July in a Nutshell

Well as I look at posts, I realize I haven’t shared in far too long.  Restrictions ended and life seemed to return to normal in India.  We began shopping for items for Nick’s mission and even had a cooking lesson with the Sister Missionaries.  It’s fun to see the hustle and bustle around town.  I fear it will end as quickly as it came as forecasters are predicting a third wave and restrictions are already beginning to be reinstated.  Shops must hold restricted hours and reduce capacity to 50 percent. Here are some photos from around town:

This man sits on the side of the road cutting material to weave into baskets every day. 

As you drive the roads, people set up a small blanket to sell from.  You can find fruits, veggies and flowers for sale. 

These workers were clearing weeds along the side of the road by hand with short shovels. The labor in India is often back breaking.  

  

Our gardener brought Emma these flowers for her hair.  Many women wear long braids and pin flowers to hang down over the braids.  Each flower is cut and woven together with a twine type material. 

 

This is a photo of one of our favorite guards. We call him the “happy guard”. He spends his day sitting in the shade on this plastic chair.  When it rains, he has a small guard shack to seek shelter in.  We always get a big smile when he sees us.  We make sure to say hello to all the guards. Whenever we are out and about, the guards are all waving at us. 

 

A local family is building a house right outside our gate.  They first built a metal shack to store materials and another metal shack to live in. Two-three gentleman live there all the time. They sleep in the metal shed or outside on a makeshift bed.  The bed is raised off the ground to prevent animals from joining them.  Each morning, they strip to their undergarments and shower from the blue barrel. Their laundry hangs from the fence and they cook over an open flame. 

Two things we often see are men peeing on the side of the road and showering outside. Two things we don’t often see are tattoos and smoking.