The Power of Positivity

To family and friends around the world...

I am one very fortunate person. Having landed back in India, back in Karnataka, back in Banglaore (aka Bengaluru), back in Sahakar Nagar, back at my old school, I do not believe I have not stepped back in time at all; I believe that I am moving forward and growing personally and professionally.

This was not totally my own personal decision. But circumstances, happenstances, or whatever you want to call it, created an opportunity to move. I have landed forward, I am moving forward, and for the first time in a long time, I am experiencing the power of positivity in my life.

What has caused this drastic U turn? I am not sure if it was a psychological, physical, spiritual, social or emotional change; perhaps it has been a combination of these influences. Perhaps it is because I am at the beginning of a week long holiday, but I am grateful today to write that I am feeling so much better!

At the end of this post you will find informationa about the India holiday Dussehra. All I can tell you now is that it is very quiet here in my apartment block. Usually on a Saturday afternoon such as this the play area outside my flat full of children noisily having a grand time. But today, not so much.

I LOVE Science

Perhaps it was the week that was. Many exciting things are happening at our school these days. This past week was a celebration of Science, culminating in a school-wide science exhibition whereby almost every student created a unique project having something to so with science. There were models, displays, experiments, and many "ah ha" moments for me. I totally enjoyed peeking at the projects and speaking with the young scientists. The event was for only 2.5 hours, and would have taken the whole day to see and appreciate everyone's efforts. All in all a great success. 

Jem

My state of happiness might have be caused by some of the regular conversations, chats, and communications that have been happening online over the past month. People like Jem (Kuwait) on WhatsApp and Messenger, and Em, and Lindsay, and The Glue (all in Kuwait) on Instagram, my brother (Ottawa) on Twitter, my sister from Florida on Messenger, my husband, my son and grandchildren (all in Canada) on Skype, my friend Carole Ann((Ontario) on Facebook, or even Cheryl (Clarksburg), my sister Karen (Missisauga), and Edith (Maberly) on email, Sarah, Tom, Anne and Anthony, and  Linda from Vietnam, and Lina from Sri Lanka. And these are only a few of the connections I have heard from over the past week. It is indeed a joy to connect, and I am grateful to everyone for staying in touch. 

A symbol for who keeps me steady

I have to admit that my anchor point is the daily chat on Skype with my husband, who has elected to stay behind in Ontario for the first four months of my stay in India. His cheerful face on voice on Skype is a delight to my eyes and ears. I am very much looking foward to his coming to spend time here during the cold winter months. 

Probably the biggest news is that I am going to have to move in the next couple of months. The apartment where I am living is called a "service apartment" reserved for people who are working at the building. Fortunately I have been able to stay here for as long as I have, but the school is now actively looking for another place, perhaps even closer to the school and the pool. So I am looking forward to that. 

And also to the Dussehra holiday which is upon us now. Here is a little bit of information about this festive time of the year in many parts of India. Enjoy the read!

Until next time,


Bee Rich

When is Dussehra?

How long until Dussehra?
This holiday next takes place in 7 Days.
Duration
1 Day
Summary
The festival of Dusseha symbolizes the triumph of good over evil in the legend of Rama and Ravana
Dates of Dussehra
Year	Weekday	Date
2019	Tuesday	October 8th
2018	Friday	October 19th
2017	Saturday	September 30th
2017	Friday	September 29th
2016	Tuesday	October 11th
Regions where Dussehra is a holiday
Andhra Pradesh, Arunachal Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Madhya pradesh, Nagaland, Rajasthan, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal

On this day, many of your colleagues in India will celebrate the culmination of the ten day Dussehra festival.

It may be known in some regions as Vijayadashami and in parts of southern India, it is known as Dasara. Other regional spellings include Dashera and Dussera.

As this is a ten day festival based on a lunar date with many important days and also because it has many different names in the various regions on India, it is difficult to determine when each region has a holiday. On this site, we show the date of the tenth day and you can assume that most regions will observe this a public holiday.

Traditions of Dussehra

In India, the festival of Dussehra symbolizes the triumph of good over evil. The festival traditionally represents the legend of Rama and Ravana. Ravana, the demon king, abducted the beloved Princess of India, Sita. The Lord Rama rescued the Princess, proving victorious over the powerful and evil King Ravana.

The Dussehra festival is ten days long, culminating on the tenth day, the Dussehra holiday.

On the day of Dussehra, large statues of Ravana are constructed and brought into open fields.

These effigies are burned and with them the evil they represent, so that the people are allowed to follow the path of virtue and goodness throughout the year.

