So Long 2012!!!

Attending Mauritian Ceremonies

Thanksgiving 2012

Silly times

Relaxing moments

Observing religious ceremonies

Heather in Mauritius

2012 has been a tremendous year and here are just some of the pictures from the year just ending.  Take a look at our blog entries from the year to see what kind of year it was! And we wish you and yours a very happy 2013!

Reunion Island

South Africa Safari

Night flight to Praslin, Seychelles

Ziplining with Damon

Jena and Damon at Eureka Waterfalls

Chase and Heather at White House

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Training Programs

Fiscal Cliff Can Wait - - - Go 'Skins!

Washington is abuzz with the highly hyped fight over the future . . .  a fight that will impact the entire country, if not the world.  Lose the fight, and catastrophe looms, our destiny wretched.  Win the fight, and the future is brilliant for the new year and beyond.  Fiscal cliff negotiations?  Debt ceiling increase?  No way.  We're talking about tonight's Division Championship game between the 'Skins and the 'Boys . . . Washington v. Dallas at FedEx Field in Washington.  The hands-down Rookie of the Year Robert Griffin III (RGIII) will lead the 'Skins against the hated Dallas Cowboys.

We, here on the other side of the planet, will be waking up at 0500 am to catch every moment of the game on Armed Forces TV Network.  We've even got a sleep over planned with all the Washington fans we could find in Mauritius (okay, both of us). We'll be enjoying pork sausages, bacon, and other "Pigskin" products . . . go Washington Pigskins!!  Oh, and I may be a few minutes late getting to work on the last day of the year . . . so, like most Washington fans,  I can't fix the fiscal cliff problem until the game's over!

UPDATE:  Washington 28- Dallas 18!  Washington wins the NFC East Division, and moves on to play Seattle next Sunday!!!  Go 'Skins!!!

Ile Aux Aigrettes Conservation Island

Pink Pigeon was down to 9 worldwide, now up to 400

Paille en Queue is a Mauritius airline symbol
and a beautiful, graceful bird

Mauritius is doing what it can to conserve and protect its flora and fauna, especially endangered ones.  The conservation island Ile aux Aigrettes is a fine example of the work they are doing.  We took a boat trip to the island on Saturday to tour the area and get a look at the species they are protecting.  It was a very interesting time, and well done, as the Mauritius Wildlife Federation is bringing back from near extinction giant tortoises, pink pigeons, ebony trees, and many endemic Mauritian plants and animals.  As impressed as we were, we realize more needs to be done by the world community to save these unique species.  

Taking the boat on a sunny December day

Rock a bye baby tortoises

Two years old, they could grow to be 200 years old!

A chameleon skink, posing for photos

Giant Gecko Eggs

Colorful lizard

Water really is that color---beautiful views!

Embassy friends David, Leah, Shelly & Kendra

90 year old male, Big Daddy tortoise

Great day for sailing traditional boats

End of Year Party

Another beautiful Mauritius sunset to start the evening!

Our colleagues at work organized a wonderful party to celebrate the end of the year . . . at a nice resort hotel on the beach, there were cocktails, conversation, a great buffet dinner, beautiful (red white and blue) decorations, dancing, and fireworks.  Throw in a beautiful sunset, a walk on the beach, and lots of laughter . . . a perfect recipe for celebrating 2012 and looking forward to the new year.  

Each table had USA colors

Mauritian and American colleagues

Perfect weather, great sunset, and good workplace friends

Shelly and admirers

Dancing into the night

Go Lobos!!!

Okay, it's not Mauritius, but it is close to our hearts, and we can't help being proud Lobos!  Woof Woof Woof, everyone's a Lobo!!!!

