A weekend in Pictures

This weekend saw a lot of activity in spite of me being down Friday and Saturday. 

Everything that happened in and out of the house was a cheerful experience.

We did the Varalakshmi pooja dinner Friday and the whole house was full of people, standing room only at one point. It was great to see the smiling faces in huddled conversations and the kids running around gleefully (if there is such a word).

Then we attended a surprise birthday party for my friend who turned 40. Yes, this year is "no one escapes the big Four O" year for our batch. There are only 4 guys I know from our batch who are waiting to celebrate within the next few months. The cake.. Oh What a cake! We have seen a lot of unique cakes over the years but this cake takes the cake!

Came home for some rest and took my parents to Shoreline park so they could watch the geese, pelicans, etc. and get some sun. It was good to get some fresh air and sit on a park bench and get more grounded with the thought processes. Kind of like going into your hard drive and killing all those threads that are running in the background!

After a long time we skipped Yoga entirely on the weekend. The body needed a lot more water and rebalancing before being confident that there wont be any dizziness once in the room. Sometimes, got to give a break when a break is due!

This morning we went and attended a "Kalyana Utsavam" at a friends house. It is a function where they conduct a marriage ceremony for the god and goddess just like the real wedding ceremony for the bride and groom. It is kind of like the "wedding rehearsal" that people conduct in marriages here which gives a "what to expect when your kids get married" before the actual wedding. The priest did a good job of explaining what was being done in a step by step way, something that more priests need to do to set the context for today's generation so they appreciate the reasoning behind the customs.

My parents enjoyed it thoroughly because they don't get to attend outside functions during their visit here but in India they are going to some function or other on a weekly basis. For me, it was great attending a function after a long time where I was not the one doing the prayer! Sometimes it is good to be in the audience.

Then more rest after some heavy food and off we went to get haircuts, an activity that was postponed by the parents demand that it wait till all the functions were done..

Both the kids now sport short hair. A big help once school starts in a few weeks as we will be going crazy with the post swim class hair dry routine and the early morning "combing" ritual which will take an extra 5 minutes.

Now an eventful weekend comes to a close and we begin yet another busy week for everyone in the family!

Happy Monday, here we come!

Everglades

We had 6 hours to spare on our last day at Miami before we were to go to the airport. This was more of a scouting trip to get a sneak peak of what to do and what not to do if we go back to Florida for a many day vacation centered around Miami instead of driving back and forth to Orlando.

Got up early and went to the Visitor center of the Everglades National Park. The rangers were nice and came to the point quickly..

"Let's see. You are here in the wrong season. You should come here during the dry season which is November to January, instead you are here.. smack dab in the middle of the wet season"

Me : So?

Ranger : With very old people and little kids in your party, it might be a stretch to see anything. Not many birds around in this season and not many alligators close enough. Also way too many mosquitos. That will be a problem for the elderly and the children. I can meet you at a point 20 miles from here and take you for a one hour walk. You will see things and I can point to them"

Me : We have only till 1PM

Ranger : Your best bet is to visit one of the farms around this area and go on a airboat ride!

So we thanked the ranger and drove to the Everglades Alligator Farm. They had just opened for the morning and had a 3 hour agenda with a snake show, an alligator show, a walk around the tanks where they sort the gators (and Nile crocs) by size ...

Here are some pictures from the shows which show the young and old having fun.

We did get to hold the alligators (with the mouth taped shut as a precaution) and the snakes that were not poisonous..

and the grand finale.. an airboat ride into the everglades for almost 20 minutes where we got to see the turtles, birds and alligators up close and personal. 

What is a post on everglades without a video of the airboat ride. It was water sprays everywhere and this is the sum total of all the videos that I was able to take with both the iPhone and the 5D Mark II. No points for guessing which parts of the video were taken with which camera!

We had a great time given the time constraint. It was scary for the oldest adult at places but we made it!

Simply put, awesome entertainment and money's worth!

Varalakshmi Nombu Function

The Varalakshmi pooja in our house is usually done on a smaller scale. This year my parents are here and my mother brought the deity from India knowing that for the first time since San married into this family my mom is here with her to celebrate.

We had invited many of our family and friends to this occasion. I was not well but managed to hang on and do my bit at the function.

The kids and my parents enjoyed the whole thing. 

With both grandmas dotting over them it was a special treat.

Some pictures..

and finally a picture that makes this year special in my eyes..

The decorations for the hand were done by Bombay paati and the Paavaadais (frocks) were from Madras paati.

Bombay and Madras may have become Mumbai and Chennai but notice how Bombay Paati and Madras Paati sound way cooler ?!

We get to rest a little bit before things catch up again with work. Now the focus will be on daddy getting better over the next few days.