Reaping what I sew

Last week, when Marco came to visit Seattle, he brought us a beautiful bedspread from India.

As you know, we use German bedding consisting of individual duvets, so one big bedspread won’t work on our bed.  Still, I absolutely love this fabric and was determined to turn it into duvet covers for our bed.

So I got to work.

First stop: Target, to buy a new sewing machine.

  I’ve had my old machine for about 25 years and it used to frustrate the hell out of me so I knew it was time for a new one.

Next stop: the fabric store to buy coordinated backing fabric.

Once I got home, I set up the new sewing machine and got to work.

Bailey was no help at all!

 

I measured once, measured twice, and measured again.  Then, scared to take scissors to the beautiful fabric, I procrastinated with Kat and went to the fabric store because she decided she wants to learn to sew now too!  :-)

The Mountain was OUT!

When we got home it could no longer be avoided; I HAD to cut!

I’m not gonna divulge whether I made any significant cutting or sewing mistakes.  Just suffice it to say that if Tom and I ever start the German bedding company we keep talking about, I’ll be doing sales and marketing… not sewing!

Eventually it was time to stuff our duvets into the new “sleeve.”  (Hint: it’s easier to do this if the sleeve is inside out!)

Fluffy, eh?

Time for a mojito break – with mint form our yard! (Thanks Tom!)

And finally, the finished products!

What do you think?  This is look #7 (the other six can be seen here) – and I think it’s my favorite!  Thanks so much, Marco and Ayesha!  I hope you don’t mind that I cut up your beautiful gift, but I just had to!

Marco Mania!

I’ve been away for almost a week.  I think this is my longest blogging absence in over three years!

Last week was incredibly busy with a few major deadlines and deliverables for some Microsoft clients. I could have probably finished a bit sooner and a bit smoother if only Marco, our amazing Senior Project Manager, technical writer,  and brilliant jack-of-all-trades in our Mumbai, India office had just stayed put and continued to work with me each evening.  But nooooo – he had to go traveling… to Seattle!

I have worked with Marco almost daily (and nightly, due to the time difference) for the past 18 months.  In that time I have come to respect him, revere him, and admire him – for both his technical and professional acumen and for his personal warmth and generosity of spirit.  When he announced that he’d be beginning his vacation in Seattle so he could finally meet our staff, I jumped on the opportunity to host him at our house.

On Friday morning, Marco joined us at the office for a busy and delightful day of working together.  As soon as he fired up his computer, he IM’d me as he’d done a million times before – but this one was different.

I immediately grabbed my camera and snapped a photo of my old friend and my new office mate:

Then Rebekah arrived, squealed with delight upon seeing Marco in person for the first time, and it was a free for all!

Oh wait – it looks like I was the one who’s squealing.  Whatevvvver.

After a full day of very productive work , we partied a bit at the CEO’s house.  Nora, Rebekah’s adorable daughter, gave the evening rave reviews.

In addition to being a technical whiz (check out his blog, Technology at Work (and Play) here), Marco is an avid photographer… so early on Saturday morning he, Kat and I went on a photojournalistic journey to the beautiful Snoqualmie Falls.  Marco shared all kinds of photography advice and secrets with Kat; I just loved watching the two of them together!

View Full Album

The town of Snoqualmie is where old trains to go to die – but Marco and Kat came alive there and snapped away!  Rather than post photos I took there, I’ll steal some of theirs from theirs. Only the best for you!

Kat’s…

View Full Album

And Marco’s.

View Full Album

No fair comparing!  Photography is such a subjective art.  They both have such an eye for this stuff. I’m insanely jealous!

After a yummy salmon barbeque at our house…

…we headed to the beer and wine bar recently opened by an ex-co-worker.  Of course we had to take a group photo:

Yo!  Morgan!  Pay attention!

It was a late night, but we all got up early the next day to show Marco our fair Emerald City.  First stop – Seattle Center, from both sea(ish) level and 500-some feet up.

(Lake Union)

Then we  took the monorail to Westlake Center and (get THIS!) walked to and around Pike Place Market (at least a half mile, all told)! Yes, my ankle was absolutely killing me by the time we got back to the car, but I DID IT! 

Oh, and I snapped a few photos in between winces.

 

Every time I see our harbor, I think “project manager!  Why?  Here’s why!

Of course, we had to bring Marco to the best vantage point to see our fair city and snap a few touristy shots from Kerry Park on Queen Anne.

A few more touristy sights, like our own fuzzy statue of Lenin, straight from the old Soviet Union…

and our own troll…

and our own seaplane…

…and we headed home to the incredible flavor of the Tandori chicken that Marco had put together in the morning and that had marinated all day.  DELISH! 

See those beautiful placemats and napkins?  Marco’s sweet wife picked those out for us!  I LOVE them!  They also brought lots of Indian spices and mixes with them, so we’ll be having delicious Indian food for months to come… but it won’t compare to a meal actually shared with Marco, in person!

At 4 AM, Marco’s shuttle came to take him away from us.  As he drove off, Tom and I both remarked simultaneously that we feel like we’ve been family friends forever and that we already wish he’d come back!  Soon, perhaps – and hopefully next time with his wife (and maybe a kidlet or two?)!

When we got back into the house we found this next to the (perfectly made) bed in the guest room:

No Marco – thank YOU!  You are so kind and loving and generous of spirit and I feel truly blessed to be able to call you my FRIEND as well as my co-worker!  We miss you already!

Pranic Healing? Hey, why NOT?!

One of the great things about working for an international company is the diversity of the employees. I've already written about some of my friends and coworkers in Mumbai, especially around traditional Indian wedding ceremonies and art (here and here and here), but today I want to write about an alternative view of medicine and healing, something my co-worker Ajay and his wife Meghan study and practice, called Panic healing.

