In Malaysia

Heavah and I just arrived in Kuala Lumpur. We are here for some girly time together for the heck of it. Axel is wonderful.

The flight was uneventful-just the way I like it. In fact, I was quickly reminded that only a few short years ago travelling with Heavah involved bringing 10 kg of equiptment, sippy cups, diapers, snacks, games, dollar store junk, and a DVD machine. Now, a Game Boy and a roll of candy keeps my girl perfectly behaved on a plane. Having a grown up daughter is awesome.

Summer Wardrobe

A much needed tailored outfit. White? What was I thinking?

All my kids need new clothing. The life of a child's shirt or pant is short in Nepal. There are very few options for cute clothing here. It is almost impossible to find something cute. I have resorted to using my tailor to make everything for my kids. The only downfall is the machines they use here cannot handle stretch cottons or jerseys. My machine can, but I am too lazy to make play clothing for my kids. The cute factor must be very high for me to spend time with my machine.

The risk in making clothing from a tailor is that you never know how it is going to look when it comes back. Between the language barrier and my poor drawing skills, it is always a surprise. Yesterday I got an outfit back that I designed for Sedona:

It is cute, it is fun, it is colorful...it is UP SIDE DOWN:

It cost me 2.00 and totally worth the laugh.

Pirates

Coming to a channel near you

When Axel and I first moved Dubai I had no idea how popular piracy was internationally.  We would consistently receive knocks on the door from Chinese people who only knew two phrases: "You want DVD?" and "Good copy, bad copy".  I didn't take them too seriously until I realized that Axel and I would completely miss out on American cinema if I didn't succom.  We often got stung with movies that were dubbed over in Russian with ridiculously poor English subtitles.  I still don't understand how you can get the subtitles wrong when the original is in English.  Or worse, when the copy is so poorly taken that you can see cinema viewer's heads and can hear their cell phones ring during the movie.  I suppose for 3 bucks a movie, what could I expect?

When we arrived to Nepal, I was shocked to not only see piracy going in full force, but the DVDs were sold in the stores.  Hun?  Is it illegal if you pay money at a cash register?   Furthermore, if you want to find a legitimate DVD in Nepal, you can't.  If you are buying a DVD, you are buying a pirated copy (at mere .50 cents a copy).   

Just when I thought it couldn't get much worse, I was working out at the gym and happened upon a sweet channel - THE PIRATED MOVIE CHANNEL (or also known as Channel 8).  Sure enough, they were playing Wolverine before it had even been released in theaters.  The copy wasn't even great.  In fact, the film was incomplete.  I have since watched this channel and you often must wait for someone on the other end to press 'Play'.  It is commonly frozen on the main menu whist the channel DJ takes a bathroom break.  The other perk to this ever-so-illegal-channel is it skips all the credits and shows 'Open', 'Close' and 'Loading'  indicating another movie is about to begin.  

Bad movie, good copy

Piracy is such a way of life for us we rate movies not necessarily on the content, but instead on the quality of the copy.  I can often convince Axel to watch a girly movie simply by telling him that it is a good copy.  Almost anything is worth watching if it is a good copy, which is proven by the fact that I saw this movie last night on TV:

Only a good, clear copy could make me sit through an hour and a half of Mike Tyson.  

Strawberry Fields & Bombs

Sedona's love of strawberries inspired me to make this dress. It was a fun one that I designed myself. Yeah, cause my girls need more dresses.

In other news: While we were at church today we were told that a bombing took place at the Catholic church in Kathmandu. Apparently some Hindu extremists placed a bomb inside the chapel area. Two people killed, a dozen injured. To be honest, I am in shock. I never felt that I, as a Christian, could be a target for violence in Nepal. This is a first. There are very few Christians in Nepal and we aren't sure why the Catholic church was specifically targeted.

So, if it isn't a King being murdered, a Prime Minister resigning, or a lack of water, electricity or petrol, it is a terrorist attack.

Never a dull moment.

Billy Vanilli?

This is Axel.

William Shakespeare:  Business man and Actor.  Milli Vanilli??

Who is this man?  Did he write all those plays and sonnets or was he a cover for someone or some group?

Billy Shakspar or Milli Vanilli?

 I just read the book The Shakespeare Secret by J. L. Carrell.  It was mostly a Da Vinci Code wannabe, but the subject matter was intriguing.  It got me doing some internet searches and this article seemed to be the best. 

You will have to judge for yourself what you think, but I grew up in a house where Shakespeare was regarded in the same breathe with any biblical prophet and I must admit that I am somewhat taken a back with my shaken faith in the man.

Does it matter if he didn’t write those plays?  Ultimately a rose by any other name is still as sweet, but still, there is something in knowing the truth.  Honestly I still sing “Blame it on the rain” but for some reason it isn’t as sweet knowing who actually sung it.

 

Vero nihil verius!

 

 Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford.

