Ode to the Deep Freeze

Oh Deep Freeze
My friend
With delectable delights
To satisfy cravings
And homesickness fight

You help us stop bugs
From spoiling our meals
And chocolate from melting
In heat that's unreal

Ice cream, chocolate chips
Bacon, bananas
Tortilla mix, cake mix
Pecans from Grandma's

Otter Pops, Easter candy
Emergency Indian food
To feed local guests
Who find our food not so good

Craisins and raisins
Strawberry jam
Yeast and roast beast
From the meat man

And now that it's hot
You make ice for our water
Since it comes from the tap
Steaming hotter and hotter

But the generator is broken
And there's no electricity
So goodbye freezer contents
We barely ate thee.

Another India Maxim

Okay, this one probably isn't one of those universal maxims that would apply to your life in any way, but it's a lesson we learned anyway:

"If five guys show up one night to hoist a car-sized generator on your roof with a pulley and ask you to buy them dinner, don't just give them the money . . . they might get drunk!"

Yes, it's true. Not only did these guys stay up all night putting the generator on the roof even after we asked them not to. No, it gets better. They were also drunk the whole time! All of this came out when the engineer guy came to collect the money and I started chewing him out because they worked all night. "But Madam," he said, "They had drunk wine before working, so they were strong enough to work the whole night." Say what?!?!? I was pretty in control after that, but I was definitely yelling. Smoke coming out of my head. Servants tiptoeing around me all afternoon after that one.

The clincher is that when I refused to pay the balance we owe until the generator was actually working, the guy couldn't believe I would be so troublesome. Then when I did pay him some money I asked for a bill (receipt) and he couldn't believe that I didn't trust his word enough to go without a receipt this time. Ha. Unbelievable.

Indian Wedding Fun

We went to our first Indian wedding and arrived too late for the family celebration at home (which I think we weren't actually supposed to go to anyway), and we sat in the living room while everyone readied themselves for the bharat--the procession/parade to the wedding place. Graham made many friends while we waited.

At about 9:00 pm the bharat began. We went less than a mile in about two hours. Generator in a truck powering chandelier lights along the way, a full brass band blaring music, fireworks, and lots and lots of dancing. The men did most of the dancing and almost always with other men. Rich was loving it. I was enjoying it, but worried about Graham's ears and getting hit with a firecracker!

At one point the trumpeter decided Graham needed his own firsthand, lasting memory of the wedding. Let's hope he can hear later!

This is Merinda at the wedding party lawn with lots of lights and glitz. I wised up this time and didn't wear black. By this time it was 1:00 am, Graham-Bam was fast asleep, and we gave up on the wedding actually STARTING and went home!