Hi Everyone --

In case you haven't heard, we are back in the United States -- permanently! We had uneventful flights and easy transfers, which made the 36+ hour journey bearable. We have had terrible jet lag as well, but we seem to be recovering from that as well.

We are in Waterloo, Iowa at this time. Doug is working, and he has a desk and but no phone or desk computer yet. I have spent a lot of time running around. Hannah went to seminary every day last week, but this week she is in Omaha with Michelle and Ryan and Helen. Seminary has been canceled there every day this week because of bad weather. Actually, it's been cancelled here in Waterloo as well. We are expecting 6-12 inches of snow tonight with blowing and blizzard conditions tomorrow. It's sure not the 90 degrees and flip flop weather we are used to!

We have been looking anxiously for a house. We have probably seen 20 homes, but haven't quite found the right one yet. We did put an offer on one last week, but 3 other people put offers on it at the same time. Needless to say, we didn't get it. We're ok with that. It needed a lot of work and a lot of future investment (like a $50,000 roof) and it's ok that we are still looking.

We looked at cars yesterday. We drove a couple we liked, but we're going to see if there are a couple of different options on the same vehicle, just different amenities. It would be great to get some of these things checked off our list. It's hard to test drive cars when it is so cold and snowy!

I guess this is the last installment of this "Life in India" blog. We certainly had 3 years of intense adventure and excitement. It was a lifetime experience that we have learned so much from -- and continue to learn from. Thank you -- everyone -- for your love and support from far away. We couldn't have done it without you!

Love, Lucinda

Hi Everyone --

We've spent the week trying to get organized. It seemed to all come together this weekend when Doug was home. We have sorted things into Luggage, Air Shipment, and Surface Shipment. We've been able to give a lot of things to the children's mission, throw away a few things, and give some large items away to members of the church. We've also been able to clean the dirt from a lot of things. The packers come on Tuesday!

I have tried to get all our last minute things done last week so they wouldn't have to be done this week. Hannah and I made our "last" trip to Clover Center and we bought some of everything. Hannah just wanted to wander through all the stores to say, "goodbye."

We went to 2 new restaurants this week -- a continental one on the top of the IBM building, and a new Chinese restaurant. The continental one was good and reasonably priced, but the wind was blowing on the rooftop and the noise from the street was deafening, even seven floors up. The Chinese one was OK, but we know a place that's better, but with less atmosphere.

We have our reservations for temporary housing in Pune. We'll be staying at the Oakwood Premiere Tuesday through Friday. Feroz will take us to Mumbai on Friday afternoon to catch our 1:50 a.m. flight. They have discontinued the direct flight from Mumbai to Atlanta, so we will be traveling Mumbai to Amsterdam to Minneapolis to Waterloo. We get in to Waterloo on Saturday afternoon. We don't have a reservation for temporary housing in Waterloo yet. Is it time to worry yet???

We will be shutting down our computer on Monday night and packing it -- so the last you will be able to talk with us by Skype is Monday morning (11/23). Doug will be able to keep up with email from work if you need to contact us.

We are excited to wind up our time here in India. It has been a BIG learning experience that we wouldn't trade.

See you soon!
Love, Lucinda

Hi Everyone --

Well, the news has changed. Doug's boss said that we couldn't go back on Nov. 26 -- there was too much work to be done. But he said that we could go back on Nov. 28. So much to do in 2 days! We do have tickets in hand!

We talked with the moving survey people this week (Friday). They estimate it will take 3 days to pack and load our things. That will happen Nov. 24-26. I still need to sort into piles for "suitcases", "air shipment", and "boat shipment." Plus, I'm still trying to get rid of things that need to go to charity, things to sell, things to throw away, etc. It's coming along, but there's still more to do.

Things never fail to surprise us here:
Last week, the landlord decided he was going to redo the garden (British for yard). He had 3 guys come and dig up the backyard and take 10" of dirt off the top. They hauled it pan-full by pan-full from the backyard onto our driveway. They took a couple loads away by truck (loaded pan-full by pan-full). This week, they got 3 new guys to come and put all the dirt back on the yard -- pan-full by pan-full. I hope they bring the 3 truckloads back! They are planning to put grass back down. They chopped down one tree and pulled up a bunch of bushes. I think I am going to be sad that I'm not going to be able to see the end result of all this work. Maybe it will just be the same . . . .

We've been to a couple of Doug's co-workers for dinner in the last 2 weeks. They served us very nice Indian food (not too spicy) and were very kind and gracious.

We had 9 for church today. Everyone is sad that next week will be our last week. Ah well, it can't be helped.

