Honouring Fridays: November 13th, 2009

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Today is our 1-year anniversary of arriving in Nepal!  I can easily recall the feelings of excitement, nervousness, and uncertainty that rumbled through me. I remember it being colder than I expected and that the sights, colours, smells, and sounds were overwhelming.  I noticed the other day while riding a small tuk-tuk home from work that I was almost dozing during the ride – day-dreaming and not thinking about where to get off, what to watch out for, and what to do next.  What a change from when I would have my nose pressed against the window to see every moment of the trip.  I clearly have some comfort and ease with life in Kathmandu now – I live with more confidence.

And arriving today are 16 new volunteers – tonight we will welcome them with a party – and I can only hope that the same feelings I had one year ago will be slightly eased through conversations with those of us who have learned to live here with confidence.

For myself, I have learned that it takes courage, patience, persistence, flexibility, and a good sense of humour to enjoy life here – may I carry these abilities into the next year full of adventures!

  • The beginning of the fresh produce season! Like any food growing endeavour, there are certain seasons in which certain vegetables grow the best.  As we move into the cool months, Fall if you will, we join many countries around the world that are engaged in harvesting.  The vegetables coming into our local shops these days are incredibly delicious and almost cartoonish in their bold and vibrant colours.  The cool weather has brought back the orange glow to the carrots, the deep purple sheen to the onions, the creamy whiteness of the cauliflower, and the ruffled and dewy leaves of bright green spinach and mustard.  There is no question that the vegetables we are eating are the freshest we have seen in a long time.   It is a wonderful time to cook in Nepal and to reap the flavours, colours, and tastes of a wonderful harvest…not to mention the beautiful bundles of golden yellow ripe rice stalks draped across in the paddies.
  • Functioning governments. Granted that there it is something of an oxymoron to place the words “functioning” and “governments” in the same sentence.  But I sometimes think that the Canadian government is possibly the most efficient, well-oiled, and proactive bureaucracy around…in comparison that is.  As Nepal struggles to overcome poverty, lack of infrastructure, impossible geographic terrain, drought, poor health care, human rights issues, and education development what holds them back nine times out of ten is a government that simply doesn’t function.  And by “doesn’t function” I mean a government that actually doesn’t meet regularly and when they try to meet the whole process is derailed due to a agitating groups blocking the parliament from meeting.  And not just for a day or two, but for months going on years!  Not to mention the corruption, deceit, lies, targeted killings, and oppression perpetrated by many government officials.  So, despite the petty and often ridiculous antics of politicians back home I am actually pretty grateful for how much our government does for us…regardless of who is in power.
  • Christmas carols. So, normally in my books November is WAYYYY too early to bust out the jingle bells and sing along to deck the halls.  But, being away from my regular traditions and seasonal cheer I allow myself to break the rules.  So, on a powerless night last week I did the unthinkable and turned on my Christmas playlist.  And it was excellent!  Something so simple that immediately feels familiar and happy.  I think what makes Christmas carols so good is that they really do bring an atmosphere of cheer and suddenly I am remembering all that is so wonderful about this time of year.    So, on your next “silent night”, bust out a carol and feel grateful for everything you love about Christmas.
  • Finding the right words. There is nothing more satisfying than being able to take a feeling that has stuck with you for a time and put that feeling into words.  When the words can tumble from your mouth and sound like a perfect description for something previously indescribable, it is magic.  I believe that these kinds of words are the sweetest to hear.  They rumble and resonate with the heart and the brain, satisfying both the heart’s need for expression and the brain’s need for explanation.

Honouring Fridays: November 6th, 2009

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Pesky head  cold. It’s back again which has meant two days of relative bed-rest (BO-RING). I don’t have much patience with just sitting around “getting better” so of course I decided the solution would be to cook something…and then something else….and maybe one last thing (don’t you worry, I washed my hands often and kept all my germs to myself). So, I bake myself into a tizzy and then need to find a way to dispose of it all…good thing I still have my appetite!  It started with a delicious adaptation of this cauliflower soup (minus the cheese sauce) topped with crispy bacon and served with grilled cheese. Then it was homemade shortbread…don’t judge me…I have a very reasonable explanation…I needed to test the recipe before the Christmas baking extravaganza and see if the toaster oven will cooperate (it did…test complete). And finally, bagels. Rather spontaneously inspired by 1) the amazing 17-year old dynamo behind The Sophisticated Gourmet and 2) a conversation with a colleague about how hard bagels are to find in Kathmandu (I agreed with him until I produced a perfect 8 bagels on the first try…take that Kathmandu…not so hard to find after all!). Being sick isn’t so bad…oh wait…yes, yes it is…all that baking was just a clever distraction from the head cold. Ouch…time to take a nap.

