Now that the Cats are Away...

I love the idea of a Peace Lily in a lovely vase with a Betta fish swimming around in the roots and the wonderful symbiotic relationship with roots cleaning the vase, fish eating the roots (plus Betta food), etc.  I actually HAD such a vase sitting on one of my closet shelves for about 5 years now, but hesitated to use it because of our cats. Well, Midnight came to live with us today now that no curious cats are in residence. We'll see what happens. So far so good!

Puppy Kisses in the Meadow

Our dear friends Hugh and Daisy Chapman came over tonight for Vern's lemon salmon, a hilarious reading of Tom Morain's Rhubarbarian Theology, and two kinds of Rhubarb Pie...plus our little slideshow of Nepal!  Of course, Mabel had to deliver a kiss or two. What a fun evening :)

Meet Mabel Lane Brock

Our persistent daughter, Sydney, convinced us that a Golden Retriever pup would be the very best thing to happen to her in medical school - we thought she was CRAZY, but she made it happen. We did agree to be the caregivers for the first few weeks of Mabel Lane Brock's young life - then Syd will take over. And don't tell her this...but we are loving it :)  Especially the first time she "flipped" her dog bed onto the carpet and remained sleeping under it another hour - lol!!!

Day 25: Back Up and Over the North Pole in 23 Hours!

Well, it took 23 hours to get home. Four hours to Dubai, a four hour wait, then boarded Emirates and went a little crazy ODing on screentime for the 14 hour trip to Seattle. Fortunately we caught a flight right away for the final one hour trip to Spokane...ahhhh. Between the two of us, we watched 9 movies, 3 episodes of Modern Family, and a special on Polar Bears. I got up 6 times to stretch and do a couple yoga moves (was a little embarrassed, but I figured I would never see these folks again so, oh well!) The ceiling panels in the Emirates cabin have flourescent stars on them to remind us to sleep - but there was just so much to do! Watching the flight information screens showing where we've come and where we're going, temperature registering minus 60 degrees, cities we are passing over, strange and sometimes wonderful snacks and meals. Right up and over the top of the world - apparently there is a huge increase in these flights in the last ten years because they save fuel. I discovered a lovely snack in Dubai which was a large date sliced in half with a walnut pressed in between. So amazing, healthy, and it's become one of my favorite snacks here at home :)

But now, it's over. I said my last "Namaste" as we left the plane. It's been a great pleasure to relive this trip and share with some good people. THANKS for reading and helping me recount the memories. It truly was a trip of a lifetime. 

                                                       No...I did not take this photo!?! :)

Day 24: Masala Tea, Last Hike and CRAZY Hailstorm

Lazy morning watching life unfold on the farms below - old folks gathering wheat, children off to school, goats and cows bleating and mooing, fires burning. Ten year old Getta brings us lovely cups of Masala tea, Sunita fixes a delicious lunch of french fries (with ketchup), cornbread, and veggies, and Dil takes us on one last hike. It's a doozey! We scamper up a steep mountain goat trail behind his home for an hour, then we bushwack straight down the mountain and over deep ravines!?! Starts to rain pretty hard as we sprint (haha) the last hundred yards home. Lage, Guro, Vern and I huddle under a big blanket together on our balcony as we watch an amazing rain/hailstorm sweep over us for an hour. What a memory I will cherish with these two new, good friends from Norway. :) We cannot imagine how the taxi will possibly make it up Dil's road and worry flights will be cancelled...but the rain clears, we slip and slide down the path to the taxi which slips and slides on the road through washed out gullys and potholes. Snapped some last photos of the storefronts and only wish I could have captured the bus the two goats were standing on TOP of. We rendezvous with Pinkey and Binod handing over necklaces to sell at the HealthEd Connect gathering in Missouri in May, and end up at the Kathmandu airport where the 6 pm flight to Dubai is cancelled...uh oh! But our 7 pm one is a go.  Yes, friend Babs, things DID work out this time! :) Now, just 23 hours till we're home...

Day 23: Up in the Kathmandu Hills to Dil's Home

Foggy flight back to Kathmandu. We sat on the left side of the plane IN CASE Mt. Everest came into view, but no luck on this foggy day. Took another crazy taxi ride to our Sherpa guide, Dil's, house as he led the way on his Yamaha motorcycle. The road to his house is very steep, with sharp turns and incredible potholes but the driver handled everything like a champ. We reach the end of the road, hike another 1/4 mile up a sandy steep slope to Dil's lovely home where we were welcomed by three sweet daughters, Laxmi, Getta, and Durga, wife Sunita, grandmother Norma, and two adorable pugs. It's a lovely view as we are right next to the jungle. Have a dinner of the best Dhalbat EVER and the absolutely most delicious Masala tea I've ever had. We present a few gifts to the family and have a lovely visit...we are LEAVING the country tomorrow night so just have one more day in Nepal to explore the hills right out the back door.