Hannah finished her application for BYU this week. Her last interview was done over Skype with the Mission President in Bangalore. It worked out very easily.

We are all well and getting antsy to get home.
We love you and miss you!
Lucinda

Hi Everyone --

It seems like forever since I have written. I realized today that I didn't finish telling about our trip to Egypt. I still need Doug to get those pictures on the blog. Clearly, other things have been on our minds!

We got our date to return to the US! Our tickets are for November 26. We have spoken with the company that will take care of all the arrangements and things are moving ahead. We have a realtor. We will talk with the gal that takes care of movers and packers on Monday. Hopefully, she will let us know what housing arrangements will be made in India during the packing before we leave, and what housing arrangements will be made in Waterloo until we can move into our new home. All good things!

We drove to Mumbai for church today. Hannah needed a Branch President interview for her BYU application. Everyone was sad that it was our last day and that we were leaving. You would have really thought we spent more time there than maybe 4-5 times in the last year. We were still having church, but not in Mumbai. It was a pot-luck day, so I took egg salad sandwiches on homemade bread and wacky cake. Everyone else brought rice and dahl and curry.

I started washing large things this week -- the curtains, the bed ruffle, the blankets, etc. They seemed to be extremely dirty, and I think I will wash everything again in the US when we receive our shipment. I pick up the curtains at the dry cleaners on Monday. I think Hannah has packed all her bags and is ready at a moment's notice to take off.

We hope everyone is well and happy. We are happy -- sometimes on a roller coaster basis -- with all the ups and downs.

See you soon!
Love, Lucinda

Hi Everyone --

Here we are in Egypt! We have been having a wonderful time and seeing some terrific things! We can't get the pictures on the computer yet, that will have to wait until we get back to India. We have been to Coptic Cairo, where the orthodox Christians were converted by the Apostle Mark long ago. We've been to many Muslim mosques in the city -- there are hundreds of them, but we only went to the largest, oldest, and most beautiful. We've been to the tent makers market and picked up a Bedouin tent. We've been to the old market place to find other treasures. We spent a whole day outside of Cairo visiting various pyramids and surrounding areas. Hannah has learned to read Hieroglyphics. What a marketable skill! We rode camels and horses to the Spinx and Giza pyramids. I think that was my favorite day. Like I said, we do have lots of pictures, but you will have to wait a bit for them.

Today we have a rest day. Our friends have been so kind to us here. They have taken us so many places to do so many things. I'm doing laundry and we'll get repacked and ready to head off on our next adventure. We board the overnight train in Giza tonight and head for Aswan. Tomorrow morning we are picked up at the station and taken to the Nile cruise ship. I had heard that it's very hot in the south right now, I hope it will cool off a bit. We have 3 nights and 4 days on the cruise, take the train back to Cairo, then fly back to Mumbai. We arrive in Mumbai at 4:50 a.m. Tuesday (Oct. 27) morning. Feroz will be there to pick us up. We hope everyone is doing well and that Amber's group can get better soon!
Love, Lucinda

Hi Everyone --

Only 1/2 week until we leave for Egypt!

We have plenty to do to get ready, so we need the time!

It has been an interesting week! It started out normally enough, but then on Wednesday I went to Laxmi road with friends to do some shopping, and when I got home, I wasn't feeling very well. I just seemed to go downhill from there. Doug left Thursday for an Indian camping experience, i.e. team building exercise, with his group from work. (More on that later.) By Friday morning, I had had enough of the pain and I was worried I had a kidney stone and we were leaving in less than a week for vacation. I talked with Ryan and Michelle and decided it was probably best that I went to the hospital and find out what the problem was. I called the John Deere HR representative and he got in touch with the hospital and they knew I was coming. I went in to see a urologist and he sent me for an ultrasound. Everything in an Indian hospital must be paid for up front, so it was a good thing I stopped at the ATM on our way to the hospital (Hannah came with me). The Dr. was 250 rupees ($5 US), and the ultrasound 1,000 rupees ($20 US). The Dr. running the ultrasound couldn't find a kidney stone at all, only staples from my gallbladder surgery, a cyst on my kidney, and fibroids. She looked twice and came up with no kidney stones -- that's good news! I went back to the urologist, and he gave me a prescription for some antibiotic for a kidney infection and sent me for a urine test (780 rupees - $15.50). We were at the hospital for 2 hours only -- that's a blessing! We stopped at the pharmacy on the way home, but they didn't have the tablets on the prescription, but they did have a substitute. They said they would get the proper tablets and deliver them to the house that evening. I waited and waited, and they finally called and said they couldn't find them anywhere in town. I asked that they send the substitute. It came at 10 p.m. I've been on antibiotic for 2 1/2 days and I'm feeling better. I go back to the urologist tomorrow morning. We leave for Mumbai Wednesday afternoon.