  • Marigolds. This time of year is an explosion of natural colour all around the city. But the brightest and most perky of all the blooms are the cheerful and holy marigolds. They bloom from every roof terrace, balcony, and doorway. They are the flowers that make up the ceremonial garlands for honouring people, they are sprinkled over heads as a blessing, and are strung in great long chains over the tops of almost every entrance way in Nepal. The door chains are a good luck practice and they are only replaced once a year during the Dashain and Tihar festivals. They are hopeful flowers, standing tall and eager, to greet me each morning on my walk to work. I love this greeting and will sincerely miss their cheerful vibrant colours when I return to the land of grey skys and rain. I might just have to source myself some indoor pots in fact – it can no longer be Fall without marigolds.  Plus, added bonus, they are a natural mosquito repellent!
  • Roasted peanuts in the shell. On a hot afternoon this week Sujata and I dashed out to run some office errands. Along the way back we stopped at one of the street fruit stalls for a snack. New to the table was a big pile of freshly roasted, still in their shell peanuts. Sujata bought a large newspaper-cone full for us to share. As we wandered back to the office and munched on our peanuts I got the full details of how to crack and eat these little gems. I discovered that Nepali wisdom (or maybe myth is a better word for it) insists that peanuts only be eaten in the cold months due to their “heaviness in the stomach” AND that you should not drink water right after eating them or they will give you a stomach ache AND they rare meant to be a social snack, shared with a group of people sitting in a circle in the full afternoon sun, not at other times of day. So many rules for the humble peanut! I followed all the rules and thoroughly enjoyed the whole nutty experience 🙂
  • City Park. In the centre of Kathmandu is a large and full enclosed field. In monsoon it is a green oasis of grassy space. In the dry season it is brown and dusty, reminiscent of a vacant lot. Open and free space in Kathmandu is hard to find. So much green space is hidden behind tall and well bricked walls. But this park in the middle of the city provides much needed space for any citizen to take a moment and soak up the last sunny rays over a picnic, play a pick-up game of cricket or soccer, take a quick jog around the dusty track, or (if you are up early enough) partake in a public yoga class. It reminds me of the traditional form of the commons, a space belonging to everyone. It isn’t as pretty as you would imagine most city parks to be, often overgrown and the barbed wire fencing at the entrance looks rather menacing. But at sunrise and sunset, as I make my way back and forth to work, I appreciate just how this small piece of public space is so important for so many Kathmandu residents.
  • Photos that speak. After slowly sifting through the photos from our 4 week vacation with family I came to the realization that there are some images that simply capture the feeling of a place, the emotion of the moment, or just the essence of the experience.  In fact, they are such a strong memory that they deserve their own note of appreciation and gratitude.  So, here is a selection of photos, taken during our trip, that I believe you will hear speak (with my captions, just in case you want to know what they said to me).  Credits to R and my parents who took the majority of these stunning shots.