After I broke my ankle, Ajay asked if I'd be willing to allow Meghan to do some Pranic healing on me as part of her coursework for the program she's in. I looked into it and decided, hey, why not -- especially since it's completely non-invasive. If you've never heard of it (as I hadn't) you can find out more on the Pranic healing website and in this video:

So it turns out that Meghan will be practicing Pranic healing on my foot, possibly even from afar! (?!) She wants me to ask my doctor whether I'm healing faster or better than expected. After watching the video and exploring this a bit on my own, I wouldn't be surprised. And since Pranic is complementing and not replacing traditional medicine and since it really can't do any harm, my only thought is... hey, why NOT? It sure can't hurt!

I'll let you know how it goes!

(And remind me to ask Ajay and Meghan if I can post photos and the story of their lovely American-Indian wedding, one ceremony in Portland and another, the following month, in India!)

Of Bangles and Henna

Just days before evil came to Mumbai, there was great happiness in that city...

(It's another guest post! This time by Marco, another co-worker in our Mumbai office, another person I have yet to meet in person but already love and adore. As we were working online the other night, Marco told me that his cousin got married over the weekend -- and of course I wanted to hear ALL about it! Marco was kind enough to write a full blog post (in Live Writer, even!) for my blog! I am forever grateful to Marco, his cousin Rebecca, and all the wonderful people at Rebecca and Ashwin's wedding. Please do leave a comment and let them know what you think.)

My cousin Rebecca got married recently. She's among the younger ones in our reasonably large group of fourteen cousins (that's just from my mom's side!). Over the last three years, there has been at least one big wedding in the family each year, but what made this one so special was the fact that it was defined by so many wonderful occasions and traditions.

India is a land of timeless traditions. And at significant times in people's lives (weddings, most definitely), they get grander and more spectacular than ever. My cousin Rebecca was born and brought up Catholic, and grew up with Goan traditions (of course, being in Mumbai, she's a thoroughly cosmopolitan woman of the world). Her husband Ashwin is Hindu and has a wonderfully diverse background--his father is originally from Kashmir (in North India), and his mother is British. With their union being such an amazing confluence of backgrounds, the four days that preceded the wedding were obviously marked with a riot of colors, tastes, sights and sounds that only the diversity of the Indian subcontinent can offer! It is with a huge sense of pride that I share the experience of the typical, modern, diverse, yet traditional Indian wedding.

The Roce
The 'Roce' (rhymes with 'dose'), is a ceremony typically observed by the Catholics in India from the Goa and Mangalore region. This ceremony is primarily a blessing for the bridal couple and is traditionally conducted separately at the bride's and groom's home. With Rebecca and Ashwin's wonderfully mixed backgrounds, both sides celebrated this tradition together at the bride's home.

It all starts with the Bangle ceremony, where the bride and the other women in the family are made to wear bangles while an elder women (our ever-shining 87-year-old Oma, in this photo) sings traditional Goan songs called 'Mandos'. These songs speak of blessings for the bride, the groom and their families.
The 'bangle man' is specially chosen because he brings the multi-colored glass bangles specially from Goa. He has been present at the Roce of my aunts, all the way down to the cousins, and has been doing this for over 50 years! Interestingly he hasn't aged a day, as far as I can remember!
The ceremony takes place on a mattress where the bangle man displays the different colored ornaments, while each of the girls in the family take turns sitting in front of him as he helps them put on their bangles of choice.
They get to select as many bangles as they want (typically between six and eight), in whichever color. It starts with the bride-to-be, who gets special green bangles with a lace inlay...
...followed by her mother, then her aunts...
...and finally the younger girls.
By the end of it, all the women proudly flash their bangles--a sign that there's a wedding in the family. In the bride's case, she typically doesn't remove the bangles until after the wedding.
Then comes the second part of the ceremony, where each member of the family blesses the bridal couple with a mixture of coconut milk, gram flour paste, and turmeric.
Each person applies this mixture to the couples' head and arms, as they say a silent prayer for their happiness, starting with the immediate family.
This ceremony can get pretty emotional and it's not rare to see the parents and the bridal couple getting overcome with nostalgia. Lots of happy tears here.
After the solemnity comes the fun! As the elders bless the bridal couple with the 'good' stuff, the cousins secretly prepare a concoction of icky stuff. It's not surprising to have beer, cream, eggs, flour, shaving foam and other motley ingredients in this mix!
The cousins and the younger folks swarm down upon the bridal couple of cover them in this batter as they gross out! Obviously, they won't be seen for at least an hour after this, because the bath will need to be extra-long!

The Mehndi
Rebecca's Mehndi ceremony happened the following day. This ceremony is observed all over India by different faiths and subcultures, and it consists of applying an intricate design of henna to the bride's hands and feet.

This is where the bride-to-be dresses in all her Indian finery, including the intricate jewelry and her resplendent 'sari'.
A group of skilled artists are specially called to apply a filigree design of henna on the bride's hands and feet.
Other girls can also get designs done--some choose to have them on their necks, or shoulders.
This process is delicate, but the artists are so adept that they can complete both hands in under five minutes!
In the bride's case, the process is longer and more painstaking because of the level of intricacy involved.
The artists even hide the bride and groom's names in the intricate design--it's fun to try and find them!
The final result is truly breathtaking! Go ahead and click this photo for a larger version.

... and finally the Church wedding!
Here's the glowing bride on her wedding day with her mum, dad, and younger brother.

Let's drink to this one--to traditions, marriage, and diversity!