Down Under and Back to Sri Lanka

Living in Kuwait has given me the opportunity to travel and to meet so many people from all over the world.

My friends are a melting pot of cultures. Elizabeth, who is from Australia, gave me this wonderful digital picture frame for my birthday.

Once I get my pictures organized, I want to prepare a flash drive with travel photos for display. She also gave me the book "501 Must Visit Islands."

Sam looked through it and exclaimed "Alright, one down, 500 to go." It seems the only one we can check off the list is Sri Lanka. While on that beautiful island, we were so fortunate to visit The Elephant Orphanage.

When we arrived, the herd was just coming back from their dip in the river.

They make the trip from the orphanage to the river three times a day.

It was so amazing to watch them all come up the street and head back "home".

Such large creatures that are so graceful and beautiful!

Such sweet babies, too!

This guy was saved from the jungle. He is blind and has to be kept contained so that he doesn't hurt himself. He is led to the river every day just like the others.

It truly was a most magnificent experience.
I just love these gentle giants of the jungle.
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I hope that you are having a bright and beautiful day in your corner of the world. Peace & blessings, Tammy

I Got Mail!

It's not often I get mail around here. The postal system can be somewhat unreliable.

Renee sent me this package from San Antonio on February 3rd and I just received it today. Made me so very happy! I found a lovely card inside.

And the new Train Cd! I've listened to about 5 or 6 songs in the car this afternoon and love it! Thanks Renee!

I think you're special too!

(NY Summer 2009)

Hope your day is filled with lovely surprises. Many Blessings, Tammy

Thank God for Crochet

Our trip to Sri Lanka involved a lot of waiting time.

And lots of travel time.

While the kids would catch a few winks,

I would watch the countryside roll by, keeping my hands busy with a hook and ball of yarn. I managed to finish many dishcloths during that down time.

I thank God today for my trusty hook and yarn because I had a lot of waiting time.

The last period of school, Yusef had PE where they played basketball.

He fractured his left ring finger just below the knuckle which meant 2 hours at the hospital immediately after school. I'm ready for a nice hot bubble bath and pajamas then I will pick up my crochet while I watch Oprah. I'm working on this afghan inspired by Twyla at Two Crazy Crafters.

It's done completely in half double crochet. Something to keep me busy during down time. Hope you are having a quiet day wherever you are and whatever you are doing. Many blessings, Tammy

PS Jingles likes yarn, too!

Gifts Galore!

My friends are always so generous when it comes to gift giving.

Melissa always gives me so many lovely things.

with special messages

straight from the heart.

Have already been using this purse. It goes with everything! Love it!

And she made me a wonderful scrapbook with pictures from our trip to New York this summer.

I am so grateful for all that I receive; but the true gift is that of friendship!
Thanks Melissa for all that you do! Sendings lots of love your way, Tammy

The Celebration Continues

Since I was in Sri Lanka for my birthday, a group of friends took me out yesterday to celebrate. I thought we were only going to lunch but they had a surprise in store for me. Can you guess what it was?

As you can see, I was dressed for lunch, not bowling.

I've bowled only maybe 5 times in my life and the last time was probably 4 years ago.

There were 6 of us bowling. The guy who keyed our names into the computer put me twice. I bowled 4th as TUMMY and 7th as TAMMY.

Maybe the extra turn helped because the biggest surprise of all was that I won! In fact, I took 1st place as Tammy and 2nd place as Tummy.

The girls decided they MUST have LET me win since it was my birthday. I bowled 4 strikes and three spares so not quite sure they can claim that as their defense.

Melissa wanted you to see how fancy this bowling alley was, chandeliers and all.

We had a fabulous lunch at WagaMama which served Asian-style cuisine.

Chocolate fudge cake included. Yum!

What a fun day it was! "I am wealthy in my friends." Sending sweet wishes your way for a fun-filled day! Blessings, Tammy

Last Saturday in Sri Lanka

Last Saturday our day started with a trip to the Batik Factory.

The petite young lady standing was our tour guide.

They heat three different waxes together and use the little wooden tool with metal tip to cover those areas of the fabric they do not wish to be dyed. The paint brush can be used on larger areas. This process is done each time a new color is used.

Smaller projects can be completed in a matter of days, while others take months, some even a year.

Above, you can see the procession of colors and how many times the fabrics are dyed to get a final product. Sam stated there was NO WAY he could sit that long to create anything.
Of course, we were then taken upstairs to see all their beautiful handiwork. We bought three pieces which need to be framed and then will go in our bedroom. A map of Sri Lanka.

Sam picked out the peacock.

I seem to have a thing for elephants.

As you can see here ...

... but I'll save that story for another day. Many blessings to you all, Tammy

A Week Ago Today

Wow! Hard to believe my birthday was a week ago. This is a view from my balcony at 7:00 am this morning.

Yes, that little white dot is the sun. And yes, it is still dusty. The kind that just hangs in the air. (Think of it as fog with texture.) Not pleasant at all and yet Zack had a baseball game at 9 am this morning. Baseball isn't cancelled for anything.
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Last Friday, this was the view from our lunch balcony in Sri Lanka.

Now that's more like it! A view overlooking the city of Kandy.

You can just make out the big white buddha that sits atop a mountain.
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And since Kuwait is a dry country (in more ways than one), I thoroughly enjoyed my Sri Lankan beer on a hot day.

After lunch was our visit to the gemstone factory. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures there. We saw a 10 minute video that explained how gemstone mining is done in Sri Lanka which was quite interesting and informative. We were then able to view samples of stones in their natural state and how they appear after they've been cut and polished. Finally, upstairs to where the jewelry was located. The trip itself was my birthday present, but since we just happened to be in the presence of gems, Sam decided I should pick something out for myself. Although my birthstone is amethyst, I didn't like the settings, so this is what I wound up getting.

Garnet -- more my style and color (and happens to be Sam's birthstone).
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From the wood factory we visited earlier that day, we purchased this fisherman who is made from ebony and teak.

And these bowls and plates are made from the trunk of a pineapple tree.

Our evening ended with a cultural dance that was quite colorful and exciting!

A little hard to take pictures as they were moving and dancing so fast.
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It was certainly a full day and a definitely a most wonderful birthday to remember!
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One last thing before I go, please take a moment to visit Deborah at Art & Soul by Deborah. She has a lovely blog and paints the most amazing watercolors and right now is having her first giveaway of beautiful art pendants that she makes from her watercolor images. You have until noon tomorrow to put your name in the hat, so please head on over and tell her I sent you. Thanks so much and have a most blessed and dust free day. :) Tammy