queen of sheba

(every now and then i hear that someone unexpected - a friend from church, a relative, etc - has read my blog...which i always celebrate a little bit to myself. but it is also knowing that it could happen that keeps me from venting too much here...it keeps me in check, as it were. because the one day i "let loose" will be the day that my pastor stumbles upon this blog, or my mother, and then where would i be? so if it seems a little 'pollyanna' around here, well, it's all for you, people. and thank you for it, because otherwise this could easily end up full of posts i would regret having written in the "heat of the moment". so mom, if you're reading this, welcome here!)



i had the best surprise last night!! i had arranged with my friend, jaya, that after our small group she would stay a bit late and teach me how to tie a sari. she is indian, and whenever she breaks out her traditional clothes for church, she looks so beautiful!! i wasn't sure if a white girl could pull it off, but i really wanted to try! so, she did - really, it's much more of a "fold and tuck" proposition than a "tying" one. i felt like royalty - you can't help but feel graceful and tall and beautiful, i tell you! and then, jaya told me that I COULD KEEP IT!!! I HAVE MY VERY OWN BEAUTIFUL SARI! look look! (pardon my unpardonable hair - i hate my hair - and my pink slipper socks, they don't really "go"). isn't it amazing!? this is the "im having dinner with the embassador, dah-ling" style, and then there is a way with more of it folded over the shoulder that keeps it out of the way of your arm more. hooray, jaya! thanks!