Reflections On A Nice Weekend

Sorry, no pictures. We just hung out together. Shirin studied, Gabriel alternated between keeping his wife company and working on the computer, Saeed worked on his computer, there were periodic gatherings and bets made in front of the NFL games, and I was mostly in the kitchen. It was really nice being together. We sure did miss Tita and Prathap though.

Nice Day

Although this will be posted on Sunday it is actually being written very late Saturday night. There are just a couple of pictures from today. After a nice lunch at Saigon Bankok, the new Vietnamese/Thai restaurant in town, we went shopping and then came home to watch football. Shirin, of course, also had to study during the game and does so on the lap top. Georgia Tech beat Clemson and USC beat Washington. I lost another dollar to Saeed on the USC game. :-(

Cardboard Decor

If you see pictures of our house you must wonder what the heck all those vacum cleaner boxes are doing in our livingroom, kitchen, and diningroom. They serve as very important tunnels for both play and protection. Sometimes Tippy is chased by Calvin or Frosty and she can zip safely into a box. Calvin and Frosty being slightly husky (I'm being nice) probably can't squeeze into the opening, but even if they can they seem to understand that the boxes are safe zones. More often, though, these boxes are an important part of the game. You never know what you may find inside!

Chat 'n Chai

Sunday the Yousefians came over and we had a lovely visit. The pictures are in no particular order. Of course when Persians are involved so are tea and sweets.

Saeed and Mehrdad catch up.

Lua's never far away!

Lua and her pretty mommy, Marzieh.

What does the duck say?

Lua asks her Dad for the car keys so she can go get her bag of toys.

One of Lua's silly faces (trying to look mad.)

When Lua wasn't running after Frosty (he eventually had to hide)
she made due with her duck.

Lua kicks back...

...getting tired. Time to go home.

Lonely Leaf

Usually the autumn colors in this part of the country are stunning. This year we've had a drought and the colors will probably be dismal. I found this brave leaf yesterday trying to lead the way, hoping its mates will follow. I'm hoping it's just early, that more brilliant colors will follow, but I won't hold my breath.

A Dream Is A Wish Your Heart Makes

Every time we drive by a newly cleared plot of land I say to anyone who will listen, "Boy I hope that's going to be an Indian restaurant." Believe it or not my dream has come true. It's in an old building but it's right down the street from where I work. I hope the food is good quality but even if it's not it's better than nothing. Plus as my earlier post talks about being an environmentally wise consumer, it's a crime to drive all the way to Pineville or Charlotte just to eat Indian food.

The owner said the kitchen is ready but they're waiting for the furniture to arrive. I assurred him I wouldn't mind eating on a sofreh (tablecloth on the floor) Persian style.

It looks like there may be an outdoor eating area where they've built that small deck... maybe a table or two? It's not much to look at but it's HERE! Stay tuned for updates.

It Ain't Easy Being Green (play the game)

EVERYONE'S talking about the environment (finally :-)) and global warming. What took so long? I remember putting up "save the environment" posters as a child, so this problem is not new but it's very popular... for now. My fear is that it will become boring again and something else will take its place. Shirin and Gabriel went for about four (?) months without buying anything new to try to reduce consumerism by joining "The Compact" which is one of the ways to help the environment. The bottom line is that in our country/culture it's really hard to stick with the more environmentally sound choices.

To see where you fall in the scheme of things play the game:

You can play the game by answering the questions and find out how Eco Friendly you are. I always think of our family as environmentally conscious, and we are, but we are still so bad. The first time through, my score said that if everyone on this earth lived my lifestyle it would take 5.8 earths to sustain us. AAAAARGH! The second time through I was able to lessen my score (to only 3.5 earths) by clicking on my willingness to vote for legislation that would improve this country's environmental policies. So that prompted me to go to some of the other links to see what I could do to improve our "ecological footprint." Here are just a few:
Ecological Footprint Quiz
New American Dream
Reducing Your Footprint

Yesterday Saeed and I went out to eat (which I now know as a result of the above game is not the preferred environmental choice) with our new friends Matt and Amy. Both are vegetarian and Amy is looking into starting a local farm. She believes strongly in the "buy locally" mantra and I think this will fit right in with our desire to live a more environmentally friendly lifestyle.

As time goes on I hope to continue to become more GREEN. Kermit was right, it ain't easy being green.

Kitty TV

My sister once gave me a VHS tape titled "Kitty TV" which consists of a variety of small animals moving around and squeaking/chirping to entice the feline senses. Over the years I periodically play it and sit back and enjoy the show... not the video tape but the show our kitties put on for us. Today it was Chappu and Frosty primarily. There is a definite pecking order as you shall see.

Ready for the show to begin and waiting for the popcorn.

Show's on.

Chappu actually meowing back at the TV.

I see birdies.

That one on the right looks tasty.

