Our friends the T’s are quite frugal.  They recently decided to invest in a new TV, and asked for Tricia’s help as she is knowledgeable in all things techie.  In the 10 years we’ve known them, they’ve had the same TV.  Just one.  We’ve gone through about 10.  (Okay, we had to replace some equipment after Hurricane Katrina, but do we really need three right now?)  We packed into their minivan with their kids R and C, and went to Alterman Audio to find the best that their hard-earned and well-saved money could buy.  After two hours and a lot of questions to one salesman from three adults (two very bored kids watched an animated movie on several dozen screens – sometimes with sound, sometimes not) (I could not join in as all things techie lulls me to sleep), money was handed over and plans were set to deliver one very large TV to their newly renovated den.

Two furniture stores later (they need an entertainment center for the new TV, and their stomachs weren’t hurting enough from spending for Tricia’s taste), we were about to break bread and call it a day.  I noticed that C and R had to this point been extremely well behaved for two kids who had spent the better part of their day shopping with four boring adults at stores that held no interest to them.  In fact, they were better behaved than me!  Then the breakdown came.  Suddenly, C said, “You mean I’ve been good all this time for NOTHING?!”

Apparently, R and C wanted to play on our Wii so much so that they behaved like champions through the whole TV-furniture-shopping ordeal!  Tricia and I had planned to go to a movie after shopping, but  I couldn’t resist C’s huge green eyes.  After dinner, we came home and turned on the Wii.  Ice cream and raspberry brownies (Natalya’s recipe) were dished out.  Tricia and R became quite competitive at tennis.  C was the dark horse, though, quickly becoming the tennis champ of the night.  We gave one of our friends her birthday present from Storyville, a That’s How I Roll t-shirt:

My favorite quote of the night came when they walked into our house to play Wii, and T said to C, “Son, our new TV is bigger than theirs!’

September is here, and it’s a time of rebirth and gratitude.  Tricia and I are on our feet again after Damien and Natalya’s departure.  The Super Summer is over, and we are changed people.  Damien and Natalya’s influence appears in the books we read, the food we cook and the way we handle our money.  They gave us a useful tool in managing our money – The Total Money Makeover by Dave Ramsey: http://www.totalmoneymakeover.com/ 

Instead of the autopilot existence of consumerism, we are re-training our minds to enjoy what we already have.  Instead of engaging our cars’ autopilot feature of driving us to the “maul”, we are using our bikes for more fun – and refreshingly less expensive – ventures.

Impressed by Damien and Natalya’s goal of eating out only once a week, I’ve enjoyed more time in the kitchen.  Tricia is a willing taste-tester for new recipes.  Thanks to Natalya, we can have homemade pizzas and delicious raspberry brownies (that are allegedly low in fat) in the comfort of our newly minted dining room.  Cafe Colbert is by far our favorite dining spot.  Except for the occasional barking from the canine patrons, it is blissfully quiet.  And tips are optional.

I tried a new Indian recipe this week that we just loved called Chili Coconut Chicken, created by Monica Bhide:

Coconut Chili Chicken

http://books.google.com/books?id=2f5RaHunKK0C&lpg=PT98&ots=P6Zd_BKfAx&dq=chili%20coconut%20chicken%20monica%20bhide&pg=PT117#v=onepage&q=&f=false

If you are interested in cooking Indian dishes, this is a wonderful book.  There are several other recpies by Ms. Bhide that are now family favorites at Cafe Colbert.

The New Orleans influence is making an appearance in Provo as well.  Damien and Natalya hosted a New Orleans party for their friends.  Their guests were treated to delicious New Orleans cuisine, and games where contestants were asked to pronounce certain words in the proper N’Awlins style.  Oh, to be there to hear their attempt to reduce their crisp and properly pronounced “R” to the smooth crawl (not drawl) of the New Orleanian “Awe”!  Or the courageous attempt at ”Tchoupitoulas”.  As MawMaw predicted, Damien and Natalya drank the KoolAid and have fallen in love with NOLA.  I think the bug bit Damien 20 years ago, but he’d never hear that from me…

I am overjoyed to report that our “home teachers”, a.k.a. Damien and Natalya, are making a return appearance at Thanksgiving!  Gratitude indeed!