Photos from the vacation

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On our visit to the Pashupatinath temple we observed the cremation of this body. It was a beautiful, careful, and loving ceremony and we felt privileged to have watched it all.
A beautiful set of arches in an old Indian fort. The symmetry, the scalloped edges, the light…I could just imagine living there.
Kathmandu street scene
A typically street scene in Kathmandu. To me, this is the essence of life here in the city – this is how I will remember the bustling streets.
The colours of Nepal – vibrant, tangled and fluttering prayer flags.
A rooftop patio with stunning views of the foggy rice terraces. And time with family just to sit and chat…a wonderful memory.
Can you feel the joy? That is what I call “the look of someone’s dream coming true”!
Sometimes, all that is needed is to listen
Sometimes, all that is needed is to listen
This is Rajesh. After he showed me his karate moves and I showed him mine we had a great chat while walking. He spoke excellent English but had much more fun listening to me bumble through my Nepali 🙂 His smile is worth a thousand words.
We had the most wonderful guide (Renukha, grey shirt) and 2 assistants who helped carry our stuff, Maina (red shirt) and Indra (yellow shirt). They inspired me by being women in an almost exclusively male profession. They were strong and powerful women with beautiful hearts and shining spirits. I only hope we get to see them again soon.
One of my regular lunch spots – unpretentious, inexpensive, and delicious. And of course, it was Mom and Dad’s favourite…better than any hundred dollar meal.
If I ever think my job is too hard I look at this picture. If they can do this, then I surely have nothing to complain about!
And they gave us flower garlands, sang songs and danced to raise funds for their mother’s group – what nobody else knew is that they walked 1 hour through the mountains to get there – the same route we had taken earlier which had taken 2 hours!
Rural life in Nepal – perched on the hills and surrounded by gently curving and undulating layers upon layers of rice paddies. The curves of the rice paddies are soothing and they remind me of gentle ocean waves – green waves of rice.
The Taj – absolutely awe inspiring and jaw droppingly beautiful. Majestic, serene, and built from love.
A quick pony-pulled cart ride through the streets was just as fun as it looks!
The Himalayas in the background, love in the foreground – a perfect picture 🙂
And the Himalayas – absolutely magical!

Honouring Fridays: October 30th, 2009

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Happy Halloween! Nepal is not quite into the spooky, creepy crawly, bewitchiness that is Halloween.  However, that won’t stop us.  Tonight we are off to a Halloween party complete with pumpkin carving thanks to our dear Canadian friend Michelle. Costumes are hard to find so instead we opted for masks. Brilliantly feathered carnivale type masks were only 40 NPR at the local store (that is like 50 cents for anyone counting.) – we will look like owlets or birds I think.  And this weekend there will be pumpkin…oh yes.  I have my sights set of these delicious pumpkin donuts and perhaps a vat of pumpkin soup (of course kicked up a notch and flavoured with the cancer busting power of curry!).

  • Hearing the birds sing. I normally associate singing birds with the onset of Spring in Vancouver – that sprightly and excited bird chattering that pops up when the sun finally breaks through the clouds and rain for the first time.  But I have noticed lately in Kathmandu that the mornings and evenings are full of birds singing.  I think the rainy monsoon weather may have kept their songs hidden but the crystal clear and noiseless November days are perfect for a twitter of bird songs.  Nothing better than waking up to a beautiful blue sky day with birds singing – holds the promise of good things.
  • These. I covet these.  I only wish they had my size!  I am holding my breath and hoping that they will shortly stock my size but even if they don’t I still think they are a spectacular fashion find.  The ability to mix and match soles and tops, the recycled sari colours, and the multiple tying possibilities make them extra covet worthy.   I am clearly experiencing the “Oh my god I am leaving Nepal soon and will need to dress like normal not-so-sloppy adult…quick someone get me some cute sandals!”
  • The perfect job. Okay, so I haven’t yet found THE perfect job, but I sure have had some great jobs that came pretty darn close.  And this week, especially, I have realized how grateful I am for work that makes me feel good.  Loving my work is important to my overall life satisfaction – I am not someone who can work to live  – I live to work (and do something meaningful in the process).  So, as I consider the fact that I will be unemploymed in about 2 months (vagabonding around the world) I don’t think it is too early to send a quick reminder to those who are gainfully employed…I AM LOOKING FOR THE PERFECT JOB…STARTING AUGUST 2010…IN VANCOUVER…HIRE ME 🙂  If you know of a great job or someone who might want to hire me, just leave me a comment below.  It doesn’t have to be perfect…just close to perfect 🙂
  • Ayush. This week, my colleague Sujata brought her 2-year old, Ayush, to the office.  The plan was for him to play outside in a grassy patch out front of our office, while his nanny watched and we orked.  It sounded good, in theory but of course, Ayush had different plans!  He is a curious, precocious and active little guy who charmed me easily from my desk out to the grass to play.  I let Sujata work for a bit and we played catch with a ball for an hour or rather he kicked the ball and I chased it around the yard, much to his 2-year old delight.  So, needless to say, little work was accomplished that day – if we weren’t in the yard playing, he was jumping around our office pulling at various cables and cords, knocking things over, and investigating my laptop with his sticky fingers. There is a reason why 2-year olds and work don’t usually mix!  Fun for him, unproductive for us!  But for one day, just one, I was reminded just how fun it is to be 2, even when you are 30.

