Excursion cancelled...

Hubby is safe, thank you, thank you! My daughter called me at noon today as I was driving home from the office. She wanted to inform me of the situation in Mumbai. After several phone calls, I finally got to talk to my husband. Since they are staying on the outskirts of town, they are about 40 miles from the city area. The office where he is working is about 15 miles from the hotel. His office sent one of their guards with the car that takes them back and forth to work. Remember the jammed traffic he's been reporting? Well, on the way back to the hotel, he said the roads were empty!

The Taj restaurant that was attacked is where they had dinner Saturday night! They were planning on going back today for a shopping trip. Needless to say, the trip into the city has been cancelled. He'll spend his Thanksgiving Day at the hotel, hopefully enjoying a real turkey dinner from one of the restaurants there. He's even considering a massage. I think he deserves one, don't you? The hotel where he is staying is fenced and heavily guarded. They even use an x-ray machine to check bags and briefcases, just like they do at the airports for security. Extra guards are also at all of the entrances of the hotel. He reassures me that they are taking extra security precautions. For that, I am very thankful.

One more chance...

Crawford Market (above)

Since Thanksgiving isn't celebrated in Mumbai, there will be no turkey dinner for hubby. At least that is what he was told. But, slipped under his door this morning was a note from the hotel that they would be serving a holiday dinner. So, maybe he'll get some turkey after all. Just in case, I've been informed to freeze a nice portion of our feast for him to enjoy when he returns home. Since the offices will be closed here in the United States on Thursday, the offices in Mumbai will not be open either, all of the correspondence is routed through the U.S. system. They've promised him (with the rest of his group) a day trip on Thursday, a shopping excursion hopefully, since they will all be off work. He isn't for sure what is planned, but they are scheduling a trip into the city. He's really looking forward to it, so I hope he sees a lot more than he did last weekend. Can't wait to hear about it!!

Off to create my turkey brine. I found a new recipe that includes oranges, limes, and lemons. hope it taste as good as it sounds. Last year was the first time I used a brine, and I purchased a mixture from Williams Sonoma--it's a lot of work, but worth it. Just a little more challenging for me this year since hubby isn't here to help me lift the 22 pound turkey in and out of the fridge, and then in and out of the oven. I'll let you know how it turns out...

News from the hubby...

Roger finally got to go into the city over the weekend, but the trip was somewhat disappointing. By the time they got to the restaurant to eat dinner it was dark outside. So, pictures are very few, but at least he got some. He said the food was very good, they went to an "India Fish Place" (his description I think, not the name of the restaurant.) He ordered fried fish, and a shrimp dish, yummy! Sounds better than the peanut butter sandwich I had for lunch. The big news was that they were in a wreck. Thank goodness no one was hurt. He said the car in front of them stopped abruptly to avoid hitting something in the road, and then 3 or 4 motorized rickshaws (like little golf carts) hit them from behind! Can you imagine? I asked, "Well, what did they do about it?" He said, "They all got out to look at the damage, then they all yelled and griped at each other, then they just got back in their vehicles and drove off." I was like, "What, are you kidding me?" He said, "No, no one has any insurance, most of them don't even own their own cars." So, I was very thankful there weren't any injuries, I don't think emergency vehicles could even get through to them! He said he just laid around and slept most of the day on Sunday, ordered in room service and didn't even leave his room. He sounded pretty tired today on the phone, the traveling must finally be catching up with him. He's thinking of going to get a massage, he said they were really inexpensive. I'm so jealous!!

I adore his smile...

I went for a quick visit to see my little buddy. Haven't seen him in 2 months! I think that's the longest I've ever gone without seeing him. Had a great time, we even fit in a visit to see Santa! He is growing so fast, and talking up a storm, we even had several 2-sided conversations. It' s so much fun to just sit and watch him play, he's a very busy boy! He has the sweetest personality. And he is so ready for his new baby brother to arrive. He showed me "baby bruder's" room, and all of the toys, clothes, shoes, socks and everything else that they've been getting ready. He is very proud to show it all off. Won't be long now!

another update...

Since he hasn't sent any pictures to me yet, I'm imagining his description of traffic to look something like the image above (borrowed from a google search). Or maybe it looks something like this,

in any event, I wouldn't want to be going anywhere in a hurry! More insights:

• He got to tour the building where he is working, it is 6-7 stories high, with several different companies housed there
• He's sleeping during the daytime, and working at night
• He mentioned not being able to take his breakfast back to his room to eat because the maid service was cleaning his room, I said, "Oh that's nice, you have someone to clean up and make the bed for you", he said, "Yeah, just like I do at home." Duh--I do make the bed every morning, don't I?
• He explored a bit more around the hotel and saw several shops there, he mentioned a book store, home decor and a fabric store. Didn't take the time to buy anything yet. It's not like he didn't have a chance, he said they were waiting at the entrances of the shops greeting him, trying to lure him in and begin "haggling" over prices. Wouldn't it be nice to go into Target and "haggle" with the sales clerk until you were happy with the amount you were paying!!!
• The weather is VERY humid. Lots of mosquitoes.
• Time correction. I mentioned the difference was 10 1/2 hours, it is actually 11 1/2 hours later than we are.
• Believe it or not, they brought in Papa John's pizza for lunch at work. It was chicken pizza, with lots of hot, Indian spices!

as promissed...

one sock down...

One sock down, one to go. That is, if I want a matching pair! I don't like wearing shoes in the house, but I don't like going barefoot, either. I love wearing socks, they keep my feet warm and cozy on the long, dreary days of winter. I adore this self-striping yarn, makes it look like I worked really hard, huh? And what a fun way to brighten up my day!

Look for more scrapbook pages tomorrow!