Flat Stanley

We had a visitor this week. So far, he has been the easiest visitor we have had yet. He came from Arizona on the dime of our great friends the Abrahams. It was nice of them to let us have him for a few days. Mike and Dayna Abraham were such great friends of ours in Arizona and their son, Colin created Flat Stanley. The Abrahams were supposed to come visit us this past March, but it didn't quite work out. Instead, they sent Flat Stanley and we showed Stanley around Kathmandu. We hope he goes back and tells them ALL about it.

Here are some things he did during his short visit with us:

He hung out with Ganesh for good luck.

He high fived Buddha at the Monkey Temple.
He assisted a cow as the cow crossed the highway.
He bought some fruit and vegetables at the side of the road.
He got mixed up in some crazy stuff. (I hope Mike and Dayna don't find out).

He confused this lady as she was staring out of the bus just before she threw up.
He checked out some of the authentic Nepali windows.
He hung out with all the gods.
He had a few nightmares.
He checked out the Bagmati River village and may have caught the swine flu (sorry, guys!)

He wanted to see a football game but then realized the Nepali team stinks and didn't quite make it into the payoffs.
He wanted to ride in a tuk tuk but there wasn't enough electricity to keep the thing going.
He flirted with my daughter (which I think she liked).

Our time was short, but fun. I hope Colin likes the packet that is on its way back to AZ. We wish it was the Abrahams and not just Flat Stanley, but maybe his stories will make them burn with desire to visit next year! Thanks for the fun!

'Sea' You Later

The immodest look

 Life can be slow in Nepal, so Axel and I have been working on projects lately.   I just completed this dress.  I used the 'Sea You Later' smocking plate (I know, could the names be any cheesier?).  The dress pattern is my own creation.  

The more modest (but less cute) version

The close up with dinner stain and all

I have about 5 or 6 more outfits in the works. I need to get more smocking on my 6 year old before she becomes too old (she hasn't complained yet, so I am going to smock more until the dreaded day she says, 'Um, mom, I am dating boys and driving a car, I should probably stop wearing smocked dresses').    More to come.

Chicken Tonight

                                            Ahhh...the beginnings of the bird flu

Chickens multiply and fast.  We are now pushing 100 chickens from the 4 chickens Axel bought when we first arrived in Nepal.  Over the past few months, we have grown to love these social and animated birds.  The kids will spend hours upon hours moving the chickens from cage to cage, watching roosters fight, or judging the hens on how well they mother their chicks.  It is a daily ritual to sit, work on projects and observe the funny behaviors of our chickens.  Seems boring, but it is a great source of entertainment for us in Nepal. 

Two facts: 1. Chickens actually originated in Nepal.  The Jungle Chicken (which can be seen in Chitwan) was the original chicken.  2.  Nepali chickens only lay brown eggs.  If you see a white egg, you know it came from India, which made Easter really interesting for dying eggs.  The Easter Bunny resorted to using Axel's paint.  It wasn't so pretty.  

Yesterday we finally broke down and made our chickens pay for their stay.  We have a surplus of roosters right now and a couple of them had to go.  Listening to 5 different cock-a-doodle-dos at 4am was getting old.   So this is what happened:

Asa assumed that the chicken might enjoy a good play session before he went to the other side.  Too bad it was too late.

  

Sedona loved the chicken head

And voila!  Delicious dinner!

If you are cringing right now I only have one questions for you--what are YOU having for dinner tonight?

Sisters are Fab

In my younger years I never appreciated having a sister.  I thought my sister's only role in life was to take my clothing and torment me in many inhumane ways.  No two people could fight better.  We couldn't wait for my parents to leave so we could chase each other around the house.  We were nasty and mean.  The only time we became friends was when we got in trouble.  There was nothing like forming an alliance against mom and dad, even if it was with your worst enemy.

My sister and I are 4 years apart and I thought that was the absolute worst age difference.  She was always several steps ahead of me when it came to boys and beauty.  No fair.  We were different enough that we barely shared the same universe.  

However, as the years have passed all has been forgotten, and to me, no one is more precious than my sister.  We don't even recognize the old relationship we had and I am so thankful that I have a bigger sister who will always love me and I will always love her.  I regret our childhood years.  The fighting was such a waste of time.  

