Hello from India. The weather here has been so nice, just perfect temperatures both day and night. Days have been running around 27-30 C, high 70's to mid 80's for the farenheight crowd. It cools down to around 10-15 C (50 to 59 F) at night. I haven't run air for over a month and I have no heat so a light blanket has been just great. I guess I might break down and buy at least one space heater for the apartment in case it gets really cold one night in December or January. So far, no need at all. A little hazy but just perfect temps. If you want to visit Delhi during the good times of year, I would suggest late October through mid December in the fall and they tell me that Feb and March are also just wonderful. Then, by late April it is getting very hot again. January can be cold.
The reason I called this blog mosquito alley is that during the late summer we were under attack but then the cool weather kind of ran them off. Now, with the very mild temps, they have sort of been making a comeback and since these are the dengue fever bad guys, I don't entertain them lightly. Karen thinks I am getting too crazy about this but you know when one of those little critters has been buzzing your ear at night for a few minutes, sometimes longer, it brings an amazing amount of satisfaction to swing the raquet a little bit and hit something. The other night I had three buzzers and I immediately turned on the raquet and got two. The third one was elusive and prowled most of the night over my body, which was under the covers. Finally, about 4 in the morning he went right past my ear and I took the raquet and just held it up above my head in the dark, with my eyes open. All of a sudden there was this loud pop and a sudden little firework display for just a microsecond as the mosquito became a temporary light source. I slept so well after that. No more threat of bad stuff making me go to the hospital. Oh, and the fighter pilots used to call parts of Vietnam "Mig Alley" and the aces had shot down 5 of the enemy planes. I am now officially an ace, having shot down at least 8 of these guys now over a period of a week. For awhile I thought I had wasted my money on this raquet but now I am feeling like it was one of the best buys I have made here - ha!
Today is Karen's and my One Year Anniversary. We got married in Las Vegas last year on a day that one of our Presidents said was a day that would live in infamy, December 7th. Karen wittingly said that we should reset our anniversary date since I have been out of the country for the last 5 months. Thank goodness for Skype and international phones so that we can maintain our relationship across continents and miles. Love you Karen!!
Went to church in Delhi on Saturday and ended up playing the piano for service since the youth were gone camping and one of them is the regular pianist. They were very nice about the help, although since I have no keyboard of any kind to practice on, it challenged me, plus knowing all the songs they use to keep the service flowing, etc, was keeping me hopping.
I signed up to sing in the Sunday church's Christmas Chorale so will be going to my first practice on Tuesday night. I need a few things like this to keep me focused during the Holidays since Karen and I won't be together until late January. She found her old passport so that is going to make getting her new one a lot easier and is one of the first things that has gone our way for her to come over here so we are happy about that. And, for those of you who are wondering, it was in the bottom of an old purse, in the bottom of an old suitcase, out in our storage area and she hadn't laid hands on it for years, so it was a very lucky find.
Pittsburgh had it's first snow of the season over the weekend and I understand from friends in Tennessee that it was snowing down there, too. Hard for me to imagine with the mild temps that we have going on here.
I found out that our company is officially promising the Citation that I fly will be back airborne by the 20th of Dec. Since I haven't flown since the 3rd of November, that will be over 6 weeks of paid time with nothing I can do except keep the charts and Flight Management System database updated and current. My friend Dhaka says I am the luckiest guy he has ever met because he is out with his surgery and I am out because he is out. Since this is a Hindu country, I imagine that my flying will get quite busy once we get flying again and the Christmas Holiday will mean nothing to them. There are lots of Christians here and the churches do put on a display. I have seen Christmas stores and decorations in spots but their holiday (Diwalli) was in mid October and it will be interesting to see if there is any recognition of Christmas here, officially.
Next weekend is when I am going to ride a train North of Delhi for a few hours and visit a National park here in India that is famous for Tiger sightings. I don't think we are guaranteed a tiger sighting but they say to bring your camera as good things happen. I am really excited about this opportunity to see these beautiful cats in their natural habitat. With a little luck I may have some really nice pictures and I am going to make sure I have my telephoto lense with me, too.
My group of Delhi Dan letter readers continues to grow. When I first came over, there were about 75 people that I was writing to and for. Now, through family and friends who have requested to be put on the list, I am over 90, pushing towards 100.
Thanks to everyone who reads and encourages and responds occasionally, it means a lot to have your support.
Advice for this blog - The last house you are going to live in might be the one you are building now, so build it carefully and to last.
Take care,
Dan
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