Bunny Love

I really don't have anything to say, I just needed to put something else on my blog instead of Ross Noble's gigantic melon. No so flattering.

Lately, the kids have spent a lot of time outside with the animals. It isn't such a bad pastime, but policing my children around these animals can be tiring. I am not so worried about the chickens cause if we lost one along the way--voila, dinner! Our goat seems to hold his own pretty well and the pheasants are caged like the Alcatraz prisoners for fear that they would ever escape. Axel is a wee bit protective of his prized birds.

When Sarita (our maid) brought over two bunnies Axel and I were both apprehensive. A bunny, really? My only recollection of owning a bunny when I was a child was getting bit and scratched, and feeling ever so guilting for making it climb walls. It never ended well, every time.

I knew with this bunny not only would it involve all of the above, but maybe even worse as the bunny gods are ready and willing to make me pay. Our first attempt with a bunny didn't end well, just as I expected. I thought my bunny days were finally over. Then, only days after, Sarita brought a replacement-not one, but two-and so it began again.

The ever-so-strong baby monster

This time, the bunnies became 7. It happened quickly and I am assuming this happened so fast just because they realized their gene pool would be soon coming to an end. Not so. In fact, we now have over 12 bunnies and we are all smitten. In fact, we have one bunny that slightly resembles a Capybara and its cuteness is so strong that there is no way of leaving it alone. One must kiss it and blow warm air on its furry little body. There seems to be no choice. He is favored like a child at our home.

Our bunnies have now multiplied every month regardless of the grossness of incestual relations. We have reached our max. I am pawning some of these guys off to any takers. I am sure people will be apprehensive, but I must say, bunny love is grand.

Shylock staring down his competition

Ross Noble

For some laughs, check this guy out.  Axel and I can't get enough...

Look here and here.

Ivy Lime

I just finished project #234.  Being on house arrest has made me so productive.  The high alert is down now and things seem to be semi-calm, that is, until they are not.  We are all biting our nails to see who will be leading the government.  Such cool times to be in Nepal.  I feel so lucky.

I saw this fabric in a small store on New Road in Kathmandu.  I had to do something with it.  Smocking silk is tough, but the shimmer is so worth it.  

Heavah having hair issues

More to come...

Goodness to a Mother

The great thing about being an international mom is the fact that we get 3 or 4 different Mother's Days to celebrate. I have more homemade necklaces and handprints than I know what to do with. The western Mother's Day creeped up on me this year. I didn't even have time to start campaigning for some good presents from Axel. Sucks for me, but he gently reminded me that I have half of Nepal working on projects for me right now. I digress.

What I love about being a mom:

1. Coloring in colouring books and seeing how well I can stay in the lines.

2. Reading Where the Wild Things Are and Dr. Seuss with all the animated actions.

3. Decorating with pinks and purples.

4. Play doh (which, I admit, still takes willpower for me not to eat).

5. Baking cookies and cakes with extra sugary toppings.

6. Seeing how much dirt I can accumulate in the bathtub after a nighttime bath (always impressive).

7. Squeezing bums and pinching cheeks.

8. Building block towers and changing Barbie's clothes.

9. Discovering hop scotch and Connect Four all over again.

10. Finding love in a magnitude that I never knew existed. How does such love split into 4 equal parts and still find room to grow?

Spiderman's Visit

Our house was far from babyproof when Axel checked it out. In fact it had 'Death Trap' written all over it. When there are no codes to follow it is easy for people to forget that babies can squeeze their little bodies through the railings, especially when they are covered with booger slime (which, I will admit, happens with my kids from time to time). The staircase alone is a 4 story drop in the middle with a nice marble floor to catch the fall. This fact alone was almost a deal breaker for Axel until he realized that all the large homes in Nepal are the same.

The great thing about Nepal is you can find a solution for anything. However, you have to break things down to the lowest common denominator before you can begin. This seems to be half the battle. For instance, you can't find a child gate or mesh in Nepal, but you can find the origins of rope and have a village make a special webbing to childproof your home. And that is just what Axel did. He brought in Spiderman (four 12 year old boys and one adult) and they made the webbing for our home. It is ingenious.

The good news is we have never had to use the large webs that cover the large openings on all 4 floors. And despite my fears, Xavier has not tried to climb the ropes for true Spiderman action. It has worked like a charm and it has brought peace of mind.

So even in Nepal, Spiderman has saved the day!

Happy Mom's Day, mom

Just a reminder of why my mom is the greatest mom in the world.  

Sushi Night

We just found a Japanese grocery store in Kathmandu. I thought for sure we would have to give up our love for sushi when we came here because somehow raw fish and Nepal don't really mix. But funny enough, we have had more sushi in Kathmandu than in anywhere else we have lived. We have figured out that if you want to eat good international food, you need to find the embassy for that cuisine. Sure enough, just down the road from the Japanese Embassy there is a fabulous sushi joint and Benihana style cooking. SO GOOD.

