In the meantime, I continue to flower arrange. Here are two from yesterday.
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| Red, white and blue. The white is jasmine and smells great |
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| Lovely small roses |
Thursday, 29 May 2014
May 29, 2014
Well, into the breach dear friends. I have done it. I have given my notice on my current house. I have 3 months to find another place and move. Gampola here I come.! My landlady, who I was starting to feel more charitable towards, has started up again about all the repairs she has to do to her house. I am sick of her. Plus, I know there are a lot better things out there.
In the meantime, I continue to flower arrange. Here are two from yesterday.
In the meantime, I continue to flower arrange. Here are two from yesterday.
Monday, 26 May 2014
May 26, 2014
Well today was a first. An entire troupe of monkeys, about 10, came over my roof, onto my second floor balcony, across the power access line to cross the street and on to the river. Cheeky bastards. Lucky thing they did not break the power line. There have been enough power cuts without the lines being pulled down by our ancestors.
They are after the mangoes and papaya. They can have the mangoes, but if they touch the papaya, I will be borrowing an air gun and shooting their asses.
Here is what they are after. It takes a long time for them to ripen. Veenitha checks them every day, but no luck yet. The odd green one drops off and we have been making green mango pickle. Just slice the mango very thinly, salt it well and sprinkle a little chili powder on it and enjoy. Delicious!
On the visa front, I am now 3 days over my limit. I finally heard from Yvonne who is handling the extension for me. She buggered off out of the country without telling me what is going on. Finally, I got in touch with her after frantic phone calls to her mother. Turns out that the immigration stooge lost his wife and is now in mourning. He will be handling the visa when he comes out of mourning. Heaven knows when that will be. Apparently, there is a grace period for lapsed visas. What BS! Just another indication that they can do whatever they want. As long as I am not deported and it gets sorted in the end, I don't care.
They are after the mangoes and papaya. They can have the mangoes, but if they touch the papaya, I will be borrowing an air gun and shooting their asses.
Here is what they are after. It takes a long time for them to ripen. Veenitha checks them every day, but no luck yet. The odd green one drops off and we have been making green mango pickle. Just slice the mango very thinly, salt it well and sprinkle a little chili powder on it and enjoy. Delicious!
On the visa front, I am now 3 days over my limit. I finally heard from Yvonne who is handling the extension for me. She buggered off out of the country without telling me what is going on. Finally, I got in touch with her after frantic phone calls to her mother. Turns out that the immigration stooge lost his wife and is now in mourning. He will be handling the visa when he comes out of mourning. Heaven knows when that will be. Apparently, there is a grace period for lapsed visas. What BS! Just another indication that they can do whatever they want. As long as I am not deported and it gets sorted in the end, I don't care.
Saturday, 17 May 2014
May 17, 2014
I should rename this blog, Julia's Animal Adventures.
Last night it was an attack of mongoose. They dig up the garden a bit and leave poop around, but not much else. They keep the snakes away and the poop is good fertilizer. So all in all, not a bad thing.
On the other hand, something was digging in the back yard. Either it was quite small, or got interrupted.
Good news! The tailor bird is back. New lovely nest in the avocado tree awaiting those pretty blue eggs.
Gotta love this place.
Last night it was an attack of mongoose. They dig up the garden a bit and leave poop around, but not much else. They keep the snakes away and the poop is good fertilizer. So all in all, not a bad thing.
On the other hand, something was digging in the back yard. Either it was quite small, or got interrupted.
Good news! The tailor bird is back. New lovely nest in the avocado tree awaiting those pretty blue eggs.
Gotta love this place.
Wednesday, 14 May 2014
Tuesday, 13 May 2014
May 13, 2014
Went to Sonali's on Sunday for a traditional breakfast of hoppers and sini sambal. Sini is sugar, but the sambal is really made mostly of onions. It is delicious with egg hoppers. The hoppers were fresh made and the sambal was nice and spicy. Add an espresso and we had the perfect fusion breakfast.
The dogs enjoyed it too.
Tomorrow is Wesak. It is the full moon day in May that celebrates both the birth of the Lord Buddha and his attainment of enlightenment. It is celebrated with light. Just like Christmas in Canadian culture, people string lights all over their houses. They also hang paper lantern in the more traditional mode. I opted for traditional.
Happy Wesak to all.
The dogs enjoyed it too.