Damien and Natalya leave this Saturday.  I’m terrible with goodbye, and I feel the sadness coming upon me already.  Knowing that this is an exciting time for them outshines all that, though.  This is Natalya’s final semester, Damien’s senior year, and then they graduate together in the Spring.  If you would have told me 5 years ago that my son would voluntarily spend an entire summer with me (along with his amazing wife), I would have thought “it could have been, in a world where good things happen to me.”  (If you haven’t seen (500) Days of Summer, go for it!)  After all these years, I am happy to report that I am in a world where good things do happen to me. 

The summer started off with Eden coming in for her first JazzFest.  It was a luxury to have her here for two weeks!  Sally was also here for the Fest and my birthday.  What a tremendously special time!

JazzFest Memories

Refreshing Shower After Festing

Cinco de Mayo Birthdays

Great Mother's Day!

As for my office mate, she’s knitted some gorgeous scarves.  She also showed my niece Gracie how to knit:

Damien sports Natalya's Knitted Scarf

Natalya & Gracie Knitting

Besdies work, we did so many fun things this summer.  As always, Damien provided superb entertainment.  Here he is with his good buddy Caleb on the 4th of July:

Stay Puft Marshmallow Man

The Original Stay Puft Marshmallow Man

We enjoyed having Natalya’s mother, Elizabeth, visit.  She’s a gracious and beautiful lady.  I see where Natalya gets her beauty and sense of adventure from.  We took her to as many good restaurants as we could fit into her short visit.  There’s always next time!

Natalya & Elizabeth

Cafe du Monde

We took a tour of Houmas House, where the famous movie Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte was filmed.  This place was magically beautiful!

Houmas House

Houmas House

Houmas House

Bette Davis in Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte

Houmas House

Houmas House

Houmas House

After returning from our tour, I had several messages on my phone that our house alarm went off.  While we were gone, my father-in-law came over to do some work on the house and didn’t realize our alarm was on.  He didn’t know the code, so he pressed every button.  The police, firefighters, and an ambulance showed up.  Luckily, he wasn’t carted off to jail or the hospital.   We also got a call from a friend saying that she feared she had the swine flu, and that since we’d been around her recently we might have it too.  Tricia hadn’t been feeling her best, so we took her temperature when we got home.  It was negative.  We were relieved because we had a party planned for the following night!

Elizabeth Baking for the NOLA Party

Pinata time

With our swine flu fears dispelled and a semi-successful NOLA party (family and dog drama notwithstanding, it was a good party), we set out on our next adventure – a road trip to Florida with friends Debbie and John.  What a great mini vacation!  Natalya hunted down a great place for us to stay.  Debbie and John brought walkie-talkies for the road trip so we could keep in touch.  Before Tricia and I knew it, we were in the car headed for the beach – on a workday.  It felt so decadent!  One of my favorite memories is seeing Damien swimming like a fish as he did when he was a child.   He and Natalya spent hours playing on the beach.  We saw some gorgeous art, and biked to a really cool town where the movie The Truman Show was filmed – Seaside.

Road Trip

Are we really NOT working?

Movie stars on the beach!

Aquaman

Biking to Seaside

Illegal in 50 states

No sooner had we returned to “work mode” and washed the sand from our clothes, then Gracie came to visit!  Sometimes when I glanced at her, I saw bits of Sally in her 17 year-old persona.  Gracie has a lot of her mom’s traits, but she is certainly an original!  She’s always been a dynamo – full of energy, life and sweetness.  So many opportunities are presenting themselves to her after a lot of hard work and dedication.  It was wonderful that she was able to get away from her busy summer and let off some steam in our beautiful city!

Gracie & Natalya at CCs in the Quarter

Time to shop!

Learning to knit

Setting G-Judy up with some tunes

Out with great friends

Cousins

Last weekend we spent a lot of time on Magazine Street – one of the best places to walk around in NOLA.  We stumbled upon a great t-shirt shop – Storyville.  Tricia and I are proud owners of Brad Pitt for Mayor t-shirts.  Natalya and Damien found a couple of NOLA-flavored t-shirts to take back to Utah with them.  We also enjoyed some treats at the lovely Sucre.  If you love dessert in a pretty setting, this is the place to go.

