Above – It’s a little blurry, but proof that I’m back!

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What did I do on my first day home? Well, I slept in until 10:50am when Bruce woke me up because I had an 11:30 haircut … in PB! In my jet lag super, I jumped out of bed and into the shower, grabbed my poached egg on a piece of toast Bruce had waiting for me and ate it open face style while I drove to my appointment. I really needed the appointment because I had an interim haircut while I was in iNdia and the woman botched it up pretty badly.

After the haircut I picked up the silly little gymnast and took her to her gymnastics class where she wound up getting a private lesson because none of the other kids showed up. She’s a super star!

I brought over some Indian clothing I bought for the kids. Here’s Sparty wearing his outfit for probably the first and last time … 🙂  I think he looks pretty darn cute.

  

And look – The Navy Seals came out to welcome me home. I must be pretty important!

That’s about all I have to offer right now.

Blogged on Amma’s iMac from HOME with LOVE!

Above – Check out the huge bubble on my fresh lime soda at the Chetak! Grand-E-Oso!! What exactly IS a fresh lime soda, you ask? It’s an iNdia favorite consisting of club soda, lime and sugar. The drink is served like this: a glass with lime squeezed in the bottom, a bottle of club soda and a small bowl of sugar (on the side). Instead of a bowl of dry sugar sometimes it’s served with simple sugar (liquid). When it’s all added together, it’s like a chemistry experiment. Rule #1, always mix the sugar with the lime BEFORE adding the club soda. If you add the sugar after the club soda is poured, an eruption occurs and at least half the fresh lime soda bubbles over the rim of the glass and all over the table nonstop (trust me on this one). Even if you add the sugar first (which I did above), there will still be a tremendous burst of bubbles.

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After seeing the Kelkar Museum Sunday, Nana took me and Jill to see some more temples. This is the Ramakrishna temple. Ramakrishna Sangha was founded by Swami Vivekananda who was the first known person to bring yoga to the West. There are Vivekananda temples in Chicago and San Francisco, as well as others.

  

Plumeria growing in front of the temple.

I captured this drive-by photo on our way to the next temple.

Does this need a description?

This is another St. Dyneshwar temple (St. Dyneshwar – the same saint who took live Samadhi in Alandi).

Man sleeping in temple.

The shrine.

Here I captured Kurma pointing toward the temple door and the sleeping man with dieties in the background – a 5-in-1!

Hanuman (the monkey god).

Cows like this one are common outside temples.

A look at the temple from another direction.

This man was sitting inside the entrance to the temple. He had a beautiful toothless smile, but when I asked if I could take his photo he quickly posed for me like this. After I took the photo, the toothless smile reappeared.

Nana said this temple dog is always here.

We then walked to this nearby temple next to a river.

There was a group of people on some nearby steps – men cleaning, kids playing.

It wasn’t long before the kids ran over and asked “What is your name?” “Where are you from?” I think they were practicing the only English they knew – those two sentences. But we communicated well enough to share some smiles and take some photos.

There can never be too many selfies. Such beautiful faces!

Then off to a second, much smaller Vivekenanda center.

Beautiful coleus in front of the temple.

Inside the temple. The photo in the middle is Swami Vivekenanda.

Nana …

Just outside the temple hall.

Windows from outside the hall.

You don’t see many of these in Pune. It’s a trash can! 

 

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Back at the Homefront

Peace (did I already post this one?)

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It’s now 3:50am Tues Sept 1 and I’m sitting in the Mumbai business class lounge trying to get this post published before boarding. I got 3 hours of sleep before leaving for the airport, so I’m hoping to get plenty of rest on my two legs back home. Next stop – Dubai, then LAX, then SD!

Blogged on Amma’s MacBook from Mumbai with LOVE!