Day 22: One More Sunrise over the Annapurna Range

Dil wakes us at 5 am for a taxi ride to one more steep stair step climb to the World Peace Pagoda, a huge bright gold temple enshrining the sacred relics of Lord Shakyamuni Buddha, built by the Japanese. From here we see the very same mountain range on the long poster my good friend and fellow trekker, Doug Kelley, gave us that we placed above our living room windows months ago. WOW. The whole Annapurna Range is really spectacular with the lake and city of Pokhara nestled below. At the top, right as the sun is rising, a Japanese Buddhist Priest is walking slowly towards the temple beating a drum. Pretty awesome...We eat breakfast at the "Not Out View Top Cafe"...perhaps was supposed to be "Knock Out View Top Cafe"? Sometimes the translations are not quite right! :) Across the lake are dozens and dozens of paragliders soaring right at the base of the mountain range and far above the lake. The lake is beautiful but oh so polluted...yet kids are swimming everywhere!  Heading back to Kathmandu tomorrow.

Day 21: Tibetan Rugs, Singing Bowls, and Goodbye to Our Awesome Porters

Spent the day around Pohkara doing touristy types of things. View the endless hole, the Tibetan Refugee Women's Center where they make stunningly lovely rugs, and a fabulous place for Singing Bowls. The International Mountain Museum was awesome with all the famous climbers featured throughout. While inside (fortunately) we experience the biggest, loudest hail storm I have ever seen! I caught Vern's cold so am a bit miserable, but it's still an amazing place. Have our final dinner with our Porters and give them a nice sendoff with tips and gifts. What a fine, fun-loving group they were! I will keep Rosan's basket in a special place and remember watching him making it one evening :)

Day 20: Nepali Farming...Especially for my Iowa Farming Family :)

I was absolutely fascinated by the farming techniques and practices we walked right through on the Annapurna Trek. Vern felt it was like stepping back into the 15th century, except for the cell phone or brightly colored t-shirt you might see in the fields!? The climate is mild enough to farm year round and the most common rotation is rice for 6 months and wheat for 6 months. We also saw lots of corn, potatoes, cabbage, watermelon, cauliflower, carrots, turnips, lentils, peas, greens, buckwheat, and millet. Even an occasional tomato and orange tree! The way they grew peas with wheat, and how they stacked corn in circular fashion was so interesting. Superflour is now produced in Nepal and especially beneficial for malnourished children. It's made from one part soybeans or peas, one part maize or rice, and one part wheat, millet, or buckwheat.  It is ground and roasted, then stirred into boiling water or baked into bread or biscuits.

I saw one tractor that worked and another buried in a ditch. The standard seems to be oxen pulling a one row wooden plow with a young man guiding it, and a woman walking behind, hand sowing. Folks seem to produce enough to support themselves, with plenty of goats and chickens running around for a little variety.

Two parts pulse – soybeans are best, but other small beans, grams and peas can also be used

One part whole grain cereal such as maize or rice

One part another whole grain cereal such as wheat, millet or buckwheat. The pulses and grains need to be cleaned, roasted well (separately) and ground into fine flour (separately or together). The flour can then b

- See more at: http://tilz.tearfund.org/en/resources/publications/footsteps/footsteps_51-60/footsteps_52/weaning_practices_in_nepal/#sthash.EPNDlWvf.dpuf

Day 19: Playday at "Invisible" Machhapuchhre (Fishtail) Mountain

Machhapuchhre (also known as Fishtail) is the name of a spectacular Himalayan mountain that is very sacred and has never been climbed. That's the name of our lodge, but because of fog and poor visibility today at the Australian Camp, we cannot even see it. The painting below tells us what is "out there" very close :)  We play on the huge bamboo swing (see Guro below), meet some really nice trekkers from The Netherlands, check out a fabulous young lady who weaves very fine things which we buy, and befriend some awesome cheeky little boys playing on a rock wall. Vern and Lage both are reading great books and Guro and I do laundry - a little like the ladies at the lake! Tomorrow we head through the last of the terraced farming country...down, down, down, and out of the Annapurnas for good.

Day 18: Dal Bhat, Kitchens and Toilets!