Doug's camping trip -- well it was really a team building exercise with the group I have been working with over the last three years. The group included marketing, manufacturing, quality, supply management, and engineering people. We slept in concrete 'tents' on tile floors with a very thin pad underneath. We ate Indian food for breakfast, lunch and dinner - no toast or pizza. Actually, the location was very pretty -- overlooking a lake and surrounded by hills. Since the monsoon is over, everything is green. We went trekking in the hills, built things, and ran obstacle courses. Very similar to the way things are done in the U.S., except that everyone here wants to be the leader or a least monopolize the conversation during the activities. I've included one or two pictures.

When we were on Laxmi Road, we were heading to my favorite kurta (top) store, but when we got to where it should be, it wasn't there! I stood there on the road looking and looking trying to get my bearings and just couldn't see it. There are lots of shops in India that just come and go and that's it. Anyway, while I was standing out there looking, some folks came out of fancy store and waved us in. These were the store owners of my favorite store, except the store was all new and updated and air conditioned and there was a try-on room and it was totally different. They recognized me out there looking confused! We went inside and Shiney took some pictures because I know you that know the store wouldn't believe it! I also bought a new top!

There were 4 of us for church today. There will be no church in Pune the next 2 weeks since we will be out of the country.

It's time to get laundry done, lists made, and bags packed! We'll be on our way soon. Hopefully, we will have access to a computer and let you know how our trip is going!

Take care,
Love, Lucinda

Hi Everyone --

Only 1 1/2 weeks until Egypt!

Monday this week was another holiday, this time a Hindu one. It's called Dassera, and it's a time for poojas and asking blessings on homes and cars etc. The Hindus like to decorate with the flowers and give a prayer, incense, and break a coconut as they ask for a blessed car or apartment. I was out in the market on this day and took pictures of the various vehicles that had been blessed that day -- a car, motorcycles, a rickshaw, and even the police paddy wagon. The flowers are purchased along the street, where they are strung all day long. There are lots of these places set up all over to get the flowers ready for the poojas on this day.

I went to the market as well. I thought you would like to see my fruits and vegetables. These are what I got a Shivaji market for $7.50 US. I bring them home and soak and wash them in good water then put them away. I usually cut the cauliflower and broccoli and beans for the whole week.

Doug's US boss was here this week to see how things were going. He took us to dinner at a very fancy Japanese restaurant and we could have sushi if we wanted. This was our first experience with Japanese food, and Hannah and I weren't too adventurous, but we did fine.

Doug was off Friday for Gandhi's birthday. We wondered if your Google had Gandhi's picture or just ours on Google India.

We saw a fun movie too -- Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. We thought the theatre would be full, but there were very few people there. We did have a new experience though -- after the Indian national anthem and the previews, a different movie started (an American movie popular now, rated R). Lots of people got up to go find out what was going on. They came back and said the theatre people were going to change it. They did, and so we watched Cloudy. I thought that each of you kids would really like it for different reasons. I hope you'll get a chance to see it sometime.

We hope everyone is doing well!
Love, Lucinda

Hi Everyone --

Only 2 1/2 weeks until Egypt!

Doug had Monday off work for Muslim Eid, so he went to the market with me that day. He had been to the market and grocery store before, but not on grocery shopping day. Because it was Eid, all the Muslims were dressed up and greeting each other and very happy. It's the last day of their fasting for Ramadan. It was fun to see them all in their finery. We saw a bullock pulling a bullock cart of ice blocks for the fish market and all dressed up too. I had Doug run back and get a picture. The driver put his hand out for 10 rupees, but Doug just pretended he didn't know what he was asking for.

Hannah and I have made an effort to get out every day that we have the car. We got out four days this week. We don't have to do a lot, just a small errand and then lunch. We usually go to malls and safe places, rather than the streets and markets. We went to a furniture exhibition on Thursday. It was supposed to open at 10:30 on Thursday, and we got there at 11 a.m., but the vendors were still unpacking, unwrapping, unloading, and setting up their booths. They let us in without the 10 rupee entrance fee.

It's starting to get hot again. Monsoon is nearly over. We had thunderstorms in the evenings this week, but no daytime rain. The reservoirs are 80% full.

We had 3 at church again today. It's good to know it's at least us!