Honouring Fridays: October 23rd, 2009

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As many people may have heard, my grandmother died last week. She was in her late 90’s and still managed to go for a swim everyday in Lake Okanagan, knit woolly booties for the new babies at the hospital, and spend as much time as possible with her family. Back in the day she was a talented figure skater, a baker of the most delicious fudge, and a practical joker of the highest degree. She took pleasure in stuffing home knitted socks with jaw-breaker candies as big as my head (at least they felt that big when my 10 year old eyes watched my Dad pull them out of his new socks on Christmas morning) and she could always be counted on for warm hugs, a great game of rummy (she cheated, but we all let her), and some laughs – she was always laughing.

  • Grandma Frances. So, this week I am the most grateful for my grandmother and the wonderful life that she was able to live. I can only hope that I have inherited an ounce of your kindness, a funny bone or two and perhaps a drop or two of your delicious fudge-making talents too 🙂  We love you and will miss you Grandma.

  • Ginger tea. During our 5-day trek in the hills and mountains, after climbing for 4-5 hours, we would reach the guest house exhausted and hungry. Dinner would usually be some warm and filling potato or egg dish but what we all looked forward to more than dinner was the steaming pot of ginger tea at the end of the meal. It was quite simple – black tea with fresh, chopped ginger and a splash of honey dumped into the pot. No infusion of ginger essence or synthetic ginger flavouring, just real fresh gingery hot tea. It was a warm hug before bed, a muscle rejuvinator before the next day of hiking, a chance to reconnect with family about how the day went, and a moment of calm, full-belly, peacefulness. I plan on making this concoction throughout the cold months here in Nepal to ward off H1N1, common colds, chest infections, and stomach irritations – even if it doesn’t work it will still bring me back to the cool crisp evenings in Nepal’s mountains sitting with family and sharing a wonderful pot of tea.

  • Rotisserie chicken. While my parents were visiting earlier this month we made a wonderful discovery. The small and unassuming toaster oven that graces my counter is also a rotisserie! In preparations for a small Thanksgiving dinner we had planned to roast a chicken in the toaster oven. I found some odd spear and dagger like instruments in the cupboard and starting putting the pieces together. On inspection of the oven, we discovered that lo and behold, the large spear-like apparatus rotates! AHA! Spear the bird, slap it on the rotating device and voila – rotisserie chicken – a zillion times better than any Swiss Chalet affair and truly Thanksgiving worthy. You can rest assured that we will be re-enacting this magical moment for Christmas dinner as well 🙂

  • Rekindling a love affair. Despite the fact that I sometimes take you for granted, I am reminded just how appreciative I am to have you. The sweetness of reconnecting feels good. It is also especially good when the object of affection is so steady, familiar, and altogether unchanging. When it can feel like you were never apart. And so I have rekindled my love affair. You keep me connected, give me entertainment, and suffer as pound out my weekly installments of gratitude and yet never have I once shown any appreciation for you…the tool. You may have lost the ability to hold any charge in your battery due to random power surges but you will always have my undying affection.

Back to it!

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Well, I am back – one week late but I have already forgiven myself for that and hope you will too.

It was a spectacular vacation – hard to even know where to start in describing it all.  To ease myself back into the regular blog posts and writing I thought I would start with a quick tour through our vacation through the eyes of my mom.  During the trip, she wrote a 10-part series of elegant, descriptive, and thoroughly delicious emails about her experiences here – R is now uploading them to his blog and adding photos.  The first one is here. And the second one is here.  The rest will be coming over the next few weeks.

I will be back this Friday with my weekly gratitude post 🙂

Honouring Fridays: September 11th, 2009

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Well folks, this is the beginning of the end.  The beginning of my vacation (well, almost) and the end of working like a maniac…for a whole 4 weeks! We look forward to greeting my parents at the airport on Tuesday night and embarking on a trip to Pokhara, a short mountain trek, a bunch of small day trips around Kathmandu, and then a 9 day trip around Rajasthan in India.  And with this adventure comes the great need to disconnect from my life in Kathmandu…just enough to clear the mind and rejuvenate the spirit.

