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Saint Nicholas

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We celebrate Saint Nicholas, as opposed to the overly commercialized Santa Claus (A marketing stunt by Coke).

Saint Nicholas -vs- Santa Poem

Santa Claus is round and plump;
St. Nicholas is tall and thin.

Santa Claus wears a stocking cap;
St. Nicholas wears a bishop’s hat.

Santa Claus comes December 25th;
St. Nicholas comes December 6th.

Santa Claus is often seen in stores;
St. Nicholas is often seen in churches.

Santa Claus flies through the air—from the North Pole;
St. Nicholas walked the earth, caring for those in need.

Santa Claus, for some, replaces Jesus at Christmas;
St. Nicholas, for all, points to Jesus at Christmas.

Santa Claus isn’t bad;
St. Nicholas is just better!

—C. Myers & J. Rosenthal

See how Milwaukee celebrates!

Halloween Celebrated

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No tricks, only treats! This was our first year attending DisneyWorld’s Not-So-Spooky Halloween Party. What a blast…in a fashion that only Disney could pull off! From parade, trick or treating (we didn’t even focus on this portion as Nishad and Arun already had quite the loot from just three stops!), costumes, rides and attractions…and of course, one really neat aspect of being a guest at a Disney resort is the personal “details” they provide. Upon check in, a Disney cast member gave Nishad a “It’s my 1st Visit” button and Arun a “It’s my birthday button” so they were showered with attention throughout the theme park! Nishad was given the honor of saying, “ALL-ABOARD” on the Disney Express at the theme park, and every where we went, Cast members wished Arun a “HAPPY BIRTHDAY!” Arun went dressed as a skeleton and Nishad a Pumpkin! The event was very cute, very special, very worth it, very Disney.

Deck the Halls…

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Alas, our tree is up! A day later than the “traditional” day after Thanksgiving…We were just too tired from all the cooking and feasting!

As always, a curry dish was a part of our menu: Cabbage Curry! We also made a delightful cranberry-orange chutney, with southern-style sweet patatoes, vegetarian stuffing, a tasty meatless turkey roast and turkey breast. For dessert, my boys made a pumpkin pie. The day before Nishad and I made peanut-butter cookies with chocolate stars in the middle.

I have to say, the meatless turkey roast was excellent. It’s not at all like the lack-luster tofu turkey we’ve had in the past. It’s actually made from Fusarium Venenatum, a naturally occurring soil fungus, the folks at Quorn capitalize on mother nature by making mycoprotein in a controlled environment. According to Wikipedia: “Mycoprotein is a generic term for protein-rich foodstuffs made from processed edible fungus.” I know, some of you are thinking, “I’ll pass.” However, you would be passing on a good thing! The mycoprotein found in Quorn is fermented in steel vats. Think of it in terms of brewing beer. You could simply compare the fermentation of mycoprotein to that of barley for beer. The process to make mycoprotein uses one fifth the energy to produce meat.

We didn’t go to a tree farm this year. We needed to simplify things with two boys in tow. We went to a tree lot instead and hand picked the most beautiful tree! It’s about 8-feet tall…adorned with all of my dance ornaments that I’ve collected or received through the years (some now 30 years+). I do proudly display my Mother’s tree skirt.

The boys are enjoying the sights and sounds of the season. We had a Christmas dance party today. We each took turns dancing- Nishad is so athletic- such a natural gymnast! Arun is more rhythmical. He loves to turn around in a circle and then tosses his hands up in the air and lets out a “GLEE!” I think both of them would enjoy the Swingin‘ Nutcracker (finger’s crossed as we are on the waiting list to the sold out shows!).

Nishad’s tree is up as well. Which, reminds me- I have yet to take pictures of it. When he was 1, we started collecting animal ornaments for him. At 3, he has an entire tree of his own. We’ll have to start Arun’s this year. We seem to be slacking a bit with our little guy.

