FOOLPROOF COOKING. . .
Last night the waiter put the celery on with the cheese, and I knew that summer was indeed dead. Other signs of autumn there may be—the reddening leaf, the chill in the early morning-air, the misty evening—but none of these comes home to me so truly. There may be cool mornings in July; in a year of drought the leaves may change before their time; it is only with the first celery the summer is over.
There is a crispness about celery that is of the essence of October. It is as fresh and clean as a rainy day after a spell of heat. It crackles pleasantly in the mouth. Moreover, it is excellent, I am told for the complexion. One is always hearing of things which are good for the complexion, but there is no doubt that celery stands high on the list. After the burns and freckles of summer, one is need of something. How good that celery should be there at one\’s elbow.
A Word for Autumn by A.A. Milne
In theory, I\’m a good cook. I have the recipes collected from Mom, sheafs of paper now bound in a frayed pink ribbon that\’s unraveling in a multitude of threads.
My Punjabi Puppy. . .
My days veer between being depressed and on top of the world. I\’ve always been susceptible to mood swings but this erratic behavior is unnerving. My husband mildly criticizes the Tandoori chicken I made for dinner as being too chewy, and I\’m flooded with tears. After consoling me for an hour and assuring me that the chicken was delicious even if a tad chewy, he finds me rolling on the floor that night watching a rerun of \’Friends\’. He shakes his head, baffled and unsure of what to make of the ten-headed alien that\’s entered his wife\’s body.
Valentine\’s Day Magic. . .
Red hearts dangle from a classroom ceiling. Kids huddle over desks covered with cardboard and coloring pens, busy at work making V-Day cards for their mom or a special friend. Valentine\’s Day is around the corner and couples the world over are thinking of ways to celebrate their love.
The origin of Valentine\’s Day is shrouded in mystery, but legend has it that Saint Valentine sent the first Valentine\’s card while locked away in prison after trying to help Christians escape the brutal Roman prisons.
Can Weather Affect your Mood?
Bay Area Weather Forecast: Rain, winds on the way next week. As most of northern California suffers through one of the wettest winters on record, people are asking the question of how exactly does weather impact our mood. For example, does rain make us sad? Do cold temperatures lead to depression, hibernation and isolating ourselves from others? How about the converse, does life seem better on a sunny day?
1. Seasonal Affective Disorder Is A Real Thing
Write your chapter wisely in 2017. . .
\”New Year — a new chapter, new verse or just the same old story? Ultimately we write it. The choice is ours\” –Alex Moritt
A New Year brings infinite new possibilities. A clean slate. A reason to erase past mistakes and start afresh. We all know that resolutions don\’t always stick. But for a shot at real happiness, try penning a set of personal commandments (an idea borrowed from best-selling author Gretchen Rubin).
I would suggest writing them down and keeping them handy. This may make you laugh, but I have mine scribbled on a post-it note stuck to an ancient, long-expired Bed & Bath coupon. Anytime I\’m stuck in traffic, listening to Justin Beiber’s \’Love Yourself\’ repeat itself for the 4th time in a 60-minute window, I find myself pulling out my handy-dandy list and ruminating on what\’s important.
Here\’s my list. . .to help you get started on your own:
- More adventures.
- More creating.
LOOKING BACK . . .
The memories of my family outings are still a source of strength to me. I remember we’d all pile into the car – I forget what kind it was – and drive and drive. I’m not sure where we’d go, but I think there were some trees there. The smell of something was strong in the air as we played whatever sport we played. I remember a bigger, older guy we called “Dad.” We’d eat some stuff, or not, and then I think we went home. I guess some things never leave you.
– Saturday Night Live “Deep Thoughts”
There was a time in my 20’s; that was America in the 1990s.
NEVER ANY END TO DELHI. . .
My girlfriend and I have been on a whirlwind trip covering three countries; Spain, London, and a hop, skip and jump to New Delhi, India, where my folks live. When you go back to your hometown almost every year as I do, how do you keep the visit fresh and novel? No problem, there. . .Delhi is a vibrant city known for providing visitors exactly what they\’re looking for.
Nightlife
After partying non-stop in Tenerife and London (think Novikov; Sexy Fish; Annabel’s) we thought we’d hit a road bump when we reached Delhi. Not so.
Is the use of racial slurs more than a year before? Navigating Trump\’s America. . .
The unanimous response among blacks, Latinas and women is: Yes, people have become more fearless about using racial slurs than they were a year prior. Facebook and Twitter was alive with incidents of harassment after Trump got elected. See below: My Sikh friend who is a second generation immigrant reports that her 18-year-old son who […]
APPLYING FOR A NEW JOB. . .
Now that my home is an empty nest, and the Mr. is gone all the time on business trips or golfing with the guys, I find myself perusing the Linkedin job postings. \”Merill-Lynch and The State Bar of California are looking for candidates just like you.\” The Linkedin notification in my inbox promises productivity and […]
Why I keep Karva Chauth . . .
At the end of the day, it\’s the rituals you embrace and make your own that matter. I didn\’t grow up keeping Karva Chauth or seeing my mother hold the fast. (Karva Chauth is a one-day festival celebrated by Hindu women in many countries in which married women fast from sunrise to moonrise for the longevity of their husbands; ref; Wikipedia.) We were raised in a conservative Sikh household, and all rituals were frowned upon. (Sikhism is a breakaway religion from Hinduism and is founded on the belief that the worship of one God be simple and free of the traditions and superstitions that had riddled Hinduism in the 15th century.)
The apparent history of this \”auspicious\” day is associated with the tale of Queen Veervati and her penance to keep her husband alive. The legend goes that Veervati held innumerable fasts as a married woman while living at her parents\’ home. She would begin fasting at sunrise and end it at moonrise. Her seven brothers couldn\’t bear her condition. So, one day they tricked her into breaking the fast earlier. The moment she ate, word arrived that her husband was dead.
Heartbroken, Veervati turned towards God to seek solace. Goddess Parvati appeared before her and suggested her to repeat the \”Karva Chauth\” with full devotion. This would bring her dead husband back to life.
She held the fast. He came back to life.