Axel used to make sushi all the time when we lived in Arizona. I thought it was such a treat until the morning sickness came on with Heavah. I remember the day that I opened up my lunch while working at Thunderbird and it was staring back at me like a diseased rat. Ugh, from that point on I simply had to say the word 'sushi' and the queeziness came on. Good times, good times.

Now that pregnancy is no longer in my vocabulary sushi is a much loved food in our household. Axel made us sushi last night. A tiny peice of heaven it was. Heavah and Xavier even mastered the chopsticks. They said that that Korean kids in their classes taught them. At least they are learning something useful in school.

The best part of this story is that no one was up puking last night- including me, which confirms again that I am not pregnant. I passed the sushi test. Phew.

Passing Time

It has been an unusual past few days.  Several of the stores have been closed and I have had limited access to the outside world (as I know it).  There is a strange calm in the air that has been very difficult to read. Are people tired of fighting?  Are they okay with a dissembled government?  Is civil war looming?  No one has a clue.  Stranger times in Nepal (if that is even possible).  

The upside is that I have finished a few smocking projects and have been reading some good books.  I must recommend a few (don't curse me if there is profanity or inappropriate parts to the story.  I easily forget and I skim.  I am good at skimming).

The one I am working on right now is Beneath a Marble Sky by John Shors. It takes place during seventeenth-century Hindustan.  It follows a young princesses life who is the daughter of the emperor who built the Taj Mahal monument for his wife.   I wish there was more discussion of the building of the Taj, as I am still enamored by that building.  Life in India has always fascinated me and the Hindu/Islam relationship has always intrigued me.  So far, so good.

I finished Water for Elephants by Sara Guren several months back but it is definitely worth noting.  The book is rich and compelling and has a 'Big Fish' feel to it.  It takes place during the depression and it is about a young man who finds himself working in the circus.  The story has a sense of magic to it and there is enough grittiness to the story that it was hard to put down.  There is definitely naughtiness in the book, so beware.  I was a lot more forgiving cause it is the circus after all.

 

I just finished Sold by Particia McCormick.  It is a book you can read within a couple of hours.  The style of writing is more poetic than a novel, especially the beginning.  It is about a young mountain girl who lives in Nepal.  Unbeknownst her, her father sells her off to work as a 'maid' in India.  The story is compelling to me because you hear of these stories over and over again in this region.  It seems impossible for a girl to be so naive until you visit a village and meet the girls who live there.  It is a heartwrenching book, but I felt it was worth the read. 

The Book Thief  by Markus Zusak is a book with a unique format.  It is narrated by Death (who incidentally has a very sarcastic and grim view of the world-surprise).  He follows a young girl in Nazi Germany.  I know there is an overdose of WWII stories out there and after a while the stories seem to become stale, but this story is worth reading.  There are enough twists, turns, allusions and advances, and flashbacks and flashforwards to keep you on your toes.  A fellow blogger recommended this one to me (thank you! ) and now I pass it on.  

What are you reading???

No Government...again

Dahal (Nepal's Prime Minister) just resigned.  It was startling news for the day.  The country is in a stupor.  I went to playgroup today and there was a threat of something bad happening so we had to listen to radios while the children ran around the yard eating popcorn.  It was just another day for them, not so much for us.  Surprisingly, very few riots broke out throughout the day.  It seems that the Nepalese people hold bandhas for things that are far less significant.  This could mean two things, 1.  No one really cares any more; 2. The Maoists are holding out for something big. Everyone seems to be talking, but no one has any clue what is going to happen.  

For now, we are advised not to leave the house for anything unnecessary.  At the moment, there is no governing power for Nepal.  What this means is anyone's guess.  For now, I know I am going to be doing a lot of smocking...

Tis the Season

I love all things Christmas. Everything about the season makes me happy. I am an admitted Christmas music listener from July to December (much to Axel's chagrin).

I thought that since I moved to Nepal I might have to sacrifice some of my love for the Christmas season. Not so. In fact, Christmas seems to appear all throughout the year.

We have beautiful Amaryllis in our yard from April to May:

Women wear Christmas green and red during special times of the year. These photos were taken on Nepali Mother's Day a few weeks ago:

Red and green are the colours of marriage.
Pointsettia trees grow throughout the winter with an amazing burst of red.

So, I don't have to sacrifice my love for the Christmas season at all. In fact, one would also argue that Halloween is also in full force throughout the year as well.

Lucky me.

Red, White, and Blue

I just finished Sedona's 4th of July dress.  I was going to hide it in her closet for a couple of months and then unveil it at the appropriate time.  Sedona saw it in her closet and it was too late.  She wanted to wear the 'beutiful dress mama'.  So here it is.  I think it is my favorite to date.  

I am not sure what I am more excited about, the dress, or the fact that her hair can now hold a bow.