JUST IN CASE you ever travel the Annapurna Trek, I want to prepare you for a few things :)  On one of the teahouse menus, it states "Of the 24 million Nepalese, 22 million will be eating Dal Bhat twice a day."  It is a beautiful meal consisting of a bowl of lentil soup, steamed or fried veggies, sauteed greens, potatoes, a wonderful spicy tomato relish, and lots of rice. When you order Dal Bhat, you get unlimited servings so this can be a very filling meal as well. Cost?  About $3. Here are some of the awesome kitchens, amazing food, and interesting toilets from the trip. Note Vern's expression when he sampled the peppery wild herb Rosan gathered along the way !? Prakash also gathered fiddle head ferns (delicious) and I loved the banana pancakes.  We learned NOT drink the water or anything washed in it...no raw salads or fruit except peeled ones: bananas and oranges, but always had wonderful hot drinks. I loved getting to know the cooks and watching the preparation. One afternoon I sat where the grandfather usually sits for about an hour, just watching the preparation (see video), chicken peeking through an open window hole, the husband peeling potatoes, the wife chopping veggies, and the baby swinging in a basket tied to a beam overhead. As far as the toilets go, I was dreading my first "hole in the ground" (which I had youtubed so I knew how to use one!?!), but realized that they are usually white porcelain and accompanied by a bucket of water running over from an open spigot. Every place we went to had sinks and soap and plentiful water which was a surprise to me - most were quite clean! Was good advice to bring your own toilet paper tho...

Day 17: BIG Loads, Gurong Traditional Costume, and Off to School

Today we visited Bright Guest House for lunch, home of the millstone and the honey hunting cliffs of incredibly huge beehives, then stair-stepped DOWN 860 feet for two hours into Vern's favorite village, Ghandruk, where we saw centuries old stone paths and buildings which can withstand ANY earthquake. Rosann, one of our porters, and I try to carry the bulky loads of leaves and Lage carried one of our porter's packs as a joke. I really respect these villagers and also our very strong young porters whose job it is to transport visitors happily and safely to destinations.  From our teahouse, I could see a family below getting ready for school. Grandmother is weaving, dad chopping wood, and three little kids sitting nearby (see video). The little two year old was creating havoc, peeing off the wall and dumping out his sister's backpack, and the mother was busy erasing all the marks the little guy put on someone's homework! We also saw a frustrated looking mom walking UP about an hour's worth of steep steps carrying two schoolbooks. Uh oh...someone is going to get in trouble tonight for forgetting their books!? We visited the Gurong Museum and were fitted in traditional dress by a sweet little lady (holding the chicken in the photo below).  Many Gurong men were and still are Gurkhas warriors who won the highest admiration and praise from their British allies over the past 200 years. In WW I, Sir Ralph Turner wrote, “As I write these last words, my thoughts return to you who were my comrades, the stubborn and indomitable peasants of Nepal. Once more I hear the laughter with which you greeted every hardship. Once more I see you in your bivouacs or about your fires, on forced march or in the trenches, now shivering with wet and cold, now scorched by a pitiless and burning sun. Uncomplaining you endure hunger and thirst and wounds; and at the last your unwavering lines disappear into the smoke and wrath of battle. Bravest of the brave, most generous of the generous, never had country more faithful friends than you.”

Day 16: The Longest Glide, Avalance Danger, Chargers, and Bottles

Woke up to stunning views once again...but the rainstorm that hit us last night dumped 18 inches of snow at the Annapurna basecamp we were heading towards today. Avalanche danger is just too bad and we must change our route. Lage, Gura, Vern, and I have a nice relaxing breakfast overlooking our terrific view. A young boy who was washing dishes in the kitchen kept coming outside to "hang out" with our Sherpa and porters. You could just see the envy in his eyes as he watched them from a distance. I know that's what many young boys aspire to. I asked Lage if he was too old for one of my balsa wood airplanes and Lage said "No one is too old for an airplane!" :) Well, he was thrilled and posed with his family for me. That little airplane ended up sailing for a good 90 seconds over the tremendous valley between us and the mountains. It went higher and looped and headed back to us and we all cheered and oooohed and aaaahed...then it disappeared far below. What a memory. (15 minutes later, the boy came BACK with the airplane which he found far below in the valley!) This shot of the boy and the airplane has now been on my screen saver since it happened. I have also included a typical charging station found at all the teahouses (heaven forbid the cell phones would not work!?!) and all the water bottles we went through daily using our Steri-Pen.