Ayudha Puja

On the ninth day of Dussehra, Ayudha Puja is celebrated in several regions of India. Celebrations may involve many common and seemingly mundane tooo and implements used in everyday life, such as computers, books, cars, or kitchen tools.

The aim is to see the divine in everything, notably those things used in one's livelihood. It is believed that this day is also a blessed one for any new venture to start on.

In 2017, Ayudha Puja is a holiday in Tamil Nadu.

Navaratri

In the southern India states, this festival is called Navaratri ('nine nights') and revolves around the worship of the goddesses Lakshmi and Sarasvati. Lakshmi is associated with good luck and wealth, and Sarasvati is linked with wisdom and fertility.

The festival is a time for visiting friends and relatives, and houses are decorated with colourful displays of toys and images of gods. In Gujarat there are nine days of music and dancing..

Source: http://www.officeholidays.com/countries/india/dusserhra.php

New School Year- New Goals!

It's not all about the cat!

 Look at the date!  It's been less than a week since my last post and I am hoping that this will be a weekly event.  It is Saturday night here in Kuwait. I have been here for less than 24 hours, and slept for at least twelve of them.  It is hot.  The AC is not working and I have had several "technicians in and out, but no luck yet.  Keeping cool with a cup of green tea and a wet towel around my neck. The cat, as you can see, is very much alive. She has cried a lot since I have been here; her way of saying "Meow I missed you!"

The day before leaving for Kuwait, I had my teeth cleaned by my dear friend from elementary days, Muriel. She is an independent Dental Hygienist working in west Ottawa on Preston Street. Not only did I have the dental job done, but I joined  Muriel for a walk to a beautiful Thai restaurant, where we caught up with one another's lives (after all it's been more than a year since we chatted) and immensely enjoyed our food and drink. After dinner we went to an Italian bistro for a latte. Although tempted, I skipped dessert, for obvious reasons. This got me thinking about some of my goals for the school year- Goal #1- Stay in touch with friends and Goal #2- FLOSS!

I am so proud of my friend Muriel- almost 40 years as a dental hygienist! 

 My final morning in Canada was spent at home finishing the final packing for travel to Kuwait. My dear husband waited patiently while I checked and double checked for the essentials- passport, Kuwait identification card, toothbrush and floss, sweater and socks for the flight. I said bye bye to dear Mika, loaded the truck and set off to Ottawa to meet my favourite brother for breakfast at Joe's Pizza. No kidding, that is the name of the best breakfast restaurant in his area of Ottawa. Thanks Rick for the breakfast! Goal #3- Stay in touch with family

Now the trip was one of the best I have experienced. After clearing US customs in Ottawa, it was the waiting game. My husband had arranged for my laptop to be cleaned,( while I was having my teeth cleaned),so I was able to putter around on the web, keep track of the Olympics, and enjoy a cup of Tim's. Goal #4- Take better care of technology (laptop, iPad, iPhone, Kindle) and Goal #5- Cut back on coffee consumption

I boarded the plane to Newark and enjoyed the hour trip to Newark airport, just outside of New York City. The three hour layover there passed quickly and with no need to change terminals, I walked for an hour, then settled in to a lovely glass of Pinot Grigio while watching the end of the women's soccer match and the beginning of a men's. Goal #6- Cut back on pinot. 

The second plane ride of the day was a bit late departing Newark, but arrived only a few minutes late in Frankfurt. Upon landing I thought I had picked up some type bug...upset stomach, cramps, and a horrendous headache. It could have been the six hour flight with no bathroom break- window seat- or it could have been the pinot. Long story short, I found a quiet place to lie down and sleep, and woke up with some relief. Happily when I arrived at the gate, a colleague and her friend were waiting for the same flight. Fortunately, he had some extra strength headache medication, which helped. Big thanks to Mike and Hannah! Again, it was a three hour layover, and spent the time walking around, browsing the duty free shops, and a monitoring the Facebook chatter.

Plane number three out of Frankfort had me seated at the back of the plane in an aisle seat, I was happy to be able to get up and go when the need arose. I watched two different inspirational films, both which told the stories of about athletes who overcame great odds- tennis player Althea Gibson and diver Greg Louganis.

Tennis Star Althea Gibson

Greg Louganis is an accomplished athlete, LGBT rights activist, mentor to US divers, and auther

Goal #7- Must read this book!

Now, back to present day...I arrived in Kuwait at around 8 p.m. The line for passport control was extremely large; however, I was so impressed with the courtesy of the other travelers. When my turn came, I was stamped and then able to collect my luggage, which came out almost immediately. The taxis were also available and I was in the apartment by 9:30 pm.