I was asked by Shiney to go with her and her little Sumya to go to grandparents day at the pre-school. I was happy to do that. We put on our fancy clothes and listened to the little ones sing English songs -- Twinkle, Twinkle and others. They gave out prizes for the most "traditionally" dressed grandma, the grandma with the most bangles, the grandma with anklets, the grandpa with a picture of his wife in his wallet (didn't exist), a picture of the grandkids in his wallet (didn't exist), and the grandpa with the most white hair. We had snacks -- crisps (potato chips), orange punch (Tang), juleebee (Indian sweet), and a little spongy cake with vegetable soup dipping sauce. Very common snack foods here. The pictures are of the kids all dressed up. They are very cute!

The monkey came visiting our "garden" again. He was sitting on the fence, then came down on our driveway to drink out of the puddle of water there. He ran off pretty quick when he saw us watching out the window.

Have a great week!
Love, Lucinda

Hi Everyone --

Another week has passed quickly by. Only 3 1/2 weeks until Egypt!

Not much happened this week. The rains have slacked off, but there's not enough water in the reservoirs, so I'm not sure what will happen. No electricity, no water for farmers, no water for the city . . . Could be anything. Because it's not cloudy any more, it's much hotter here now. It will be for about the next month, until November comes and things cool off again.

I started making more baby blankets, and gave away 2 already. There are a couple new moms in the Mumbai branch.

We try to get out whenever we have the car. This week we went to the Ishanya mall, which has all kinds of home improvement and decorating stores. There is a store called @Home and it's the closest thing to Home Depot there is here. We were just looking and didn't find anything that caught our eye.

Our friends from Mumbai came yesterday. He went golfing with a friend, she came and we went out shopping. We found exactly what we were looking for. Part of it he called elsewhere to get it brought to his shop. He said it would be 1/2 hour and come by Tempo (a 3-wheeled cargo hauling vehicle). He was right! It came in 1/2 hour and by Tempo and there were lots of other things loaded on the Tempo for delivery at his shop. We were very lucky that our items were put on the Tempo just in time to come across town. Shopping in India isn't always so easy or productive.

We had 3 at church today -- yes, just us.

I guess that's it for this week. There's just not much going on.
We miss you and love you!
Lucinda

Hi Everyone --

This week we had some exciting things happen. Friday morning my housekeeper came in and said I needed to come outside and see the monkeys. I grabbed the camera and ran. There were 3 large monkeys hanging out and making their way down the street. Two stopped to pose on our front gate. I was amazed at how large they were and notice how long the tail of the one on the right is. Then off they ran to give the people down the street a thrill too.

We had a hard rain Saturday evening. It was really coming down, and we don't have the greatest drainage around our house. Then Hannah noticed that the light fixture in the dining room was leaking water. We got the fixture cover off and dumped out the water, then we went upstairs to find the problem. Doug found it right away -- the drain on the terrace off our bedroom was clogged, and there was about 4-5 inches of water backed up. He unclogged the drain and it all went down. We saw a large -- 6" -- lizard out there too. Fun! Hannah had a lizard in her bedroom this week, which she shooed out the window. I don't mind them as long as they say outside where they live, and I can stay inside where I live.

Good news -- We got our tickets to Egypt this week. They had even gone down in price, so we saved $150 between the 3 of us. We have a tour company working on our train tickets and our Nile cruise tickets. We are getting very excited to visit Egypt!

Our friend Mahaswari (the gal that's going on a mission to San Jose, CA), left Pune this week for Hydrabad. Luckily we finished the temple preparation lessons, and she can finish everything else she needs to do down there. We had 6 at church today. Our member count in Pune has declined a lot. We've lost Mahashwari and Mary and Joy. We still have 1 family of 3, and a single sister, and a single brother that are somewhat active. Somehow it's just nicer the more people that come.

Have a great week!
Love, Lucinda

Hi Everyone --

Another week has gone by -- and it's gone by quickly. The Hindus were having their Ganesh festival this week, so it's been busy around town. However, a lot of people weren't out and about because of the swine flu. Doug had Thursday off work because that is the main immersion day for the Ganesh statues. They have a huge parade, with music and dancing and fire crackers that leads down to the river. Then they put their statue in the water and send it on its way. Some of the larger statues they fish back out and use again. Some families have their own small statues, then housing societies, neighborhoods, and parts of town have larger ones. This is one of the Indian's favorite festivals.

We had company from Mumbai this weekend. We had Andy and Bethany Spaulding, and their two girls, Simone and Phoebe. They are here in Pune on business and will stay a couple more days at a hotel, then head back to Mumbai on the train. They are much braver than I am! Because they were visiting and we needed another good excuse, we fixed break the fast lunch after church today. I made chili with all the toppings, potato soup, homemade bread, and Hannah made Legolas Blond Brownies. It was very good and everyone enjoyed it. The Indian folks were brave and tried everything. The chili tastes familiar to them and they liked that.

