Two weeks ago was Dashain, the big family holiday in Nepal. We had 4 days off during which Toby, Noa and I enjoyed mostly car-free streets, walks in the backroads, balloon sellers in the street, and no power cuts. On one of the days, Dena who looks after the kids while I work, came over with her husband and daughter to give tikkas to the twins. At Dashain this means red coloured rice applied to their foreheads and a barley stalk behind one ear. Toby's didn't last long but I managed to get a picture of Noa's.
On the mornings when we have power we have gotten into two breakfast habits: either a banana lassi (Toby walks into the kitchen and points at the blender) or quick bread (a recipe Mom used to make for us when were kids and I try to make wherever in the world I am). This is a picture of the kids munching on bread, which they know the sign for, wearing their new shoes. A shoe shopping trip was necessary because Toby had poked holes in his, and when faced with the array of bright colours and sparkles, Noa had to have a pair too. Her fondness for glitz had to meet my simple tastes and we compromised on a pair of shiny black Mary Janes that had sparkles and beading in the shape of butterflies and flowers. I say 'had' because the stitching didn't last long. But she still likes the shoes.
We are slowly finding the 'easy' places to go as a family. Any place is easy if our friends are there as well, especially Clare, Mads, and Natasha. A couple of Saturdays ago we met Mads and Clare at Mike's Breakfast, a great place for dinner- kidding! As in most places here, the staff really like the kids and don't worry at all if they pick the flowers or drop food on the floor. And Toby and Noa like any place that serves lassis, which they drink as if they have just walked in from the desert.
This is the season for guavas. We have a couple of trees in the garden and the fruit is slowly turning yellow, which means they are ripe. The guards eat them when they're hard and green and introduced Toby to them. Unfortunately, he really liked them and for a few days he ate 1-2 per day. And then he got diarrhea. On the 3rd day I took him to the doctor, who prescribed antibiotics for the evident infection and advised a plain diet. He was better within 2 days and still points to the tree but I have told everyone that he is not to have anymore guavas for a while.
Namaste from Kathmandu!CTN
