Auroville - an intriguing place near Pondicherry

On our visit to Pondicherry we went to a town called Auroville. This community began in 1968 by people inspired by the teachings of Sri Aurobindo. The city is home to about 2000 people from about 45 nations. One of the big focuses of this town is making the world a greener place. Citizens are busy creating many interesting inventions that can conserve our natural resources and recycle items that we already have. Although we were only allowed to see the areas of the town that visitors are allowed into, we enjoyed our visit and left wanting to learn a bit more about the community.

In addition to conservation projects, memebers of the community make beautiful artwork! Clothing, handmade paper jewelery, musical insturments, and many other items are made by the community. The jewelery below caught my eye. It is made from recycled newspaper. After the tsunami hit Pondicherry, this project was started to help women of the town begin a new life.

Another amazing sight that we encountered on our visit was a banyon tree. This tree was so amazing that it deserves a blog post of its own. I will share the details later.


Here are photos of the Wellpaper Jewelery that I purchased:

A closeup of the necklace I bought

More of the necklace

Braided hoop earrings

The entire set!

This is a video about the ladies who create these items and a bit about how they are produced.

Infosys Tour - Bangalore, India

Below are links to a few photos and videos that I took on our tour of Infosys, Bangalore. It was very interesting to learn about the company.

Here is a link to the photos I took on the tour.


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October Wedding

As a designer, many fun projects have a way of finding me. Last month was no exception. While sitting at my booth at the Michigan Llamafest I encountered a nice lady who was going from booth to booth matching color swatches to yarn. A short conversation revealed she was planning her daughter's wedding, which was to be held outside, in Michigan, in October. She wanted to have shawls made for the bride and the 3 bridesmaids. Knowing that I could probably get the project done within her timeframe, I volunteered my services.

As luck would have it, I had two yarns in my studio that matched her color scheme perfectly! I had had one of the yarns around for a couple of years because I was not sure what to do with it. I am learning that eventually every yarn will find its perfect project. For my red skeins, this was it. They had found their special purpose!

One month later, I am finished with the shawls. Below are a few photos of the results!

A photo of all 4 shawls (sort of difficult to see because they kind of match my dining room)

Close-up of the bridesmaids shawls (I have learned that a paint chip is an excellent tool for matching colors)

The bride's shawl - alpaca and silk that I brought back from my India trip. It is very, very soft!

The loom being threaded for the bride's shawl

In the beginning, all shawls start out looking like this!

Michigan International Alpacafest

This weekend Oak Grove Alpacas will be attending the Michigan International Alpacafest in Flint, Michigan. We will be showing OGA Marie, OGA Peruvian Aquinas and OGA Peruvian Dash. Our daughter, Annelise, will take our beloved Cee Cee into the performance class for the first time. They are sure to win a blue ribbon!

Please visit us at the show! For details go to http://www.alpacafest.org/.

Stew for a Chilly Summer day

Today it is in the 60's in Michigan. Someone mentioned that it was a good day to make chilli, which got me to thinking about what kind of stew or chilli I could concoct. All week long my nice friends have been bringing me veggies from their gardens so I decided to come up with a recipe using the items I had in the house. This recipe was based on a vegetarian squash stew but I customized it to work with the veggies I had on hand. Give it a try!

Turkey Squash Stew
By: Michelle Waling

PREP TIME 30 Min
COOK TIME: 1 Hr 30 Min
READY IN 2 Hrs
SERVINGS 4

INGREDIENTS
1 pound ground turkey
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large white onion, diced
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons chili powder
4 cloves crushed garlic
1 tablespoon cumin seeds, toasted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
4 large tomatoes - peeled, seeded, and coarsely chopped
1 medium summer squash, peeled and diced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 cup chickpeas, cooked or canned
1 cup water
salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS
In a large heavy-bottomed pot, heat olive oil and saute the onion for a few minutes. Add turkey and sauté until cooked. Add the cinnamon and chili powder and continue to saute for another 2 minutes. Mix in the garlic and cumin seeds, saute for 2 minutes more before adding lemon juice and the tomatoes. Mix thoroughly so the stew doesn't get too chunky.
Stir the squash, chickpeas and water into the stew. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Let the stew simmer for 1 hour, or until squash is tender. Stirring occasionally throughout the cooking hour, and add more water if necessary. The finished stew should have a nice, thick stewy texture.

August at the Ranch

OGA Luxor

Now that August is at an end it is time to get ready for the fall alpaca season. I am busy making a few shawls and jackets. I am also spinning alpaca yarn for a custom order. The resulting sweater should be very pretty. I have so much to do and so little time!

Meanwhile the alpacas, chickens cats and dogs are all enjoying the nice Michigan summer weather.

Strato's Special D'Vincent

Getting out of the heat for a bit!

Roosters Showing Off

And finally the spoiled dogs are hangin out in the house:

Facebook Your Photos - Axel & Mac

Enjoy the last days of summer - it will be winter again before we know it!

Facebook | Your Photos - Taj Mahal, Agra, India

None Of the photos that I took do the Taj Mahal justice. It must be seen in person to fully appreciate it.

Michael, Annelise & I. The temp was well over 100 degrees during our visit.

Mom, Dad & Annelise

To see the rest of our pictures visit my facebook album:

Facebook Your Photos - Taj Mahal, Agra, India