Now that's my kind of burger with fries! It's all cake!

Shopping at Winky's

Technology on Magazine St.

We also went to Dirty Linen Night in the Quarter.   Dinner at Muriel’s was wonderful.  Lots of great memories in this gorgeous place.

At Muriel's

Seance Room at Muriel's

We took Damien and Natalya to the Gospel Brunch at the House of Blues the next morning.  I’ve wanted for years to take Damien and Eden there, so this was a special treat for me!  The music was glorious! 

HOB

HOB

Today we go to our last jivamukti yoga class together as a family.  Damien and Natalya are really good at it!  It’s quite a challenge, and we have a lot of laughs together.  Then we get to watch as our good friend and her son get tested at their Tai Kwan Do class.  Afterwards, we will attempt to conquer the Holy Grail of our summer feasting: The Tchoupitoulas at the Creole Creamery.  Maybe we can get our name on the plaque as a group.

Just two more days and then Damien and Natalya will be off to their next adventure.  What a great summer!

“I have to tell you this crazy story.  I went for a run the other night, and FOUR guys called me while I was out!  I said, Whoa!  Slow down!”  This is Eden’s experience of the dating world post-graduation.  While she was bemoaning her full dance card to Natalya and I on Skype, her phone rang and she smacked her forhead with her palm and exclaimed, “It’s ANOTHER BOY!  Stop the madness!“  She looked at her caller ID and said nonchalantly, “He can leave a message.”  I informed her that, of course the suitors are showing up because apparently there are guys in Washington state brave enough to approach Her Most Loveliness.  To which she replied, “It’s just because I’m new.”  Natalya and I looked at each other and said, “Yeah, RIGHT!”  She has no idea what a catch she is!

What's up, Doc?

A commercial from my childhood often comes to mind when I share a meal with Damien:  ”Give it to Mikey – he’ll try anything!”  One of the most memorable food ventures was the bubble drink he got once in Vancouver, which tasted like Chinese barbequed chicken.  It was bright orange.  He was determined to not waste it, so he drank every drop.  Then he was ill.  That is often the case of when he tries the most unusual item on the menu … which is often the case.  Here is the scene of that particular crime:

Where's Damien? Probably throwing up in the bathroom...

So when we took him to our favorite Buddhist vegetarian restaurant in New York – Zen Palate – we thought he would love all the unusual items on the menu.  He hated it.  So did his stomach.  He was sick for a while.  Here we all are, with him wondering where the nearest bathroom is:

Damien's not-so-zen experience

In Florence, he just had to try the pasta with the baby octopus topping:

Baby octopus dish

If it’s weird, it’s on his plate.  His latest challenge:  beef tongue taco at Taqueria Corona on Magazine Street:

Beef Tongue Taco

See the look on Natalya’s face?  We all had that look.  Damien said it was gristly.

Today is the day that Michael Jackson died.  I’m in shock.  Such a talented person.  I grew up listening to Michael Jackson, and the Jackson 5.  I loved grooving to the Jackson 5 when I was a kid, and dancing to Michael Jackson’s music during my teens.  Just a few weeks ago, Damien and I were listening to his great music.  Here’s a link to one of the best Jackson 5 songs ever, and it’s how I like to remember Michael Jackson:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ej1DCv2JED0&feature=related

It all started in 2003, when I attended an ethnic dance performance at the Scottish Rite Temple in New Orleans.  While I waited for a bellydance routine to begin, several gorgeously costumed and bejewelled dancers glided onto the stage.  Then the ta-ka-dhi-mi rhythm began, accentuated by their stamping feet.  I was stunned by the exquisite beauty of the dance, and the complex music – none of which I’d ever seen nor heard before.  I thought what is this, and what do I have to do to learn it?  I almost stumbled over myself after the show as I looked for the dancers and their teacher.  I noticed a tall young lady in the middle of them who was not costumed, but wore a lovely Indian dress which I didn’t realize at the time as a sari.  I was surprised to learn that this person was their teacher – she looked like a student herself.  I was too shy to ask if I could learn, but I later found out her email address and translated in my best King’s English what is this, and what do I have to do to learn it?  The most I remember of my first class is that I was the only one there, and I couldn’t walk properly for about a month after.  Six years later, despite natural disasters like hurricanes, often being the only non-Indian student, often being the oldest student, I am still learning and am still stunned by the exquisite beauty of the dance.  It is my closest link to the Divine.

