Last few weeks have been activity filled. Between the midterm elections, Halloween and Diwali all on top of each other, my brain has been bouncing all over. This Halloween attracted more kids than ever before, young ones too, reflecting the shifting demographics of our neighborhood. We have turned the public parts of the house a bit upside down – trying out a new living arrangement and hosting friends and family during the season felt different. I also learnt about “Bhoot Chaturdashi” (link), a festival like the Day of the Deads, that coincides with the night before Diwali. I am squirreling away the idea of fourteen lamps and fourteen greens for next year.
Filoli’s firefly lights in the Redwoods inspired me to get my own.
I wasn’t planning to carve, but one of my pumpkins rotted making it easier to do so. I did a few strokes to create a monster of sorts.
I have been feeding the pumpkin seeds to my backyard squirrels. It is my way of patting their back for staying away from my bird feeder. Not because they haven’t tried. But because they have failed to get to it. They prefer roasted seeds.
I ended up painting my Cyberknife procedure mask (link). This is a blue and purple face paint, an attempt at an alien queen. My doctors had suggested that I take it easy this month, the three month mark is accompanied by nausea and dizziness. Hence I decided to paint just on the mask and not on my face along with.
Our persimmon tree fruited for the first time this year. Three fat fruits to be precise. Harvest was ready in time for Diwali.
Family had come over for Diwali and we could share the harvest.
Diwali also came with jalebi. That also meant leftover soggy jalebi. Internets suggested jalebi kheer, essentially cooking the jalebi down with some milk to create a sweet pudding. It tasted yummy but too sweet. So, I converted the pudding to a souffle. Addition of whipped egg whites lightened up the pudding, reducing the taste of sweetness.
My grandad’s remembrance day falls during the Day of the Deads festivities. His study table had held my interest very acutely when I was a child. He didn’t like us kids messing around it. I clearly remember the green felt topped with the glass surface. He would slide bits and pieces of papers under it, the ones he didn’t want to lose. His resin paperweight with a real sea horse was fascinating underwater object to my young eyes. He loved his morning darjeeling. And rajnigandha flowers (Polianthes tuberosa or tuberose). This is a rendition of a memory dominated by the paperweight.
Leave a Reply