We Did It!! Were Here!!! Mysore, India...

Against so many odds...
we have Finally Arrived in Mysore, India!!!

I honestly still can't even believe it...
but yes, the Third time Was the Charm!

The flight was 21 hours total and the sleeping was minimal, but the pilot was the Best I have ever experienced in my 6 trips to India. Completely smooth and practically Zero turbulence.
My kinda flight, no doubt!


With a 2 hour layover in Germany that Flew by...

I agree....!! (but prefer Chai!!)
Our driver Ganesh was waiting for us outside the terminal and his smile almost made me cry...

We arrived at The Green Hotel my all time most favorite place to stay upon arrival...

 

we got the Bollywood Room this time...

 

We of course had breakfast..and the waiters all came out with smiles because they love seeing us return~ they even remembered what we order every time!!
It was funny because he said to Ray "Cheese Omelet  and Banana Pancakes Sir"?

I had to laugh!!
I got my usual...

Today was Election Day here in Mysore. Things were business as usual, other that a few places that were closed. We walked over to Anu and Ganesh's home and it was SO GOOD seeing them and hugging them so tight!!!! They both look Amazing of course and so did Buggy and Bharat~~they are taking off to Europe for a 2 week trip tomorrow. A Well deserved break! But as in Anu and Ganesh fashion, they were there for Ray and I with all the help and guidance we needed and of course a nice steaming hot cup of Chai brought out by Anu!
(she knows me sooo well!!)

We them went for a walk and stopped by to see Meena, and tomorrow we are on our search for a place to rent...

 

 

 

tomorrow is another exciting and Hot day~~~and were Loving it!!

One more day

Today we left the apartment we had rented until we left for India.

Not really hard saying "so long" there...especially since it never felt the same once Bindi left.

We are onto our India adventure tomorrow at 2:45.

from SFO to Frankfurt, Germany and then onwards to Bangalore, India.

Today it was Incredibly warm for San Francisco. Everyone was talking about the heat..but for Ray and I it was just a "warm up" (pardon the pun) for the weather we face ahead in India. It has been in the high 90's.

Riding the Bart is Always an adventure and Ray and I Always make new friends!
Funny how so many people sit with their headphones in and type away on their phones...and there's Ray and I looking around like two people that have just been born...
wanting to meet people~
Crazy, but it never fails that we come into contact with some special soul..
and today was no different!

Meet Alix from Trinidad. An Artist and an Industrial Designer who rides the Bart and his Bike instead of owning a car. LOVE IT!!
He gave us some of his artwork and told us the meaning behind it. So deep and made complete sense when we really looked at it a second time.
I love hearing peoples stories and his was just so great!

Then onward we rode to the Mission, because we just couldn't leave the city without eating at one of our favorite places. Owned by the people who opened  Cafe Gratitude

Our All time Favorite Gracias Madre and of course I get the same thing every time!
SOOO Good!!!

Plus they have the coolest staff with the Greatest Haircuts!

 So Cheers to a Safe Journey and a wonderful flight~~

May we be safe. May we be protected. May we be filled with Happiness for this little journey ahead...Namaste~~~~

6 months

“How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard.”
―    A.A. Milne


Life just never, Ever ceases to amaze me.

One day you are making plans for an Amazing adventure that you had dreamed about for years, and the next day you want nothing more than to cancel those plans and erase those dreams.

"Be careful what you wish for, you just might get it"

Yes.
I have been wishing for this trip/life in India for 8 years.
I could see it in my minds eye...I could feel it all. I was SOOO excited when I knew it was happening.
But then the email came..
the email that changed Everything.

Hello Tracy,

Kindly find attached the new Circular from Government of India. As per the new circular, I am sorry to inform you that we can’t clear the pet at Indian customs currently. we have applied a request to the Indian Customs in this regard.

We request you not to bring in your pet at this stage. We shall keep you updated soon.

Thanks & Regards

Aboobacker | Manager - Operations (Imports & Pet Relocations)

 

 

I thought I was going to pass out.

I could not even Breathe

 

But it was the cold hard fact. This new rule that India implemented out of nowhere, for no reason.

 

You must have lived in India consecutively for TWO YEARS in order to bring a pet into the country of India.

 

 

I had to accept the fact that Bindi was NOT coming with us after all and that is when Everything about India changed for me. I didn't want to go. I only wanted my precious Bindi with us, Here.

I went into panic mode.

Then I went to Facebook and posted my plea for help.

We were leaving in a week, and Bindi couldn't come with and I needed HELP.

 

Two of my Dearest friends stepped up and offered to take her.

I consider those two women Angels in Disguise as I do believe that Angels walk the earth unbeknownst to us.

 

Katherine "Kat", whom I have already told you about in an earlier blog post. My soul friend whom I met maybe a month ago on Instagram. Well, we thought we met because we were supposed to work together on the Malas for Operation Shanti. Yes, we were. But there was a MUCH BIGGER reason behind our meeting as we were soon to discover.

 

Kat and her adorable husband Jeffrey decided that they were going to take care of Bindi for us.

Kat flew up to the Bay area and picked Bindi up and took her home on the airplane to her home in Southern California where Bindi is currently residing until we return in late November to scoop her up and bring her home.

Bindi has been the "only child" now for years and Kat and her husband have a wonderful dog family of 5 along with 2 cats and Bindi has learned to (is learning) to adjust and be a good girl with her new family while were away.

 

I can't even begin to express the amount of Gratitude and Love that I have for Kat and Jeffrey...they  ARE not of this earth. They are extremely special souls that came into my life Just when I needed them and they both know that I would do ANYTHING for them.

ANYTHING.

