This morning, woke up to watch the Tournament of Roses in Los Angeles parade on TV and was told that the actual parade was taking place hardly a mile away…and that the parade was being televised from its starting point. So on went the socks, shoes, sweater, jacket, coat, muffler, hat, gloves..and off we went to where we could see the parade halfway. To my great glee, I actually saw a few of the floats I had NOT seen on TV and we all found ourselves places in the crowd and watched the parade till the end. What lovely floats! There was one on Bears, one on Curly-haired horses, one on Mexico, on Nature’s Bounty, and so on…the profusion of flowers and the drummers and the marjorettes twirling their batons was just fantastic. Considering that I went so late, I did get a pretty decent view though of course Murphy’s Law mandated that there was a burly six-foot two in front of me who, when not hoisting his video camera on high, was either waving his arms about over his head, or had his nephew or someone like that on his shoulders….

This afternoon I finally broke my LJ jinx as a cousin who came from San Diego to visit said the home of was practically on his way home, and dropped me off there. And what a wonderful visit it was. We started yakking immediately while the spouse made A grade filter coffee for me, and then she asked if I could teach her to make "phulka"s, a light, no-oil, nothing-but-kneaded wheatflour bread, which she has always enjoyed at my place. So I taught her how to make it, and wound up making them for dinner; and also decided that I would teach her the very simple, yet delicious recipe for Tuvar Dal that 's mother taught me, many years ago, which my daughter referred to as "dall dall" to distinguish it from the other type of "dall" that I used to make before. It is a firm and staple favourite with all of us, and was amazed how simple it was! A friend's mother had also sent over some YUMMM Kothamalli Thogayal (a chutney made with cilantro) and made some Bhel Puri (in view of their nearness to the Hollywood suburb,I suggested they call it Bel Air Puri!).

Little Hari…is just too cute for words. He slowly warmed up to me and was soon giving me coy grins. And after the bhel, when I switched on the electronic tanpura to sing, he kept considering seriously if he liked the sound or not, and kept asking me to switch it on, and off, and on again.

I have been feeling totally out of sorts for the past few days and Wondernoon suggested an activity which, surely. was the best anodyne for this…singing. I sang several songs while she recorded them, and Hari listened, at first patiently and then restively. However, I felt so much more at peace with myself and the world after singing.

We had dinner with renewed praise doing wonders to dispel the rest of the clouds from my mental sky, and then Wondernoon’s spouse took a more than one hour ride to drop me back home.