Father's Day Then and Now

This photo was taken on Father's Day many, many years ago. It may have been 1982 because my hair was still long, none of us had braces yet, and it was before the kitchen remodel and expansion. Sure, many things have changed over the years, but some things NEVER change. You'll notice my sister Dena holding a jar of mixed nuts in front of our dad. I'm not sure when that tradition started, but as far back as I can remember, my dad always received some sort of nuts for Father's Day. Mixed nuts from Koezee's. Cashews. Pistachios. You name it.

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This year, Father's Day was a little different because Pankaj, Samedh and I did not spend it with my family. While everyone else gathered at the cottage and spent the day fishing from my dad's new pontoon boat, we elected to stay home and dry out our basement after the weekend's storms and heavy rain (7.5" of rain in 24 hours, to be exact). My parents stopped by this evening though, and we celebrated Father's Day a day late. There was no ride on the pontoon, no bonfire or cooking on the grill, but we did have one thing that was the same as any other year: Our gift. Nuts. Dark Chocolate Cashews to be exact. My dad opened them immediately, and then shared how he also received mixed nuts, pistachios, AND peanuts in the shell from my sister Dena and her family. That's what prompted me to share this photo. It makes me smile. The same smile I see on my dad's face when he receives another gift of nuts...year after year.

Happy Paczki Day!

Today Samedh told me, "There's nothing sweeter than a paczki." This is the third Paczki Day he and I have celebrated together. This year was a little different though because I actually made them myself as opposed to buying them from the grocery store. The most time-consuming part was waiting for the dough to rise a couple of times (while punching it down in between), so it ended up being a two-day process. Sunday morning is when I fried them, and they stayed safe in the freezer until last night (except for the two that I ate yesterday). They turned out really good, and Samedh shared some with his preschool teachers this morning. We also took a few to our neighbors across the street, and have one more neighborhood delivery to make this afternoon. It was a lot of fun making these delicious donuts, but it's even more fun sharing them with others. Will I make them again next year? Not sure yet. But I did discover that Zeeland Bakery is selling them this year. I never even considered them because paczki are anything but Dutch. But if the local bakery offers paczki next year, I'll consider picking up one or two from there instead. But never the prune variety...I've never been a big fan of prune!

More Cookies!

Cookie Time

Raksha Bandhan

Today is Raksha Bandhan, a festival where sisters tie a decorative string, or "rahki", on their brother's wrist, and wish them a long and happy life. In return, the brother vows to protect his sisters from all harm. Pankaj and his brother grew up without any sisters, so they always celebrated this festival with their female cousins, commonly referred to in India as "cousin-sisters". Samedh, too, will be celebrating the Rakhi Festival with his cousin-sisters (my nieces) who are coming today for this special occasion. We plan to go to the Indian buffet and share a meal together, and then the cousins will exchange rakhis and gifts. The sisters also feed their brother a sweet on this special day, so Samedh will certainly be getting his share...most likely M&M's, which are his favorite. Only a few though. And I absolutely had to share the beautiful rakhi card posted above, which was sent from Samedh's cousin-sisters in India. How wonderful it was for them to remember him on this festive occasion from so far away. They asked that we feed Samedh some chocolates on their behalf, and he absolutely cannot wait!

Our Diwali Celebration

On Saturday we celebrated Pankaj's birthday and Diwali with my family. Even Baby Justin came to join in the fun, although he slept most of the time. We had a nice big meal of spaghetti and meatballs and had cake and ice cream for dessert. We didn't light fireworks this time, but we did incorporate the tradition of Bhaubeej gift giving which is typically done on the 5th day of Diwali. Since Samedh's cousin-sisters were already visiting on Saturday, we had Bhaubeej a little early. Samedh gave each one a small activity book and chocolate caramel candy. Then the little guy wished them a Happy Diwali. Samedh is supposed to vow to protect them, but he'll understand that more as he gets older (and bigger). Right now, the "mother hens" are very protective of him:)

Earlier on Saturday, Pankaj, Samedh, and I attended Lakshmi Puja in Grandville. We arrived just in time for the cultural program and songs, which Samedh enjoyed very much. We had a small lunch before we left, and Samedh helped himself to one of the bananas that had been blessed by the priest who performed the puja.

Father's Day

This Father's Day was special for Pankaj because he and Samedh got to wear the Big Guy/Little Guy t-shirts I bought for them LAST YEAR. (On Father's Day last year, Samedh was still living at Bal Vikas in Mumbai.) We ended up celebrating at my parents' house instead of their cottage because it was way too hot. As you can see from one of the photos, it rained really hard for some time, but quickly dried up and became hot again. After a delicious meal, I had Grandpa and Samedh pose for a photo by Grandpa's new vine. And Samedh and I posed for a photo as well, since I hadn't had our photo taken together on Mother's Day this year.

Happy Paczki Day!

First of all, I want to wish everyone a very happy Paczki Day! After lunch today, I sat down with Samedh and prepared to share a delicious strawberry flavored paczki with him. It would be his first. I even placed a scoop of vanilla ice cream on the side to temp him. I was so excited to share this Polish tradition with him, but he had other plans. After one bite of paczki, he turned his head in refusal. Then I tried sneaking him strawberry filling hidden in a scoop of ice cream, but that didn't work either. Well, at least I tried. He doesn't like Polish paczki's...I don't care much for Indian sweets either...

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Earlier this morning, Samedh and I bundled up and went outside on our deck to make another snowman. This is the first time we'd been out on the deck in weeks...After we had our big blizzard, the snow piled up so much against the slider door (and BETWEEN the screen and the door) , that it froze up and the door could not be opened. The temperature was about mid-30's, and it felt wonderful. The sun was shining, birds were chirping, and we could really feel spring in the air! Samedh sat on his new sled while I put the snowman together. I put one of my hats on his head and gave him one of my old scarves. All we have in the fridge is baby carrots, so one of those became his nose. When we were done, I took a couple photos with my disposable camera. The last two exposures, so now it's time to take the camera in to Walgreen's for developing. I'll post the photos as soon as I get a photo CD back.

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When we were done with our snowman, Samedh and I took the sled out to the front yard. I pulled him all over the yard, which became very exhausting (even though he is only about 15lbs). The snow is still over one foot deep out front, and it just about covered my boots. Not long after we went back inside, it was nap time for Samedh. I think he was just as exhausted as I was, and he fell asleep immediately. I can't wait for continued warmer weather so he and I can go out and play more often.