Silly Billy......

Our Silly-Billy who brings us joy
Especially when he offers his toy
He wants to play; he wants to love
We think he was sent by God above.

Unconditional love is his special gift
Eyes of his that are sure to uplift
He is our kid; he is our friend
We'll love him always, to the end.

He'd had sad times before he came to us
But never gives us any fuss
Cuddle he will, in the bed at night
An angel who makes our lives bright.

                                                                                     We LOVE you BILLY and thank you for enriching our lives!!!!  May you live a long, long, long, long time!!

Favourite Film Quotes.....

FLOWER DRUM SONG:

As Mei Lee and her father begin to entertain a crowd in San Francisco's Chinatown with "Flower Drum Songs" as a means to earn some money:

Mei Lee says to the crowd:
"If the song is good, give me a little applause when I am through"

She adds (in a softer, supplicating voice):
"if the song is bad, give me applause too...."
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OUT OF AFRICA:

As Denys is leaving following a visit to Karen Blixen with friend Berkeley Cole....the previous evening incuded dinner and Karen entralled her guests by telling and enchanting, impromptu, invented story...

Karen to Denys:  "Did you save my life?" (referring to a prior day when Karen had a close encounter with a lioness)

Denys: "No, the lioness did that; she walked away".

Karen: "So, I'm not indebted to you then?"

Denys: "Ah, but I am.  We PAY our story tellers here".  He fumbles in his jacket then hands her a fountain pen.

Karen: "But my stories are free and your present is much too dear".

Denya: "Write them down sometimes".
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LEAP YEAR (2010)

I'd have to quote the ENTIRE film - it's bound to become a classic!!  But there is one quote from an Irish bride in that film that would be beautiful at any wedding:

  Bride: May you never steal, lie, or cheat, but if you must steal, then steal away my sorrows, and if you must lie, lie with me all the nights of my life, and if you must cheat, then please cheat death because I couldn't live a day without you. Cheers!

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SHADOWLANDS:

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Harry: Christopher can scoff, Jack, but I know how hard you've been praying; and now God is answering your prayers.
C. S. Lewis: That's not why I pray, Harry. I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God, it changes me.

  

Fido Zobrist.....one heck of a dog!



     Fido Zobrist must have been one heck of a good dog!  When he died in 1913 at the age of 13 years and nine months, his heartbroken owner sprang for a four-foot cast-zinc monument to his dear, departed pug, complete with his life-size likeness on top and loving words ("Papa's Boy" and the like) decorating the sides.  Whatever it cost, bear in mind that Fido's owner had already earmarked $10,000 (which in 1913 you could add two ZERO'S to in dollar WORTH!) in his will for the dog's care fearing he would die before his pet.  Heading south on Route 96A from Geneva, NY, take a right onto East Lake Road.  Within a mile or so, you'll see Fido's marker on the right, at the head of the Sunset Bay cottage road leading down toawd Seneca Lake. 

Technology......

Then there are the technological words that change with technology and I’m definitely not able to keep up with these words!  I’m old enough to remember my Dad keying an amateur radio operator in Morse code.  I’m old enough to remember when there were no electric typewriters.  I remember when the first “word processor” came out….it was amazing!!  I remember when there were only dial phones and the phone cord (made of wires covered in a cloth-like material) was only about 1-1/2 ft. long, so you definitely didn’t go walking about the house when you were on the phone.  And…..there was only ONE phone in the house.  I remember when one had to “book” a call if it was to a town outside Colombo, and telegrams were the most urgent method of communication from country to country.  I remember phone booths!  (good thing Superman came around in the era he did…..if he came nowadays he’d be arrested for indecent exposure since there aren’t many phone booths left in the world!).  We were driving through a small town and our daughter asked (pointing to a phone booth) “Mama, what is that thing?”   Yep- I’m older than DIRT!  I remember the very first time I saw something in colour on TV, and remember many years without TV at all in Sri Lanka.  Believe it or not, those were great days because we had CBC (Ceylon Broadcasting Corporation) with two stations (radio) in English, several in Sinhala and several in Tamil.  And…..we had conversations (and built meaningful friendships and relationships because of it).  I remember reel-to-reel tape, records and how “cool” it was when cassettes came along.  I was very popular because my Dad had taught me how to splice reel-to-reel tape…..and when cassette tape broke – I could repair them.  I wasn’t in USA at all when “8-tracks” came out so I didn’t have much to do with them.  Then this “wondrous” invention called a CD came out…..certainly it couldn’t get any better than that, right?

I remember cameras with film and having to wait weeks to have film developed.  Then came 1-hr. photo development…..certainly it couldn’t get any better than that, right?  Then came digital cameras, and phones that had digital cameras.  Then came “texting” which I still don’t understand…didn’t we invent phones so we could talk to one another instead of writing as we used to?  Then came the term “sexting” and I don’t even want to waste time explaining that one. 

