Thistlewood Manor

Play time in Sri Lanka

Greg has a little down time before his flight back home takes off, so he’s doing some sight seeing.  Here’s where he stayed last night:

Morning swim on the beach.

Breakfast time:

After breakfast they went on a drive through the jungle.

They saw shrines.

And a “farmers Market”;

And elephants:

And deer,

And asked that age old question:

“Why did the peacock cross the road?”

Then they had a very fancy lunch at a restaurant in the game preserve:

   

Looks like they are really enjoying their trip!

Meanwhile, back in Sri Lanka….

I haven’t posted pictures in a few days because Greg didn’t have a good internet connection to send me any.  He’s now finished with the second job and is at a hotel near the coast with better internet.

Here’s a picture of what he’s been working on:

The parts to the grain dryers were shipped over and Greg and 3 other men from Sukups have been putting them together.

Looks like they’ve had plenty of help:

Here’s the accommodations at the last site, not quite as posh as the first one:

Talk about an efficient bathroom:

And of course, pink and blue mosquito netting.

Greg would like me to point out that HIS bed has the blue netting.

Of course, we have to have more food pictures.

Snack time!  Nice to see they have Diet Coke in case I ever go visit there.

Interesting………

This looks tasty!

Time to rest!

Greg and his coworkers will be doing some sight seeing before coming back this week, so hopefully I’ll have more pictures to share.

Patchwork

A few things I’m working on in the Sewing studio today:

Using up scraps in a scrappy couch quilt.

A mug rug for a friend.

Now back to sewing!

Just like downtown.

I was hungry for good Mexican food tonight and discovered I had all the right ingredients when I looked in the refrigerator.  I decided to make taco salad, so first I fried up some tortillas.

The first one got a little dark because I pressed it against the bottom of the pot.  The dogs still enjoyed it.

Then I topped the shell with lettuce, taco meat, cheese, sour cream, taco sauce, guacamole and olives.

Just like going downtown!

Puppy time again – 8 weeks old!

They are getting so big!  3 of them have left for new homes and 1 is staying with us; leaving 2 girls and a boy still wanting to be adopted.

Have you ever tried to get 4 puppies to cooperate for a photo shoot?  Well, I didn’t succeed.

But I tried.

Don’t you love this little face?

And this one?

Hey, let us out!  We want to play outside again!

Food and cooking in Sri Lanka

Greg sent me some really interesting pictures this time!  Of course, since cooking is a big part of my life, any pictures with food in them are appealing to me.  It’s so fun to see how another culture lives.

Greg said they mostly have fruit for lunch on the job site.  I love how nicely this is presented:

They eat in a bungalow on the job site.  Can you imagine cooking in this setup?

It reminds me of a camp kitchen, which I guess it is, in a way.  Here’s a picture of an evening meal:

Always eat with your right hand!  Greg also sent a picture of one of his coworkers picking a snack for himself:

 

Mmmmmmmm, yummy.

Hope you enjoyed today’s pictures, I’ll have more tomorrow!

This looks like fun!

Here’s how Greg gets to work in the morning:

He rides in a little 3 wheeled motorized rickshaw.

Is that cute or what?  And in my favorite color too!  I asked him to bring one home for me in his suitcase…….

Daily life in Sri Lanka

Greg sent me another email and more pictures to share with you.  Here’s what he has for breakfast at his hotel:

He says he has 2 fried eggs,  toast and 2 chicken sausages.  He has pineapple juice and tea to drink.

I think his favorite parts of the day are morning and afternoon tea!  They have cheese and crackers and juice.  Don’t you wish someone would bring you a tray like this at break time?

Greg said they have fresh fruit for lunch, and fruit is available everywhere!  I wish he could bring me a suitcase full when he comes home!

Greg got to spend a night at this house:

He said it was beautiful; lots of marble and statues.  He’s really living it up over there!

Wow!  Here’s a few pictures of the country side:

I hope you enjoyed this little “slice of life”; I’m really having fun sharing Greg’s trip with him.

The silly little puppies go outside

The puppies are now 7 weeks old and I let them go outside for the first time today.

“Is it safe?”  they ask as they peer out.

“Maybe we could just take a peek.”

“I think we better go back inside”.  says one.

“Hey, these steps are fun!” they say.

Lincoln has such a cute little brown face.

“What’s this white stuff?”

  Playing in the snow with mom and dad.

Whew!  Now the puppies are all tired out and taking a nap.  Four of them have homes already, but I have 2 girls and a boy that are looking for a place to live; let me know if you would like one.

News from Sri Lanka

I got an email from Greg today and this is what he had to say:

“What a busy day!  We got up this morning at 230AM.  Drove to the second site.  About 5 hours.  We unloaded a semi container trailer which contained the second dryer and some tools we need.  We didn't have the equipment to pull most of the pallet out, so they had to be unloaded by hand.  Busy, Busy, Busy!”

“I also had my first Sri Lankan traditional eating experience.  Some time ago I looked up customs here and I saw that they eat with their right hand.  Just the right hand!!  It was cool!   You lay a bed of rice out on your plate, they dip and dump small mounds of the various sauces and dishes one to it and mix it up with your right hand and eat it.  It was neat.   And for desert we have a fresh Papaya with sugar and lime on top.  It was awesome!  The sugar was made here and it was really large grain. “

Sounds fascinating, doesn’t it?  Looks like Greg could use some sunscreen too!