Shopping with Sister Jyothi & Brother Adam

Sister Jyothi fed us lunch one day and than she and I had plans to go do some shopping. Elder Kasper was coming along to carry the bags so we talked Adam (Jyothi's husband) into coming too. This is Adam getting an auto for us. Adam is a school teacher & works 10 hours from here. He comes home 1 or 2 times a month.

Sister Jyothi & I in this little tiny shop. The sign behind us reads:

NO BARGAINING. HERE CUSTOMER IS KING AND KINGS DO NOT BARGAIN.

Jyothi is a very good cook and very good bargainer.

At many shops there is a mattress paid that you sit on and the salesperson shows you each shirt. You have a pile of maybe's and a pile of no's. Jyothi and Adam were both having fun bargaining. I found 2 tops and Jyothi found 2. She bargained and got them for 1/2 the price.

I was showing dad this top. I look like I ate something bad. I was actually giving him the 'NO" look!!!

Typical Saree shop. See the bracelets and jewelry out front.

This is typical of a store. There are a few things out where you can see them. Mostly you decide what color you like and they pull things out of the plastic bags on the shelf. A few things are in the cases too!

Our models!

At the end of shopping we stopped at this bakery for ice cream before going our seperate ways. The clerks all gathered behind the counter so they could be part of the picture.

Sister Jyothi is a great shopper and I would love to go with her anytime!! Did I mention they are the parents of 5 children?

Abeshake, Abelash, Anusha, Aleka, and Anahu. There children are very intelligent. They want to be doctors and engineers. We love this family that joined the church right after we came to India.

Musherabad Fish Market

This picture doesn't really show how big these fish are. This is a 4 foot cooler. Tons of fish this size.

Sannie took Elder & I to the fish market last week. We left about 6:30 a.m. as Sannie said if we don't get there early there won't be any fish left. By 10-11 a.m. the market will be sold out. It's fresh catch every day. You can buy local fish or fish from the waters of Visak and other cities near Ocean water.

So many fish. I don't think I've ever seen this many fish at one time!
You can see the scale for weighing them. Most places were throwing the fish in bags as fast as they could. A lot of people were at the fish market buying the fish!!

A big variety of fish also.

Prawns in all sizes.

This was the main street. We came in at the far end of this street. Fish all the way down and on both sides of the street. Mostly just thrown on the blue tarp you see or in the back of those little yellow trucks, or in styrofoam type coolers and boxes.

This whole block is also part of the market. The fisherman bring in their catch and they will clean and cook them for you...Or just clean...The last option is to purchase them as they are. All the same price.

We're told there are many markets like this in Hyderabad. This was our first experience but it won't be our last.

We bought tiger prawns and blue crab. This man just finished cleaning the prawns. He sits there and cleans all morning long. How would you like his job??????

Little but lots!!!! Bait fish.

This is the iceman. He is feeding the ice into the machine to chop it up. All the fish vendors get their ice from him to keep the fish fresh. You have to remember it's always 85 degrees and above here! Needless to say this man stays busy all morning. He fed that machine these big blocks off ice the whole time we were there.

One little catfish trying to escape down the street. Most of the street looked like this because the ice melts quickly and floods the street.

We had 2 tiger prawn dinners and 1 blue crab dinner in the past week! It was so delicious. I boiled the shrimp the first time and fried them in garlic butter the second time. So good!

The crab was the best crab I've ever eaten. We decided we liked it because it was so fresh. The taste was superb!

HALF WAY MARK

Unbelievable as it seems our mission is half over. The 13 of January marked us as 9 months in the mission field. It's hard to believe the time has passed so quickly. To celebrate we went shopping with some friends who are new members of the church. A wonderful couple with 5 children. (Unusual in India) They are good parents and good people. Sister Joythi said it was like a dream only she was awake! I agreed with her.
Elder K and I look forward to serving the next 9 months.

We have now been adopted!!

It's official. Elder has finally joined the Indian way of life. I have a couple of Indian tops and they have accepted me as part of them now.....What will they do when they see Elder dressed this way!!

His pants don't show up very good in this picture. They are maroon and shimmering with gold!!

Celebration time

This is what the girls do when they get married or have a birthday or any other celebration.
It is celebration time and these are 2 of the girls in our apartment that posed for this picture. They just had their hands and arms done for the celebration.

You can see a glob of the stuff on the end of her finger. There are 2 kinds. 1 looks like pen.....this stuff looks more like clay. It definately can be felt when you touch it.....not just seen!

Happy Pongal and Sankranth

Don't be to surprised. It's another holiday in India. The schools get 3 days off for the celebration and most office workers get 2 days. It is a celebration of harvest time. (Hindu of course) Many people go to their Village of origin and celebrate with their families.
There are cooking contests.
Kite flying contest.

Many people show their artistic

ability by using a powdered paint to decorate the ground or the road in front of their home. They pick the paint up with their fingers and sprinkle it and it comes out looking like this. It comes out of their fingers looking like liquid. Those who do it can make a straight line without any problem. I'd have powder everywhere if I tried this.

Such a variety of patterns.

This is our street and you can see the women and children bent over working on their artwork. They start by outlining what they are doing with white powder.

You can see she painted from the inside out. She's working on the white border around the outside. The children were thrilled I was taking a picture. The little boy fartherest away shakes my hand so hard everytime I come out of the apartment. He has the biggest grin.

They spend 1-3 days getting these ready.

Mostly women doing the art work but sometimes we see young boys doing it too!. I don't think we've ever seen grown men doing the artwork. They too were happy I would take their picture.

They put incense and other things in the middle of this like they do on their doorsteps for special occassions. At night they burn their old things, (clothes or whatever) and dance around the fire.

Some more of our little handshaking friends that call me "Auntie" and Elder "Uncle." There mother's work in the background.

Kite tents and displays have been going up all over Hyderabad. Everyone buys a kite and today, January 14th is the big kite flying day. We counted 10 kites caught in 1 tree, 1 in an electrical line (Looked dangerous). Kite material was the business to be in the last few days. That's Adam to the right of Elder Kasper.

India does everything differently

This tree is growing out of the middle of this building. It's so twisted and snarly looking that Elder K couldn't resist a photo! Hope you enjoy almost as much as he did!!

Happy Birthday January Babies

Happy Birthday Uncle Irvin.
This turned out to be a stroll down memory lane for me.
Just want you to know how much we love you and are glad that you are our Uncle. All the times you have called to check on us and make sure all was well....especially after mom and dad were gone. We give you the vote of "Best Uncle." Thanks for being part of our life.

I told you it was memory lane.
Look at that grin on your face!
Love it!!! And you are in good company!!!



Our handsome grandson, Austin....
Getting way to grown up.
Happy Birthday to you.......
I just have to tell one little story about Austin. When he was only about 4 years old he was staying with us and he was jumping on the trampoline. It seems everything happened on the trampoline!!! A bird flew on to the trampoline with him.....He said "Heh you bird....get off my mountain." He loved coming to stay with us and he loved the outdoors and the mountains!
We love you with all our heart.
Our prayers are for you and all of our grandchildren!




Austin




Uncle Irvin




We will be thinking of you and sending our best greetings from far away India.




If you were closer to us we would arrange for an elephant ride or maybe even a camel!




Not many of our family have birthdays in January!