Thanksgiving 2012

What a gorgeous day Thanksgiving turned out to be.  It was beautiful and crisp, 
sun shining and my youngest son, Jeremy, recovered from his liquid
celebration with his buddies the night before, decided he would drive.  That was
fine by me so I could take photographs as we whizzed along Interstate 80...that
is, we made good time as far as Fairfield when thing's slowed to a snail's pace.
The trip to West Sacramento, which normally takes two hours, was a tedious three
hour drive.  I kept thinking, though, at least we weren't driving on Indian roads,
dodging cows, camel carts, entire families on motorcycles, and monstrous 
potholes!  Ah, but I do miss India!

I picked Jeremy up at his San Francisco apartment building, near Japan Town,
about 11:30.  There were very few people out and about.   

  

Interstate 280 on my drive in from Daly City - not much traffic

Jeremy's apartment building - very quiet!

A few souls were playing tennis in the courts across the street and

dog walkers were reminded to pick up after their pets

San Francisco Victorian houses

A bit of traffic back up here

Heading over the Oakland Bay bridge - construction of the new

span is coming along

At the Carquinez Bridge toll booth

Ummm, a visit to the Napa Valley is in store soon!  Wine, wine, wine!

A little colorful foliage remains for me to enjoy!

I saw none in India so I was delighted!

So pretty...

Such nice scenery

A wonderful show for me

Isn't this tree a beautiful shape?

 

At last, we arrived at Laura and Alex's home ( my middle

son ) and, after 5 months away, my granddogs remember me!

Alex, 30 ( rear ) and Jeremy ( 28 ) in front

A wonderful red wine blend...I didn't even get the winery name...

we didn't wait for dinner to open it!

Alex, at the grill

Bucky loves the smell of the turkey on the grill!

Laura inherited my fine china and my mother's sterling silver

Checking out my detective friend's new Kimber semi-sutomatic pistol ( unloaded ).

He's promised to take me to a firing range to show me how to shoot.  I'm

not sure I want to do that.

Loaded or not, Bucky doesn't like it - guess he wouldn't make a

good police dog.

My baby - Jeremy, all 6'4" of him

My kind of Thanksgiving....I hardly had to do any work!

Always a lady, my granddog, Taffy

y 

Beautiful Dawn Lockhart - my oldest son, Shawn, has

excellent taste

Did I hear food in my dog dish?

Alex's backyard at sunset

My first born, Shawn, 41, with his lovely lady, Dawn

Dawn, with her chihuahua, Chiquita

Look how sweet I am, Grandma...who ever got the idea that pit bulls are mean?

Borrowing Jeremy's 49er's cap & sipping wine to keep warm

Bucky &;Taffy are exiled to the rug when folks are having a 

meal at the table...don't they look pathetic?

Bucky took over Chiquita's carrier which gave us quite a laugh!

My two youngest - they are actually both 6'4" - they

played high school football - Alex played in college and

Jeremy was a decathlete in college

Poor Laura, a paramedic, worked a twelve hour shift on Thanksgiving day but the

feast had her touches, that's for sure.  I can't believe I didn't get any pictures of the

food.  That is so unlike me.  I guess I was just too focused on the eating.  Believe me,

all the food was divine.  I wanted my friends in India to get an idea of what Thanksgiving

was like & I left that out.  Oh, well, stay tuned for Christmas.

I hope everyone had a very special Thanksgiving with family and friends.  That's what

the day is all about, after all.

, 

Thanksgiving 2012

For  most of this year past,

I’ve lived so far away,

But India is now remote,

I’m home for turkey day.

I am truly grateful,

For what India gave to me,

The gifts of love and friendship,

That will last eternally.

I’ve had such rich adventures,

For a lady past her prime,

And I trust that they’re not over,

Just on hold for a short time.

Now, I’ll celebrate with family,

And try not to gain a pound,

But it will be quite hard,

When Thanksgiving foods abound!

I give thanks to my Creator,

And ask His blessings far and near,

To every corner of this earth,

For those I love and hold most dear.

