Birthday Continued

Hello again! Wow! Wednesday was a whirlwind. The whole afternoon and evening seemed to get away from me. Now it is Thursday. We had an orange sandstorm come through about 9 am this morning and now it is just dusty and dreary outside. This is what it looked like about 5 pm this evening. Yes, that is the sun -- although it might look like the moon. There's so much dust, the sun's rays can't even get through. Yuck!

I will close my eyes and transport myself back to Sri Lanka and the beauty of the Botanical Gardens.

Where I can sit and contemplate.

Or walk through a row of trees that have been there more than 150 years.

Where flowers are brilliant and beautiful.

And where branches are so heavy they have to be held up with wooden poles.
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On this day, once we had roamed the botanical garden for quite some time, we headed over to a traditional wood factory. It was so very interesting to learn about the different woods they use for carving.

This is the only one that is native to Sri Lanka.

We were even shown how the sawdust from one type of wood is first mixed with water to create a pink color and then by just adding different elements, like lime juice, metal, powder -- the color changes. They are able to make 7 different natural colors from the shavings of this one type of tree. Amazing!

Everything is carved by hand using traditional methods ....
usually from one block of wood.
The biggest surprise was when my friends from school showed up right after us. I had tried to see them at their hotel the night before but they weren't in. Lo' and behold, we wound up in the same place at the same time so of course it was a photo opportunity. They are the sweetest girls.

We so enjoyed looking around the premises of the wood factory. So much to choose from.

And you know we did not go away empty-handed.


But more about that tomorrow. I can't believe this is another post about my birthday, so many pictures, and we haven't even gotten to lunch yet, or the fact that we went to a gemstone factory where Sam bought me my birthday presents, or the cultural dance we saw in the evening. What a day it was! Sending many good wishes your way for a most wonderful day. Blessings, Tammy

My Birthday Morning in Sri Lanka

Morning coffee made by Sam the Man.

A view from our balcony to the right ...

... and to the left.

Each room had a notice posted to keep balcony doors closed as monkeys will find their way in and wreck havoc. I made sure to keep ours closed.

But some people don't always heed the warnings. The lady in this room closed her door just in time as this little guy was trying to pry it all the way open. There were two monkeys just a couple of doors down -- as I was watching, one was sitting on the railing drinking a Sprite and the other one rushed through the doorway. I'm not sure what happened after that as I went off to enjoy breakfast.

I always try the foods of the region so every morning I had traditional curries for breakfast. The Sri Lankans have rice with breakfast, lunch and dinner. I love spicy foods and everything I tried certainly fit the bill nicely!
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Our first stop of the day was to walk across a suspension bridge which freaked Zack out.

This is our very nice tour guide with Yusef.

The views in either direction were just gorgeous.


Next stop was the National Botanical Gardens. What a beautiful place it was! Sam decided since it was my birthday, I should pose over and over again, in front of every sort of flora and fauna imaginable.

Aim a camera at me, and I immediately say CHEESE! There aren't many pictures of the kids on this trip. At the ages of 11 and 14, they don't enjoy posing for the camera.

Zack wanted to climb every tree which was, of course, not allowed. Some trees there were planted hundreds of years ago. Each one had a marker that stated who planted it -- kings and queens and presidents from long ago.

This one was more recent -- 1976.

I had never seen a cinnamon tree before. When you scratch the bark, it smells divine! Imagine they cut all this up to make lovely cinnamon sticks.

Yusef found a "fairy" ...

And Zack got his wish. Towards the end of the garden tour, we finally let him climb a tree -- but only if we could take his picture.

There's so much more from the garden to share, plus the afternoon of my birthday, but this post is already getting way too long, so I will bid you farewell for now. Peace & blessings, Tammy

The Splendor of Sri Lanka

Hello friends! AYUBOWAN! What a fabulous trip we had. It feels like I've been away forever, but it's only been a handful of days. Ayubowan is a Sri Lankan word that means good journey or good health and is also used as a welcome greeting!

Sri Lanka is a beautiful country with lovely, friendly, welcoming people. Although our flight was delayed by 4 hours and we didn't get much sleep, it was all worth it. Arriving in Sri Lanka, our tour driver was there to greet us and our fabulous journey began.

All along the route, there were wonderful fruit stands. The kids enjoyed drinking fresh coconut milk, eating delicious pineapple cut for us on the spot, and spying the many varieties of bananas that are available.




Have you ever seen red bananas before?

Our first main stop was at a famous herbal garden where we were given a guided tour describing the plants and their uses for natural healing.

I had never seen a cocoa tree before ...

... or the jackfruit tree.

Jackfruit is the largest tree-borne fruit in the world and can weigh up to 80 lbs. Can you imagine? I had never seen anything like it before and literally just stood in awe at the sight.

The kids were mostly interested in this little creature who blends in with his surroundings.

We were given a demonstration of some of the products available -- even a natural hair remover which was tried on Sam's arm and worked within minutes. We bought a few things to try at home and then it was back to the van for the long drive to our hotel. Definitely worth the 2-1/2 hour drive from the airport, which actually was even longer with all the stops, because then we arrived to this...









We stayed at the Mahaweli Reach and it was just gorgeous! The kids enjoyed the pool while we rested up a bit before heading out into the night for a rickshaw ride and a walk around the center of Kandy.

I tried to catch up with friends who were also in the area, but they weren't at their hotel. Fortunately, we had a chance meeting the next day which was day two of our trip and also my birthday, so stay tuned for that.

Lastly for today, I would like to say a big, big thank you for all the wonderful birthday messages I received while away. It was such a nice surprise today when I was able to get on the computer and see all the comments on my last post. I appreciate all your kind wishes and thoughtfulness. For now, I must get back to washing the pile of laundry we brought back with us and prepare everything for school tomorrow. Back to the real world. Best wishes to one and all for much peace and joy. Sending many blessings your way. Tammy