/4 of the way through. The food was included in our package,
and was delicious!




Lunches we ate between touring, at several unique restaurants. One
was in the touristy spot, the Caudan Waterfront, similar to the New
Orleans waterfront shops. Another restaurant was tucked in the
tropical hillsides nearby a waterfall and the 'Coloured Earths', a
famous place where the volcanic flow has now decomposed into several
different colors. Zach enjoyed calamari (squid) at a small place on
the south side of the island, where the ant in my drink and the one
hair in my food didn't phase me too badly. ugh. The last lunch was
right above the beach in Grand Baie, and we enjoyed the restaurant all
to ourselves, though the main menu wasn't yet available. My mushroom
melt steak was fabulous!

I hope to tell you more another time, and about Halloween here in India as well.

Love,

the Banglore Blondes - turned - "Golden-haired family" in Mauritus (as
our boat tour guide called us)

Happy Halloween

Hello!
Let me be the first to wish you a Happy Halloween on October 31st!Well, it is already here, so that has to count :)
The girls are off to school, Brian is off to work, I've made mymorning round of the neighborhood with Zach in the stroller, and it isgoing to be one BUSY day! I have Zach's brief attention held by sometoys in this room, and the door is closed, or he'd be an escapeartist...
Today, I have a bunch of errands to run, which I can't startunfortunately until the stores open at 10. Also at that time, ourmaid and cook are coming early today, in preparation for us being gonefor a week. So I need to come up with a complete list of things theyneed to do today. I won't be around hardly at all, with errands, andhelping with Ella's party at school. The nanny is coming early todayto watch Zach while I go paint some scary faces (or some kind anyway)on the kids in Ella's class as they get ready for their Halloweenparty.
Today is also payday, so I need to scare up many thousands of rupeesfor everyone, including a bonus for the big holiday coming up. Afterschool, the kids will get cleaned up, fed snacks, and ready fortrick-or-treating here in Palm Meadows. That reminds me, I need toget these colored Halloween pumpkins, cats, bats, etc, hung outside sothat people know we are a house to get candy at. Not everyoneparticipates, so it needs to be clear that we are participating.
Then, perhaps after Tinkerbelle and Cinderellla and our Jr.Firefighter are all tired out from their adventures and are in bedsleeping, I have to get going on the packing for our beach trip! Say,noone has made any guesses as to where we are going! :) Sacia andElla now know where we're going and can even find it on the map.Here's a clue- it starts with M, and no, it's not Maldives, orMadagascar, but that's a close one! :)
Yesterday, we had conferences with Ella and Sacia's teachers, and itwent so very well. It was great to get super feedback about bothgirls and to see what kind of work theyr'e doing at school. The girlsand Zach were along, but in the hallway most of the time as we talkedwith the teachers, but the girls were feeling very proud.
It's been cooler and rainy here lately, reminds me of home, buteverything is still lush green, and not THAT cool!
We may be out of touch while on our trip, I'm not entirely sure.
Happy Halloween-eve there!


Lots of love,
Heather, Brian, Cinderella, Tinkerbelle, and Jr. Firefighter