New Years Eve: Foggy Ascent

I told him we were entering Middle Earth








The fog made it feel quite Hobbitly for some reason.





























Sweet pure snow . . . ahh! The magic!






























The Indian border.







Walking in fog all day was exhilarating and beautiful but there was always the nagging feeling that we were missing the vista of the Himalayan mountains. Somehow the fog heightened my senses and I noticed a lot of small things that I might otherwise have missed.



















A cheese (paneer) press







The sweet smell of pine







Rich textures







Weathered beauty








Hospitality of the proffered chair







The warmth of the kitchen





















Hanging on to life . . . by a thread







The beauty of the handmade and the hand making is breathtaking at times . . . in it's simplicity and unassuming backwater normalcy.














Tea . . . the great bringer-together of cold people.




























Keeping warm.







Friends





























For those crazy about machines. Old UNICEF Landrovers from the 50's.







Finally at our destination.







Goodbye decade!

Riley Reflected

Jensen and Riley Moment

Happy 6th Birthday Riley!

Energy, spunk, zest, indefatigable . . . for starters.

Off Duty Vendor's Cart

Yummy Red Ones

I cannot resist sugared cranberries. I used this recipe, with some modifications, namely the addition of cinnamon and cloves steeped with the syrup mixture. Thanks to our dear head office folks we had fresh cranberries for Thanksgiving. Thank you Asia Desk.

Eid Mubarak

After a very filling, meaty meal.

Millers, Zooks and the River

The Miller Punch (explanation of "Punch". Our word "Punch" is from the Sanskrit/Hindi/Bengali word "Panch" which means "5". For us "punch" is a drink which is composed of several drinks. Originally probably 5 drinks. All non-alcoholic of course) I think my title packs a better punch ***groan*** than The Miller Five does. So much for long explanations of minutuae.

















Rhoda boat . . . ***permission to groan again***







I like blue backgrounds. I like Steve even better. I am secretly planning to kidnap him.







Bamboo bridge with the Troll on the top!

















Rhoda in the wee hours of the morning having "quiet" time with Riley's assistance.