Treasuring a Long Friendship

Still catching up on last month's activities here on the blog - hopefully I'll catch up soon! Our last adventure in January was a visit to my friend Rachael, who I've known since 1993 when my family moved in next door to her family. It was really nice to reconnect with someone I've shared such a long friendship with over the years! Rachael has been busy setting up an animal sanctuary called Here Today Adopted Tomorrow with her mom and their dogs. They've bought a bunch of land in Brimfield, MA and have been focused on all the renovations, paperwork, and more involved with starting up a new non-profit organization. The area where they live is absolutely beautiful, though with a lot of damage from storms and a tornado, as evidenced by the photos below.

After a delicious brunch in town, we took a walk along their property line:

Maya seemed to enjoy the walk:

It was chilly but clear! We took a minute to pose for photos before we left:

Can you tell we're squinting into the sun in this one?

Playing at the Museum

After a few weeks of craziness, I am finally catching up on events and outings from last month. In late January we took a trip to the Children's Discovery Museum in Acton with our good friend Helene. We had a terrific time - Maya especially enjoyed the water table:

And the ball room:

And the safari room:

All in all, lots of fun! :)

Mama's Birthday Comes Again

My birthday arrived again this year with snow, which is only to be expected for January in New England. At least this year wasn't as much snow as last year. Also, there was no poop in the tub from Maya, so that was also an improvement over last year. ;-)

As usual, our lovely neighbors Ken and Marilyn took us out for a delicious meal to celebrate my birthday. This year we went to Il Casale, which had amazing food and wine. I somehow managed not to take any pictures; I was probably worried about Maya being on good behavior during the meal; it's a pretty fancy restaurant but they were surprisingly kid-friendly.

Ken and Marilyn also took care of Maya on another night so that Hyder and I could go out for a leisurely dinner on our own. We went to Bondir for an amazingly tasty, creative, and cozy meal. This time I remembered to take photos along the way, though they're not high quality since I was taking them with my BlackBerry camera without a flash.

We started with Scituate Scallops and Rhode Island Shellfish with Scarlett Turnip, Celery Baton, Coquillage Vert, Chili Vinaigrette, and Paprika Froth: 

Next was a Summer Herb Spaghetti with Cabbage, Kohlrabi, Pu-Erh Braised Celery Branch, Butternut Squash, and Smoked Scamorza:

Next was an amazing dish of Perigord Black Truffle-Soft Poached Egg, Keener White Corn Grits, Maine Shrimp Bisque, Dahlia Radish, and Truffle Vinaigrette:

Hyder had a Braised Vermont Lamb with Spiced Golden Rutabaga, Puffed Wild Rice, Whole Barley, and Mulled Wine Glaze:

  












And we splurged on two desserts - they just sounded too good! The first one I tried was a lovely Chocolate Panna Cotta with Gyokuro-Bergamot Marmalade, Blood Orange Gel, Cocoa Nibs, and Pistachio: 

Finally we had the Tangerine Dream with Génoise, Vermouth-Infused Tangerine, Thyme-Buttermilk Ice Cream, and Meringue Brulée: 

At the end of our meal, the chef Jason Bond came out to greet us and ask us about our meal - what a cool experience! The ambience in the restaurant is lovely too - like a modern cozy bistro with interesting artwork, French music, mismatched china, and a selection of hand creams in the bathroom. This is now one of my favorite restaurants in this area, along with T.W. Food.

Starting the New Year with Presents!

As we've previously discussed on this blog, Maya is a very lucky girl. We repeated the experience this year with presents from family and friends. We're still catching up on her birthday presents from last July!

The fun started as we opened presents with our neighbors Ken and Marilyn:

Maya received a sled:

And a monster bowling set:

And an easel:

And a princess castle:

Maya also got a fun little laptop computer from her buddy Erica:

She got a bunch of great books and clothes from the Husain grandparents:

Plus a great coloring book with crayons from Srimoyee Auntie and Naeem Uncle:

And a beautiful shirt that she loves:

In San Jose she got an adorable tutu from her Kulkarni grandparents:

Finally, she got a great car with a cute little power drill from her buddy Ryan:

What a lucky lucky lucky little girl! :)

Holiday Travels Part 5: Pasadena

After celebrating the new year in San Jose, Hyder headed home to Boston while Maya and I headed out to Pasadena to visit my sister. We managed to spend time with both sets of aunts and uncles, plus meet up with some old and new friends. And again, we got lucky with some really amazing weather, which allowed us to get out to see a few sights in the LA area.

First up, the Huntington Garden, which has a really lovely children's section. Maya loved playing in the water:

We all squinted in the sun with some beautiful flowers in the desert garden:

And Maya enjoyed walking around with her Chethu Auntie:

The next day we headed to Griffith Observatory, which has phenomenal views of the LA area, including the Hollywood sign:

Maya also enjoyed the exhibits inside, especially the statue of Albert Einstein, who is in a perfect pose for tickling by toddlers:

She was also fascinated with a replica model of Jupiter:

We got some great photos outside:

After a nap, we headed out for dinner that night at a delicious Thai restaurant. As usual, Maya was thrilled to get some chopsticks:

Here's the whole group at dinner - Bhuvana, Maya, Naeem, Srimoyee, Chithra, Keith, Chethana, and Eric:

We went back to Naeem and Srimoyee's place afterward, where delicious cupcakes were awaiting us:

 

Maya was very happy to get a cupcake!

And of course, there were lots of giggles at home with Chethu Auntie and Eric Uncle, just like in San Jose: 

Who knew that toys falling off people's heads would be so funny? Apparently Maya's sense of humor hasn't changed much since last year at this time!

Holiday Travels Part 4: Kulkarnis in San Jose

Among all our adventures out and about in the San Jose area, we also managed to have a great time at home to. The Kulkarni grandparents (Ajji and Ajja) always know how to generate a ton of giggles! And there was another opportunity for Maya and Dada to dance to great music. Plus Maya got to show off a song that she learned in her music class.

Plus there were tons of great toys to play with - Maya loved my old Lego collection:

She hung out in the kitchen with Ajji:

She did yoga with Ajja:

All in all, a very fun trip!

Holiday Travels Part 3: San Jose

We had a TON of fun with the Kulkarni family during our visit to San Jose. Again, we got to spend time with grandparents, aunt and uncle, friends, and more. And again, we enjoyed some great weather - no snow and no freezing temperatures!

We started with a celebratory dinner at an Italian restaurant; there was lots to celebrate, including a successful PhD defense for Eric, an engagement for Chethana and Eric, and birthdays for my mom, my dad, and my sister Chethana.

Maya enjoyed the food:

As did we all:

And Maya enjoyed wandering around the restaurant in her new tutu:

We also had fun meeting up with old and new friends, including the Martin family:

And the Sandhu-Makker family:

And the Wong family:

Of course there was lots of fun at home too, which will be in the next post!