Red Woods

I was very surprised when I heard about  2000year old trees, Its true. In california Redwood trees are spread through out the coast. They can grow to be the tallest trees on Earth. We have a picture of a redwood tree in our home which is 2000 year old, 300ft tall, 60ft diameter. They can grow till thirty stories up and 350 to 400 feet tall.. Redwoods are magical trees. Their bark and heartwood are rich in polyphenols, bugs and decay causing fungi dont like them. They dont have lot of resin in their bark so are highly resistant to fire. When ever the living tissues just beneath the bark are exposed to light, these trees produce sprouts. If the top breaks off  or the tree gets cut by a logger, a new branch woll sprout from the wound and grow like crazy. Modern America is carved in redwood. In 1902 Government created Redwoods State Park. Since then not only scientists but normal people like us are able to visit the great trees. There seems contests like, who can cut a log faster with chain saws etc. These trees are like gain bean stalks in fairy tales. Red woods produce more and better wood as they age. 2nd generation redwoods are 200 feet tall. Special aspects of redwood cells may help water keep rising against gravity to extreme heights. Leaves also absorb water from rain and fog. Fascinating Isn't It? here are few pics.

Flower Vase

Me and my daughter like flowers very much. We always pick flowers from woods and try to fit them in any  container from kitchen, then feel very proud of them. It used to be kind of time pass to me. We made so many flower vases at home with different flowers, also experimented with Ice and flower mix. Recently I read a column mentioning different techinques before making a flower vase. If the flower vase to be special we have to see suitable vase keeping the color combination in mind, also size and shape. And choosing container that is proportionate to quantity of the flowers also makes It pretty. Shapes like Trumpet, cylinder, bottle, sphere, pail, low pan etc. fits various types of flowers and environments. Here are few pics of silly flower vases that we made at home in the past.

Yummy Recipes

Last week I tried few recipes. My husband and daughter loved them. They go very well with rice. When I mentioned those to my mother in law, she was complaining that I never made any thing nice for her. Next time when I visit India I am going to surprise them with all my yummy dishes. I forgot to take pictures of them..next time when I cook definetly going to take pictures. Here are the directions for few of them. Dont forget to try them and please your family.
Tomato cut salan
Take tomatos cut open the top and remove the seeds from inside and keep it a side.Take the seeds and add 2 chillies make a paste.In a pan dry rost peanuts and seasmeseeds and make a paste.Take a pan add oil, garamasala,zeera, murstard seeds, fenugreek seeds, onion, curry leaves, ginger garlic pasted, salt, turmurice, tomato paste, chilli powder ,coconut powder, coriander powder, cook till oil oozes out.Once masala cooked add tamarind juice and water as needed, let it boil till oil oozes out.Lastly add the cut open tomatoes and switch of the flame, pour the gravy on the tomatoes top it of with coriander leaves,close it with a lid for 5 min then serve. 
Mashroom curry
Heat oil in a pan , add whole garam masala, cumin seeds and when they crackle add chopped onions ,salt turmeric ginger garlic paste and cook ,add curry leaves and chopped green chillies, add tomatoes and cook for few min and add mushrooms and cook till they are soft.  In another pan add butter , add crushed garlic, pepper,cumin seeds mixture to It add coriander powder and cumin powder, add the cooked mushroom mixture and cook till the moisture evaporates and dry. Finish with lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves.

Patric Swayze!

The moment I hear Salsa or Ballet, Patrick Swayze come to my mind. I saw the movie 'dirty dancing' and It made him very popular and he was nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Actor. Its very sad to loose such a great actor,dancer and singer. He was listed by People magazine as its "Sexiest Man Alive" in 1991. There are so many types like Ballroom, Jazz, HipHop, Break etc. Of all western dances my favourite one is definetly Salsa. Its spanish dance and salsa generally means "spicy flavour","mixture of different ingredients". This dance is mostly influenced by Mambo, Cha cha cha, Rumba.  Cha-cha, tango and foxtrot comes under Ballet. Unfortunately I did not learn any of them, but If I get a chance would not loose It. My 4yr old daughter learned little bit of Ballet and Tap and now she is into Bharatanatyam...have to see how many dances she is going to try. Here Is the link for her first performacne ....http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icNtGSsDqRE

Wow Wozniacki!

Has any one saw Wozniacki's game...I liked her game very much. She is only 19, ofcourse that does't matter. Even 17 year old cinderella, Melanie Oudin played very well.  Wozniacki is the daughter of fromer soccer player of Poland and she is ranked  8th in the world. I am curious for the finals.I started with Steffi graf beating Martina navratilova. Since then I am the fan of steffi graf. My eyes used to stick to her through out the match. She even won Olympics. I was astonished when I heard the prize money for US open..$21,600,000. Wow all that for just one game,... hmm many of us cannot earn that much in a life time.

FEELING BLUE????

Depressed or unhappy??? As a human being theese feelings are very common I suppose. Even I feel very depressed sometimes. ...There is only one solution to solve the miserable conditions ...BHAGAVADGITA. I'll Just close my eyes and listen to Lord Krishna. Bhagavadgita teaches us how to live in this world, do our duty and yet remain like lotus leaves amidst water. We bind ourselves to this world through our desires and our actions, not knowing our true nature and true purpose. Gita teaches us stability of mind. How to attain our purpose of life. Immerse in the ocean of  reality, go to http://www.bhagavad-gita.org/ forget all your miseries and enjoy the teachings of GITA.

Vegas

We know Vegas as a haven for escaping everyday life. Recently I read an article about vegas in TIMES . Even during the worst recession in decades, Las Vegas is projected to host 36 million visitors in 2009 not only that but $13 billion of new business developments and more projects are set to open in the city. It'll remain in my memories forever as one of the most amazing places that I visited. Don't miss It If any body gets a chance to visit Las Vegas. On the way home don't forget to see one of the natural wonders on earth..GRAND CANYON. Here are few pics from my visit...