Imagine What Could Be

I don't remember where I first saw this picture so I can't give credit to its creator, but I thought it interesting enough at the time to save it.

It probably says different things to different people. The woman may be imagining what she'd look like if she made (and kept) a New Year's resolution to exercise and lose weight. Conversely, she may really see herself this way. I'd really be interested in what you think this image represents.

And then there's this:

So, is this one any different? Does it send the same message to you? Knowing the crazy, daredevil antics of kittens, I would have to believe that this kitten really believes he is a lion. Besides, isn't it solely a human quality to imagine what could be, and then plan and strive to make that happen?

Perhaps this is a good segue to my New Year's Idea (distant cousin to the New Year's Resolution.) The idea is for each of us to form a notion of what could be... something doable... and then try to achieve it. Our theme song for the year could be Lennon's "Imagine" and our mantra Gandhi's "Be the change you wish to see."

Go look in your mirror.

Winter Flora In The South

Although I miss the snow and cold weather of the upper Midwest I really do appreciate the warmth of the winters here. Sometimes the winter weather can linger gray and damp in the lower 40s, but I feel grateful nonetheless for its relative gentleness. To enjoy my surroundings I need to go no farther than my own back yard.

Remember the post from September about the bugs on the leaves? The second photo down showed some seed-filled pods. This is what they look like now. All their seed babies have flown the coop.

I believe this bud belongs to one of our species of roses.
Can you believe it looks so alive like this in December?

Wow. So red without any photo enhancing tricks.

If you couldn't see the dead brown leaves behind this ivy you might think it was summer green.

Here is a "spaceship pod" that Martha didn't use in my Christmas basket. (It's actually a pine cone from our Sweet Gum tree.)

More ivy. This vine is extending its reach along the base of a tree as if it were spring. It knows that even if we were to have snow it could just hold still for a little while until it warmed up again and then continue its progress.

Cozy Banu

I know I've blogged about Banu's love of towels in the past, but I can't pass up another opportunity to show how adorable she is. I had just taken these towels out of the dryer and within minutes she had somehow buried herself completely inside this warm, soft nest.

My pleasant discovery .

Seeing me, the purring starts.

Green eyes, nose half pink half tan, black eyeliner...

... beautiful.

Getting sleepy...

... goodnight.

If you turn up your volume you can hear her purring:

Martha & Ken's First Travel Book

I was so surprised to open a gift that revealed the photographic and narrative talents of my sister and her husband. Avid travelers for years, they have found an enjoyable way to present their labor of love in a form others can enjoy. Below you will see my photographs of their photographs (!) but later I realized that you can just go to www.blurb.com to see it even better.

The photographs are amazing...

...but then so is the occasional narrative. I never knew my sister could write so poetically, so eloquently. Please look at it the next time you're at our house.

Neighborhood Luminarias

Our neighborhood puts out luminarias every Christmas. It takes quite a bit of effort on the part of a few to make sure every house has them on the prescribed night. The result is beautiful; it's like a sparkly fairy land. I wish Cyrus had been here to see the neighbors' Christmas lights surrounded by candle lit paths. Quite heavenly!

A Boy And His Toys

Here are just a few more pictures from this weekend. Pretty soon they'll all leave me again and the house will seem very quiet indeed, sigh... I think the kitties will be happy though, except for Chappu, who seems to have decided she likes the strange bald cat that crawls towards her every chance he gets!

Merry First Christmas to the little boy with the cute little sideways smile!

Havin' too much fun!

Poor Gabriel. He was up so much last night with Cyrus that we had to wake him up to do stockings... huh? What stockings?

Shirin, also sleep deprived, perked right up with the prospect of a hidden toy surprise in her box of Cracker Jack!

You may see the indicator in the white "naughty" section of Cyrus' stocking but when Santa filled the stocking the indicator was on the top section labeled "Nice."
Who did that?

A nice blue and white striped hat...

... a new bib with a kitty on it...

...jus' stylin' dude...

...oh yeah, and socks.

In preparation for walking Cyrus has begun transferring from one support object to another fairly well. Listen for his new sound - the consonant "D" pronounced "dih" :-)


Apparently, I too am a support object. Listen to the impact as he hits the floor; that's one sturdy kid!:



Here's a short little video of Cyrus heading for Chappu. I'm not sure why he stopped short; usually he goes for the gold! Yesterday he actually grabbed her face gently and she just sort of moved her head back. I thought she'd walk away (or kill him!):


Cyrus is preparing for the next Florida gathering by practicing his ball skills:


Figuring out the new electronic book (his version of a kindle):

First Taste Of Persian Food

I know, the pictures don't match the title, but that's because the title refers to the first video. I'll be talking about "today" but since it's after 1 AM it's actually tomorrow so "today" is yesterday... oh never mind.

After a nice breakfast Shirin, Cyrus, and I decided (it was Cyrus' idea) to take a walk around Cherry Park. It was pretty warm today so the walk felt great.

I'd be all smiles if someone were pushing me around in a stroller too.

Ok, the set up to the first video is that Cyrus had already eaten his sweet potatoes and was experimenting with his first taste of Persian food before I began recording. Since he's eaten pretty simple stuff so far the Persian food was more of a gamble, but he clearly liked it and kept eating it even though he wasn't that hungry any more.


And the clean up:

He's Gonna Find Out Who's Naughty Or Nice

Uh-oh, I think someone may be in trouble. He's only got a few more days to convince Santa he doesn't belong in that lowest black zone on his stocking labeled, "Lump of Coal Naughty."

Cyrus' stocking

Videos Galore

Shirin's post from a few days ago mentions that Anahita isn't getting enough Cyrus media, so here we go.

Saeed took this video for you, Anahita. Hope you like jumping!


This story is told in two videos. Cyrus had never before seen the crawling Winnie the Pooh bear and is very clearly frightened of it. I quit recording so he could climb up into my lap and get some comfort. During the second video he gets to watch Winnie from afar and his Grandpa's silly clapping puts him at ease. Damn that Winnie the Pooh!




This next one is really pretty silly, but we were trying out Cyrus' new stroller. I love his reaction to my interview question, sort of like, "I don't have to answer that question."


Here the men are making more manly noises. I love the way Cyrus first goes into a trance with the back rub.


OK Khaleh Tita, that's it for now.

Our New Buddy

We just got home from our new best buddy's house. In an effort to give Shirin some more study time we went to play with Cyrus and do a little laundry. We were pretty busy so I didn't take any pictures (except this one.) In addition to laundry we did a little bit of cleaning. Saeed kindly cleaned out and reorganized the refrigerator; I hope Shirin and Gabriel can find everything and don't starve to death.

So why do I call Cyrus our new buddy? Because he really seems to like us and want to be with us. Of course, as we discussed later on the drive home, he is a very friendly baby and probably is totally ecstatic with anyone who will perform the required support tasks, but we seemed to detect a new degree of recognition (on his part) of who we are. Well, that's our story and we're sticking with it.

We did take some video though, so I'll be uploading and posting as they're ready.