Hair today, gone tomorrow

Long locks before the big day.

This weekend was a monumental one for our family. E's mom, dad, and baby sis, Addie were visiting for Indio's first American Thanksgiving and to join us in celebrating Indio's Mundan, or his first haircut. Close friends and family honoured us by attending this auspicious occasion.

The Mundan ceremony is a Hindu rite, or saṃskāra, in which a child receives his first haircut, typically during the first or third year of age. After a brief prayer/blessing by a Hindu pandit, the child’s hair is shorn.

In tradition, the hair from birth is associated with undesirable traits from past lives. Thus at the time of the mundan, the child is freshly shaven to signify freedom from the past and moving into the future.

E performed the shaving and surprisingly, Indio was a great sport about it all. I think I was more emotional than him! It was such a happy occasion, but also a sad one because it marked that time is passing so quickly. I am grateful I had the love and support of so many this week!

Like father, like son

Wow, it's really all gone.

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Unexpected calmness

Today was like any other, which was weird because I thought I should feel something *more*. Though always part of my memory, this one has slid to the back, safely tucked away. It's still a bit jarring every time it surfaces though.

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35 years and still going strong!

Today is my parents' 35th wedding anniversary. They had an arranged marriage in India after a 3-week long courtship. My dad was already living in Canada and went to India to meet his potential bride. Before the trip, my parents had never spoken or met. There were lots of people hoping and praying that the two would get along and agree to be married. Lucky for everyone, after their initial meeting, my parents were inseparable until the day of their wedding.

It makes me all warm and fuzzy watching them today, still so in love!

My aunt sitting with the newlyweds. My mom was not supposed to look excited because when a woman gets married she is essentially leaving her family for her husband's.

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Imagine my glee when I received a postcard the other day from none other than the Missive Maven herself! Her blog is one that I've been reading for a few months now, after being introduced to Postcrossing by Faiza. She loves to send and receive snail mail and puts great thought and effort into each piece, so of course I sent her one of my cards. She is one of a few bloggers who has inspired to me to return to the art of writing letters. She sent this great podpodpost.com card. Oh, and of course she also used great stamps, including one of C3PO. Now if only I had taken a photo of the R2D2 mailbox that used to live near our apartment in Brooklyn...

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Yes, he is

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza

It's been exactly one year since Barack Obama won the US Presidential Election. I remember that night so clearly. When it was announced that he was indeed the winner I cried tears of joy, knowing that my soon-to-arrive son would be born into a world that was changing...for the better.

Even though we no longer live in the US, we still have so many ties to the country and may live there once again. Either way, living during this time of incredible change brings me so much hope and joy for the future of our world.

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Two new Postcrossing cards

I love this postcard from Bee in New York. It's called "koi and cherry blossom petals" from A Year in Japan. I think it's my favourite so far.

The kitschy bison in this card from Hurricane Hills, Texas reminds me of the bull on Wall Street in NYC.

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Well Fed: The Odeon

I'm finally getting around to posting some thoughts from our recent family trip to NYC. I had these written up long ago, but hadn't been able to upload the photos from the camera until now.

A good friend of mine has mentioned The Odeon on almost every trip to NYC and since we were staying at the very apartment she usually stays at, I had to give it a try. We went for an early Sunday brunch on the most perfect-October-weather day. Indy was in good spirits, which made it even more perfect.

Though our waitstaff seemed to have partied a little too hard the night before and therefore were Zombie-like during our meal, they were polite and made sure my decaf coffee stayed full.

E ordered the croque monsieur, which was very good, but really small. Definitely not sizable enough for any full-grown human, especially at $16. I had the lemon ricotta and poppy seed pancakes, which were delicious! Even Indy approved. The citrus maple syrup and accompanying berries completed the tasty 'cakes, though I did think there would be a bit more than just 3 pancakes on the plate...Maybe a side or something? I think they were around $14.

Over all, I liked The Odeon, but wasn't blown away. I guess I've been spoiled with the prix fixe brunches in Brooklyn that are always so big, so scrumptious and include an *adult* beverage of our choice.

Where's your favorite brunch spot? What dish do you usually order?

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