July 2011 - Our new house and a visit from Sushil

Our friend Govindharajan showed us this house, which we decided to rent.  Big decision.  14 July was an auspicious day astrologically for moving in, so we traditionally boiled over milk in the kitchen and did a special puja for our new home.

Our new kitchen weeks before all our stuff arrived  (Besides milk to boil over, we brought makings for a cup of milk tea.)

Our little puja table by the front door

Our friend Sushil from Delhi came to visit on 15 July (just in time to help with the moving).  Here we are on a tour boat on the 24th at Ooty Lake, which I love.  That's Sushil in the black shirt.

From the boat you can see the kiddie train that runs along the lake

We decided to try the little train

That's my faky camera smile

Cutie

A couple days later we took Sushil to Dolphin's Nose, a viewpoint nearby.  Here's a waterfall we could see from the viewpoint.

Here are a couple horses available for riding.  Everyone there is scrounging for a meager living.

The next day, Aishwarya generously came to Coonoor to see  her friends here, including us.  We had dinner with her at the Tantea guest house, guests of her father.  Aishu is studying in London, so it was a particular treat to be able to see her like this.

On 31 July, the day before the move, we brought the plants over.  What a terrible mistake.  The monkeys trashed them, spreading dirt and parts of plants all over the balcony.  Some of the plants were salvageable, but not the gorgeous hanging geranium.

These two pictures are the view from the balcony at the new house.