Lobos Knock Off Cincinnati

By Associated Press on Dec. 27, 2012

CINCINNATI — Sean Kilpatrick had two options: Take the quick shot if it’s there, drive to the basket if it’s not. He caught the pass and thought he had just enough room to get the shot off.
He never saw Alex Kirk’s hand coming.
Kirk scored 15 points and blocked Kilpatrick’s shot just before the buzzer Thursday night, preserving New Mexico’s 55-54 win that handed No. 8 Cincinnati its first loss.
New Mexico (13-1) rallied in the second half behind its 7-foot center, who hit a 3-pointer, got a team-high seven rebounds and slapped away Kilpatrick’s jumper in the final seconds. Kilpatrick passed it in from the baseline to center Cheikh Mbodj with 4.5 seconds left, then got the ball right back with the two options.
“I thought I had him,” Kilpatrick said. “I could have drove, but I didn’t.”
Kirk figured that Cincinnati’s top scorer was going to let it fly and managed to get there just as the ball left his hands.
“I knew if I went out, it would be pretty difficult for him to get a shot over me and Tony Snell,” Kirk said. “I went out with my hands up and he was forced to take a tough shot. Luckily, I got my hand on it.”
That’s how Cincinnati’s perfect record went away.
Cincinnati (12-1) moved up to No. 8 this week — its highest ranking in nine years — and was trying to go 13-0 for only sixth time in school history. The Bearcats couldn’t salvage a tight game against a team known for knocking off top teams.
The Lobos have won six of their last seven games against ranked teams, leaving them 14-6 against the Top 25 during coach Steve Alford’s six seasons. They beat Connecticut earlier this season.
Cincinnati’s loss left Duke, Michigan, Arizona and Wyoming as the only unbeaten teams in Division I.
The Bearcats missed 21 shots inside the paint and shot 31.3 percent from the field. Kilpatrick had a team-high 15 points, but was only 5 of 22 from the field.
“Things have been too easy for us,” Bearcats coach Mick Cronin said. “We were going to get taught a lesson sooner or later. It manifests itself in many ways. Our inside finishing is beyond soft. You hold a team to 55 points, you should be able to win the game.”
Kirk scored nine points in the second half and led a surge that gave the Lobos their first lead. Then, he saved it with his third block of the game.
The Lobos were coming off a 70-65 home loss to South Dakota State that ended their four-week stay in the Top 25. Alford liked how they responded.
“To come in here and hold them to 54 points, that’s pretty pleasing for a basketball coach,” Alford said. “Our kids are tough and play hard and fight. We’re sitting here 13-1 and it’s not because we’re lighting things up. We came on the road and shot 38 percent and won.
“So it’s been our defense, it’s been our fight, and I think we had it tonight. If you play Cincinnati, you’d better come with that.”
New Mexico has gotten off to its strong start by drawing fouls and making free throws. The Lobos get 29.6 percent of their points from the line — most in the nation — and average 21.5 points per game on free throws. They have made more free throws (281) than their opponents have attempted (211).
They made only 6 of 11 against the Bearcats, but it was enough to pull out a game that was close throughout. Neither team led by more than six points. There were six ties and seven lead changes.
Cincinnati led 26-22 after a ragged first half. The Bearcats struggled to hit shots at the outset, a problem in their recent games. They made only four of their first 15 shots, all from behind the arc — two apiece by Kilpatrick and Cashmere Wright.
The Bearcats missed 11 consecutive shots and went nearly 6 minutes without scoring in the first half, but never trailed because their defense was so good again. They hold opponents to 34.6 percent from the field — second in Division I — and are sixth with 7.4 blocked shots per game.
Cincinnati’s three-guard offense took a hit when Wright picked up his third foul at the 18:23 mark of the second half.
Kirk had a three-point play off a rebound, made one of two free throws, then made a layup for a 34-32 lead, New Mexico’s first of the game. Kirk later hit a 3-pointer — his fourth of the season — and another 3 by Williams made it 43-37 midway through the half, turning it into a back-and-forth game.

Sunset Moonset

  

Same horizon, 10 hours apart . . . a beautiful setting sun, followed by an equally stunning setting moon.  And to think this is in our back yard!  We are blessed!  As we head into the end of one year and the beginning of another, our thoughts and prayers are with you family and friends who continue to delight and amaze us.  Thanks for staying in touch with us, and allowing us to be a part of your lives . . . despite the distances and the years.  

May the New Year bring to you and yours many sunrises and moonrises along with the setting ones . . . 

S

Flamboyant Trees Bloom for Holidays

In Mauritian Creole, they are called the "Bokay Ban Anney" (Happy New Year bouquet). . . the trees that blossom brilliant red flowers November to January all over Mauritius.  More commonly called Flamboyant Trees, they provide gorgeous canopies against a bright blue sky in the middle of summer.  Shelly and I snapped some photos of several in our neighborhood while the trees are at their peak blossom time on Christmas Eve day . . .  enjoy them, and know we are wishing you a brilliant and beautiful Bonne Annee 2013!

Santa's Blue Christmas

Santa's had a tough ride, and it's time for some R&R.  After going down like 6 billion chimneys and having cookies and eggnog at most of them, he deserves a rest.  Some think he returns to the North Pole, but we know he likes to relax in Mauritius.  So do we.  We'll be poolside with the reindeer and the big guy all Christmas Day.  Hope you are keeping warm someplace special today, and that your Christmas is white . . . or blue . . . and merry . . . and bright!

Love from our house to yours,
Shelly and David

Heather & Chase: White House Christmas

East Room: Who are the women to Chase's right?
 Answer:  Heather Campbell & Abigail Adams  

Heather and her boyfriend Chase toured the White House and saw the amazing Christmas decorations a couple weeks ago.  It was a special day, and these pictures can't begin to show how lovely are the decorations!  We are proud of Chase, who serves on the White House staff in a non-decorative role.  Merry Christmas one and all!

White House gingerbread house shows the WH
vegetable garden in foreground

GW:  I cannot tell a lie.  It's not a cherry tree.