My First Grappling Match & Halloween 2012

We had some visitors the weekend before Halloween, namely two SUPER HEROES and their parents.

Batman and Robin on our deck.

I loved the excuse to drag out the Halloween stuff.

It was too chilly to squirt each other so Kai was instructed to aim the water gun at things and plants. Here he is obediently giving this pumpkin a punishing squirt.

At first he looks dangerous but then you see the golden curls and his red toe nail polish and it lowers the level of fear a little bit.

Cyrus chose to stay inside where it was less dangerous and a bit warmer. I'm not sure if it was Super Heroes against Giganto Witch, but notice Rhino Man to the far right. He goes missing. We reveal his whereabouts at the end of this post.

The artist bent deeply over his project.

Cyrus showing his not quite finished artwork.

Saeed fixed an amazing salad with all organic fruits. Technically the cherry tomatoes were fruits but we voted them out the next time he makes this!

Gabriel competed in a grappling match, the first since high school? college? Here's his cheering squad. It looks like Shirin is married to David and Gabriel came along to take care of Cyrus. Next to them is David's friend John. 

Kai was really excited about watching his Dad. Zzzzzzzz...

This was a new experience for me. I have always cringed at wrestling due to the sweaty men grabbing each other and perceived pain, but was willing to give it a chance. It wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be and Gabriel assured me that a competitor could "tap out" if he was in too much pain. There was still a bit of sweat and grabbing but I was far enough away.

My flash couldn't reach that far so the quality of this photograph isn't wonderful, but Gabriel looked great.

The champion with his belt and banner.

Cyrus admires the belt as Super Daddy tries to catch his breath.

Cyrus like the fact that his dad won, while Kai wasn't quite sure what had happened!

After the Modaresi-Beals went back to Athens without Rhino Man I discovered who had him. Apparently Frosty had hid Rhino Man so he could employ him as his guard.

Hmmmm Rhino Man, you smell delicious.

AAAAAAAAA! Oh no! Rhino Man bends over in pain has the Big Cat takes a lick. The rest of the pictures are too gory to post, but let's just say Rhino Man was tricked into being third breakfast.

Two feet away Chappu sleeps unaware of the drama going on at the other end of the table. To hell with Rhino Man.

Leaf Bug

I came home from work and saw this "leaf" on the truck:

Actually it's a katydid. Cool.

Amy's Wedding

Here are my pics from Amy and Tuan's wedding.

Patiently waiting for the wedding to begin. Kudos to Cyrus and Kai for making it through the long service. I think keeping them quiet wore Shirin out!

Not so patiently waiting for their food. I think Shirin had taken Kai to the bathroom.

Beautiful cakes.

The couple across the table got married the next weekend.

Unfortunately I didn't get a pic of Amy's wedding dress but I loved this traditional Vietnamese outfit she wore to the reception even better.

It was similar to an Indian salwar kamees with the silky pants.

 

 Lanie looked great. In case you don't know she's the "Dumpling Girl" in Atlanta.

After the wedding but before the reception Cyrus was making a very sad face. I interviewed him about that and asked why he was unhappy. I'm not sure he knew why so he came up with a good reason: he missed Woofull, the stuffed elephant he adopted from our house (used to be Shirin's) and was now in Athens. Interestingly, it was either Lanie or Amy that gave Woofull his name back when they were little girls.

My Trip Home

Although I hate leaving Saeed and the kitties, I love going "home" to visit my mom and sister. I miss my dad being there, but wishing he were still around don't make it so. In some ways I feel like a kid again but the time I spend with my sister as an adult is better than anything. Our age difference was a big deal when I was young, but now we get to be sisters and friends.

After picking me up from the airport Ken and Martha took me past the old homestead. We don't know who lives there but that didn't stop Martha from peeking over the new fence into the backyard! And I always thought of her as the good sister. :-)

 My mother. My dear sweet old mother. Brings tears to my eyes.

She still has some figurines from the old house.

