Astrovelo

Mom is away on a business trip for 4 days. Yipeeee! My housemate Ashwini and I are going to parteee… Games, books, milk and lotsa cookies. You are all invited.

Everyone knows about the massive shortage of flu vaccine in US, this season. Shutting down a plant owned by Chiron in UK was the main reason for this shortage. This has given rise to some interesting responses from the state and local authorities. In Oregon and California, the health care workers found to administer flu vaccine to someone who does not meet the criteria to be on the approved list, could face fines and/or jail. Pretty soon, senior citizen standing in line to get a flu shot is going to be a common sight across US.

Thankfully, Ashwini already received her flu shot last week. Anyway, she is on the approved list (6-24 mo. old).

This is hilarious! Check out Bill Clinton’s message at the end when the credits get over. That is the best part.

Thanks, Mayuresh!

Yahoo! News - Manila’s Cardinal Sin Rushed to Hospital

I know it isn’t nice to make fun of someone who is ill. But, am I the only one who saw humor in this headline?

Reminds of a marathi magazine I used to read, ‘Amrut’. It used to have these two features:

• 'Mudrarakshasacha vinod', that listed humor created by typos.
• 'U-san-du (upsampadakachya dulakya)', that listed humor created by negligent subeditors who didn't proofread the copies before publishing.

Can’t decide which way to go… Red delicious or golden delicious?

Check out these tomatoes or motoos as Ashwini calls them.

This Oak usually turns from green to brown. There is something special this year that it got this red hue.

Ashwini getting ready to root for the Texas Longhorns in their game against Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday.

Here is her monthly update: (Don’t miss the last bullet in this list. She made her dada proud.)

• There isn't much change in her physically from last update to now. She can just run faster, balance herself better and doesn't fall down as often.
• The big difference is in her vocabulary. She now knows names for all her toys, animals, characters in books, and most of the household things around her. These days she is talking all the time. Non-stop. Even though, we don't understand everything she says, it is quite entertaining.
• Ashwini still can't say the 'S' and 'R' sounds. It is quite sad for her teacher, Sara. Ashwini can call many teachers and kids by their proper names, but, she says 'yaya' for Sara. Her other teacher's name is Mariah, who has to answer to 'manana'.
• While outside, she is always on the lookout for cahds (cars), trucks, birds, ducks, airplanes, Hun (Sun :)), Moon and of course tharsh (stars). She is getting a lesson in Astronomy quite early in her life. When she can't see the stars and Moon in the night, she knows because the sky is 'cowly' (cloudy). She used to confuse Sun for Moon, but, now she knows the correct names.
• Lately, she has been demanding to listen to children's songs in the car. Marathi songs in my car and English songs from her Kindermusic class in her mother's.
• Her food habits haven't changed too much but, her dexterity with spoon has. These days, Ashwini wants to feed herself with a spoon or by her hand and holds the sippy-cup or bottle by herself. She doesn't like it when we try to feed her.
• She has been good about sleeping through the night lately. She wakes up once or twice but goes back to sleep in a minute or two; Many times without us getting involved. I think the end of Summer has something to do with it. She gets too hot. She needs to have a fan in her room to be comfortable while we sleep under a blanket.
• Yesterday, she was in her playroom when I was looking through mail. She came to me and said "dada hand". When I showed her my hand she held a finger and said "dada walky walky walky". So, I stood up and she led me to her playroom. There she pointed to her bubble toy sitting high on a table and asked for it by saying "dada baboo". She knew what she wanted and knew how to get to it. I was surprised that she could think through a process and then acted on it.

The forecasters were right. It was indeed cold this morning. 25F or -4C. I grudgingly got out of bed and somehow managed to brush my teeth. Then, my eyes were opened wide when I was greeted by a sweet smell as I climbed down the stairs on my way to the kitchen. The delicate white flowers looked so beautiful in the moonlight. Call it by whatever name you want, this is one of my most favorite flowers. I am glad that after seeing the weather forecast, all our tropical plants were brought inside on Sunday evening. This morning would have been brutal for them.

Comet Hale-Bopp photographed on Friday, April 4th, 1997 from the Princeton Battlefield Park, using Pentax K-1000, 50mm normal lens mounted on the back of a telescope for tracking on Kodak Gold 200 with ~1 minute exposure.

It is a freaking ri-god-damned-diculous movie. I didn’t watch it for so long but, why the hell did I decide to torture myself now???

My most favorite photo from the same trip to Vermont in 1997. It was all cloudy with the Sun peeking through small gaps in the clouds. In the areas of sunlight, it looked as if the trees were on fire.

Fat Bastard is good.

Just wanted to say that 2003 Fat Bastard Merlot is very smooth.

Another photo from the same trip to Vermont in 1997. I have not seen such bright fall colors since this trip, even on our subsequent trips to Vermont.

This photo was taken in the Fall of 1997 somewhere in Vermont. It was the best Fall colors trip that we ever took.

Just realised that I hadn’t posted any Ashwini photos in a long time.

These days Ashwini wants to wear a hat all the time. Doesn’t matter which one out of her three hats it is, but she has to have one on her head.


Helping her Dada water the tomatoes.


She found it in the bathroom and put it on herself.


Donning a dress brought by her aajoba.