move-in day, a new kitty, and a mela

It has been over a week since I blogged. So sorry! I was on such a roll with blogging, but it's all for good reason - We moved in to our apartment!! SO very exciting. I didn't take a bunch of pictures since I've been so busy with setting up house, and it's not as much fun without our own things in the house. For now we have rental furniture which is nice and fine, but it's not the same! Luckily our shipment from the U.S. should be in our possession in the next couple of weeks. In the meantime ...

Here is a quick look at some of our apartment. I really love it!

The space is pretty much humungous. Michael ended up in that room at the front of the house after no one wanted it and he gave in, the nice guy that he is. I told the boys that we could do a trial run for the first month, and then we can switch it up when our shipment comes if the room choices are completely disastrous. But I really like having Michael in that room! He is gone most of the day at school, not returning home until 4pm or even 5:15pm. When he is at home, he doesn't seem completely absent when he wants to be alone since he is just off of the family room. We thought Michael would keep those sliding doors permanently closed, but he's kept them open quite a lot. So far it seems to be working!

 Going down the LONG hallway - You can see the door to Collin's room on the left, 

and Matthew's room to the left of our room. The first door to the right is the kitchen.

 The kitchen is one of the best parts of the apartment for sure.

 And just a peek at our room with our funny rental furniture and 

bedding. The bed is hard, but not as hard as the hotel apartment bed! 

I wasn't planning on paying for TV programming here since we will have apple tv, but Matthew watched it a lot in the hotel apartment. And they have a lot of good stuff! The decision was made when I found out that it only costs $93 for the entire year. What?! Crazy cheap. There are so many American movies and tv shows. We've been super impressed! They even air current American shows just a few days after they have aired in America. How about that? Matthew watched the Super Bowl LIVE Monday morning at 5am. Ha! The funny thing is that we had all of those options in London, but we hardly watched tv because of that dumb screen in front of the big window without a covering. Anyway ...

I have been insanely busy with house stuff. Too busy! But things will settle down soon. I have had so many people coming in and out of our place: fix-it guys, a plumber, internet guys, our landlady, a cleaner, a cook, more internet guys, deliveries ... So much going on. The funniest visit by far was the plumber who had zero English skills. I take that back. He knew "OK?" That was it. Thank goodness he was a happy, helpful and nice guy. We did very well with sign language for the most part. It took two visits, but he finally fixed the showers so that they would work somewhat properly. Hahaha! (the chair is what he used to reach the shower head)

I also had a fun experience with the dryer the first time I used it. After about 15 minutes, it would shut off and flash the "Empty" light which meant to empty the condenser tray. What the heck? I googled the instruction manual since the previous tenants stole the book, and found that this is a condenser dryer. SO LAME. There is no vent. No vent! The dryer has a condenser where all of the water from the wet clothes goes. It is the dumbest thing ever. The condenser is at the bottom with this little tray that you are supposed to pull out and empty. I think ... Anyway, it was already empty. I went back to Google and found a suggestion to pull the condenser out and clean it, and then tip the dryer and drain all of the water. Said water would either come out of the condenser area thingamabob, or it would leak out onto the floor. It did the latter. FUN! But, hey, it totally worked. What a racket. The dryer is working for now, but it is definitely sub-par. My best method thus far is to dry for 20 minutes, open the door to let the steam escape for a while, and repeat the same procedure two more times. Seriously??!! SERIOUSLY. But, really, if this is my biggest hardship living here, I will take it. (please remind me i said that when i start complaining)

Now the biggest news in our household is that the day after we moved in, we got a cat! It's really hard to believe how it all happened. When we told the kids we would be moving to India, Michael said he would come if we got a cat -- "I'll go under one condition!" I wasn't sure how that would work out, but I was willing to try. We were leaning towards fostering cats so that we wouldn't have to worry about what to do with the cat when we leave India, but then this one practically fell into our laps. I belong to a Facebook group called Delhi Dish that is for expats living in New Delhi. It's a place to ask any kind of questions about living here. It's so great! They also have a section for selling things since people are always coming and going. Someone posted an offer about this little cutie. We went over to see her the day that we moved in, and then went to pick her up the following day. Bam! Just like that, we got ourselves a cat.