Since Doug had Thursday off, he took a trip back to the fort we missed a month ago and climbed to the top. He met a group from the engineering school and they adopted him as their own. They really liked his hat! They couldn't believe he was out hiking alone. They took lots of pictures of him and spent a lot of time talking with him. Doug got some interesting/artistic pictures up on the top of that hill with all the fog.

Big news -- I got the 100 baby blankets that I've been making since I've been here sent off to a good home this week. I boxed them up and sent them to Bangalore to the humanitarian missionaries where they will make baby kits and new mother kits to be distributed through Church humanitarian aid. Hannah immediately prodded me to get another 50 done before we leave! The box weighed 20 kg. (44 lbs) and I sent it over road (rather than air) and it cost $22 US. It felt good to have them on their way.

September is our last month of monsoon for the year. The rains have tapered off a bit and there isn't enough in the dams and reservoirs. The newspapers keep reporting that we need the same amount of rain that we have already received in order to fill them up. I'm sure water rationing will be a way of life until the next monsoon!

We hope everyone is well and enjoying life! We miss you all!
Love, Lucinda

Hi Everyone --

This was a pretty quiet week. It hasn't rained too much, and it's gotten much hotter -- because the cloud cover is lifting. There still isn't enough rain to fill the reservoirs, but there's still time.

We went shopping at Tulsibaug for trinkets for Shiney to take back to friends and family in the US. I picked up some things for our families and some cake dresses for my magic trunk.

Heather had the packers and movers there for 3 days. We went over one day to keep her company as she had to be there in the apartment with them. We also went to a farewell party for Heather and Chris at another friend's house. It was quite a party. I made homemade salsa and homemade chips. It was a hit!

Saturday we went to pick up Mom's trunk. It turned out really nice and it's just cute! We have a "before" and "after" picture -- I'm sure you can tell which is which.



We also went to the movies yesterday. We saw "Race to Witch Mountain", which Hannah assures me was out on DVD a year ago. It was a fun movie and an OK way to spend an afternoon. There really haven't been any English movies for a while and also the movie theatres have been closed due to the swine flu panic. The kids are back in school now (mostly) and the rest will be in school next week. There are still teenagers dying from this -- it seems that this is the largest group succumbing to the infection.

Today we had 7 at church. We are still having the temple prep lessons, and they are going well. Only 2 left and that's it! I know I've learned a lot from them.

I guess that's it for this week. We love you and miss you!
Love, Lucinda

Hi Everyone --

This was a sad week -- we had to send Brice back to the US and to school. We finished all his errands and running around by Wednesday. Thursday he packed and was gone in the afternoon. Feroz took Brice to Mumbai, and they almost made it to the airport, but were delayed by a flat tire (or I should say "tyre") as they were about at the drop off at the airport. They put the spare tire on, got Brice dropped off, and Feroz had to spend the night in Mumbai and drove back the next day. Yesterday, Feroz had 4 new tires put on our car. That's a good thing -- they needed to be replaced.

We assumed Brice made it to the US, but no one had heard from him -- not Craig, who had his car keys, not Martin who had his belongings, not Grandma and Grandpa Johnson. Craig assured me that he was fine, wherever he was. We did get a visual report and a skype call Saturday night. I'm glad he made it back safely. That's a long and grueling trip.

We have had more rain this week -- even record breaking rain 3 days in a row, but the newspaper reports that none of that rain was in the proper area for catchment in the reservoirs. Consequently, we are again on 1/3 water rationing every day. Our electricity has been more consistent and reliable lately -- knock on wood.

Sham's wife had her kidney stone blasted last Saturday. She was in the "hospital" Saturday and Sunday and then went to her mother's. She is up and about and coming back to Pune today. She is much better and is very thankful for the treatment. Thanks to all who contributed toward it!

We are in the middle of the festival season here. We begin today the Ganesh reverencing time, when they pray to their idol and then sometime in the next 10 days take it to the river to be dunked. There are a lot of idols thrown in the water and a lot of pollution/garbage/debris left over.

This is also the middle of the swine flu panic. Last weekend was the worst, when everyone stayed home, stayed in, no shopping, no school, no movies or malls, no vegetables or produce. Luckily, two days of laying low and the panic is over. More people have gotten the flu, more people have died, but the people here believe it is over, so it's over. John Deere is on swine flu alert also. People who were going to visit from the US are not coming, and large gatherings of people have been cancelled.

We had 7 people at church today. Our message was on enduring to the end. I felt that this was given just for me! Not only do we need to put in our time, but we also need to do it with grace and responsibility and a good attitude!

