twi.gs

A huge sheet of ice formed on the front of my car as I drove home for the holiday. The road was mostly ice, and people in RWD and FWD automobiles thought it’d be a good idea to stop on a hill. They inevitably got stuck. I pushed a BMW 5 series that was blocking my way then passed him moments later as he crept up the hill. <3 AWD.

There were a bunch of slide-offs, and I saw a couple of close call crash-ups. There was also a semi sliding backwards down the road. How would that be for scary?

Overall it was an adventurous trek home.

When I finally made it home, I bundled up in preparation for a quick late night hike (if you can even call it that). When I got there, I was greeted by some kids sledding down the side of the (daunting) mountain. This pic is a little blurry because it’s hard to focus on something you can’t really see.

When I made it higher, the view was pretty rad since everyone had their Christmas lights on in hopes that Santa wouldn’t skip their house (the picture doesn’t do it justice). I took more shots of the rest of the valley, but after the first one, the wind decided he wanted to jiggle my camera and make all the pictures blurrier than they already were.

Since the wind loves making things really cold, I ventured back to my car, bid farewell to the sledders, and drove back home shoes filled with snow.

Sometimes I try to make Indian food. All-the-times I fail. I’m really good at making the house smell like an Indian restaurant though.

Becky gave me book for Christmas that has pasta and rice recipes. The book has so many awesome things to make. I’m pretty excited to get a pasta maker now so I can try out awesome pasta morsels from scratch. Since I lack a pasta maker, and most food items to create anything, there was only one thing I could make with what I had at home: saffron threads, raisins, cardamom (I actually have so much cardamom), cloves, basmati rice, cinnamon sticks, ghee, and a yellow onion.

It wasn’t bad. I ate it (and watched part of Lagaan). I’ll probably make it again. Maybe I should stick with simple recipes rather than go for the hardest Indian dish every time. Biryani has a laundry list of ingredients and takes all day to prepare. I tend to get impatient.

Here’s a copy of the Christmas card I sent to my extended family. I had them printed out at work so Grandma and Grandpa can display it proudly on their mantle. Joy!

Dec 5th, 1988
Happy Holidays everyone!

It’s been another great year for the family. Luckily, we all still have our limbs! So many things have happened this year, I only wish there was enough room to tell you everything!

As you can see, we have a new addition to the family. Ebony will be 1 on January 15th. She has been working on a book The Semantics of Names. She has also started to learn how to play her cello in pizzicato. She is a bundle of joy, and we really enjoy when she fills the house with the Elgar Cello Concerto 4th Movement. She has a concert next week with Yehudi Menuhin. We are really excited to see it.

Jessica is wearing what’s called a cheongsam. She bought that while studying abroad in Lijiang through her elementary school’s foreign exchange program. Ever since she got back, she has dedicated her time to fighting the PRC. She hopes to go back to help the Labor Activists protest at a plaza in the middle of Beijing sometime in May. We are proud of her for taking such a bold stance against communism.

Little David has a lot of individuality that he’s trying to express. He insisted on wearing that outfit because he wanted to feel “fresh” for the picture. His breakdance lessons are coming along quite well. We drop him off in the Bronx after school, where Prof. DJ Kool Herc “mixes” up some “fat” “beats” for him to “dance” to.

Joshua and James just turned 7 this summer. When Jessica went to China, they began experimenting with her Easy Bake oven. Everyone liked the treats so much, our two little entrepreneurs started charging and people didn’t mind paying. They did so well, they were able to start a pastry chain, “Brxxxxer Bros Buns”. They now have 10 stores scattered across the state.

William just started the 8th grade this fall after getting an Honorable Discharge from the Iraq-Iran conflict. We are blessed that he came down with SIDS before his platoon went back into the battlefield. William was flown back to the states where he made a full recovery.

Lisa and I have been doing great raising our happy family. With the enormous raise I got last year, we were finally able to move into a house that has 8 bedrooms; one for each of the kids, one for us, and one for experimentation.

I hope this past year has treated you as well as it has treated us. Have a Merry Christmas, a Happy Hanukkah, a Crazy Kwanzzaa, a Tip-Top Tet, and a quiet dignified Ramadan!
Love,
The Bxxxxxr Family

Yesterday I went to the market to eat some free molcajete deliciousness. While I was there, I decided to ask the people who make the tortillas what the secret is for reheating them. I’ve always had a problem reheating tortillas. They either dry out or get slimy. Jorge told me that he heard you put a damp paper towel in a bag with the tortillas for tortilla perfection. We failed with this method every time.

I walked over to the little window with fresh tortillas stacked on the window sill and asked “How do you reheat tortillas when they get cold?”
The man grinned. This was it. I knew I was in for the secret to having delicious tortillas whenever I needed one.
“Corn” he replied.
“Thank-you” I said as I smiled and walked away a little disappointed. The secret had slipped through my fingers yet again.