The original owners got her as a baby in Mumbai, and brought her to New Delhi where they had her for five years. They named her Puss, but the South African family who fostered her for two months found that name to be offensive and changed it to Molly. They said she wasn't really attached to her name anyway. I know Cody could care less what we call him! It seems like he just responds to a certain tone, so you really could call him anything. ANYWAY, we went back and forth over several names. Collin wanted something regal. His suggestions were Catherine and Ishtar. Catherine is too long and too formal. And ISHTAR?? Not gonna happen. I suggested Alice or Sophie. Some of Mike's ideas were Abby, Ash or Slim Buns. Hahaha! We weren't making any progress, so I finally texted Lauren and asked her opinion. She suggested Juno. All I could imagine was a pregnant teenager, but the boys said Juno was a Roman Goddess. Thank goodness! Just like that we had the perfect name, and we all agreed on Juno. Mike isn't completely sold just yet, and has been trying out Ju-Ju and Juny, but I think the rest of us are happy with the name.

Juno is a great cat! India does not love cats, so they are mostly wild. The woman we got Juno from has been fostering a lot of cats here, and she said that even the domesticated cats are still very wild. But Juno isn't like the other ones she's had. She's actually a lot like Cody. Juno is very social and very curious, and a little demanding when it comes to wanting attention! She was so whiny the first couple of days. Thank goodness that didn't continue, because I was getting worried. But now she's fine. She follows me around all morning just wanting to be a part of whatever I'm doing. What a great helper she was when I took apart the dryer! But she hides in Michael's bathroom if men come to work on something. Women are another story though - she always comes out to greet the cleaning lady. Haha!

Juno isn't a very cuddly cat like Cody, but she does like to cuddle under the covers. It's the funniest thing. A couple of times we haven't been able to find her until we see a big lump in the middle of the made up bed. What a nut! She goes up in between the pillows and climbs underneath the covers. Never throw something onto the bed because Juno might be sleeping under the covers! Matthew was sitting on the couch with a blanket on, and Juno weaseled her way under there.

She also really loves to sit on the dining room chairs to watch the birds on that balcony, but then she will come over if we are sitting at the table. Most days she will "sit" at the table while we eat lunch, almost expecting to be fed there as well.

There a few other funny things about Juno that I will have to get pictures and videos of for another time. Overall we are really enjoying having her around, and we are so happy we found such a gem without even looking.

We haven't had a chance to do any touristy things yet, but we did do something fun last weekend. Mike and I went with a family from church to the Surajkund Mela. Have you ever heard of a mela?? It was a new word for me. Yeah, so a mela is a fair or Hindu festival. This one was an international crafts fair that takes place in Delhi once a year. People come from all over to sell their crafts and such, and to perform music and dances.

The colors and decorations were so much fun!

Our friend told us to bring cash, toilet paper, and a water bottle. All good tips! And then I knew from my friend who just spent a month in India on holiday that the Indians love to take pictures with foreigners, so we were prepared when we were approached by group after group to take pictures with them. This one below is a picture I took of the girl's phone. She would have taken a picture with my phone, but I wasn't sure about handing my phone over to her. Anyway, people also wanted pictures with our friends' little blond haired girl. Poor thing! She was very patient about it.

I wish we saw some performances, but we did see some groups dressed 

up ready to perform. And we saw this little group playing their instruments.

I bought some Masala flavored "American" Sweet Corn at the snack stand

that was super yummy. And it didn't even make me sick. Ha! I wasn't too worried.

Mike bought one of these colorful wood panels, and then hung out with the vendor while the other guys were wrapping it up. Mike really enjoyed bartering, and I think we got a fair price. Now we just have to figure out where to put it! You'll see it when our stuff goes up on the walls. :)

Our cook starts tomorrow. And my golden driver starts tomorrow. I finally found a good one! I can't wait to introduce you to our crew of helpers here. It was such a foreign idea to me before we came here to have so much help. I didn't want any of it. But now it is obvious that we need the help. We need it so badly! In a lot of ways the help is completely necessary. And the people we have are so nice and wonderful. I am so grateful! Can't wait for that post. :)

Here's hoping we have an awesome week!

volunteering, republic day and a wedding

I have discovered over the years that I am not a PTA person. PTA, PTO, PSA ... Whatever you call it ... I do not fancy being a part of the parent group that helps out at the school. What is wrong with me? I tried years ago when we first moved to Connecticut, and didn't really like it. I tried here, and I'm still not feeling it. Huh. I went to a couple of PSA meetings, a couple of Grade 8 coffees ... and it's a no go. I could guess a couple of reasons why I feel uncomfortable, but I'll just leave at that. I am uncomfortable in that setting. I find that I would rather be doing something else.