After a bit of unpacking, I decided to get to sleep at 11 pm, thinking I would get up at 7 am and go for a swim. Not to be!  I did not even hear the alarm. A headache woke me up at 10:30 and after a black coffee and about a litre of water, I fell back asleep until noon. I noticed the apartment was a little warm and despite being on, it appeared that the air conditioning was not working. I fiddled with the settings, but could not get the temperature to drop below 27.5. As I write, I am awaiting the technician. Goal #8- Practice patience

In the meantime, I checked out what food was left in the apartment, and was pleased to find some vanilla ice cream and pita bread in the freezer, plus plenty of tea and peanut butter in the cupboard.
Goal #9- Shop for groceries tomorrow morning. 

If you know me, you probably realize that I like change. The rest of the day was spent moving furniture. The apartment is quite small and its furnishings are quite big, plus I had acquired some extra "things", so it was necessary to reorganize. The result is what you see below.  Goal #10- Get rid of (give away or sell) some of the extra things that are not being used. 

The dining room/den

The bedroom/workout room

The living room (TV in the corner)

The reading corner (and cat)

The cozy kitchen/laundry room- fridge is in the corner

That is the end of the apartment tour, the end of the goals (almost), and the end of this blog post. I have landed. I am feeling refreshed after a lengthy trip. I have wonderful memories of summer holidays. Finally, I look forward to a new school year with a class of new children, a new and improved positive attitude, and a long list of promises to keep.

Until next time,

Bee Rich

PS The AC is now working. Present temperature is 25.5 C. YAY!

SUMMER MONTH #2, 2016

Road Trip- somewhere in Northern Ontario

Another month, another post. I know, long time no write. Lots to write about; but first, flashback to last summer.Taking a course, I spent every single day of the summer holidays glued to my the laptop or desk top computer, working away on a Kindergarten course with very little time to do anything else.

Fast forward to this summer, today is the first day the laptop has been on since my last post on July 12. This summer has been a completely different one. We have travelled to see friends and family, we have hosted friends and family, we have fished (and now I am hooked!) and swum in lakes, hiked on roads and trails, seen parts of North America for the first time, and made memories. And here are a few highlights

Week of July 10-16
We visited three of my husband's siblings at their homes in the area, replaced the transmission in the Jeep, and celebrated our 37th wedding anniversary with a fine Korean dinner prepared my my daughter and her boyfriend.

Week of July 17-23
We spent July 20 on the road to and from Cambridge to partake in a picnic honouring our grandson's fifth birthday. The setting was a beautiful park and the characters included Son #1, Grandson #1, Grand daughter #1, Husband #1, and a few friends. The story included a lovely picnic lunch and an afternoon of hunting for crayfish in the stream. We were up to our knees in water which ended up looking at the creatures through magnifying glasses.

This boy is now five years old! LOVE LOVE LOVE!

We also spent a delightful time at my friend Mary's, where we enjoyed catching up with her and her husband in northern Lanark County. My husband toured the land in a Kubota (which was air conditioned, while I enjoyed several hours with a good friend.

July 24th
July is a month of birthdays in our family and we celebrated our daughter's a couple of days early. Dinner included my husband's butter chicken, naan bread, Sri Lankan vegetables, and my grandmother's chocolate cake.

July 25th-26th
Up bright and early we drove from Maberly to the Best Northern Motel near Wawa, Ontario. It was a gorgeous twelve hour drive up highway 17. We landed in Wawa in time for dinner and a great night's sleep.

The next morning we shopped for our fishing trip (more about that later) visited with our friend Emily and her family and spent some time hanging out at Hawk Air.

Hawk Lake

July 27th-31st
Remote Fly-In Fishing at Mozambik Lake and Trout Lake in Northern Ontario was amazing! Three solid days of sunrise to sunset sunshine, clear blue sky, fantastic fishing, beautiful boating, and a little bit of swimming brought peace to my heart and calm to my spirit. I even caught one BIG one!

Sunrise!

My pike netted by my husband. 

July 30th
After returning to Hawk Air and saying fond farewells to Kelly and his nephews, we headed west toward North Dakota. We stayed overnight in Fort Francis at the Copper River Inn. This border town was within four hours of our destination in Grand Forks, where our daughter is moving for the next two years.

Sunflower field in Minnesota

July 31st
Crossing into the USA was interesting as we had all of our fishing gear, a cooler, our dog, and a packed truck. It must have sounded strange to say we lived in Maberly, but were coming from Wawa and heading to Grand Forks to help our daughter move into her new house. After several questions and consequent answers, we were allowed in to Minnesota. The farmland there was wonderful. At around 2 pm we pulled in to a motel in Grand Forks and met our daughter, who had travelled directly to Grand Forks from Ontario. We shared a meal, and enjoyed swapping stories from the previous week.A few fish tales were told, but we had picture evidence!