I offer special heartfelt thanks,

For next year will be so fine,

I’ll celebrate Thanksgiving,

With a first grandchild of mine!!

Carmen Henesy

11-21-12

Copyright © 2012 Carmen Henesy.

All Rights Reserved.

Amsterdam Airport Schipol - 11-18-2012

I arrived back in San Francisco after a very long journey which started at 5AM on
Thursday, November 15, in Jaipur ( actually still November 14 in San Francisco ).
At 6AM, my dear friend and constant rescuer, Ajay Shekhawat, of the Umaid Mahal
Hotel, arrived at my door with a large Bhati ( another wonderful friend ) taxi to see
me to the airport.  My landlady of five months, arrived with breakfast and my final
cup of chai so I was already in tears.  At the airport, bidding farewell to Ajay, the
deluge began again.  The armed security guard who checked my passport and
boarding passed asked why I was so sad.  "It's always this way when I say goodbyes
and I'm will miss India!", I told him.  "Then you'll be back," he smiled.  I sure hope
so.

I spent a LONG day in Mumbai, arriving at the international airport at 7:30PM to 
check my bags for my 1:30AM flight.  I was told to return at 10PM.  I was back at
9PM and had to wait two hours for my wheelchair, requested a month earlier
when I'd made my reservation.  Awful.  I did complain to the Mumbai Customer 
Service supervisor ( a very nice Indian ) who waived all baggage charges for me,
sent me to the Delta First Class lounge where I ate and had a few cocktails, and
sat in Premium Economy to Amsterdam.  

Once there, I had a three hour layover which I didn't mind.  Amsterdam Airport
Schipol is one of my favorite places to connect.  It is about 5 miles from the city
of Amsterdam and is Europe's 4th busiest airport and the world's 14th busiest
by total passenger traffic.  It is built as one large single terminal with three 
large departure halls.  What I like about it is their incredible shopping complex -
duty free stores and bars and restaurants of every kind.  In my pre-retirement .  
days, I went crazy with purchases.  Now, on a pension, I had to content myself with
window shopping.  Everything was already beautifully decorated for Christmas.

I wasn't laughing too much, having just completed 9 + hours

of flying, with another 11+ hours in the air ahead of me!

Nice and bright to offset the gray skies outside!

As you can see, it isn't yet 8AM

But, in spite of the early hour, more alcohol was being served

than coffee!

Very festive decorations everywhere.

I wonder when these decorations went up?

I loved the delicatessan area and, of course, Dutch cheeses were for sale!

Yummy but too expensive and way too many calories, now

that I've lost 30 pounds!

Famous and delicious Edam cheese

Very tempting!

Ummm, proscuitto, sausages, and all that cheese - what a

sandwich I could make!

Okay, I confess, my ultimate weakness - MARZIPAN.  i

did buy some - but only a tiny package - & it was gone within an hour!

This might be good but I prefer to drink my Jack Daniels.

Of course, there were many Dutch gift specialties.

Always, one of my favorite shops - I tried several perfumes!

From reasonably priced Swatch watches to every name in the world

You could get ALL your holiday shopping done right here!

One of the most popular shops - every spirit imaginable!

Too tempting here and I was so broke!

All set up and waiting for Santa

Chocolates from every country - Santa, make mine dark chocolate -

better yet, marzipan covered with dark chocolate!

Getting Ready for Diwali - November 11, 2012

A couple of evenings ago, my friend, Ajay Shekhawat, of the Umaid Mahal Hotel,
took me out to see Jaipur's preparations for Diwali, celebrated by Indians in all
parts of the world.  Diwali, popularly known as "the festival of the lights", is a five
day celebration, very important in the Hindu world.  Families perform traditional
celebrations in their homes and small lamps are lit to signify the triumph of good
over evil.  To learn more about Diwali, go to:  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diwali
or:   http://www.diwalifestival.org/.  Puja or offerings are made to the gods/
goddesses and gifts are exchanged among family or friends.