Now that I have two girls, I am so thankful they have each other.  It is funny how they have come to speak the same language and share interest in the same things.  There is something special about sisters because they understand your 'girliness' and often reflect your weaknesses.  You understand their concerns about your wardrobe or needs for all things pink. You can play Polly Pockets with the same ideas and themes.  Not like when brother shows up with his trucks and attempts to destroy the Polly Pocket city you just spent hours setting up.  You dance to the same music and prance in the same way.

I love that I have two girls who will understand the breakups and hang ups of life together.  I love that my girls will discuss boys and make up in the same manner.  I love that they will champion each other when the brothers in their lives tease them.  I love it that they will see the world similarly and yet so differently. I am glad they will have a female shoulder to cry on that won't be just mom's.  

Sisters are a grand thing and I feel fortunate to have my own.  I am also so thankful that God gave me two girls so the generation of sisterhood can move forward. 

Jewels

I absolutely LOVE the talent and resources they have here in Nepal.  Although I cannot find a Potterybarn down the road, I can always find someone to make an exact replica for about a third of the price.  If I can think of a design, I can always find someone to make it.  

When Remi came to visit she asked me to pick up a necklace, bracelet and earrings at a little shop near the hospital where she worked.  When I finally got around to picking it up, it was gone.  She drew me a picture of what it looked like so I had an idea of what she wanted. Instead, I took the drawing to a silversmith near my home.  He made the exact design she wanted and I shipped it off to her. 

The bracelet, necklace and earrings looked so fabulous I thought I would also give him more business.  I took a similar design and had him use my birthstone-the peridot.  

I also had earrings made that exactly match the necklace.

The earrings, bracelet and necklace cost $38.  (About a month ago it was a third less because silver has recently gone up in price).  Least to say, I am happy.  I am now dreaming up more ideas.  Any suggestions????  I never really cared about jewels before but this has opened up a whole new world of fun! 

 

Bagmati River

After visiting India and living in Nepal for sometime few things surprise me.  I have really become used to seeing human feces on the sidewalk or someone throw up out of a bus.  However, there is one thing that I see on a daily basis that still shocks me.  The Bagmati River is by far the grossest part of Kathmandu.  To see the sludge, grime and garbage is extraordinary to say the least.

                                                 A slaughter house on the side of the river. 

I think they should just allow the Bulls to roam in the water, they would surely be dead in no time. 

   

We make the drive over the Bagmati everyday and we have to plug our noses every time.  I wish I could send you a cybersmell just so you could get the real effect.  During the summer it is especially fragrant. 

 

People actually live here.  Just down the river there is a whole Bagmati village. 

  

 

                               Bringing water to do what?  I can only imagine.

                                A little girl washing herself in the river. 

It is very common to see children bathing in this water.  If I could only have their immune system.  After bathing with the pigs for several years, I wonder if they are even human anymore.  I am sure they develop superpowers. 

When Brad was here he took a sample and this is what he found:

Well, a quick update on the Bagmati river water. So far, the media I have used for isolation shows possible traces for Salmonella, Fecal Coliforms (most likely for E. Coli), and Shigella. Usually the media will grow an array of different Micro Organisms and based on their fermentation, will yield different colors. Let's just say some of the isolation plates are quite colorful. That water is chock full of.....basically death that is not limited to the three mentioned above.

I'll keep you updated as more stuff comes out.

 

After reviewing this post, I realized the pictures just don't give it justice.  It is something you would have to see to believe.  If you come, I promise to give you a nice tour of the glorious waterfront we have in Kathmandu.  After all, it is one of our main attractions. 

Pani

We have two wells in our yard.  One is for gross water that comes from rain.  It is unfiltered and used for the toilets and watering plants.  It is the icky stuff. 

We have another well that is pictured here that we use for more hygienic purposes.  The water from this well is used for the following:

- cooking and cleaning (kitchen sink)

- washing clothing

- bathing

- brushing teeth

After noticing our whites were not so 'white' anymore, my didis asked the guards and our driver to check out the status of the 'clean well'.  This is what they found:

          

                        

Ah ha.  No wonder I have no white clothing in my closet!    Care to come over for tea?  Don't worry, I will boil it before you drink it, that'll fix it.