These two on a new adventure in ND

August 1st
Our daughter's house purchase closed on this day and we were able to help her move in a few things. The rest of the day was spent decided what work could be done on the house in preparation for the bigger move in a week later.

Chestnut Street

August 2-4 
Our original plan to drive to South Dakota to see Mount Rushmore and The Badlands was replaced with helping clean the kitchen, prepare walls for painting, and taking up old carpeting in the above house. We enjoyed helping out, as each day brought new problems to solve and more coffees to drink.
.

Tim's in Grand Forks ND-
 two medium with mild + two extra large ice coffees,
to go!

August 4-5
After saving approximately 20 hours of driving (to South Dakota), we headed12 hours east from Grand Forks and spend the night in Janesville, Wisconsin. Again beautiful farmland countryside. The next morning we were up bright and early and headed to Kalamzooo, Michigan. My Uncle and Aunt moved there nine years ago, and it was the perfect reason to stop in to see them. Because they are not on email of Facebook, the trip was planned through regular old fashioned mail service and telephone calls.It was so exciting to see them after so many years. We also visited with my cousin, his wife, and met his daughter for the first time. 

Me and my hubby and my uncle and aunt

My cousin and some of his family

August 6-13
After a great visit with extended family in Kalamazoo, we drove fourteen hours to Cambridge, ON for a visit with our son and his two darlings. Grandchildren are amazing. lovable, and engaging. We had a superb breakfast at a local diner, after which we continued our trek home! 

Upon arrival at home, we looked at the list of things we had not yet accomplished, and number one on mine was picking up my "bike" from the shop and going for a ride. After remembering the locations of the brakes, clutch and accelerator, I ventured out on the road for the four kilometre ride. The hills and curves on a sunny Sunday morning were exciting, and I made it home in one piece. I am still not totally comfortable on the bike, but the next few days will give me time to practise for next summer's anticipated and more frequent rides. 

My favourite mode of transport- besides swimming!

On Monday after our return home, my younger sister came by for a few days. After two successful battles with cancer and now in need of a hip replacement, my admiration for her courage and resilience grows each day. Her positive attitude in times of trouble is indeed an inspiration. Happily my brother from Ottawa was able to come for dinner and it was a great reunion. By the way, he is camera shy!

My little sister visits

Golds -100 Freestyle- Canadian teenager ties with American!

I was also inspired by the Olympics in Brazil this summer. A huge congratulations to all of Team Canada for your outstanding performances. Such determination and dedication is incredible. Congratulations!

Our friends' daughter- going in to grade 1! 

This past weekend we enjoyed the visit from former neighbours here on the lake. I believe it is about to become an annual tradition (similar to the fly-in fishing experience), where our sweet friends come to spend some well deserved time "back" on the lake. It is an honour to watch their young daughter growing up.

Moving forward, I am down to just four more days of holidays before heading back to the Middle East to continue my teaching. It is with mixed emotions that I write. I am thankful for a calm and restful summer holiday. I am excited to return to a steady job doing exactly what I love to do. However, I am sad that the best summer ever has almost ended, and that once again I will be away from my family for an extended period of time.

But, I have promises to keep, a contract to fulfil, and several health related goals to achieve.

Hoping to write more regularly during the 2016-17 school year, I am visualising a successful first semester and a return trip to Canada in time for Christmas holidays.

Until next time, wishing you well, and as always,

Bee Rich

PS Parting shot and thought...

When we are apart, it is good to remember this....
We all live under this same beautiful sky
with the same Sun shining down upon us.
  -Bee

Counting Blessings instead of Sheep

When I was a little girl and I could not get to sleep my parents suggested that I count sheep.  Not really knowing what that meant, I would imagine a flock of sheep passing through a gate or over a bridge and begin to count them, one by one.
Nowadays when I gain consciousness in the middle of the night and cannot turn off my brain, I am often awake for hours dwelling on conversations, events, people, this and that and wondering When will I get back to sleep? I know how important it is to have a requisite number of hours of slumber, but that doesn't seem to help.
So now it's 12:02 a.m. and it is Saturday!
I went to bed to read at 7:00 p.m. I read until the thunderstorm outside caused the power to go off and because the flashlight (or torch) was not at the bedside and fell asleep to the sound of thunder and pouring rain. The cool breeze floated in though the bedroom window...
But now I am awake, reflecting on the day past, anticipating the day ahead and feeling somewhat sad and anxious. I stayed in bed and listened to the gentle rain outside, the whir of the ceiling fan overhead and the rhythmic breathing of my husband.  I tried deep breathing, muscle relaxation techniques and a little more reading. Eventually my whizzing mind said Forget about sleep, forget about sheep, get up and count your blessings...
And so, here they are, in no particular order, some of the things that make me smile...please pardon my self-indulgence!