Have a great week!
Love, Lucinda

Hi Everyone --

We've had a very fun week here in Pune. Interesting since Pune is now the Swine Flu Capitol of the World! Out of 1 billion people in India, about 800 have the swine flu. Of those 800, 400 are in Pune. The newspapers and TV have the whole place spooked. No one is out, schools are closed, the malls are closed, the movie theatres are closed, the markets are closed, the grocery stores are closed. Everyone that is out and about has a mask on for protection -- I'm just not sure whether the protection is from them or from everyone else. There have been 50 deaths attributed to the swine flu, and 21 have been from Pune. Did I mention that there are 6 million people in Pune? The statistical odds that we get the flu are very small. We have been out and about as usual without any masks. There are some other states in India that are not welcoming people from our state of Maharashtra -- meaning no travel. I think it is interesting that the Indian government is cutting off the food supply -- i.e. markets and grocery stores -- to contain the flu. I guess they just want to starve us outright.

That said, we have been out this week getting new glasses for Brice, custom tailored kurtas, medicine for his toes, shopping for electrical widgets, we've been out to dinner twice, and Doug and Brice went up to Mulshi Dam for a hiking/trekking experience. Brice and Dad have done some serious male bonding, including eating at various questionable Indian eateries. They insist these were not "street food" vendors, but legitimate restaurants. They are still doing some serious bonding by laying around and moaning and jumping up to use the toilet regularly. Brice started his medicine today. Dad is going to tough it out and be a man about it.

Speaking of Doug, this has been a hard week on his body. Monday, as he was walking up the stairs, he missed a stair step and caught it right on his big toe. It turned all sorts of colors of purple, blue, black and swelled up. It was so sore he had to come home from work early because of the pain. We think nothing was broken, just strained, stretched, bruised, and mistreated. Then, yesterday, as they were hiking at the dam, Doug slipped and bonked his elbow on a rock. It started swelling immediately and Brice got a nice picture of it. It has started to go down and he says it doesn't hurt. I don't have enough Advil to make it through the next few months at this rate!

Yesterday I took the funds that have been donated to the clinic where Sham's wife received her treatment for the kidney stones. He called today and said it was successful and her pain is now gone from the stones, but it will take 4-5 days of rest and medication for her to get back on her feet again. Thank you to everyone who helped make this possible. We have plenty of funds and feel that they have been used wisely. I will send a receipt to everyone for tax purposes.

It has been really fun to have Brice here. We've played lots of games and had lots of fun time together. He goes back Thursday afternoon (Aug. 20), just as he was finally beginning to get over his jet lag.

We hope everyone has a wonderful week!
Love, Lucinda

P.S. -- Extra special thanks to Dr. Ryan who has been on call all week taking the medical questions on broken toes, bruised and swollen elbows, and swine flu. Not all the world's medical outsourcing goes to India, some goes to Dr. Ryan!

Hi Everyone --

It's been a fun and exciting week! Brice arrived without any problems on Wednesday afternoon. It's still a long, grueling flight! He got off the plane and couldn't remember the hotel and he couldn't find his name among the hundreds of cards with names on them. He called us at midnight and got the name of the hotel and found the driver and got to the hotel safely. He must have slept well, because he wasn't up when Feroz was there to pick him up the next morning. He has been suffering from jet lag all week, but maybe soon he will be able to be awake when we are and sleep when we do!

We took a trip to Lonavala (between Pune and Mumbai) yesterday to see the caves, fort, waterfalls, and scenery. We met our friends from Mumbai there and went to the caves. For Indians, it's 5 rupees to get in. For us foreigners, it's 100 rupees. Too bad it wasn't really worth 100 rupees -- there wasn't really anything to see there. We have some pictures we will attach. It was raining and we had our umbrellas out and it was windy and they blew the umbrellas inside out. What a mess! Then we went to find a place to have a picnic lunch. No luck! It was raining harder and we ate in the car. We decided not to hike up to the fort since it was raining so hard, so we came home. I guess that's another place we can check off our list for visiting.



The path not taken . . .

Doug was in Delhi Thursday and Friday driving tractors and "talking" with customers (not picking up sandwiches!).

Hannah has enjoyed having Brice here. It gives her someone else to interact and talk with. We've played different games everyday/evening. He is helping her with her math homework.

We had 9 at church today. They all seemed tired and worn out. I think I felt the same way!

Thank you to all who have contributed to Sham's wife's kidney stone treatment. We are 1/2 way there and have enough to start the treatment. If anyone else would like to contribute, please let me know -- I can give you the details and the information.

Have a great week!
Love, Lucinda

p.s. This is our small church group and how they come to church.

