Losing Count of My Blessings

November has been full to the brim with wonderful events that are now amazing memories.  We kicked it off with an election we both cared deeply about, and for the most part the results are exactly what we hoped for, giving us great hope for the future.  Then we partied like rock stars at an Indian wedding, celebrated my birthday in a low key way, spent time alone and ate incredible food on our 2nd anniversary, attended a rally to support the civil rights of our friends, kicked off a landscaping project we've been discussing for a year, and camped in the cold with my family and the friends of my childhood to celebrate my birthday in a less low key way.  And now, we're going to wrap it all up in a bright and shiny bow with the traditional Thanksgiving feast.  My family is large and primarily still local, so for us that means 20 people all bringing dishes of food and then sprawling about my aunt's house.  Its beautiful.  

This year, like most years, I don't have to reach very far before I lose count of all the reasons I'm thankful.  And that in itself, is the greatest blessing.  But, in 2008, I am particularly grateful that my grandmother will be with us today, in the midst of the chaos and very likely turning off her hearing aid to deal with the din of the wonderful family she created.

I hope the blessings are as abundant for you and yours.  Gobble till you wobble.

Saturday Plans

Alex has to work today, so the alarm went off at the normal time and despite my protests my internal clock insisted it was time to get up.  And then the cat (who is supposed to live outside but understands the concept of the doggie door just fine) appeared at the top of the stairs and announced it was time to get up and put her breakfast out.  What's a girl to do but get up when met with such determination?  So now it is 8:30, I've had my coffee and Alex has left and won't be home for another 12 hours.  The entire day stretches before me, and I'm enjoying plotting how I'll spend it.   

First on my list is apparently a walk with the dog.  She doesn't usually get a morning walk, but she's already informed me that she will be getting one this morning.  (How is it that this creature always knows when I have a free day?)  And then, I plan to brave Ikea to look for curtains.  I find Ikea overwhelming and usually try to avoid it, but they have great curtains on-line and I haven't found curtains I like anywhere else.

But, before I can hang the curtains (should I find them), I'll be making my voice heard with a friend and hopefully several hundred of his friends.

Sometimes, More is More

This weekend we attended the wedding of two wonderful people who make an amazing couple. It was also a Hindu Indian wedding and I can't settle on just one or two adjectives to describe it.  Beautiful, Breathtaking, Glittering, Awesome, Musical, Huge are all vying with one another.  Lesson One: if you want to throw an elegant affair, you simply need to invite Indian women and ensure they wear their sari's.  They were beautiful and looked comfortable; I was very jealous and expressed more than once my conviction that I would wear a sari to every dressy event if only I wouldn't look ridiculous.  And there were hundreds of them, wearing saris in every color of the rainbow, embroidered, beaded or floating.  There was food (lots and lots of food), music and dancing.  For the family, this literally started on Tuesday and continued through Saturday night.  We only attended Friday and Saturday, and I was still awed.  When we came in to Friday's celebration, I was told I needed to take bangles.  So, I took one set only to have every Indian woman I knew express concern over the next half hour that I didn't have more.  I finally took another set and no sooner did I put the bangles on my wrist than the groom's mother walked past me and said "good, good" as she patted my wrist.  Lesson Two: less is not more at an Indian wedding.  And, just in case I didn't learn that lesson the first time, the Saturday ceremony was three hours long.  Yes, three hours.  Followed by a cocktail hour and reception with more speeches, food and dancing than I've ever seen in one place.  And I can not begin to describe to you how it is they manage to have half a dozen speeches - speeches, not toasts - and stuff us full of plates of spicy food and still have hundreds of people on the dance floor.  It was amazing.My only regret is that I missed the henna. But, one of the other guests was kind enough to let me take a photo of hers. How cool is this?