A White Diwali!

Happy Diwali to all my friends!

Happy Diwali
Love, light and happiness

It's a White Diwali for us here in Colorado. Even if it feels more like Christmas, I'm hoping that the treats I will make today remind us that it is indeed Diwali.

October snowstorms are more the norm, than the exception, around here. We saw our first snow on October 8, much after the mountains had their tryst with the fluffy white stuff. Except that, in October, the snow is more wet and heavy, than powdery and fluffy.

Already? Yes, already.

My trees don't shed their leaves until well into November, making October storms a little stressful. Luckily, my yard is not the damage zone that it was in 2009, when we got over 20 inches of snow. But shaking big huge trees is not easy and the taller branches remain bent under the weight of the heavy snow. I can hear my big pear creaking and groaning as it sways in the breeze. Shoveling seven inches of snow off my driveway hasn't helped my back much either.

Classes, classes and one more class

Yes! I've been busy attending classes. I blame Jen Yu. It all started with her Food & Light Workshop early August. Then my friend Teri signed me up for a canning class through Boulder Valley School District's Lifelong Learning program in September. Last week, I attended a Cooking 101: Cooking Basics class at Whole Foods Market, Boulder.

This week, I have another class at the Denver Botanic Gardens, except this time I will be one of the lecturers and demo instructors, along with Jen Yu, Todd Porter and Diane Cu.

Three Food Blogs, Three Cuisines, Infinite Inspiration. That's what it's called! I am both very nervous and very excited! There are two events: a lecture on October 20, 2011 from 7:00pm - 9:00pm and a cooking class on October 21, 2011 from 10:00am - 2:00pm. There are still some spots open, so if you are in the area and you can make it to the lecture or the demo or better still, both, I would love to see you there!

That time again

It's that day again.

Happy birthday, me!

As usual, I wish I had some pearls to share with you, especially some profound thoughts. Unfortunately, wise words often come to me in the middle of the night and I wonder if I should keep a little moleskin by my head and scribble them down as they arrive. But that usually involves waking up, detracting from my favorite activity. Come morning, I am lucky if I can remember anything beyond being thoroughly impressed with myself.

So instead I will share some of the highlights of my past week with you.

A hot air balloon landed in the Open Space in our neighborhood last Tuesday. It first huffed and puffed like a giant dragon in the sky before floating effortlessly to a smooth landing. Since my neighbor's deck seemed to have a better view of the landing strip, I ran into her house only to bump into her as she rushed out. We ran out together, collecting more people as we did, rather like the children of Hamelin.


The excitement and joy of watching this balloon land persists even now.