Hi Everyone --

This has been a quiet week -- especially after last week and all our John Deere visitors! We do appreciate them and their conversation and taking us out to dinner. We also enjoy taking them out to shop and explore the "real" part of India.

The biggest news this week is that our good friends are leaving to go back to the US. This has been very quick in happening and very sad! It's hard to explain why the first ones here aren't the first ones to go home. It just doesn't work that way! So we're trying to regroup, rethink our remaining time here, and make it as bearable as possible.

To help with this, we had Snickers milkshakes for dinner one night. We also went out for Papa John's pizza. These things do help! We also have Brice coming on Wednesday (Aug. 5) to distract us for 3 weeks. I'm not sure he realizes how much work he has in front of him! We are planning a small trip to Mahabaleshwar about 2 hours from Pune in the mountains. We're also planning another R&R trip for this fall. We can make it! We just finished July, and that's another month down! We can do hard things!

We had 7 at church today and had fast and testimony meeting. Hannah does a great job playing the hymns on the keyboard. We sang a new song today I had never even heard before.

We were able to find another plumber to get the outside toilet fixed (this is the guard's toilet). We still don't have the skylight fixed in the guest bathroom, maybe when Brice is here we can get that done. The mirror and frame are fixed and rehung. We're watching the cistern tank out back for random overflowing (the ball valve is a bit touchy right now). Other than that, as long as it doesn't rain, we have no leaks!

Hannah took her Interior Design final this week. That's another class down! She is working on 3 right now -- BYU freshman English, BYU American Heritage, and 2nd semester Algebra II. We've lost the books for English. They were shipped a month ago and everyone claims they were put on Doug's desk. Unfortunately, there are no books in our possession. We've check back along the pipeline -- in Moline, DHL, John Deere India, etc. Nothing. We will reorder the books tomorrow.

We hope everyone is fine and doing well! We love and miss you all!
Love, Lucinda

Hi Everyone --

What a week! The monsoon is here in earnest -- we've had plenty of rain and the reservoirs are filling up quickly. We are still on 40% water cut offs, because it's never enough and we need to conserve water! Of course, our guard washes the car every morning using up our whole tank of water. We also found out that the outside toilet has a bad washer and uses up the tank of water as well. Maybe the plumber can come tomorrow and get that fixed.

The skylight fix in our bathroom is finished. Unfortunately, it still leaks and there isn't much anyone can do about it. We still have another window to be replaced. Maybe that can get fixed this week. It depends on how strong I feel!

We had a busy week with many John Deere visitors from the US. We had a couple of engineers here to the house for dinner on Monday. Hannah cooked won ton soup and we had homemade bread, tomato and cucumber salad, fruit salad, and birthday cake. We had dinner at home on Tuesday, but we ate out the rest of the week. Craig Puetz was here and it was fun to see him. The latest update from the John Deere high ups is that we will be here until at least December.

I took the broken mirror to the shop where we bought it. It is going to cost the same amount to repair it as we paid for it. We really liked it, so we're getting it done. It was supposed to be done Saturday, but we will try again on Monday.

We had a large group at church today -- 12! We had 3 visitors from the US, and 9 of us from India.

We were out doing some shopping for some John Deere people this week. We went to Tulsibaug and picked up all kinds of interesting things. The worst part of the trip was that it was raining quite a lot, so it was really difficult. Here's a picture of tiny Shiney with her big umbrella and big Heather with her teeny umbrella. We got lots of "cake" or party dresses or frocks. They are princess dresses for dress up for little girls. Really fun!

Have a great week!
Love, Lucinda

Hi Everyone --

There's so much to write today, I hardly know where to start.

Hannah turned 17 on the 17th of July. For her "golden birthday" we went to see Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince. We got reserved tickets earlier in the week and then went to the show Friday. She dressed up like she was part of the Griffendor House. We got a picture, even though we got growled at by the security guard for doing so. That night we went out to Yoko Sizzlers for dinner. Everyone who knows, knows that's one of Hannah's favorite places to eat here.

Saturday we were invited to the house of a church member family. They live quite far away, and it took an hour to get there. We visited in their new apartment, had an Indian dinner, played with their little boy (15 months), then came home. We got home about 10 p.m. It was late for us.

The skylight window in our bathroom is getting repaired. We can go to the bathroom now and not get rained on while using the toilet. They took out the glass and put some fiberglass on. This was screwed on with washers. They were supposed to caulk it too, but it was raining, so I'm not sure if that got done or not. They still need to fix another window that broke. We'll see how quickly this one happens.

