Monday Musings

1. I had 5 cubic yards of mulch delivered on Friday. As of tonight there are still 5 cubic yards of mulch piled on my parking pad. Tomorrow that pile will hopefully shrink by at least .5 cubic yards.
2. I hate weeds. Seriously, they are a thorn in my side. Thankfully I have not encountered any with thorns so that is not a literal thorn in my side.
3. There are bats in my attic. They will not leave. I'm becoming anti-bat because they are doing nothing to help the mosquito population.
4. I have mosquito bites. So many I have lost count. Including one I got between my pointer and middle fingers walking to my car the other day. I hate mosquitoes.
5. My pastor's oldest daughter M completely made my day the other day when she ran up to me at Wal-Mart, made me pick her up, then had to hug me and talk to me the whole way out the store. Love that kid. She also wanted to come home with me last night, but she doesn't want to live with me. She's going to give me her little sister N though.
6. I love all my kids at church. Seriously. Every single, stinking one of them. And some of them, well they wear diapers and they stink. Literally. But PTL for Huggies and wetwipes. They can redeem their cute, snuggliness.
7. I have booked a trip here for later this year:
8. I am on vacation tomorrow. Guess what that means? Yep, I have to log on and check some jobs for work to make sure people do their jobs. But I refused to do so today because it's a holiday. I checked my email for critical items and that is all. Go me.

The Post Where I Finally Tell You About My Trip, Part 1

So I teased almost two months ago about where I was at that time. So, here's some more information. Through some life circumstances I had the amazing opportunity to go to India. While there I was able to see things that I will remember for the rest of my life: things both magnificent in Earthly beauty and heartbreaking in eternal significance.

I rode a train (train station in New Delhi). The railway system within India is their largest employer of people. For a relatively cheap price you get a train ride and food. And the food isn't bad. Airlines could learn something from this.

I "petted" an elephant made out of broken pieces of pottery. I rode a camel at this location. Worst. Experience. Ever. Camel's are totally overrated. Especially with 3 adult on them. But it was an experience.

I rode in a cab. It was a Toyota. I felt right at home. Except for the fact that this cab ride which lasted about 6 hours in each direction was the equivalent of ground turbulence. We would be riding along and all of the sudden the road would drop several inches. The only thing I can think of to relate it to is air turbulence, but we were on the ground. I think.

I donned the traditional clothing of the region and visited the Golden Temple. While I may be smiling in this picture, the sadness of this was so overwhelming. People so close to believing what is right yet so far away. It is also so surreal to see such beauty in the midst of a city that is so dirty.

I also got a glance of Pakistan. Daily there is a pep rally at the border of the two countries where there is a "changing of the guards" type celebration with a contest between the Indian and Pakistani guards to see who can kick the highest. There is dancing and celebration and both sides have a grand time. It's quite interesting to see as these two countries are not known to be friendly at all times.

More to come....

A Sneak Peak