Thangka

This is Axel

                  

I always loved to draw since I can remember.  It helped to have a mom who was the best artist in East Lansing or any other city around.  My brothers and I would sit around and draw super heroes and  monsters for hours.

I have always drawn since, but mostly just pencil.  I have always been afraid of doing watercolor as I don't really understand it and mostly when I do it, a good pencil picture turns into a bad watercolor picture.

But coming to Nepal inspired me to try again.  The Tibetan Buddhists here paint pictures called Thangkas, which are representations of their Buddhist gods and goddesses.  I always love gods and goddesses as I think that if we go back far enough our religions started at the same point.  It has always been a hobby of mine to look for similarities in religions.  When you do, it is amazing how many you can find.

                    

Danny and Linda were here (Terah's parents) and they also admired Thangkas.  I thought, what the heck, I'll try painting one for them.  So while they were in Thailand and I was at home bored I painted the above one.  It is the god Rahul who is the guardian of doctrine.  I thought that was like Danny, and I liked the way he looked so I gave it a shot.

It turned out kind of a comic book version of a Thangka.  But it was my first, so I still enjoyed doing it.  Danny and Linda have it back in Canada.

             

Then I found a real Thangka painter in Thamel and he came over to teach me.  Before he came I drew the above one and he showed me how to paint it better than I had been doing.  The shading using different colors was new to me and it started to turn out OK

But then while I went outside to stop a fight with our chickens, Dona decided to get my blue paint and spill it all over the top.  I had done the same thing to a picture of my moms when I was about the same age.  Karma....

                          

It was fun doing the water.

Then I decided to do a real one.  On real Thangka paper (which is made from animal skins) and spend my time.  I didn't get any pictures of the pencil drawings, but here are the final outcomes of the paintings.

I spent two months right here every morning and night.  I was sooo happy to get this one finished... And yes, I need glasses now.  I am old.

I decided to do two male gods and two female gods on the outside to represent our four kids.  Above is another Rahul.  Look in his right hand.  It is the keys to the priesthood.  Had to change it somewhat.   The outside boarder has Garuda eating snakes.

Terah was born in the year of the Dragon and I am the year of the Rooster.  So I did us standing on a gold dragon and gold rooster (or Phoenix).  The gold is actual gold.  NOT gold paint.  You buy these gold dust pieces and mix them with water and a bit of glue and then paint it.  It makes the picture really light up.  I spent about 50 bucks just for this kind of gold alone on this picture.

The gold Phoenix.  Typically the right side of the body is for mercy and is considered the 'female' side (in the Kaballah).  The male side is for justice.  So I put my animal under the left and Terah's dragon under the right. 

Here is the fabric of Najima, the goddess of health and prosperity.

 

 

You can see in her right hand the temple (SLC) where Terah and I were married.

Here is the whole thing.  You can see 'Terah' and 'me' in the middle and the two boys and girls.  Girls in white and boys in blue.   The Buddha at the top has a white dove on his shoulder and palm prints.  Yes, I made Buddha into Jesus. 

 

That is just the way I roll.

In Buddhism this is white Tara.  The goddess of protection.  It was fun doing the flowers.

A big one of Terah and me.

This god Bhairub is supposed to have a necklace heads of those he conquered.  I thought I would put the different cultures of places we have lived. 

Here I am with a sword (I love fencing) and Terah has the Golden Plates in her hand. 

This is Queztalcoatl, the Aztec representation of Jesus.   You can also see the trident in my other hand which is because I love spear fishing.

Here is another god Jamballa the god of wealth for a boy.  I didn't really think one was Xay and the other Asa.  Sometimes they have to work hard for money and others they have to protect our religion's doctrine.  So sometimes they are this sometimes the other.

                    

In the end, the last thing you are supposed to paint is the eye of the god or Buddha.  It is the 'awakening' of the Thangka and after that you shouldn't touch it again because the god now lives in the picture.  So I made the last thing I painted was the eyes on Terah.  After all she is my goddess.

Here I am with the final product.  We had a local Tibetan frame shop who specializes in Thangkas to frame it.  They did a great job.  And it only cost $100!

I am now working on another one.  It is going to be Vishnu's 'Churning of the milk'.  It is a representation of the creation of the world by the gods and demons before the demons where cast out.  Sound familar?