(contrast with – http://lilbunnyrabbitz.com/2011/10/19/wordless-wednesday-first-day-of-school/)
6
June
Wordless Wednesday – Last day of school!
29
May
Loved every minute of it
We just returned from an insanely busy and absolutely fabulous two week trip to Ottawa. I was worried when I left that things would be different, and I would not know how we could fit back into our “old” life easily and quickly. We were only going to be there for two weeks, so we were going to have to hit the ground running to see all the family and friends and hit all of our favourite haunts. I was determined to give it a good try. Here are a few snippets of our weeks in Ottawa…
Goose and Woo, watching for our plane to arrive at the gate, and hanging out in Frankfurt airport. The plane left Bangalore at 2:30 AM, and then there was a decently long stopover in Frankfurt. Give them some planes to watch, a long hallway to roam in, or something to colour and they are happy lil ones!
We managed to hit the Museum of Nature twice, including bright and early on our first morning back! I decided to renew our membership, even though we were only there for a couple of visits, because we now live more than 100km from the museum, so two visits which included the special “Whales Tohora” exhibit meant that the membership has already paid for itself! Here Woo and Goose are in the Children’s play area, learning where the different whales can be found all over the world.
We headed to the country, where we were able to visit my cousin and her family at their farm, then my Grandfather, Aunt and Uncle at their farm. In addition to catching up and eating way too much, Woo got to play some basketball with his older cousins, and I got to check out some of the tulips and all the apple trees that were in full bloom!
We headed to Mud Lake, our secret hideaway in the city, where the lils were most excited to be allowed to run around with no shoes on (we don’t let them go barefoot outside here for a variety of reasons), and I was most excited to play with my newest lens!!
Woo and I went with Uncle Kentie for his very first golf lesson. He loved it, though his form needs a smidge of work. This was followed up by a round of mini-golf that got rained out after eleven holes, much to Woo’s dismay. He was consoled by some bugs and cheese for lunch, bought by mom, who came in third in the mini-golf. We brought his new clubs to India, and he looks forward to LOTS of practice in the park.
We convinced our friends (cousin) V and Monkey to play hooky from school for a whole day, and had LOTS of fun, including some very serious park play where no one would look at the camera. I’m just sorry that their mamas could not play hooky from work too!
We visited our best pals at our old day care three times! The lils loved hanging with the super awesome N (and even asked if they could just go back to daycare), and fell right back in with their pals. They even re-affirmed their plans to marry one another!!
The second weekend of our visit was the May 2-4 long weekend, and was bright, sunny, and unseasonably warm for May in Ottawa (the temps broke 30C several days in a row). It was the perfect weather to attend opening weekend of the Ottawa Fat Cats, our semi-pro baseball team. I convinced my sister and friend Rebecca to come out, and we all had a great time. I am still laughing at Rebecca, who innocently asked if I thought it might be too hot to go to an afternoon baseball game… we do live in India after all J. She wisely sat in the shade, while we enjoyed the hot sun for most of the game.
On holiday Monday we hosted an open house barbecue, which was really fun for me, as I do love to throw a party, and we don’t do a lot of entertaining here. Throughout the afternoon we saw many friends, family and neighbours, and loved the way it felt to have them all close to us.
We enjoyed many visits by friends and our families, and were able to get out many evenings to hangout out (ok, and have a cocktail or two) with them. Coming back to India has not been hard on the lils at all. Despite their claims early in the trip to Ottawa, they did miss their friends and life in India. While I did too, it has been an adjustment trying to get back to the calm and quiet that is our life here.
30
April
They’re super to me
There are many writers that I read who make use of writing prompts for their posts. For the most part they do this very well. The posts are thoughtful and heartfelt and always seem to match the theme perfectly. I am not one of those people. My few attempts to write according to a prompt have never felt natural, so they end up forever in the draft pile, wallowing in their contrivedness (yes I just made up a word).
This week, I was tagged by Nicki of The Perils of a Working Mom to come up with “7 SuperShots”, each of which had to match a category, I was intrigued. I post many pictures, and take many more, but I seldom take the time to talk about why a photo is meaningful to me. It’s something that I have been wanting to do more of, so this is a good place to start. My 7 SuperShots:
A photo that . . . takes my breath away.
I was fortunate enough to go to the Taj Mahal twice this past March. Once to experience it with Willy and the Lils, and once more to have the time to pay more attention and maybe take a few more photographs. This was taken just after sunrise on the second trip. I was the thir person to reach this spot, right after my friend Chris. We planned to be there at that magical moment when there was no one else there, and were lucky enough that the fellow that was there first let us get our shots too. It’s the entire experience of the Taj Mahal that takes my breath away. This photo is one key part of those experiences.
A photo that . . . makes me laugh or smile.
I have numerous photographs of the lils having fun, playing, growing and learning, but this is one that never fails to brighten my day. It was Goose’s first ever time on the merry-go-round, and there were only child sized seats on this ride. She was nervous, so Woo was quick to jump up with her and throw his arm around her shoulders. It was a gesture that said “I’ve got you, sis”. She was fine after this.
A photo that . . . makes me dream.
I remember when I was a child, and play was just play. We were fearless and focussed on having fun. All to often I see that is missing from the lives of young people. I want to make sure that my lils play for the sake of play, and and do silly things like wrapping themselves around a tree like a rope. This picture shows them doing that with some new friends. It makes me dream of my childhood, and for what they can make of theirs.
A photo that . . . makes me think.
One of the things that has troubled us all since arriving in India is the garbage that is everywhere. It’s on the street, in the parks, in the water. This is a little lake in one of out favourite gardens. It is actually one of few public spaces that we visit where rubbish bins are obvious and plentiful, but still we see this on the shores of the lake. I think about how this came to be such a colossal problem, how it can change, and what I can do to help change it, but mostly I think about how sad it is.
A photo that . . . makes my mouth water.
It’s fresh and plentiful, and the a good chunk of the basis for some of my favourite gravies here. I love going to the local markets in Bangalore. The sights, the smells, the sounds… They are packed and chaotic and full of great things, like these chilies, tomatoes and the garlic. And so much more.
A photo that . . . tells a story.
It tells the story to me. They are little, nervous, anxious and excited. It’s the first day that either of them has ever gone to school, and they are in it together. When every one of them isn’t sure, they grab each other’s hand and forge ahead together. I love that they support each other, and that they find comfort in one another.
A photo that . . . I am am most proud of (aka my National Geographic Worth Shot)
I don’t in any way feel that this is worthy of National Geographic, but I am really, really pleased with the shot. It was taken in the main city market, amid all the noise and frenzy. This woman was sitting on the ground stringing together one of the long garlands of flowers when a beam of sunlight fell upon her through one of the cracks in the roof. She just sat there, drinking it in, lost in the serenity of the moment, oblivious to everything. When it passed, she just resumed her work. I walked away, but I still think of her, and how peaceful she was.
I think that I am supposed to tag people now to carry this on. I’ll get on that ASAP.