So, this will be my final Friday gratitude post for the next 4 weeks.  I may post some photos of our trip or the odd note during this time but will return in earnest with my weekly musings on things I am grateful for on Friday, October 16th.  Until then enjoy the beginning of Fall – bake an apple crisp, buy a new sweater, and  crush some dry leaves underfoot.

  • XMind.  On two instances over the past month I have needed to pull together a partnership map to show the connections between various stakeholders, community groups, partners, government, donors and volunteers.  In non-development speak this is really just a  complex organizational diagram that shows how any involved is connected to anyone else involved.  After fiddling for some time with the PowerPoint org chart functions I quickly realized they were much too hierarchical for our holistic approach.  So, off to the web to find something better (and free, and open source…of course!).  Enter XMind, a great tool for mind-mapping of the complex and chaotic variety.  Here is an example of what I was able to do.
  • Dhaka topi.  I have been taking more notice lately of the tradition Nepali caps that men here wear.  Topi ithe general word for hat and dhaka is the cloth used to make traditional Nepali mens wear.  When used together they refer to the hat worn when wearing the dhaka clothes.  They are jaunty, colourful, and rather charming.  Somehow, they remind me of time passed – I imagine what Kathmandu might have looked like years ago, with bikes being the main mode of transport, when colourful dhaka topis topped the head of every man riding a bike…it must have looked something like this.
  • Sel roti.  Sel roti looks like a large skinny donut.  It is a sweetened rice flour bread that is deep fried and eaten with Nepali tea or with a snack of curried chick peas.  I ate my first sel roti last week as they are a common snack around festival time.  I have not yet had the guts  to try and make them but if you want to give it a go, here is a good recipe.  The slight crunch of the ground  rice bits gives the texture of cornmeal and the sweet dough with the slight hint of banana flavour all drenched in a crispy greasy crust…delicious!
  • The right amount of time.  Enough time to appreciate, notice, and enjoy what is around you.  Not so much time  that you feel stuck and stagnant.  Enough time to soak it all in.  Not so much time to feel you might never make it to the end.  Enough time to feel powerfully connected.  Not so much time that powerful connections turn into resentful relationships.  Just the exact right amount of time when everything makes sense.

Honouring Fridays: September 4th, 2009

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The countdown to September 15th has kicked into full gear! The excitement of 4 weeks of vacation combined with visitors from home arriving on that day is making the days fly by. Plus September and October hold the biggest Hindu festivals (akin to Christmas in Christian countries). First is Dashain which is a large, 10-day, family celebration with lots of sacrifices, meat eating, dancing, singing, and returning to home villages to give prayers and offerings to family members. Then about 2 weeks later is Tihar (like Diwali in India) the festival of light. So, lots of joy and celebration ahead has left me feeling incredibly grateful this week – the cup runneth over with goodness, prosperity, and happiness!