 

They are loving Bindi just like we do and did and they will continue to love her until I come back..and then I Know they will love her after she is gone.

You just don't meet people like this everyday.

You. Just. Don't.

 

But Thank God I did and Bindi is with them.

I will go to India with Bindi in my Heart and then I will come back and hold her so tight she will feel like I never left her side.

 

 

New Friends, a New Book and an Artist!

How often do you meet Incredible "Soul Friends" outside of a post office on a random weekday afternoon?
Not That often I am guessing...but guess what? I DID!

Yes I did!!

Meet two of my New Best Friends! Katie and Andrew aka KT and Drew!
It was pure randomness to the max, but we kind of started talking about Bindi and then one thing led to another and then Drew's Mother came out of the post office next

Meet Kate~Drew's Mom and KT's mom in law!
She is an Incredible jeweler and she has her work on Etsy and she is actually having a sale right now!!

So back to KT and Drew for a moment...
KT's mom just finished a Book called "Earth is your Sweet Spot"  and yesterday KT, Drew and Kate met R and I for coffee and brought me copies of it! It is Beautiful as you can see..

I can hardly wait to dive into this tonight!
"Earth and I are one.
She speaks to Me.
I speak for her."
It is a woman's "comfort" book and talks of aligning yourself with the Earth's pulse. Being kind and loving to Mother Earth and in return receiving sustenance from the Earth.
It is so beautifully written and in reading it brings you closer the the Miracle of Life~

Kate (Drew's Mom) as I mentioned is a jeweler of the most unique pieces. All hand crafted and designed by her in her workshop~
She had on this adorable bracelet yesterday and I fell in love with it at first sight~

As KT and Drew and I were chatting I found out that this adorable power house of a couple are also screen writers and in fact met at a bus stop in LA.
The moment they started talking to one another (unbenknowst to either of them at the time) They BOTH said that they each felt an Incredible sense of peace inside and in fact both got on the bus and completely forgot where they were going and rode around for hours just talking! (I know...its the greatest love story I had ever heard and in fact had to excuse myself from the table because I started to cry)
These two are MAGIC together.
That's the only way I can describe them...
Pure Magic.

KT was telling me that when she was a young girl her family moved to Paris where they lived for some time and KT learned to speak fluent French. I LOVE the french language and find it one of the most beautiful sounding languages in the world. I asked her to say "We're going to the Louvre today" in French and she did and it had to be the most adorable thing I have seen or heard in forever! Just the way she speaks and her mouth was so cute! I am telling you, this girl is a gem..and Drew Knows it!!!

So back to the screen writers part of the story...The name of the show is "Pike and Bird"
It is a comedy TV show that Andrew and KT wrote. They just finished filming the pilot episode in March and KT plays a small role (a character named Noga).
and as KT told me, it is filmed in LA and the cast is UNREAL!! I saw the pictures of the leading actors and I promise this is going to be Quite a show!! They are unsure of the release date, but I promise to let you know the moment I find out!

It takes place in a fast food restaurant and KT told me that Drew is so funny that for the first year they were married she wrote down Every funny thing that Drew said and they used most of that in the show.

Here is a link for a look at the cast and more info!! http://pikeandbird.tumblr.com/



We ended up spending almost 3 hours together and we felt so sad that we hadn't met sooner because we just absolutely loved one another and the energy was electric!

You never know though...they said they would Love to come to India one day for a visit!!!! I really hope they do~~
Oh..and while we were deep in conversation this animal like woman strolled past us!!

It was Earth Day after all!

I have decided to give a copy of "Earth is your sweet spot" to one Lucky reader!
All you have to do to enter the drawing is

1) Leave a comment on my blog telling me your favorite way to Connect with the Earth.

2)LIKE the "Earth is your sweet spot" Facebook Page.
link is here


Random winner will be chosen on Monday, April 22nd!
Make sure to check back on Monday, April 22nd as I will announce the winner and will need your mailing address in order to send you your free copy!!





 

My Awesome Dentist!!

Today was my last 6 month dental cleaning at my dentists office.

Luckily my teeth are all still wonderfully in tact and I came through with flying colors!!

My dentist is Kevin T. Jeffers and can I just say that not only is he easy on the eyes, but his work and his staff are the Most Incredible team that I had ever had the pleasure of opening my mouth for!

They are Always SO friendly and kind and as I will furthur explain...Very Generous~

I had called a month or so ago and talked with the office manager, telling her that we were moving to Mysore, India and that there were a couple of charities that I wanted to help when I arrived. I asked her if I could possibly buy some toothbrushes for the kids there..
and her response was that they would be More than happy to donate some toothbrushes!

So today was the BIG Day!!
I now have a case of Reach toothbrushes for the children at Ashadayaka and Operation Shanti in Mysore and I cannot Wait to see the smiles when they get them!

 

 

Dr. Jeffers grew up in Santa Rosa and feels strongly that he should give back to the community.

Dr. Jeffers is a member of the Flying Doctors. I had the opportunity to travel to Quatzaltenengo, Guatemala, with the Flying Doctors in August. It was an incredible experience as a dentist. As a human being it was life-changing. A total of 4 dentists treated 250 patients in 5 days. Our patients, many of whom had never seen a dentist, were in critical need of dental care. Educating the people about dental health was the key, and they were incredibly grateful for our help. It was the most humbling and eye-opening experience I have ever had. 

I LOVE, LOVE to support and patronize Doctors, Businesses, People who Give Back! It makes my heart swell when I see people who have so much to offer going out and giving back. It brings me to tears...I just can't say enough about people like Dr. Jeffers.

 

Thank You again Dr. Jeffers and staff!!! I will be sure to post photos of the children when we give the toothbrushes to them!