House Blessing Programme

We have a programme...
tonight we have music singing- when first told of this I was a bit nervous- what?  the gypsy dancers we have visit the hotel, a disco? Everyone expects you know what is meant....after quite a bit of questioning it works to be religious singing. We have a fire and from 8 until 11.00 pm we sing around it various special songs- what a lovely way to bring good vibes into your house.

Then tomorrow at 11.00am we meet with the pandit [wise man/ priest] around the fire again and he says some prayers and such, tomorrow evening we invite all and sundry to dinner. Then it is official- it is good for us to move in!! yeh!!

We are on the motor bike, our car needs some major open heart surgery and will have to wait until we have done the house...A truck was delivering things from town and had extra space so I sent the first of my plants out- I bought cuttings from Australia and have been collecting things here...so we will have an instant garden soon -Such a big yippee!! to have private outside space.
In our current home I feel like a lion in a cage. We have been there almost 2 years and still people like to come up to the door and peer in?? why, do they do it to my neighbours? no....sends me crackers some days

We have wooden screen doors on, still waiting for the solid ones- another drama it has been actually getting these made- talk about go slow and muck things up- still, starting to look good- I know the floor does not meet them but when we lay the marble floor it will come up to a perfect fit.

Putting a tap on our tank- ?? after it is made and full of water- so much to learn here about the sequence things are done in?? :)

We have thunderclouds and rumbling but no rain falling.

Monsoon has officially been here for 3 weeks, we had a big shower almost a downpour then....and just spitting twice, 60% behind where it should be at the moment on top of  2 years official major drought in our region- looking very scary this relates directly to food for people to survive on here.

Making a Gelhari [chipmunk] feeder for the garden, there will be one in both the Garden Courtyrad and the Studio Courtyard, there little fellows are so cute and no problem to gardens so I am happy to give them chapattis.

One of Pushkar's holy mountains from our back gate...see the haze is greenish- thanks to monsoon weather patterns - all the trees in the reserve put on leaves at this time only, and that is on just a hint of moisture!

Kitchen bench tops will be black stone, white tiles for the splashbacks....everyone is wondering why Madame's tastes are so simple when you could have every pattern under the sun in the tiles- a real riot?

Ok off to start and get ready for the programme. I have little to do as the big meal will be catered for- Praveen was trying to find a polite way to say the locals won't like my cooking...boy was he tip-toeing through that one!

 I understand village people, eat village food- for a special occasion you have dal and butti - if that is not served then they would be wondering, "What happened?"

The dal is simple -5 types of dal, a little onion, tomato and garlic , a million green chillis, tumeric, red chilli and salt- no variations and butti are wheat flour balls raosted on a fire and dredged in ghee...very sustaining food.

Exciting! :)