Quick Quiz: What am I going to do with this Adjustable Window Screen?

Here's a quick quiz before the next travelogue post!

I bought an adjustable window screen, slightly smaller than the one in the picture below, from Lowe's for $4.98.

Adjustable Window Screen from Lowe's

It's 10" in height and expands from 20" to 37". I am not going to use it as a window screen. And it would have served my purpose even if it did not expand or was smaller in size. It is going into Medha's room and will (hopefully) serve to reduce a major source of irritation - for me, not her. I was inspired by something she did every night when we were in Bombay.

Any clues how we are going to use it?

Read on...

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day!
Happy 4th of July!
Happy Day!

Snickerdoodle flag at our I-Day potluck yesterday

Due to the economic downturn, Louisville has had to cut back on several of its annual events, including the traditional fireworks display and the picnic at Community Park. I am far too lazy to brave the traffic and drive out to another town or jostle with other Louisville denizens for a spot on the Davidson Mesa, which has views of $$$ fireworks going up in flames all around us: CU-Boulder, Longmont, Superior and perhaps even Lafayette and Broomfield. So instead I will leave you with some of my shots from the last couple of years of Louisville's fireworks:



Have a great long weekend!

Say what?

Mango lassi sounded like a great proposition so I bought a can of Kesar Mango Pulp the other day.

What do I know about the mango? You get fat when you eat too many. They are high in sugars and they are a great source of Vitamin C. It only followed that the nutrition label beckoned to me and look what I found: no fat, no sugar, no Vitamin C.

But look at the last line. It says Fat 9. But! But! What happened to no fat? ^**

A closer look at the ingredients showed that it has been sweetened with Sugar Syrup. I guess there is no sugar in that either, just like there are no sugars in mango.

Who writes these nutrition labels? Who checks them for accuracy? Is it something that is just slapped on a food product so that it makes it past the FDA?


 

The Twilight Zone Hangover

The Theater Company of Lafayette (TCL) is a local volunteer-run nonprofit theater company that puts up high quality plays. I particularly love their Twilight Zone series. I had no idea what The Twilight Zone was about until we went along for a TCL production with our 'hood a couple of years ago. I really enjoyed the costumes, accents and themes from the late 50s and 60s. Unfortunately, TCL did not have any Twilight Zone shows last year but they did this year! It was an event that could not be passed on so about 30 of us trooped into the Mary Miller Theater in Lafayette earlier this evening, after soup and apperitifs. It was a wonderful evening of drama, mystery with a lot of community in the mix.

After returning home, I had to look up some of the old shows and look what I found: a glimpse of The Matrix except that it was a Twilight Zone show from 1985!




 

The body as a canvas

About Painted People (NY Times)

If you want to see a slideshow instead.

Taking the Steps Can be Fun

Hat tip to my friend Ted!

I apologize about the annoying Neilsen pop-up survey. I have opted out of floating ads with BlogHerAds but apparently they have the right to override that. Please bear with me and my blog till they get all the data they need!

 

IFR Weekend Frolic: Full of Hot Air

I haven't yet made it to the balloon fests in nearby Erie or Colorado Springs, so I don't know when I will make it to the one in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Finding this raw video, therefore, was a great treat!



If you are a fellow Flickrite, please do me a favor and go fave my friend Mike's balloon pic. You won't regret clicking through as it is one of the most colorful balloon shots with the most balloons ever - with his quirky sense of humor all over it!

 

How high is 11,000ft?

Very.

The best crêpes ever!

This weekend has zipped by so fast that it's hard to believe that it's almost the start of yet another work week!

I organized the 2nd Annual Art Expo in our neighborhood. We had fused bead art, paintings, baked goodies, beaded jewelry, friendship bracelets and marbled cards. The kids enjoyed receiving accolades for their handiwork and they literally glowed from renewed self-confidence. Like last year, we had a raffle and the prize was a smaller version of the Wisp scarf that I had knitted earlier this year. Two guinea pigs, a swarm of wasps and a shy bullsnake also put in an appearance and added to the overall excitement.

We rushed to the Louisville Farmers Market soon after the Art Expo because we had heard so much about the new crêpe stand, Crêpes a la Cart. We had always walked around it before as the lines are just too long but by 1 pm or so, it's usually so hot that most folks have eaten and gone home or given up on the long line. We shared a lunch crêpe with mozzarella cheese, asparagus and all the veggies they had left. The vendor called them interactive crêpes and encouraged us to add our touch. We added just one thing! Watch the video to find out what!



