Sweet Berry Farm Pumpkin Patch

We made the drive to Marble Falls to spend the day at Sweet Berry Farm this weekend.

This farm is amazing with the amount of activities it has for families and young children; if Penelope was a little bit older we would have spent the entire day there, I'm sure.

We spent over an hour inside the Texas corn maze alone! Not to mention the huge varieties of pumpkins, stuff-your-own scarecrow, painting pumpkins, face painters, petting zoo, hay rides, flower picking, and more.

We had an awesome time.

How We Spent Our First Day Of Fall

Topsey Exotic Ranch
Topsey, TX.

Grasshopper Haiku

Along came a friend
To rest in my garden shade
And soon hop away

photo: iPhone5

The Austin Zoo

With an upcoming deployment, we have been trying to take as many small vacations together as possible, squeezing them in the cracks of Abhi's somewhat demanding work schedule. We had a nice little family outing around Austin with a visit to the Austin Zoo along with a little sightseeing and plenty of shopping this weekend.

I've been to a good amount of zoos in the States and the Austin Zoo is quite different than your typical zoo. Its actually a non-profit animal sanctuary for rescued and abandoned animals, which I love. Many of the animals had suffered from injuries or abandonment in the past. The Austin Zoo was small in size, but we didn't mind because staying outside in the summer heat for long periods of time isn't really an option for us with little Penelope.

Reaching for her furry friend.

Penelope loved the animals; she wanted to touch everything.

On a funny note, while we were observing the primates a group of about 8 zooworkers ran out with their nets searching for one of their animals that escaped! We're guessing it was a monkey because they were searching high in the trees, and the rest of the monkeys seemed to get riled up in excitement that one of their friends was on the loose.

Cheering on his escaped comrade.

Reality Check: You're (Literally)Running Late

For some reason, Abhi and I are habitually late. It doesn't matter what the occasion- morning, day, or night- now matter how much free time we have beforehand, we will probably be late. I don't know if the universe is conspiring against us or maybe we're just extremely irresponsible with our time? :-P

For the past few months we've had to travel to Delhi and back more times than I can count on my fingers and toes; almost always for some kind of important work. That being said, if you have ever seen an Indian-American couple running like hell, pushing aside old ladies and little children, through the Delhi Metro station, Bus Stands, Railway Stations, outside malls, movie theaters, or any random roads...it was probably Abhi and me. AND you're especially lucky if you've seen this fiasco more than once.

Here's our most recent story of running late (it happened two days ago):
Our train was scheduled to leave the station at 3:15pm, it was now 10am and we had all the time in the world to roam around, relax, and have a little fun in the city. We saw a movie, did some shopping, had lunch, and planned to head towards the railway station an hour before its departure- plenty of time to arrive early, find our platform, grab some snacks for the ride and go- or so we thought.

An hour before our train's departure we get on the Metro train (similar to a Subway train) to head for the railway station, a trip that normally takes 30-40 minutes from were we were. Of all the times we've ridden the Metro, it has never faced any sort of complication, until now. That darn Metro was stopping and pausing for minutes on end between every station. We could see that we were going to be cutting it close and knew that we would have to bolt out of the Metro when we got to our station (sadly, we've had a lot of experience with these types of situations).

As soon as the Metro stopped at our station we squeezed our way through the crowds and took off running through the station, pushing past all kinds of people, up the stairs, out onto the road to the railway station. We locate our train's platform number and take off through the station. We arrive just in time to see that our train has left without us on it. (If you have ever seen the Bollywood movie 'Jab We Met,' it was kind of like we were living that scene where the girl is running after her train).

Darn that train for actually leaving on time!! Doesn't the train conductor know what country he's in...that its OK to be late in India?!?!

Lesson of the Day: If you're early, you're on time. If you're on time, you're late. If you're late, you miss your train.

Vegetarianism Was Forced Upon Me, I Say!

Its festival season in India. That means one festival after another, after another. Which is fun an all, but unfortunately, during any festival or special occasion in the Hindu religion (and many times daily life), there is a strict policy of no meat-eating, whatsoever. Not even eggs. "**shock, gasp, the horror!!**"


You see, it was difficult for me already with my in-laws being vegetarians for religious reasons; Abhi and I respected that by eating outside whenever the carnivorous craving kicked in (which happens all the time for me!). Though, we would regularly eat eggs and such at home.

Now, I never want to disrespect my in-laws in any way, hence my temporary change in diet. BUT, I think this vegetarian deal is starting to get to my head and it might just be making me a little loopy. Its been almost a month now without any meat or eggs!! Aaahhh!! And before this festival season started my meat intake was very, very slim. Seriously, I would like to see any Puerto Rican/American (I added the Puerto Rican part because yes, we like our pork) try to reduce meat from their diet for 8 months and then walk through life with a big, happy smile =D. I know I may be obsessing a little bit, but I would like to see you (yes, you) try to get through an episode of MasterChef without your stomach growling at every sight of chicken, beef, pork, shrimp, fish, goat, whathaveyou.

All this said in good fun, I'm patiently (not patiently enough, hence this blog post) awaiting my reunion with my beloved proteins (Friday!). That being said, don't call me on that day because I'm sure, I'll be busy eating. ;)

The Wrong Kind of Milk In Our Coffee

Our neighbors now collectively own FIVE animals of the cow variety (2 cows and 3 buffaloes). When I first moved here there were only 3, but recently the cow and buffalo have been popping out babies. Aside from having a really cute cow baby to pet, there are other 'products' that come from the birth of a cow/buffalo.

