friends, debit cards and apples, plus one lovely statue of the buddha

Both of our credit/debit cards had to be reissued bc of the Home Depot breach back home, not that we were directly affected, but as procedure the cards are being changed out by Visa. We had our cards Fedex’ed by our helpful neighbor at home (Thank you, Tanya!) and they were scheduled for (and we paid for) a Monday evening arrival, but now it is Tuesday evening here and the tracking number is no longer showing anything useful, nor has it been updated in the last 18 hours. Cross fingers on all of that because we need to stay put until that is sorted. It's all a matter of time, really, but we are understandably anxious to have our cards in hand.

On a great note, we have made some sweet, new friends (Hi Jill! Hi John! Hi Daniel! Hi Amelia and your mom!) in McLeod the last few days. We have found some new places to eat and we're also getting good local apples for snacking. Wins!

Luke found a wonderful Buddha statue for his altar at home that he was really drawn to and from a reputable handicraft store too. They are having it blessed by monks from the nearby monastery and filled with prayers and incense before being sealed back up. We are thinking to head to Bir for a few days and then come back through McLeod to pick it up and then ship a package home of our purchases thus far, as well as our cold weather clothes as we move back down to the plains and then onward to warmer weather until we get back to Colorado. It's hard to believe we are about half through the trip.

McLeod itself has brightened up since the masses have departed after the Dalai Lama’s teachings last week. We simply arrived during an event that filled this small city above and beyond what it can manage well. Since then, the streets are cleaner, the traffic less, the nights more peaceful. Along with that, Luke and I have joked that we are having less mental traffic ourselves, less emotional trash lying about, less honking horns too. Now to get our cards delivered and activated to continue that upward swing. Cross fingers!

The photos here are of the dusted peaks that are visible from and around town; of Jill and Fe who are learning how to work her tablet together; and a pile of outgoing packages at the local post office. I love the tailored wrapping of boxes that are being shipped near and far---they are so fun to get and open on the other end.