Power Jeans

Skirt - Macys

Shoes - Dillards

Cardigan - Calvin Kline

Gray Top - Costco (yes, I do shop everywhere)

Not just Fridays, I can wear jeans all through the year, in the facility I work in. Jeans has come a long way from what they were a few years ago. Now you could look sophisticated and professional in a dark-shade dressy jean. No doubt I love a good pair of well fitted jeans and it sure helps with laundry. But is there such a thing as 'Power Jeans'? Any New York banker would tell you the answer is no and a west coast techie might tell you other wise. For the rest of us in between, its a conscious decision to weigh in.

For me, I am getting closer to the end of my 'Jeans Era' for now.... and back to my first love, pencil skirts and pumps ...

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Kites

Flying kites brings back nostalgic memories of my childhood. One kite flying season, my brothers and I came up with the recipe for strengthening the dor (thread/string to fly kite). We were determined to get the kites from the street urchins who took ours away. We meticulously prepared the concoction by thickening starch and added some colored powders to it. The next step was to spread the dor all over our terrace and dry it.

Flying kites were yet another challenge as it was never windy enough in Chennai. I am sure the kite makers did not buy 'Made in China' aerodynamic kites. The tricky part was attaching the dor to the kite. It was one proud moment to get it to fly.

This weekend it was just the right weather to fly kites. It took Ri seconds to get the dragon kite soar up in the air. Ro waited until the dragon hit the ground to attack/fight it. Well, that was Ro's game until Ri convinced him that dragons were good/harmless creatures. Then he morphed into a Sun Warrior who job was to protect the dragons.

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Ro's Favorite Book

Ro is fascinated with animals. Zoo is his favorite place to visit. We read a lot of non-fiction animal books to him. On our weekly library visits, he heads straight to the animal section.

On one such trips, he found ‘Owen and Mzee’, a touching real life story about un-explainable friendship between a baby hippo and a 130 year old tortoise. The baby hippo, a lone survivor of the 2004 Tsunami is rescued and moved to a reserve where he rushed to the safety of a 130 year old tortoise, Mzee. The tortoise is initially reluctant to bond but eventually reciprocates back to the baby hippo. The book takes you through the journey of this unusual relationship via words and pictures.

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A question here and a question there

  

Ro thinks the dinosaur book he is reading is ‘sooooo …crazy’. He questions pointing to the small dino, Amma, why is this dinosaur following the other one?” I did not get it, I ask him why not. He explains, “They are not in the same family, Amma. This big one is a herbivore and the small one is a carnivore.” He was right; they were not even the same kind of dinosaurs.

Yesterday, when I took him to the temple for Rama Navami, he asked me “Why are we celebrating the birthday of somebody who killed somebody?” He’s moved on but I still ponder over it...

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Recipe Collection

Not all recipes get into our hall of fame. Ri and Ro have the final authority on that one. This started when Ri was 4 years old and said, “Amma, can you give me the recipe for this one, I want to make it for my kids.” The very first recipe that started our tradition of recipe collection was the Venn Pongal and eggplant Gothsu.

Fresh green pea pods are out in the Indian stores and it’s been on our menus lately.

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Up, The Movie

Ri and Ro watched the movie "Up". I heard so much laughter that we decided to watch the movie as a family one more time. In the movie there is an imaginative girl and a boy. They become good friends. Right before the next scene, Ri goes, "This is where they get married". I tell Ri not to tell us what is going to happen and she agrees. The couple grows old. The wife dies.

Now the lonely old man is bored and decides to fly his house with a million balloons. A small boy is added for company and humor. They land in S. America and spot a unique bird. There are talking birds looking for the same bird. Now Ri is a good listener and is determined not to make the same mistake. She says "Amma, I will not tell you who the dog's boss is? ... Now Ro pitches in and burst out to help his mommy. "Amma, I will tell you amma. It is the old man who comes in the first scene".

Last night we saw Alice in Wonderland.

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Spring is in the air

In our first house, we landscaped the yard all by ourselves. I handpicked and planted every flowering bush and tree (except for the far and few the builder gives you). Sure it was a lot of work to move 27 cubic feet of earth, but it was sheer pleasure to see the garden mature and get beautiful over the years.

I got some tulips, roses, dahlias bulbs and gladiolus. I can't wait to get my own supplies of flowers this spring and summer.

Today, the kids sowed the seeds for the vegetable garden.

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