Now for our Sunday morning excitement! We were laying in bed about 6 a.m. this morning when we heard a big crash. I asked Doug what it was, and he said it was the toilet seat falling down. I went in the bathroom later and there was the toilet seat up. He went downstairs and came back and told me that our Indian mirror by the steps had fallen off and broken. That was sad! We don't know how it happened, but I do know there were a couple of match sticks stuck in it this week. I don't know where they came from, but the match sticks were stuck in the wood carving. So there we were cleaning up the broken mirror and the broken frame. That was done and I went to sit down in the living room, when my foot got stuck in something. I looked down, and I had stepped in a pile of poop. It was on the rug in the living room. The only thing I could think was that there was an animal in the house. We started looking around and I pushed back the couch and there was a puddle of pee under there. Doug started varmint hunting! He took the broom to help. He did find the door to the roof open. I cleaned up the poop and the pee, and it was time for people to start coming for church.

We had 2 visitors from the US today. They will be here on business in India for another couple of weeks. We also had the family we had dinner with last night. Maheshwari was in Mumbai today working on paperwork. She got her mission call to San Jose, California mission. She reports to the MTC in Provo November 17. Total attendance: 8.

After everyone left, Hannah decided she needed to varmint hunt too. She got the electric tennis racket and Doug got the broom and they checked the house again. It could be a cat -- we have plenty of those around here. It could be a monkey -- I hope not, but a monkey makes the story better. Hopefully it is long gone and won't be coming back!


OK all you Nancy Drew detectives -- let us know what your theories and stories are. We need help!

Have a great week!
Love, Lucinda

Hi Everyone --

The good news: The jet lag is over! After 2 weeks, we are sleeping all through the night, staying awake all day, and we're over the stomach aches and Delhi belly! It's so good to be home!

It started raining a bit more with the monsoon this week. We are still on water rationing, and the reservoirs are not full, but every little bit helps. It seems to rain in the night, clear up when we go for our walk between 7-8 a.m., rain again in the afternoon and evening. Sometimes it is a very hard, straight down rain, other times just light showers. We figure there has been plenty of rain if the road is wet -- that means that the rain made it through the thick tree cover over the road.

Yesterday, when Doug was at work, I heard a big crash. I looked around in the basement and in the living area, but found nothing. Then I went up to bed, not thinking anything of it. My feet kept crunching on dirt and junk in the bathroom, so I put my glasses back on, and there was the problem! We had put a tarp over the skylight in the bathroom to keep it from leaking on us, and used a couple of big rocks to hold the tarp down. Well, the rocks fell off the ledge about 4-5 feet down and crashed through the windows. Luckily the windows had wire in them, or there would have been 2 big rocks on the toilet too. We will have to get that fixed this week -- we'll see how many days it takes. I would think it would be especially important in the monsoon season, but that's just me. Hannah doesn't think it will get done before we leave India (what a skeptic!)

We had good church today. We had an old friend show up -- Dwight Stephenson. He was here in Pune on business and called Doug. We had a good time looking at family pictures and catching up on where and what the kids were doing. Total church attendance: 6.

I guess that's all for this week!
We love you and miss you all!
Love, Lucinda

Hi Everyone --

I guess we back on a regular schedule -- whatever that is! I still seem to have some jet lag, even though it should be getting better. I was wide awake from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. That's a rough schedule to bounce back from. I feel totally inside out of time zones and day and night.

We had church today -- 6 were here. We have started the temple preparation lessons and learned about the plan of salvation. Everyone seemed to learn something new and it was very good. We're still watching April General Conference. We may get through that before October conference comes around again!

The biggest news here is that the monsoon hasn't really started in earnest yet. Everyone is worried that there is no water. They even put us on a day on/day off schedule. Apparently there is no water in the reservoirs either. I personally haven't seen any water restrictions. Our car is still being washed every day. The terrace is still being washed off every day. I did go get 4 boxes of water and a large 5 gallon bottle of water. Because of the lack of water, the price of vegetables has gone up, the price of petrol has gone up, there is no electricity to go around, and this lack of water seems to be excuse for every bad thing that is happening here.

We went to see Ice Age 3 yesterday. It was a lot of fun, and extremely close up and personal from the front row. That was the only place there was tickets left in the whole theatre. Someday the squirrel will either eat the acorn or it will grow into a big tree and give him more acorns to hoard.

We had our own personal 4th of July party yesterday. We went to the movies, went out to dinner (at a Chinese restaurant), and came home and did fireworks. Doug didn't seem to have enough in his personal stash, so he went out and bought more. We really liked the fountains, but the sparklers and the ground twirlers were fun too.

The weather has cooled off here. Most days it is cloudy, but it hasn't been too rainy. We are past the hottest time of the year.

I hope everyone is well and happy!
Love, Lucinda