Sunday saw us dreaming of a hike in Chautauqua Park. I had underestimated just how popular the area is because everyone and their dogs were there. Parking? Dream on. We headed up Flagstaff Road instead and went on a short stroll. We parked at Realization Point, took the Ute Trail to Sensory Point and back via Rangeview Trail. Just over a mile long, this walk was lined by wildflowers - only two were new to me - and the views of the Front Range on the way back were spectacular. (Photos from this walk are coming soon!) Given that Boulder Falls has been closed since late March due to a tragic accident from falling rocks, this short hike is the next best option for out-of-town visitors, especially at this time of the year. It's short, it's easy and it won't deplete whatever oxygen they have left in their lungs.

How was your weekend?

All sorts of Crack

It only took us four years to finally hike in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, apparently one of the most visited wilderness areas in the US.

Diamond Lake has been on my list of must-do hikes for a long time. The problem is that you - we - need to get to the trailhead rather early, not just to get a parking spot but also to ensure that you are back before the afternoon thundershow. Diamond Lake is not an easy hike but we've graduated to moderate and slightly strenuous hikes with Medha (and me, but don't tell her) that it should not be a problem anymore. But the rise-and-shine early thing presents several issues on weekends; on weekdays, too. But it's summer and we are allowed these small luxuries of life even though I always feel like we're sleeping our lives away. Yet it seems to be firmly ensconced in my genes and poor Medha has it socked from both sets of genes she inherited.

So Diamond Lake, it was not. Instead we thought we'd do an easy hike to Lake Isabelle (10,870ft), 2 miles one way. Except, we didn't get parking at the Long Lake trailhead - no prizes for guessing why. We had to park near the Niwot Cutoff Trailhead (10,300ft) in the Brainard Recreation Area, making the hike a 3-mile one way trip. Someone was not very happy: "this is like doing BolderBoulder at almost 11,000ft, Mumma!" but she was glad she came along because Lake Isabelle is so worth it! The lake is nestled in a valley, almost at treeline. It's an incredible kind of high.

Read on...

Happy 4th of July!

Happy Independence Day to everyone in the US, US citizens all over the world and everyone else who wants to join in the festivities!

Here are some pics from my attempts at capturing the fireworks display in Louisville, Colorado last year. I had no clue what I was doing and fiddled with the settings until I got pictures like these.


Fireworks are dynamic and depending on the kind of fireworks being shot, you may need to change your settings on the fly. I looked it up after the fact and found that it's a good idea to start off with an aperture of f/8, ISO setting of 100 or at most 200, and a shutter speed of about 2 seconds. Or if you have a remote, use the Bulb setting for best results. Reduce the aperture if the explosions or trails appear to be over-exposed. Turn off your auto-focus and set it at infinity as the fireworks are usually far enough for that to work. A tripod is essential.

I'm hoping to get some better shots this year!



All said and done, my most fave shot from last year was one taken with my little P&S:

I'm off to a barbecue where the menu is mojitos. I think there will be lots of food, too. But when there's mojitos, food is just by-the-way!

Hope you have a great celebration!

Pic of the Week

How many of you watched the debate on Wednesday and rolled your eyes at this?

Image courtesy Reuters, via Yahoo!

See Flickrite d.rex's take on this same pic. And the wave that has been unleashed!

Maybe it's high time it was put away from such flagrant public display!

IFR Weekend Frolic: Big Hands

Whether you are a Western Classical music aficionado or not, whether you have heard of Sergei Rachmaninoff or not, you are sure to enjoy Igudesman and Joo's take on one of his pieces:


If the video does not load for you, try this link.

Innovative or Just Plain Dumb?

Murukus! Who doesn't like these? They are a crunchy deep-fried snack that goes so well with tea, coffee and even cocktails. Yum! Yum! Yum! Right?



Soon after I emptied the yummies into an air-tight container, something on the back of the packet caught my eye.


Never mind what it says about the marketing skills of the distributors of this product, what does it say about what they think about their customers: Stinky!

And, I can't eat these anymore. Whenever I see murukus, I am engulfed by the putrid smell of sweat. I also see sweat-laden pads.

TGIF!

IFR Weekend Frolic

This has been doing the rounds since late 2006 but it's so funny that I laugh every time I listen to it. If you haven't seen it before, it's time to exercise those facial muscles now!



If the video does not load for you, try this link

Have a great weekend!