As we rode through the street of downtown Jaipur and to one of the busiest bazaars,
I was reminded of our own Christmas.  Of course, it was a few days before Diwali 
and all the lights were not yet up.  They don't start a month in advance as our
retailers do in the U. S. It was noisy and crowded, though, at 8PM and I was told 
that in two days, vehicular traffic would be impossible and everyone would be on
foot.

My night photography isn't the best but, at least, you'll get an idea.

We rode from Bani Park, where I live, into town, in an autorickshaw

Here the streets aren't so crowded but it all changes in a minute!

Jaipur is so much less crowded than Mumbai or Delhi

I'd like to go back and see what it looks like now, two days later!

Jaipur has some of the most beautiful architecture.

Ajay decides we should switch to a bicycle rickshaw so I can get

better shots

This is the brave soul who decides he can pull me!

Even though I've lost weight, Ajay has a tight squeeze fitting

next to me!

Most Indian business communities begin their financial

year on Dhanteras, the day the festival starts.

One's house is cleaned to make the goddess, Lakshmi, the

goddess of wealth, feel welcome

Now, it is very crowded in the streets and stores are busy.

This could be last minute Christmas shopping in the U. S.!

There are so many motorcycles parked, it's hard to get to the shops!

Rajasthan does have a helmet law - but the chin straps are
rarely fastened nor do second ( or 3rd passenger  ) 
seldom have one ) and children don't wear them!

This is the only cow I saw wandering in the downtown area.
From the looks of him, he doesn't find much to eat.

Ajay says oil and cotton are put in these little holders to

make Diwali lights....doesn't seem to safe around children!

People shop for new clothes for Diwali

I'm not sure if these guys were just waiting for their wives or what!


Happy Diwali to all!

Mellow Yellow Monday #199- A Last Burros and a Bus

I saved my last burro picture because it was so perfect for Mellow Yellow 

Monday,crossing in front of that bright yellow bus.  I thought it interesting that,

while the group of six of them had some sort of collars around their necks,

they were walking unattended in the streets, staying with each other, but

no human seemed to be in sight, in attendance.  My friend, Ajay, manager

of the Umaid Mahal Hotel, tells me there are hundreds of burros in Jaipur.  I

just haven't seen them.

I am partiipating in that cheery Mellow Yellow Monday meme -

add your photo with a bit of yellow and join in the fun.

On Veteran's Day Far From Home - November 11, 2012

I'm still here in India on this Veteran's Day, remembering those near and dear
to me who have been in our Armed Forces.  Both my father and stepfather were 
Army officers, my oldest son's father was an Air Force officer and our son, Shawn, 
recently was promoted to master sgt in the Air Force reserves.  I am from Columbus,
Georgia, where  Ft. Benning is located.  It is the "home of the Infantry" and the
Army's Airborne School. I grew up as part of the military and watched thousands of
young men train and leave for Vietnam, many dear friends.  It has been the same all
 of my life, through other periods of conflict in the world - brave young men and women serving their country, many of them not returning to their families, making the ultimate
sacrifice for their country.

A friend of mine, a former California highway patrol officer from our old  Prodigy
"cops and crime" chat room, in which I participated, emailed me this video today.  I
found it very moving and I wanted to share it.  

On this Veteran's Day, my prayers are with those who have served, no

matter what country you are from - and to their families and loved ones.

Camera Critters #240 - Indian Burros - Saturday, November 11, 2012

When on my morning stroll up to the corner of our neighborhood in search of

fresh tomatoes, cucumbers, red onions, assorted chilis, ginger, and bananas
and apples,  I was suprised to see this little troup of burros stroll by, all on their 
own.  It felt like a scene from a Rio Grande movie shot on the Mexican border, 
not Jaipur, India.  The seemed to be out by thenselves,, without any human 
around them, stopping here and there to nibble at food thrown out for the cows.

I am participating in Camera Critters, #240.  Add 

your critter photo photo to join in the fun.

.