Guru ji and me

Varnam

Bharatanatyam Dancers

Bharatanatyam Dancers

Guru ji & Little Siya

Things were a bit lonely at my office before Natalya came to town.  It was just me and the pups working away at the kitchen island.  Then Natalya brought her sewing maching and set it up next to my computer.  While I type, she creates amazing quilts:

Step into Natalya's Office

Isn’t she talented!  I gained a daughter-in-law, and a coworker!  My office is a lot more fun these days!

We recently saw the movie Up, and I must say we all looked like movie stars in our 3D glasses:

Movie Stars at "Up"

On Father’s Day, we attended Damien and Natalya’s first crawfish boil.  Eden had her first crawfish boil this summer as well.  Natalya has been especially brave as she hasn’t been exposed to as much “ethnic” food as her husband and sister-in-law:

You want me to try what?

We survived our first Crawfish Boil!

With delicate blue eyes like her father, she came into this world like a little songbird out of a cage.  The doctor said, “It looks like an Eden.”  As a baby, she sang the household awake with her gentle cooing.

Like the blissful place she is named for,  she is lushly beautiful in spirit and countenance.  If you took her at face value, you wouldn’t believe under any circumstance that she could have earned the nickname “Killer”.  Eden has an iron will, and she’ll try almost anything once — provided it is in line with her sense of justice, fairness, compassion and honesty – and of course, humor.  There is something disarming and quite stunning about her sense of humor.  It’s madcap, slipped-on-the-banana-peel, where-did-that-come-from kind of jocularity that sneaks up on you and next thing you know, you’re throwing your coffee cup into the air.  One summer morning at McDonald’s I was enjoying my coffee as Eden was supposedly enjoying the playscape.  Without warning, she slipped quietly behind me and exclaimed “BOO!”  My coffee cup sailed through the air.  For a second, we were both startled – me for the shock of having my sweet child scare the dickens out of me, and her for not expecting me to throw my morning peace keeper into the air.  We laughed for hours after that.

Another Eden surprise:  For the dance recital in 2008, she flew to Houston to see me perform!  Being a college student at the time, she worked out the arrangements and paid for her flight – just to surprise me and see me dance onstage.  Since my teacher relocated to Houston after Hurricane Katrina, that is where I’ve continued my classes with her.  I was already excited that my partner Tricia was coming to see me perform.   As I poised myself to give Tricia a big hug at the airport gate, my jaw dropped when I saw her with Eden in tow!  Good thing I didn’t have a coffee cup in my hand!  I had often wished that my children could see a live Bharatanatyam performance and be able to hear the live intricate Carnatic music, but I never really pictured that I would look out into the audience and actually see Eden there!

About those two years on a mission …  In 2004, Damien was called to serve in Belgium and northern France for two years.  My sanity lost its moorings a bit that first year.  Not knowing exactly where he was, and the lack of communication, proved to be more than I could really stand at times.  But that was just my experience.  I can’t imagine what it was like to put your life on hold at 19 to go to a strange land and try to convince people to join your religion.  And speak French.   These things Damien did without question or hesitation.  He never complained, often finding humor in situations that weren’t so funny while they were happening.  He was more than just a “salesperson” for his church – he reached out to people in need and gave encouragement however he could.  In his letters, he spoke warmly of the people he spent time with – people from all walks of life and religious beliefs.  When he returned, I rediscovered him – he was now a man of courage and compassion.  This is a spiritual man.  I still cannot believe I am his mother.

Damien & me 2003

Elder O & Friend

NY 2002

Wedding Day