And of course the Lipizzaner statue. When I was a little girl I saw them in Chicago and then oddly enough again when they came to Rock Hill when my girls were young.

M & K used my visit as a good excuse to go to Reza's, a Persian restaurant in Oak Brook.

Yummmm, if only I ate meat.

My veggie platter was really good though.

Though Persian, the restaurant included some Arabic/Middle Eastern foods as well. From 12 clockwise: baba ghanoush, hummus, salad Shirazi, kashke bademjoon, falafel with anar (pomegranate), with baghaleh polo in the center.

With tummies full of good food we went to the musical "Xanadu".

Sometimes my flight back to RH is too early to make one last stop at my mom's. This time it worked out just fine. After giving her lots of hugs and kisses I said my goodbyes and asked her to please stay well till my next visit. These are two of my four favorite ladies in the world.

Communing With Nature, Giving Thanks

It may be November but the days have been quite lovely. We went to the Riverwalk on Thanksgiving. Everyone we passed wished us a Happy Thanksgiving. It was a delightful experience.

Saeed found a nice seat Mother Nature made amongst the roots.

Recommend clicking to enlarge.

The goldenrod is no longer golden, but beautiful still.

Thanksgiving 2012

We celebrated Thanksgiving last weekend. Lisa was in town so it was great that she and her sixteen month old daughter, Josie, joined us. Shirin said Lisa could be the stand-in for Anahita, but Tita was sorely missed. When we got ready to sit down Josie and Kai were napping so we asked Cyrus if he would mind sitting in Kai's seat so Lisa could have the adult chair.

He did mind, so Lisa cooperated by sitting in Kai's high chair. 

Shirin really wanted to make a fire pit and her father gave her permission, so here you see us sitting around her creation. Gabriel used his old Boy Scout skills to build the fire.

I turned off my flash to capture what it really looked like.

We had no hot cocoa so I warmed up some SILK nog and we had lemon cookies.

Puzzle Time! Both kids are great at puzzles. Cyrus and I worked on a Samurai puzzle while Kai and I worked on Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Apparently Kai needed an operation so Gabriel, with Cyrus as his assistant, removed several organs successfully while Kai giggled himself to death!

Love Thanksgiving.

Beware Of Moving Bags

Saeed threw this bag on the counter and a short while later it appeared to be alive!

Whoops! I should have known.

Sweet dreams Chappu-joon.

The Last Kitty (I Hope)

Yes it's been a long time since I blogged. Sorry. Will try to catch up. But first I just have to say that we finally trapped the last kitty that I know of. I've already told you about Sherbet, Callie, and Moxie's capture, as well as an unknown kitten (that looked exactly like Sherbet) and an unknown very wild black kitty. So that left...

...Sonny Boy. He looks so much like Lupe. (click to enlarge)

Sonny Boy is about four months old and surely one of Sherbet's other babies. I would watch them come to feed at the same time and once full, play and lounge in the grass in the sunshine. Two weeks ago Monday we trapped wiley 'ole Sherbet. I couldn't believe it. And hanging around near the trap was Sonny.

With Sherbet gone he acted so lost. And then it got really cold at night; one night it reached and stayed at 29 degrees. I was so worried about him but he made it. He stayed under the bushes (seen behind him in the first picture) and must have been warm enough. 

Thursday we finally got him too. As frightened as all these cats are I know they'll be better off. A trip to the vet for testing, vaccines, and neutering, and then off to "The Barn" for stray cats with food and warm places to hang out. 

I was happy to help the lady trap these guys. I was happy to feed them twice a day regardless of it being a weekend day or a day I had to go to the Ballantyne office. But I am not cut out for this work. I'm too soft. And yet going through this might have made me one millimeter tougher. I could do it again if I had to.

I miss all these kitties believe it or not. Even after they were caught I found my eyes searching their old hang outs, half expecting to see them sitting there waiting for me to come feed them. It'll probably be months before I quit looking up on the hill for Sonny.