New Family Member - Puppy

Sitting on the edge of our swimming pool

We have welcomed new pet to our family on Friday.  Andrew had a name for her ages ago, she is called Vilke, which in lithuanian mean Wolf. She has arrived on 23d December from Katherine just in time for Christmas. She was a present for Andrew. Isin't she gorgeous? So loveble, cudly, soft, placid puppy. She is only 10 weeks old, just a cutest baby.

Vilke playing with cat's toy

Strange that Siberian Huskies are bred in tropics, but they do adapt well. They shed more hair and don't grow so much fur. We will see how we go with her. She loves water and so she can cool down in the pool or when we go to the beach sea-water.

Christmas Eve

     Christmas Eve for lithuanians is a very special time with the gathering of the family at the ritual meal "Kučia". All family members, even those far away come home to spend time together. It is a holy family duty to come home for Kūčios and strengthen family ties. During Kūčios lithuanians used to say goodbye to the old year and celebrate the upcoming New Year. Now Kūčios is identified with the Christian feast - the eve of the birth of Jesus.


Lithuanians also had a tradition of inviting lonely neighbours for Kūčios. We decided to invite some friends that do not have family here in Darwin and celebrate Kūčios together. Our Christmas Eve was very international: me lithuanian, Andrew australian/german, our friend Francisco brasilian and the other friend Anna korean.


Preparing mushroom dumplings



    

Dumplings ready to be boiled


  Preparations for Kūčios starts early in the morning. It is very important to clean the whole house, change bedding and clothes. I was cooking from 8am till 3pm, with a little help from Andrew. He did clean the house though. Lithuanians also used to go to the bathhouse. This also had a symbolic meaning – protection from any evil or diseases. As Darwin weather at the moment is already very humid and hot, so it feels like being in the sauna anyways. Me and Andrew went to our swimming pool to relax and clean ourselves form evil by drinking some wine :)



The mushroom filling for dumplings






Andrew is holding wax & thinking

what kind of year will be 2012



  Lithuanians still maintain the tradition of not eating meat during Kūčios. I made my dishes very similar as we make them at home, including fish kutlets, fish cakes, muchroom cakes, two different herrings, kūčiukai (small Christmas Eve cookies), vegetable salads, dumplings with mushrooms, bread. Kūčios dinner has to consist of 12 different dishes. They symbolise the 12 months of the year, and according to the Christian traditions the 12 Apostles of Jesus.  On our table we had exactly twelve dishes, my korean friend brought two dishes that fit in meatless category, they were crab cakes and zuchinni with chilli tarts. One dish we made togehter: it was mushroom dumplings. It was very fun to do it and our friends could learn how to make it. We enjoyed all food very much. Unfortunetly I couldn't leave dishes thru the night on the table as we do traditionally back in Lithuania, because it would go off. It is too hot up here. Dishes in Lithuania were left thru the night on the table in tradition for the souls to come and eat.



Would you like some wine?



Anna is ready to eat ginger bread house



Francisco is in a creative-magic mood



Kūčios has magical meaning, with different magical rituals. People predict their future, whether younger girls will get married in the next year, and if farmers will have a good harvest. So we did some magic on the night as well. We took our friends outside near the fence and they had to hug as many planks as they could. Well, Francisco had 19 planks, which is not even number and so he will stay single next year. Anna had 16 and she should find a partner next year. :) The other magical prediction we did was with the candle and water. We lit the candle and let the wax fall into the water in the same spot. Later we took out the wax from the water, we looked at the reverse side and started imagining what kind of pictures there were. It was fun. We predicted a lot for next year.

Gingerbread House

    

Our house is built from steel, but recently we were surprised, with a Gingerbread House which represents our sweet home.

 We have been happily living in our own house for two months already!

We just received a little gift from our real estate agent - gingerbread house.

It's really cute and we will eat it on Chirstmas. :) 

  

Tailandas. Atostogos

 

 

Aquamarine Resort Kamala, Phuket

Tailandas - tai sypsenu krastas. Zmones sypsosi. Mieli tailandieciai, nors galiu pasakyti, kad pries tris metus kai cia mes lankemes jie lyg ir daugiau sypsojosi. Gal ekonominiai neramumai, Bankoko patvyniai siek tiek juos nuliudino. Mes atvykome i Puketa dviem savaitem. Pirma savaite buvo skirta draugu vestuviu ruosimuisi, o sekanti, tik mano ir Andrew poilsiui. Visi vestuviu sveciai apsistojo Aquamarine Resort Kamala. Kuris yra ant kalno, tad kiekviena dienele vargom ir sportavom - kopem i kalneli, kad pasiektume savo kambarius. Ne visada sekesi gerai, nes su seniai matytais draugais susitike ir keleta baru aplanke lipimas budavo letokas: vienas zingsnis i prieki, du zingsniai atgal. Na vaizdas atsiveriantis is musu balkono buvo nuostabus, tad tikrai vertas sio vargelio. Buvo dziugu susitikti su draugais Enda is Airijos ir Simon is Sidnio apylinkes. Pries pora metu jie gyveno Darwin'e.



Pinacolada in coconut

 Dienas leidome dazniausiai papludymyje Kamala iki kurio reikejo vaziuoti su vietine transporto priemone vadinama Tuk Tuk. Tai toks mini autobuselis be langu ir duru.