After the cow gives birth, its milk is different than regular, plain-ol' cow's milk. For a few days its milk has a higher quantity of fats and vitamins than it normally would. People can also drink this milk and in fact, many people really like it. To make a special 'treat' with the new cow's milk you just boil it and add raw sugar. Once its boiled it separates into liquid with small pieces and becomes a light brown color, called Khees. Personally, I'm not a huge fan of Khees, though I don't hate it either. Its just one of those things that throws you off mentally when you hear what it is, even though the taste isn't bad. Actually, the first time I ever met my in-laws they served me Khees. I had never heard of it before and judging by its texture and taste I was a little scared. Though, I was even more scared not to finish it so that my in-laws' first impression of me wouldn't be that I'm a picky eater! Ha!

ANYWAYS, our neighbors so graciously bring us Khees every time their cow or buffalo has a baby. Usually when they bring it, it has already been boiled and changed color. This time when they brought it, it was still in its normal white milk form. So this morning in my sleepy stupor, I reached into the fridge to grab the milk for mine and Abhinav's coffee. I performed my usual half-asleep ritual of making coffee for the both of us without a second thought of what I was doing. We both sat to read the newspaper and drink our coffee, when suddenly my mother-in-law came in the room and asked me a strange question. "Jess, how is your coffee today???" I drink coffee the same way everyday and she never asks me how it is. Why now? With a funny smile on her face she showed me the two different bowls of milk. "You made Khees coffee!" I tasted my coffee and realized I had used the Khees milk instead of regular milk. Which, does not taste the same AT ALL.

The strange mistakes that I could never make in the U.S. surface all the time in India...hmm :)

Horniest Citizens Award Goes To...

In India, I've made it a part of my daily routine to read the English newspaper (I make my attempts at the Hindi newspaper when I have extra-EXTRA time on my hands). Thanks to Times of India I've really come to enjoy a writer by the name of Jug Suraiya and his articles in the Ideas section of the paper. He doesn't have articles published daily, but when his articles do run they are often about current events or situations in modern-day India. From thought provoking to straight out funny, his articles are interesting and well-written.

My favorite article so far is what I would call a perfect explanation of Indian traffic, at least from a foreigner's point of view. I once had the idea to make a recording of the sounds of Indian traffic but when I replayed it in my camera it was nothing but constant loud, overbearing noise. The kind of noise that literally makes your ears hurt and the hair on your arms stand on end.

The following is Jug Suraiya's article, 'Horny India.' Enjoy.

http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/jugglebandhi/entry/horny-india

And I have to add this comment given by another reader:
When I learned to drive almost 50 years ago, one of the advices given to me by my instructor was "hamesha haarn bajana--- bhulna nahi". I did not question why, because he was my guru!
Which translated means, "Always blow the horn--do not forget!"

Flies. I Hate Them.

Yes. Flies. They're horrible. I don't know if its the strange way they feel when they land on you, or how when you swat at them they just keep coming back. It might be the way they all swarm in packs and there can never be just one. Maybe its because flies always seem to surround things like roadkill and cow pies, so when they land on you its like a huge offense, "ah! the flies are mistaking me for dog crap, do I really smell that bad?!" (Yet no matter how many showers I take or perfume I apply, I still smell like a rotting animal to flies). OR is it because we've all heard the tale that every time a fly lands on us it leaves a piece of poop behind (don't tell me I'm the only one that's heard it)?

For some reason, India has a whole-stinkin-lot of flies. I can't quite figure out why either. (Free-roaming cows and cow patties, anyone?) And its not until I notice how awesome the weather is outside and have the hugest desire to sit outside with a good book or crossword, that I'm reminded of my dear old friends, the flies. I tried doing what most people do and just ignore them. After all, what can they really do to me, lick me to death? But after three or four have taken land I just can't handle it anymore, those tickly legs and extending tongues, yuck. My hands start the swatting routine that doesn't end until I finally decide to retreat and go inside.

I've seriously considered (and still am considering) buying this neat device that looks like a small tennis racket that has electric wires running through it and is used for killing mosquitoes; except I'm after larger prey: those damn flies. I would have a hay day relaxing outside, daring any fly to com near me. BUT, as luck would have it, my in-laws have much larger, non-murderous hearts than I do. They would rather not kill any living creature unless absolutely necessary; that includes flies, and that also includes their daughter-in-law doing any unnecessary harming. So for now, kya karu (what to do)?

Call me a complainer, a whiner, cold-hearted, or even a hater.
But seriously, I hate flies.

Sounds Like Home Radio

Chaar Baj Gaye, Party Abhi Baki Hai

This song is pretty popular in India right now and I just had to post it because it reminds me of something I would here on a normal pop music station back home...maybe Wild 95.5 for South Florida. And the meaning of the song isn't far-off from something we would hear at home too; mostly about drinking and partying. I guess no matter what the language, young people are thinking about the same things ;).

Chaar Baj Gaye, Party Abhi Baki Hai = Its four o'clock but the party's still going on.

Cycle Chalana!

Riding Bicyles! One cool thing about the city we live in is that the British once lived here and left a few neat monuments behind. One such 'monument' is a man-made canal that runs through the middle of the city. The canal runs more than 400kms (250miles) outside of the city and provides cool air during the summer season. The canal was first used for irrigation and water transportaion while the British were here, but now its used purely for recreation and enjoyment, swimming and other water sports.

Today Abhinav and I took advantage of his day off and decided to go bicycle riding along the canal. Here are a few pics.

Road along the canal where we rode bikes.

Bridge built by the British on the canal. 

Riding Bikes :)