Nishad and his one liners, wit and charm. I picked him up from school today and Mary Beth was telling me about how chatty he was! We were in Byerly’s and he had to greet everyone we passed, “HELLO!” One lady stopped and asked him how his Thanksgiving was and if he at turkey. He quickly said, “NO!” I explained that we are vegetarians (it’s just easier in public, than giving a stranger the run down on our dietary habits). That’s when Nishad interjects, “WE ate Lobster! BIG, BIG Lobster! Lobster with big claws (as he’s imitating the claws with his hands toward the lady). BIG claws to CHOMP-CHOMP! They were in the fridge. But not now.” She smiles at him and looks up at me with a 4th-grade teacher kind-of-look and says, “That’s not exactly vegetarian.” I smiled and said, “You’re absolutely right.” She went on to tell us about how they had a pheasant that was shot “fresh” for their main course. I think by the time we left Byerly’s, everyone knew Nishad. Even Arun was speechless. Which, by the way, we didn’t have lobster on Thanksgiving. And, when we did have lobster, Nishad didn’t eat it. We did offer it though.

Which brings me to another Nishad story…Nishad’s teacher told me how he didn’t want any turkey at their Thanksgiving feast. In which I replied, “well he is vegetarian.” Thank goodness he knows! In the car he and I were talking about the situation and he replied to me with a concerned expression, “We don’t eat our friends.” I said, “That’s right, Nishad! We don’t eat our friends!” haha. I need to make a bumper sticker up with that saying! “I don’t eat my friends.”

Last week, Nishad was explaining to his father that Mamma has mamillary glands and that he, Daddy and baby Arun have them too. No need to dive into the topic of pectoral muscles until the topic arises again… Lest I forget the “racoon” episode. I was getting dressed and had my black bra on the bed. Nishad walked in and grabbed my bra and held it up over his eyes and proclaimed, “Mamma! I’m a racoon!”

Arun, would be perfect for a chorus role in “Chitty–Chitty-Bang-Bang!” Yes, he may only be 1, but boy can he sweep! He’d put to shame those other guys in the chimney sweep dance. Of course, he doesn’t want his broom, crafted for little hands. Of course, he wants OUR broom so that Ashish and my (and Nishad’s for that matter) reflexes are tested on a daily- sometimes hourly basis. I’ve never ducked are arched back so much since dance class! He carries it like a torch as well- as if it were an extension of his little body. He started saying “Cheese!” now. Hmn..I have no idea why. 🙂 He helps with the laundry. He loves to put things in the dryer for me. A few weeks back, while at the doctors office I had my shoes off and he picked my show up and tossed it in the trash! Yes, as you guessed it…that IS the exact timing of when the doctor opened the door. Me, half way in the trash can, head first, fishing my shoe out…”Hi, Doctor!” (As my voice echoed as only in can in a plastic can.) Arun has no regard to the label of “BIO-HAZARDOUS”… Arun also says, “Cuc” for cucumber, “Car” and “Go!” He tries his best to say “shoes” but it comes out like “shooo shoo” (mental note: He could help Palin Shoo Russian boats away- he’s a natural!).

I’ve been so busy taking pictures and creating Holiday cards for clients, I haven’t had a chance to start ours. I’m normally the first one to mail out our cards. It’s kinda refreshing though to be able to sit back and relish the cards we’re receiving. I don’t think I sat back, took a moment and smiled at them as I have this year. I’ll get our cards done eventually- and in time for Christmas.