  • Pants with no holes. Such simple pleasures really. After toting some rather tired-looking clothes to Nepal, hoping that they would wear themselves out while here, I discovered that they listened. But only in the form of large holes in the crotch (too much information? sorry), while the rest of the fabric is like new! Ordinarily, I would just buy myself a new pairs of pants, but when your entire 4-pair pants wardrobe is in cahoots and decides to commit collective suicide and to reveal your bits to the world, it means war. So, those old pants got a new lease on life this week thanks to a neighbourhood tailor. After trying about 6 different shops and getting full belly laughs from the proprietors about my large-thigh problem, I finally found a man who was willing to help. Granted, he and his friend spent a good ten minutes exclaiming and laughing to each other about how fat I was, but finally he agreed to help. The solution, while not perfect but absolutely acceptable, was to cut about 3 inches of length from the cuffs and use those two pieces to sandwich the weak fabric in the middle. So, 4 days later and they are as good as new…we will just overlook the fact that my entire pants wardrobe is now an awkward mid-ankle crop…
  • Cinnamon rolls. I inherited a big jar of yeast from a friend who was moving back to Canada from Nepal (Hi Anne! Say hello to Vancouver for us!), along with a great big bag of walnuts and an almost full can of dark Canadian maple syrup (and many many other lovely kitchen items…I am also grateful for hand-me-downs!). Inspired to bake something that reminded me of home, I quickly decided on the comforting yeasty-ness of cinnamon rolls. When I was younger my mom would sometimes get up very early and bake us fresh cinnamon buns before school…such a treat (I also remember the homemade elviss mcmuffins…real cheddar, English muffins, egg…my absolute favourite!). The husband loved them – he ate most of them in fact – and the maple walnut crunch with cinnamon was delicious! The bun recipe was an adaptation of The Pioneer Woman’s but instead of the maple glaze on top I  slathered inside butter, maple syrup, and cinnamon.  It may not feel like Fall here but it sure did taste like it!
  • Money. The pain was all worth it. I received word this week that the National Campaign for Education, Nepal (NCE Nepal) with whom I am working, has been approved for a rather large sum of money for this year and two more years funding contingent on success this year. It amounts to about $100,000 USD, in Nepali rupees is close to 7,769,999.69 NPR. To put this into context the majority of Nepali families in villages live on 3000-4000 NPR or less per month…this is BIG money! The proposal writing process was probably one of the most painful and exhausting times I have had here in Nepal but I couldn’t be happier that at least it was all worth it. This will be enough to hire two more staff and do some really exciting work on education advocacy including research, policy advocacy, and setting up regional advocacy networks. So, it is an exciting and wealthy time for NCE Nepal. It makes me slightly sad to be leaving and unable to see the implementation of all these great ideas. But it leaves them in a good spot…all I can do now is hope they use it effectively and ethically.
  • English translation errors. Last weekend we went up to near the Tibetan border to stay at a lovely resort called Last Resort. A beautiful and peaceful place to recharge the internal battery and refocus on what is inspiring about Nepal. We enjoyed the company of good friends, good food, and adventure! But I also enjoyed this – almost more than anything…I am still chuckling about it actually. 🙂   Whoops!   Just a bit more space needed between the first 2 options and the last option, unless of course vegetarian is in fact a new gender!  And I was thinking that this would be a good submission to Engrish.

Honouring Fridays: August 29th, 2009

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Call me crazy, but I think I feel a chill in the air.  The temperature dipped below 20 degrees and as we scrambled to get the blankets back on the bed I realized just how much my internal thermometer has shifted.  Since when did 20 degrees become cold?  And how much will I shiver when I get home and an hour of rain isn’t followed by blazing hot sunshine?  But perhaps it isn’t temperature at all, but rather old habits driving this need to cozy up – with September around the corner it somehow just feels like the right thing to do.

  • Work days that allow for a quick venue research trip up a mountain to resort-ish type location where one can see the Himalayan vistas. Need I say more?  In comparison it would be like being asked to visit Whistler (albeit much less fancy) for a day and report back on the quality of the hotel rooms, meeting halls, and menus of possible workshop venues.   And our selection was…Hotel Country Villa.  Beautiful rooms, fantastic food and excellent (read inspiring) views.  Sigh…work is tough some days!  The only piece of this day that I was not as grateful for was the screeching and precariously speedy trip up the mountain side to get to said location.  Thankfully, I was not riding on the roof of a public bus…it was scary enough from the backseat of a car.
  • Pothole warnings.  due to some very heavy rainstorms lately, some of the paved roadways are developing rather large, almost crater like, holes.  On my regular walking route to the tuk-tuk stop I had noticed some sinking spots in the pavement.  But literally overnight, these sink holes had sunk to new lows…giant hollow spaces beneath the pavement, much like cracking the head of a chocolate Easter bunny – the hole may look small from the top but is cavernous underneath.  So, to warn drivers who are speeding through the streets the neighbourhood solution is to prop a tall tree-like branch into the hole.  No bright tape, coloured ribbons, massive orange cones, or heavily roped off areas.  Just a bamboo branch waving lazily in the breeze and blending very wall into the surroundings.  I admit the holes were fixed within a week, an excellent turnaround time for Nepal, but Iam still left marveling at the simplicity of it all.
  • Being able to get work done in a cyber. Cyber is Nepali speak for an internet cafe – minus the cafe.  A bunch of old computers crammed into a small shop along with phone booths, a copy machine, and some dusty office supplies.  Speeds vary, monitors are often discoloured and flickering, and keyboards have notoriously sticky keys.  But right now, we have no internet in our office and have not had for the past 3 months.  So, this means regular trips to the local cyber to check and answer email.  And I am still somewhat shocked (and grateful!) for the amount of work we manage to do in these little cybers.  The noise level is ridiculous, with locals calling family gone to work in the Middle East and yelling over a poor reception, the ergonomics would make any office rep cringe, and there are always a gaggle of folks reading email over your shoulder.  However, with a bit of focus and preseverance we have managed to operate this way for 3 months.  Not ideal, but somehow satisfying.  And a tribute to a culture like Nepal where people simply are not bothered by these small inconveniences.
  • Peanut butter cookies.  It was a moment of madness and I was blinded by a recollection of smell and taste.  I had been dreaming about this particular version of peanuttyness for a few weeks but thought that the feeling would wear off.  It didn’t.  It got worse.  So, after trying desperately to ignore it, I caved and sent R on a scrambling race to the corner store for some peanut butter and baked out my craving with only moments to spare before the power cut started for the evening.  They were delicious and I think worth the madness.  My only excuse is that it was a back-to-school treat (without the back to school part)!

