Okay, done with complaining. On to other news.
Shreyas quite enjoyed faire on Saturday. The weather was good, I never got too cold, but the dust! I think some of it is still lodged in my lungs, causing me to cough. It was still coming out my nose on Sunday morning, and my throat is somewhat sore. Shreyas got enamored of the clothes - he found a tunic at Potomac Leather that he really liked, and took to some boots and hats and everything. He even bought a walking stick; when we're not hiking (which is most of the time) we now have something to beat the cats with! (Just kidding - we like to punish them with cuddles and hugs and kisses, which they resent.) I picked up the usuals - tea and honey and some leather thongs to replace the ones that Fred ate. Good shows were seen, new people and old friends were met, and a nice time was had by all. And boy, did it feel good to get out of all those clothes and back into laze-around-the-house clothes later that evening! Also, it was wonderful seeing
jalenstrix and her new boy, who is very nice. And she brought me a present of pumpkin spice bread mix, which I'm eager to make. (But it'll have to wait, for the reasons laid out below.)Then on Sunday we couldn't decide what to make for the week's lunches, so we ended up making a feast! At least it's a feast to me - to Indians, it's probably only the most basic requirements for a meal. We made a simple preparation of dal with some spices, then we cooked a vegetable dish with coconut base which we'll eat for lunches this week. Then came cabbage curry, which is probably the most divine dish ever. My dad drove up to deliver the center beam for my bed frame, which he found as they were packing to move out here. He just loves the cabbage, so we made it for him. Then we made dessert, which is a rice pudding sort of creation. Imagine rice, tons of brown sugar, and butter all combined and cooked to a heavenly consistency. Except it's better because jaggery is tastier and healthier than brown sugar, and ghee is tastier than butter. Yeah, I've also got that in my lunch today. :D
On top of all this, I have a 9x13 dish of cheesy potatoes, which is my family's standby dish - it shows up at every party or gathering that we host or attend, and is loved by all. I cooked this on Friday night, and I was so impatient once I made up my mind to make it that I couldn't wait for the frozen hash browns to thaw out of their block shape - I thawed them with a hair dryer. Hey, it worked great! So this is also sitting in the fridge, as are some swiss chard-parmesan mini pies that I made in an attempt to use the chard before it went bad. It was supposed to be a full pie, but I only had enough for a few cupcakes. Also a Friday-night concoction, also turned out well.
So the moral of these previous two paragraphs is that Kate is going to gain a couple pounds this week, most likely, in an attempt not to waste food. But it's going to be a tasty, tasty week.