 

Gera juo vaziuoti, vejas pucia, cia tropikai - karsta. Papludymiai pilni prekybininku parduodanciu suvenyrus, tropikinius drabuzius ir beabejo daug restoraneliu ir baru tiesiai ant smelio. Kiekviena diena vis eidavom i kita bariuka pietu valgyti. Visuomet uzsisakydavom "Vistienos Satay (maziukas saslykelis) su riesutu sviesto padazu". Skamba nekaip? Bet istikruju ojoj kaip skanu! Beabejo vietinio alaus "Chan", "Tiger", "Leo" ir jei budavo "Singha". Singha alus zinomiausias cia, bet del Bankoko potvyviu jo Pukete beveik nera, nieks neatveze. Del tu potvyniu daug ko truko ir vestuvem, vietiniai kainas iskarto pakele.



Andrew and Enda having a massage
 on the Kamala beach



 Papludymiai pilni yra ir moteriskiu masazisciu. Labai gera buti masazuojamai gulint ant papludymio, girdint juros bangas. Tailandietiskas masazas atkuria kuno gyvybine tekme. Nors man sis masazas labai patinka, bet jis kartais yra ir skausmingas, nes moteriskes ranku delnais, dilbiais, pedomis bei viso kuno jega salina fizinius blokus, stimuliouja biologiskai aktyvius taskus ir siekia atpalaiduoti raumenis ir kuna. Vienu zodziu, jauciasi, kad masaziste daro joga su tavimi. Kaina masazu ant papludymiu yra 300 Baht (apie $10), trunka valanda. Tai mes po sunkios atostogu dienos eidavom masazuotis, o tuomet tik krisk i lova ir saldziai miegok.



Jaunoji atkeliauja ant dramblio





Jaunieji



I Tailanda keliavome del draugu vestuviu, kurie nusprende Pukete kelti puota su artimiausiais draugais ir giminaiciais. Viskas cia daug pigiau ir kartu visi gali paatostogauti. Vestuves buvo aisku neiprastos lietuvaites akims.

Visu pirma, jaunoji devejo raudona suknele ir iki jaunojo atejo ant dramblio! Ceremonija buvo grazi ir greita. Viens du ir sutuokti. Po sveikinimu, galimejo ant drambliuko ir sveciams pasedeti ir pavaikscioti po papludimi. Po grazaus saulelydzio visi sveciai buvo isvezti i uzsakyta bara, kur vakariene, sokiai ir visos kitos linksmybes buvo visa nakti.

Pirma savaite Tailande buvo labai uzimta su draugais, na o antra musu savaite buvo romantiskesne. Andrew ir as isvykome i Phi Phi salas, kur buvome apsistoje Holiday Inn Phi Phi viesbutuke. Tai vieta rojuj! Atvykome iki salos su keltu, o paskui iki viesbucio dar reikejo plaukti su 'Longtailboat". Vanduo skaidrus skaidrus ir pilna spalvingu koralu ir zuvyciu.



Atvykome i Holiday Inn Phi Phi Resort



 Is valties islipom i si nuostabu vandenuka, pasitiko mus su gaivinanciais gerimais.



Beach Bungalow



   Musu privatus namukas (Beach bungalow) buvo uz kokiu 200metru nuo papludymio. Oras buvo labai puikus, 30 silumos, ir naktim palydavo, tai viska atgaivindavo. Norejosi visa laika praleisti ant pliazo. Daugiausiai ta ir darem: pagulim hamake, issimaudom skaidraim vandenuke, griztam i hamaka, vel neriam juron, griztam ant balto smeliuko, panardome su vamzdeliu, pasideginam, isgeriam kokteili, i jura, ant smeliuko, i jura....  sunki deinele... labai pavargdavom nuo nieko neveikimo :)




Megaujuos vandeneliu ir ateinancia audra





Maya Beach - zinomiausias papludimys, filmas "The Beach" su L.Dicaprio cia filmuotas. Mes cia nardeme

 

Beautiful beach

   Viena diena buvome isvyke nardyti netoli Phi Phi Ley salos. Andrew taip norejo pamatyti rykliuku, bet nepasiseke jam, bet uztai man, atvirksciai. As sau nardau plaukiu po desine palei tokia uola ir galvoju sau, kas ten kairej pusej? Pasuku galva ir matau, rykliukas (Blacktip shark) plaukia i mane. Na viskas taip ivyko labai greitai, ryklys greitai apsisuko ir nuplauke kazkur kitur, Andrew neziurejo i ta puse ir nepamate. Taciau mes mateme pora labai dideliu vezliu! O jie kokie faini. Taip keista, mes taip arti prie ju buvome, galime ranka paliesti, o vezlys net nekreipia demsio. Jis sau uzsiemes - bando grauzti korala!  Na buvo labai smagu juos stebeti. Tailande nardymas yra labai nuostabus. Siltas vanduo, labai skaidrus apie 30 metru galima matyti. Daug visokiausiu zuvyciu ir koralu. Dar labai patiko nardyti su vamzdeliu, irgi graziu koralu ir zuviuku galima pamatyti.

Pakeliui i Darwin'a, stai matosi musu mietelis Darwin