Ashish already has his Christmas present from me. I felt so proud as I bought it for him with earnings from my photography and design business. He wanted a Verizon HTC Touch Pro and he was in dire need of a new phone. Hopefully he’ll think of me every time he touches it and then he’ll get goosebumps! hee–hee! Just not enough static generated to short the phone. 🙂

Black Ice

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At the heart of the matter, it’s not so much the season itself which I loathe. It’s really more so about the cold and especially, the ice. I have good right to as well! I have been in three accidents involving black ice.
BI Parts 1 and 2, “Built Strong”…Thanksgiving Night, 2003. Driving back from Oak brook, Illinois (Ashish’s). I hit black ice on Roosevelt Road while changing lanes. I was in my candy apple red, 64 1/2 fastback. Thank goodness I was surrounded by steel as those cars don’t have seat belts [My father later installed a lap belt, with the odd disclaimer that it may be better for me to be thrown from the car than have it explode as the gas tank is in the rear- “thanks, Dad!”]. I recall pumping [manual steering and breaks], fish tailing and then loosing it as I tried to keep track of where I was with the positioning of the light post in view. If I had 5 more feet, I would have straightened it out and been fine. I didn’t have that 5 feet I so needed. I ended in a ditch. I literally crawled out of the car. The battery was knocked out, so I didn’t even have headlights. I was now a sitting duck. A couple with an infant stopped and asked me if I was okay. They took me to a hotel off the road so I could call my father. I never did get their names. I think of them as angels though. My father was judging ChevyVette Fest at the time, in downtown Chicago. He said he was “on his way.” I also called, my then, boyfriend, Ashish. I was a bit fuzzy with directions. I now understand, I was in shock. By the time my father was on the scene, an ambulance, fire truck and police were all surrounding the scene. I recall being in the back of the ambulance and being asked my birth date, who was president, etc. I refused any treatment as I was going to college, paying my way and I had no health insurance. My father showed up just as the tow truck arrived. He spoke to him about towing the mustang directly home. All of the emergency vehicles left the scene. I was sitting in my father’s pick-up truck on the shoulder of the road when I looked at my father and the tow truck guy yell, in-sync, “Nooooo!” I turned my head to see a Jeep Cherokee sliding directly toward my father’s truck. I could see the look of helplessness and fear on the drivers face. I remember just trying to relax my muscles. The side of my head hit the passenger window. Alas, I was back in the ditch. The exact same ditch, I was just in. Someone obviously wanted me in the ditch! My future mother-in-law was in town… I have my suspicions! haha. Better yet, “thank you” to my guardian angel who saved me that night- twice. Ashish did show up after ditch, part II. He drove me home…no more incidents to report on this night.
BI, Part 3: “Welcome to Minnesota!”…Again, Thanksgiving! We were returning from our trip back to visit everyone in the Chicagoland area for Thanksgiving. We lived in Rochester at the time. As soon as we crossed the Mississippi, just past Lacrosse (where Ashish proposed to me), cruising along at 70MPH on I-90, we hit black ice. Folks, let me tell you from experience, that whole “three times a charm” thing is way overrated. I remember sliding across lanes of traffic, headed toward yet another ditch and just grabbing a hold of Ashish’s hand and telling him, “I love you.” I just think of that moment and I feel the intense love and passion that I hold with my every breath for Ashish. [Mental note to self; Remind Ashish of this endearing love and affection by displaying it more often.] I actually couldn’t get out of my door because it slammed into a post of sorts [perhaps a mile-marker]. Ironically, there was a squad car down the way a bit with his lights on. He came back to us quickly and gave us the advice of, “If your car drives, it’s best to get back on the road and out of this spot.” He helped us take off some trim that was hanging on the car, and pushed us out of the ditch. I drove the rest of the way and was never so happy to see the Rochester exit!

Michael Pollan

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During their visit, a friend and I had been discussing this very topic. She sent me an e-mail today with updated information. I felt it was important enough to pass on… I especially found it appropriate, after a weekend of “feasting.” (Thanks, Fran!)
“Changing the Way We Eat”, Bill Moyers Journal, PBS.

A food crisis plagues America. Or, so believe Michael Pollan and manyactivists across the U.S. Some might find it difficult to comprehend that oneof the richest countries in the world suffering from food issues, but Michael Pollan lays out what ails America and the case for reform in “Farmer in Chief”an open letter published in THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE.