Mistaan Sweets

I often drop in here on the way home from work to buy vegetable samosas and pakoras. Add some spicy tamarind sauce or mango chutney... mmm, delicious.

MISTAAN is the Bengali word for sweets.

There's a wonderful selection of burfi.... Bengalese sweet desserts.... in all flavours: coconut, mango, pistachio, almond, cashew, date, and some even have edible silver foil on them for decoration.

My favourite Indian dessert is Rasmalai, made from paneer (soft cheese) flavoured with coriander (no not coriander, I meant to say cardamom, thanks to Peggy's husband for putting me right!) and almonds, served in a sweet milk syrup. Probably full of cholesterol and all the things I shouldn't be eating, but what the heck?

B-Day Bowlerama

It's Birthday time for No2Son. A Quarter Century under the belt already! Reaching such an important milestone definitely called for a family celebration at Nava. We met at 6:30, well.... No1Son was 30 minutes late due to a traffic accident (he wasn't involved, thank goodness) so we didn't get started till 7:00. His Beloved, Ms L, was at work so couldn't join us. No2Son and his beloved Ms S chose salmon and spinach, No1 Son and The Space Cadet chowed down on pork tenderloin and I had pasta with pesto, asparagus and shrimp.... and lashings of GARLIC!!!! Warning.... better not get too close.

No2Son with his best prezzie.

And then came dessert......

but it didn't last long.

Then we headed to the bowling alley. All the ten pin lanes were busy, so we bowled "small ball", which turned out to be miniature ten pin bowling on a regulation size lane with a five pin ball.... a lot harder then regular ten pin I think.

The Space Cadet shows his rather unorthodox bowling style. He said he was pathetic. We were kind and said he was merely erratic.

No1Son sizing up his next shot. He won the first two games, but only because he could hurl the ball harder than anyone else.

Ms S in action....... she says she's better at baseball.

No2Son (the Birthday Boy) bowls a STRIKE! He won the last game by 3 points.... in fact it was a battle to the death with his brother.

Spot was there too, to help with the scoring and making sure TSC didn't cheat. Ms S won this one!

It was so much fun, we should do it again for the next birthday.

Day By Day

This afternoon we had the first Variety Show rehearsal on the stage. Since January we have been rehearsing in a church meeting room. One of this year's songs is Day By Day from the 1971 musical Godspell.

Of course, I'm far too young to remember that particular production (cough cough) but I'm told that it was the height of groovy flower power and hippie flower children, so what better way to add some colour to the song than to pass huge coloured paper flowers around the chorus as we sing.
I've been making these flowers from pleated craft paper (bought cheap at the local thrift store!) and as you may have noticed, Spot has been helping me.

Zipper in the Sky

If I unzip the zipper, will the sky fall?

Spot

The fairies who live on the stairs have invited a furry friend to stay for a while.
He has to go through their little fairy door on hands (paws?) and knees, but he doesn't mind.
His name is Spot.

Smell-O-Vision

The darn winter seems to be dragging on and on, and the constant snow and cold is starting to get to me. Last week I was desperate to see some spring flowers, so I invested $2.98 at Walmart. Yes, I'm the last of the big-time spenders.

The flowers started to emerge as soon as I got my purchase home.

They grew bigger.....

.... and now it's obvious that they have an evil plan to take over the world.

The whole house is scented with Blue Hyacinth perfume. I can smell it as soon as I open the door.

I wish this computer had Smell-O-Vision so you can enjoy the scent too.

SOLD! to the lady in the back row....

There's no better entertainment than spending a few hours at an auction sale. Sometimes there are bargains to be found, and sometimes prices soar out of reach. Every Saturday, and occasionally on Sundays, you can find crowds of hopeful bidders at a local Community Hall. It's too dangerous to scratch your nose, or wave at a friend you haven't seen for a while.... you may find you've bought something you didn't really want.

This Saturday was no different. The contents of a Century Home were offered for sale. The sale started at 10:30a.m. and continued until 3:30p.m. .... lots of nicknacks, glass and crockery...

... furniture and fur coats...

.... assorted linens and quilts....

Of course, I can't resist bidding, and this is my prize for today. My old large place mats are starting to peel and disintegrate so 2 boxes of almost new Pimpernel mats for $30.... a bargain in my opinion.

BTW, Happy St Patrick's Day everyone! We're all a bit Irish on March 17 aren't we?

Happy Pi Day!

Today is March 14 .... 3.14 ..... in other words, Pi Day!
(It's also Albert Einstein's birthday!)

The Greek letter Pi is the symbol for the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter. It is approximately 22/7 and is usually calculated to 3 digits, 3.14, and is the most revered mathematical constant in the known universe.
Remember your Grade 9 math class?

With the use of computers, Pi has been calculated to over 1 trillion digits past the decimal. That's a whole lot of numbers!

So celebrate Pi Day with nerds worldwide by singing this little song, to the tune of "O Christmas Tree", all together now:

Oh, number Pi
Oh, number Pi
Your digits are unending,
Oh, number Pi
Oh, number Pi
No pattern are you sending.
You're three point one four one five nine,
And even more if we had time,
Oh, number Pi
Oh, number Pi
For circle lengths unbending.

Oh, number Pi
Oh, number Pi
You are a number very sweet,
Oh, number Pi
Oh, number Pi
Your uses are so very neat.
There's 2 Pi r and Pi r squared,
A half a circle and you're there,
Oh, number Pi
Oh, number Pi
We know that Pi's a tasty treat.

(Lyrics by LaVern Christianson, math teacher Windom, MN, USA)

Costume Creation

My 40 year old sewing machine has been pressed into service again, this time to sew my chorus costume for our annual Variety Show that will take place off-off-off Broadway at the end of April. We've been rehearsing since January.

Chorus members will be dressed in black pants, white shirt and a reversible torquoise/black vest... it sounds pretty tame compared to the glittery outfits we have worn in previous years. I really hope there will be some sparkles to sew on.... what's a Variety Show without sparkles?

Here's the 2006 chorus... I'm second row, third from the left.

Smart Meter

My Smart Meter was installed a few days ago.

By 2010, all households in Ontario will have one of these hi-tech babies attached to the wall, measuring electricity use.

Currently, this new digital meter measures energy at a set cost per kWh, just like the old mechanical meter that it has replaced, but when it's activated in 3 years time, it will measure the time of day that the energy is used.

When demand for energy is high, the cost per kWh will also be high, and vice versa. So I'll have to get used to doing my laundry and washing my dishes between 10pm and 7am, or on weekends, or pay the price.

This is supposed to help build a conservation culture in Ontario, but I wonder if it's just another subtle way of making us pay more for electricity, hoping that we won't notice.

Diamonds are a Girl's Best Friend

In this case, diamonds definitely are a girl AND a boy's best friend. I've made this glass panel to be a prize at No2Son and his Beloved's Jack'n'Jill party.

This will be a pre-wedding fundraiser in September.... a sort of wedding shower plus party featuring yummy food and drink, dancing to a DJ, prezzies, raffles, games, maybe a silent auction. Everyone is invited from both the groom's and the bride's families, plus next door neighbours, school and Uni friends, quite possibly anyone they have come in contact with in the past 25 years!. Party Time!!

Shelter from the Storm

One of the many Mourning Doves that live in my back yard.

The bird feeder is filled up regularly, but the mixture I have at present contains a lot of corn, not the most popular food with local birds. However, the squirrels readily eat up any extra that falls to the ground.

March ... In like a Lion

They say that if March comes in like a Lion, it goes out like a Lamb. I hope that's the case.
Snow, wind, and freezing rain today caused hundreds of accidents and horrible traffic tie-ups...

... and those who ran out of gas in the heavy snowbound traffic couldn't fill their cars due to so many gas stations being closed having run out of fuel.....

... and to top it all off, a freight train derailed just outside the city causing havoc to the commuter trains.

Luckily I left work early so I'm at home in the warm.

Photos taken from: Tony Bock/Toronto Star