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| Rama with his bib on being fed. Sita is waiting patiently on the floor. She knows she is a dog. He thinks he is human in a dog's body. |
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| He needs a rest after all those hoppers. |
Tomorrow is Wesak. It is the full moon day in May that celebrates both the birth of the Lord Buddha and his attainment of enlightenment. It is celebrated with light. Just like Christmas in Canadian culture, people string lights all over their houses. They also hang paper lantern in the more traditional mode. I opted for traditional.
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| View from inside |
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| From the veranda |
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| From the garden |
Friday, 9 May 2014
May 9, 2014
Well, this has been a morning to remember. First I couldn't Skype with B-J because the sound on her computer kept going off after making a lot of alien noises so she could hear me, but I couldn't hear her.
Then I was happily doing my morning routine when Veenitha arrived and we discovered that some kind of rodent; rat, mouse, mole, had climbed up the pipes into the Buddha room and had started digging. After that drama, we went to the kitchen to make tea and arrange flowers only to discover that the drain hose for the washing machine had disconnected from the pipe and the kitchen was flooded. The drain pipe had fallen out because the aforementioned rodent had chewed part of the drain pipe. The cardboard Christmas decoration box got a bit soaked along with the Christmas tree box. They are under a fan now trying to dry out, which is difficult in this monsoon season.
Yesterday, the plug point that I use for my toaster got fried by lightning.
The flood gave us a chance to really clean the kitchen though. Moved the fridge and the washing machine to wash under them. Thankfully, the gardener is here today, so he will put moth balls down the hole the rodent dug and replace the sand. Now I have to get rodent traps which in typical Buddhist fashion do not kill the thing just trap it for relocation. Buddha only knows how I am going to manage that as I can't stand the sight of the things. I will have to call in reinforcements.
The gardener came in to clean up the mess and promptly informed me that a snake is likely to follow the rodent up the hole. Just what I wanted to hear. We stuffed the holes with moth balls and filled them with sand. Now we just hope.
Then I was happily doing my morning routine when Veenitha arrived and we discovered that some kind of rodent; rat, mouse, mole, had climbed up the pipes into the Buddha room and had started digging. After that drama, we went to the kitchen to make tea and arrange flowers only to discover that the drain hose for the washing machine had disconnected from the pipe and the kitchen was flooded. The drain pipe had fallen out because the aforementioned rodent had chewed part of the drain pipe. The cardboard Christmas decoration box got a bit soaked along with the Christmas tree box. They are under a fan now trying to dry out, which is difficult in this monsoon season.
Yesterday, the plug point that I use for my toaster got fried by lightning.
The flood gave us a chance to really clean the kitchen though. Moved the fridge and the washing machine to wash under them. Thankfully, the gardener is here today, so he will put moth balls down the hole the rodent dug and replace the sand. Now I have to get rodent traps which in typical Buddhist fashion do not kill the thing just trap it for relocation. Buddha only knows how I am going to manage that as I can't stand the sight of the things. I will have to call in reinforcements.
The gardener came in to clean up the mess and promptly informed me that a snake is likely to follow the rodent up the hole. Just what I wanted to hear. We stuffed the holes with moth balls and filled them with sand. Now we just hope.
Thursday, 8 May 2014
May 8, 2014
Here is a lovely green moth sitting on my bedroom wall. The wonders of nature.
So I went to see the house in Gampola. It is about 60 to 70 years old at my guess. It was built by a cabinet minister so it is on a grand scale. Of course, it needs work. The bathrooms and the kitchen have to be completely gutted and rebuilt, plus the whole place needs painting and cleaning. They are looking at the figures to see if they are willing to spend the money to do it. If so, I may be moving. It has a porte-cochère. I always wanted one of those. No swimming pool though, although the yard is big enough to put one in. One can always dream.
I am not holding my breath. The way things go here, anything can fall through in a minute.
Big crisis at Sonali's night before last and yesterday morning. Her new house man came back from his village later than promised and drunk. What a panic. By the time I got there yesterday morning following her urgent summons, a CID officer was there, Amal and his thug of a driver, me, and her regular house man Ramesh. The policeman had sent him packing by the time I arrived. She had an idea that she would keep him until Sunday as she has company this weekend, but I told her it is better to do the work yourself than to keep a drunk on your premises. Finally, she took my advice and sacked him. Too many servants!