Honouring Fridays: August 21st, 2009

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This week, I was passed along a wonderful blog treat from my dear friend bakergirl – she tossed me the One Lovely blog award!

Now bakergirl knows a thing or two about good food…we all know that.  But what she is also incredibly talented at (and something not everyone would know) is that she is VERY good at appreciating people. She regularly does kind little things to make everyone feel appreciated.  SO, I wasn’t really surprised to see her appreciating other bloggers but was I tickled to be appreciated!  So wanting to follow the kind-hearted ways of my bakergirl pal, I too would like to honour 8 of the the best of blogs I know with a ONE LOVELY BLOG AWARD.

All my Friday gratitude this week goes to these talented writers, dreamers, critics, and artists – may the words always flow eagerly from your fingertips so that I can continue the pleasure of reading your thoughts and feeling inspired by you!

  • the rex-files.  He may (or may not…oooooh…mysterious) be my husband and he blogs with intelligence, wit, and perspective on anything and everything (particularly technology, photography, the environment, or information management).  And as cheesy as it is to pass a blog award to your husband (damn…there goes the mystery!) he deserves it!
  • Burnt Lumpia.   In my quest to add Filipino food to the repertoire after marrying into a Filipino family the excellent and creative (and incredibly humourous) ramblings of Marvin have satisfied just about every culinary Filipino need I have ever had…now if only my Filipino husband really likes Filipino food!
  • Desert Candy.  Mercedes has inspired a strong urge in me to cook more Middle Eastern food…REAL Middle Eastern food – not your run of the mill hummus and pita.  Her recipes are easy and delicious!  Keeps me dreaming of all the recipes I look forward to trying when we leave Nepal!
  • SmellyBlog.   Anyone who knows me well knows that if I could live my dream it would be to become a perfumer.  So, I can’t help but devour the blog of Ayala.  A resident of my adopted home town, Vancouver, and a talented perfumer who can describe a smell so vividly you can almost smell/taste it!  She is living proof that my dream could one day become a reality.
  • Everybody Likes Sandwiches.  Also a Vancouver blogger who I stumbled upon while looking for a good cabbage recipe.  I found one.  And many many many other appetizing, healthy and seasonal recipes that seem wholesome and real.  I resonate with her lifestyle, her food style, and her sense of style.
  • Pinch My Salt.  Stumbled here as I was looking for a recipe for making cheese and found so so much more.  Nicole is a fabulous cook and an excellent writer!
  • Sailu’s Kitchen.  These days, I am understandably obsessed with finding recipes and blogs related to good Indian and Nepali cuisine.  I am afraid that if I don’t perfect some of my favourite recipes I will be lost for what to eat when I leave Nepal!  Sailu’s Kitchen has provide great inspiration and a stock-pile of delicious recipes that I will make forever.  The kind of recipes that are destined to become family favourites 🙂
  • My husband cooks.  I read this blog out of complete admiration and awe…some day I dream my husband will surpass me in cooking ability too 🙂  Until then, I revel in the fact that her husband cooks the most delicious food and they both share it with us!  Now if only I could get my husband to read this blog…