Notice that Calvin and Tippy are facing the TV and generally looking at the tape but keeping a very safe distance from Frosty.

Oooh.. now it's mousies.

At some point Frosty gets more interested in a real animal.

Four ears pointing backwards... not good.

This is just too much for Chappu who leaves.

Once Chappu and Frosty leave it's safe for Tippy to come investigate and she peaks into the hole to be sure Frosty's not in there.

Front row seats are much better than under the coffee table.

Even Calvin feels safe enough to come to the edge of the table and stare at a gerbil or two.

I think Netflix needs to start carrying a selection of these shows. They could have titles like, "Gerbils on a Plane" or "The Mouse Supremacy" or "Birdies of the Caribbean" or "Twelve Angry Fishies."

How Pakistani Are You?

How do I even start this post. Well, I found this fun (crazy) quiz with the title "How Pakistani Are You" and just had to take it. (I'm 34% Pakistani by the way.) It's fairly obvious what the most Pakistani answers are so if you wanted to, you could figure out how to make your results more Pakistani (when I did that I was 92% Pakistani!) than you really are. Why would you want to do this? Heck if I know.

Anyway, recently I saw this You Tube video of Kashif Memon on a talent search show (the one with David Hasselhoff on the panel.) What a funny cute guy. I've included all you need for this trip: the link to his dancing, the link to the original Bollywood dance he was copying, and the link to the quiz. Shabash and good luck!

Kashif Memon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-uLMjZISEA

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vriGoVd3r94

It's Lupe's Fault

Do you see anything wrong with these shoes? If not, look at the next picture...

How about now?

Yes, these are my feet at work yesterday. If I were worried about senility I wouldn't be posting these pictures on my blog, BUT I'M NOT, so I have.

When I get ready for work in the morning I'm often trying to be quiet and don't turn on lights because Saeed is still sleeping. When I put my shoes on I'm in my dark closet and it's actually a miracle that this is the first time I've worn mismatched sneakers. But I can't blame Saeed this time. Yesterday Lupe was playing with the shoestrings of my left shoe's mate. Somehow in my mind (since I wouldn't dare want to interrupt her game with my shoe) I let her keep that shoe and grabbed a different one. Only problem is I didn't grab it's mate and take the first shoe off.

And Saeed... no nasty comments on my blog or I'll put the comment moderator back on!

Shoe Thief

Festival of India

It couldn't have been a prettier day; the weather was warm and breezy. The smells were intoxicating, from food being cooked and sold by about 10 different vendors, from incense, from ladies' perfumes, and from the smell of still wet henna. The sounds were exhilerating, from the music of CD vendors, from the myriad of languages and accents, from the squeals of happy children and their parents trying to keep them in line, and from the dance music. The colors were riotous from all the saris, salwar kameezes, kurtas, lengha cholis, tunics, bangles, bindis, earring, anklets, and tikkas. Was it sensory overload? No, it was perfect.

The little girl on the right was happy to be photographed, but the one on the left couldn't make up her mind! She's looking at her mom for reassurance.

This table was loaded with skirts and kurtis (Indian shirts) for shoppers to sift through.

See the little girl in the white shirt? She would walk on the shirts on the table to give shoppers out-of-reach items. Her dad just about had a heart attack when she proceeded to eat her plate of food above all those kurtis!

I enjoyed watching these two ladies who managed to balance plates of food and children and not miss a beat in their lively conversation.

It struck me how much Indians love their children. I'm sure all parents love their children but there's something noticably different about it. This father was hand feeding his son.

Holding still for just a couple of seconds.

Lots of jewelry vendors.

I met Priya (Dr. Bajaj) there with her daughter Aashna. Priya's son, Nikhil, was home sick. Since it was very crowded she decided that it was probably easier that the energetic toddler stayed home! Her husband, Mohan, was in Chicago on business.

After we ate masala dosas, idli, mango lassi, rasam and coconut chutney for lunch it was time for Priya and Aashna to get the nice ladies to do their henna. Actually the Indians call henna "mehndi" but the Middle East typically calls it henna.

Aashna is holding still fairly well, but the henna artist holds on tight just in case!

Almost done.

Oops, did I get that henna on the chair?

We met up with Melvette and Lou who also got henna.

Pretty!

Next stop was some arts and crafts in the children's corner. Looks like mommy's doing most of the work! After this Priya took Aashna home, which left me time to cruise the exhibits.

Each table represented a different state within India.

Rajasthan

Gujarat

A table detailing the many spices in Indian kitchens.

One room had lots of Indian art.

Then I went in the auditorium to watch the two hour long dancing show. The pictures were very dark and from far away, but I was able to improve them a bit on the computer.

After the show I looked out the window to see people still eating, or maybe eating again!

A mother and child looking weary.

One of the dancers (blue) with her mother. I really just wanted to go around taking pictures of everyone's beautiful fabrics.

And finally, the pretend Indian, doing her own little dance.