SO, at first I thought I would ask if I could help in the elementary school. I would absolutely love that. But then I saw this ...

When Collin decided to come to India with us, we suggested that he get involved in volunteer work. The relocation company had told me that they could help me get set up to volunteer, and we thought that would be perfect for Collin. Well, we finally got some info about that from them, and I found that I want to get involved too.

Orphanage Work - A fire was lit inside of me as soon as I saw that! This one is in Jaipur, so it isn't a viable option for me, but maybe there is another one in Delhi I could get involved in. Or this child care work I found. Babies, toddlers or preschoolers. That is my cup o' tea. THAT gets me excited!

I'll have to wait and see what they can come up with for me. I hope there is something I can do a few days out of the week. That would be so amazing. So amazing! All of the websites I looked at have programs that are for foreigners, kind of like going off to summer camp - You sign up for a 4 week program (or whatever), they pick you up at the airport, and they fill the days for you. My situation is different since I live here, so hopefully they have a way to fit me in. I really hope so.

Collin is interested in one with helping animals. He can help to clean out the cages, feed the animals and walk the dogs. Sounds cool!

They also have a program for fostering animals. We might give that a go for cats since Michael made us promise to get a cat here. Fostering would work out better with our schedule of leaving during the summer and not staying here forever. As long as the cats aren't the kind that pee all over the furniture or something awful like that!

Something fun that happened here the other day was Republic Day. It was on January 26th, 

which fell on a Tuesday, and there was no school or work that day. Google had a fun doodle:

I loved this headline that celebrations would be "CRISPIER" this year. Hahaha!

 New Delhi had been on high alert all month because of terrorist attacks

and threats. Rajpath was shut down the entire month, and security was TIGHT.

I was glad that they could go ahead with the parade. It was fun!

Who doesn't get excited about camels in a parade?

Almost like Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, or even the Rose Parade!

Fancy dancing ... And I love the couple at the end. 

I love the colors!

The stunts were fun to watch - "EXCITEMENT GALORE"

The air quality was especially bad that day which made for an interesting air show.

"Absolutely enthralling!"

Another fun thing that happened was a shopping trip last Saturday. I have been to Khan Market many times to buy food, but Mike wanted to go to look around at all of the shops. I went on a whim, and was glad that I did. I never would have gone into all of those shops, and they have a lot of good ones there! The first one was a really good book store. I found this funny series in the Delhi section. I bought the first book -- The Case of the Missing Servant -- and I can't wait to read it. Looking forward to The Case of the Deadly Butter Chicken!

"Who is taking pot shots at him and his prize chilli plants?

And why is his mother insisting on playing sleuth too, 

when everyone knows Mummies are not detectives?"

AWESOME.

And this is a fun bit of instruction 

in the bathroom stall at church.

Because it is a very real thing that someone 

might squat on top of the toilet seat. Really.

LAST FUN THING - There was another wedding reception at the hotel, right outside our window! I knew right away when I heard the pounding in the middle of the night ... The gazebo is going up again! They rebuild it every time. Crazy!

We were hoping for a big party this time since the last wedding celebration was super boring. And it was good! They started in the evening with the entrance of the bride and groom under this white canopy thing. You can see them on the bottom right of the picture below.

wedding from Lisa Tovey on Vimeo.

Michael wanted to go down and get some food. And he wasn't kidding! But I don't own a sari, and the fanciest thing he has is the white shirt he turned pink in the washing machine when he put it in with colors on accident. So we watched from our window. :)


Hey - We are moving into our apartment on Friday! SO EXCITING. Our rental furniture will be delivered in the morning, and then our London shipment will be delivered in the afternoon. Should be a fun day.

Until then!