The beauty of the Earth!

The next generation, whom I miss dearly and will see in less than two months!

My sister, who battled cancer for the second time, and won!

Me and Harry, my step-father's best man, who passed away this past week.

Our colleague's son, with whom we will be spending Saturday evening. 

My husband's family on the occasion of the parents' 40th anniversary                        

My son and his son!

My daughter, who follows her dreams...

My favourite man in the world! In four weeks, we will be on our way back to the lake!

These are just a few of the blessings in my life for which I am thankful...my big brother is another one, but I cannot seem to find a good picture of his smiling face, as he is a little bit camera shy. 

Nonetheless, I am a very fortunate person!

Until next time, 

Bee Rich

Thinking of Family on Family Day Weekend!



Our dear daughter in tartan pjs in Scotland

Nice Niece and Nephew!

         










          It is Family Day Weekend.  We were expecting a big crowd of people here this weekend but, unfortunately, only two of the five expected family members could be here.  After all it is mid-winter and some people have colds that they do not want to share with everyone.  Sad indeed.
          However, a three day weekend lies ahead of us with the promise of sunshine, moderate temperatures, perfect ice fishing conditions, and time to enjoy! Saturday breakfast is over, dishes are done, the "boys" are out fishing,  and I have some time to write about my terrific family.
          I was born as the third child of five.  My older brother lives in Ottawa.  He is now recovering from a broken leg sustained while walking though a parking lot.  He is coping well despite the severe decrease in his physical ability to get around. 
         My younger sister lives in the Toronto area.  She celebrated her last chemo treatment three weeks ago after being diagnosed (for the second time) with breast cancer.  Her positive outlook is inspirational to me and she is using her time off work to pursue other interests. 
         I also have an older sister and a younger brother who live in the sunny south.  Because of our geographical differences we have not been able to keep in touch with one another as well as we could. And sometimes I feel guilty for that. 
        My mother is now 80 years young and keeps herself very busy despite her physical limitations.  She lives relatively close by, but again, I need to go and visit her more often.
        And then there are our children.  Our son is married with a child (our precious grandson) and our daughter lives in Scotland where she works for an oil company.  What I enjoy about our daughter is that she is in contact with us almost daily.  Despite being so far away, she has made a strong effort to stay in touch.  Again, another inspiration to me.
       I am fortunate indeed.  Not only do I have a wonderful people on my side of the family, my husband's family is extensive.  As one of 12 children, he had three brothers and eight sisters. Since his brother came to live with us in September, I have heard wonderful stories about their childhood and spent time with many loving people.
       So, on this Family Day Weekend, I hope you enjoy the times that you have with your own family.

Until next time,

Bee Rich 

'Nother nice niece and nephew

My hubby, his sister, her hubby

Our grandson with his other grandmother!

My son, his son, and son's son's mom plus Beagle

I am Proud to Be a Sister

          You are probably wondering what unfortunate or fortunate event has happened since my "Fortunately, Unfortunately" post.  Not much yet.  However, I have spent some quality time with my big brother, who recently broke his leg slipping on the ice in a ski hill parking lot.  His foot got trapped in an icy hole, snapping his fibula in two places and breaking the the head of his tibia, near his ankle. 
          I came for the weekend to help him get set up for his temporary disability, hoping to get some outside help.  He lives alone in a three story semi-detached house.  However, at this point he doesn't qualify for any services provided by the province, so he will need to cope on his own, with his closest relative (me) and his friends assisting, when we can. 
          He predicament reminds me of a time, many years ago, when a friend our ours was in a skiing accident and broke her leg in five places.  As with my brother, surgery was required to put pins and plates in place to set the bones properly.  She also lived on her own but spent two weeks in hospital.  My brother was home five days after his accident.  Eventually our friend's leg did heal and we had a "coming out" party for her leg when her cast was finally removed.
          My visit with my brother was mutually beneficial.  I cooked for him and he helped me prepare for a job interview, which is coming up on Monday afternoon.  I went for a long exploratory walk around his neighbourhood and discovered a part of the city that I had not seen before. I even found a nice restaurant where we will be able to go for his coming out party!

Until next time,

Bee Rich

PS  My brother received a Facebook message this weekend that is significant to me: 

"Imagine being so poor that all you have is money."

         

Dedicated to my Big Bro!