"Holified!" as E. put it!

Elle had a birthday party on Saturday, and her friend wanted to celebrate with Holi. That is a color festival celebrated mostly in northern India, but some do celebrate it down here in the south. In a nutshell, you through colored powder on people to celebrate the good over evil. Some through water first and then the powder so it will stick. Elle looked absolutely colorful, and I thought how much fun it was for her to experience this part of the culture. Guess What! I also got to experience it first hand.

My friend thought I needed to get out and have some fun with the girls. She was planning on going to Parry's Corner. An unique area of Chennai. Now she did warn me to wear close toed shoes. I also wore clothes that I did not mind if they got dirty. I think this blog entry alone could be all about the experience of Parry's Corner without it being Holi. Just before we were about to leave for this experience my friend was reminded that it was Holi. I was not concerned since I had my old clothes on.

As we parked the car, I looked around and wondered what I got myself into today. Now, everyday we drive past all these small stores or shops, vendors selling chips and drinks and other local flare, souvenirs, etc. This was a whole new level of the daily scene. The streets are narrower and there are people everywhere. There are a ton of stores, and each street has a name like "Paper Street" or "Brass Street". You are suppose to be able to find anything you are looking for in this part of Chennai. I will have some pictures that I will post. It is really hard to explain. Okay, so back to Holi.

As were exploring the fabric store, we noticed some boys that had just celebrated Holi. We asked if we could take their picture. They were more than happy to oblige. As we watched others, a group of boys came up and asked if they could put color on us. Two of us gave them our blessing. They put in our faces. It was dry, so it came off easily. I had pink powder in my ears and all over my face. Again, I will have some pictures.

We have been fortunate not to have lizards in our house. Charles mentioned that we had them in the house before we arrived, but we had someone come and spray for them around the outside of the house. Earlier in the week, Midnight was sitting in the middle of the family room staring intently at the door. I thought maybe she did not know that everyone was home. She can get funny that way when someone is "missing". Well, after about half an hour Elle came out of her room and told me that she was looking at a bug. I noticed it was not a bug but a good size lizard. Charles got up and got the lacrosse net to shew it outside. He had a funny look on his face, and I said that he already knew it was a lizard. After a few minutes of trying to convince me otherwise, he said that he was going to wait until I went upstairs so I would not have noticed it.

The weather is getting warmer. It was in the 90's this week. Our pool is like bath water right now. The kids are loving it, and I have to admit I also like taking some laps in the warm pool. They will sometimes swim with Charles in the evening.

Charles and the kids are going to be going to see a movie this afternoon (Saturday). I am getting on a plane to head back to Michigan. I will get to experience two new airports on the way to Michigan and then two new airports on the way back to India. It is bittersweet that I am heading back home. I am looking forward to seeing my family, but I am going to go for my step grandfather's funeral. Friday morning Charles asked me if I wanted to go home. Of course I do! Well, one glitch. My passport was in Delhi because we needed visas for China. Well, Charles stopped into the travel agency, and they insured that him that they could have it back by noon the next day. My flight is 5p. God is Good!