I am not holding my breath. The way things go here, anything can fall through in a minute.
Big crisis at Sonali's night before last and yesterday morning. Her new house man came back from his village later than promised and drunk. What a panic. By the time I got there yesterday morning following her urgent summons, a CID officer was there, Amal and his thug of a driver, me, and her regular house man Ramesh. The policeman had sent him packing by the time I arrived. She had an idea that she would keep him until Sunday as she has company this weekend, but I told her it is better to do the work yourself than to keep a drunk on your premises. Finally, she took my advice and sacked him. Too many servants!
Tuesday, 6 May 2014
May 6, 2014
So I was watching Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom last night. When they first get to the "Indian" village and are talking to the head man, Jones keeps saying istuti, which is Sinhala for thank you. I thought this is strange as they are supposed to be in northern India where thank you is shukria. Later on there are scenes of women plucking tea which certainly does not go on in the part of India where they were supposed to be in. Turns out that part of the film was shot in Sri Lanka. Of course, the continuity people should have thought of the details, but I guess most people wouldn't know or don't care.
Anyway, it is always fun to try to spot places you know in films.
Anyway, it is always fun to try to spot places you know in films.
Thursday, 1 May 2014
May 1, 2014
Hurray, hurray, the first of May! Outdoor fucking starts today! - Old Ottawa saying
In other parts of the world, it is International Workers Day.
Here in Sri Lanka, the fabulous house deal fell through. The owner decided that he could not let it go for under Rs. 40,000, and I am determined not to pay more than Rs. 30,000. So on to the next thing. There are lots of places around and I have time. I am going to have a look at Gampola as well. It is about 20 minutes SSW of Kandy. My friend Jez has his cheese factory there along with his extended family. They are a great bunch, so we will see. He is going to line up some places for me to see and I will go over on the weekend to have a look.
Like India, but on a smaller scale, Sri Lanka is a land of contrasts. Here is the beautiful and the ugly on a micro level.
On the ugly side, this morning was the battle of the leech. The weather has broken and the rains are here with a vengeance. Yesterday coming back from the hairdresser, it was like the deluge on Peradeniya Road. Storm sewers, such as they are, were gushing on one of the busiest streets in town and at school leaving time to boot.
In any event, the rains bring leeches. They are tiny, but they do their worst. I went out to tie up some plants that the rain had knocked down and when I got in the shower, there was one on my leg. I got it off easily, but killing it was another issue. They are amazingly resilient. After trying to grind it to death, drowning, dousing it in soap, the only way I could kill it was to sever its body. Yuck! I will have to careful when I go out with the papaya for the birds.
Back on the beautiful side, I saw a squirrel chasing a butterfly the other day. It was very sweet. I don't think it had any interest in eating or harming it. It was just fascinated by the movement as we all are.
In other parts of the world, it is International Workers Day.
Here in Sri Lanka, the fabulous house deal fell through. The owner decided that he could not let it go for under Rs. 40,000, and I am determined not to pay more than Rs. 30,000. So on to the next thing. There are lots of places around and I have time. I am going to have a look at Gampola as well. It is about 20 minutes SSW of Kandy. My friend Jez has his cheese factory there along with his extended family. They are a great bunch, so we will see. He is going to line up some places for me to see and I will go over on the weekend to have a look.
Like India, but on a smaller scale, Sri Lanka is a land of contrasts. Here is the beautiful and the ugly on a micro level.
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| A cornucopia of fruit on my counter; pineapple, 3 avocados gratis courtesy of my fruit vendor, sour sop, pomelo, bananas, papaya, tomato, and lime. |
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| This is where the remains of the fruit ends up, in the compost. I don't have video, but that brown stuff on the foreground are maggots. They literally boil and bubble. They make for very good compost apparently. |
In any event, the rains bring leeches. They are tiny, but they do their worst. I went out to tie up some plants that the rain had knocked down and when I got in the shower, there was one on my leg. I got it off easily, but killing it was another issue. They are amazingly resilient. After trying to grind it to death, drowning, dousing it in soap, the only way I could kill it was to sever its body. Yuck! I will have to careful when I go out with the papaya for the birds.
Back on the beautiful side, I saw a squirrel chasing a butterfly the other day. It was very sweet. I don't think it had any interest in eating or harming it. It was just fascinated by the movement as we all are.
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