I remember when a movie was seen only one place – at a cinema, and if it was a popular film one had to “book” seats in advance.  Then a marvelous invention came out called a VCR and one could actually rent a film and watch it at home!!  Surely it couldn’t get any better than that, right?  But miraculously it did and DVDs came out.  Gee, I wonder how I’m ever going to explain to my future grandchildren that toy “car” that opens up to hold a VHS tape to REWIND!!!  Maybe I should hang on to it…it could be an antique.  Then came DVD recorders.  Now there are Blu-Ray Disc players – a friend of ours (who is technical-minded) tried to explain it to us….I still don’t get it.   Then there were Mp3 (and of course like “Rocky” you have to have sequels “Rocky 2”, etc.)….so, last I heard they’re up to Mp4….but by the time I finish this article they’ll probably be up to Mp17.  People didn’t like to look at photo albums any longer – they preferred to have photos entertain them on a screen.  People became so attached to their computers that a portable version – a laptop – had to be invented.  Then we did a really curious thing as people – instead of going to a library to borrow a book or instead of the fun of going to a bookstore to browse for and buy a book…..we began to “download” them on a device called a “Kindle”…….ipods, smart phones, ipads…..hey, I can’t keep up with it.  Sadly, the more technology we have the less personal interaction we have with others.....no more trips to the library and saying "Hi!" to friends you recognize.  Even TALKING to others has become a lost art...."why talk when you can text" (it's so impersonal).

But as we upgrade, we generally throw away the outdated item.  Somewhere in Kenya or China little children are being paid a few cents to pick through highly toxic e-waste we leave behind as we upgrade.  Sometimes the amount of toxic lead in their bloodstream (from handling the items) leaves them dysfunctional.  “60 Minutes” did a report called “The Wasteland” about e-waste and where it really goes.  By all means,  please watch it:  http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=4586903n                                                              

There is another great documentary (you can watch it on You Tube) called “Manufactured Landscapes”.  This is the only planet we have to live on.  If we mess it up…..where do our grandchildren live?    We’re not even just guilty of spreading our outdated e-waste around the world….we’ve also invented plastic bags for “convenience”.  I do remember going to the market (notice, I said market, not supermarket) in Colombo with our straw baskets.  The baskets were usually made from banana or palm leaves.  We used them over and over every time we went to the market.  The only item that was “wrapped” was meat, and it was wrapped in butcher’s paper (sometimes we even washed and dried the paper to reuse for other things).  Then suddenly everyone wanted things to be covered in cellophane to “look fresher and cleaner”.  You’re going to laugh or say “Ew!!!!” but we used to eat “curd” in Sri Lanka…..I guess you’d say “yoghurt”.  A guy would come to the door once a week with his pots of curd.  The pots were made of clay.  If you turned in the old pot you got a considerable discount on the new curd.  Sometimes we didn’t turn the pots in, but preferred to drill a drainage hole and put plants in them.  Those were good days.  Plastic drinking bottles hadn’t been invented either.  Milk came in glass bottles (and was delivered to the door) – you left the empties and they were picked up the following week.  I don’t know which of the two was the more horrifying scene….the Mexican way of dealing with empty plastic bottles (by throwing them out the window…that’s is, just throwing them out the window….plastic doesn’t disintegrate..EVER!)…..or the way Sri Lanka dealt with it when we visited in 2004….they BURN the plastic bottles which emit extremely toxic fumes.  In my point of view neither way is an acceptable way to treat our planet!  We’ve sold our planet for the sake of “convenience” and having the trendiest item.

When I was a kid I only remember one or two people who died of cancer; it was quite rare.  These days I know more and more people who have cancer….something has caused that increase.  Is it the toxins in the plastic containers we are microwaving in?  Is it toxins in our air that we’re breathing in?  Are we doing something in our lifestyles for convenience that changes the balance?

Happily, some stores are becoming more “green” and not using plastic bags at all for merchandise.   But there is also dishonesty in our world – if there was (and there was and still is!) dishonesty in Wall Street….why wouldn’t a company pretend to be “green” for disposing of e-waste and then send it all overseas for little kids to pick through?  I can be a little skeptical at times….I want to believe companies when they advertise how “green” they are and how “greenly” they will dispose of e-waste, but I also know some are dishonest. 

 

Words.....

            Terminology is fascinating in the English language.  It’s also faddish.  I remember the years 2002 and 2003 almost everyone had to somehow say the phrase “it’s a moot point” at least ONCE a day.  Just as suddenly as “it’s a moot point was in fashion, it came out of fashion.

            Oh, and can anyone out there remember when the word “proactive” needed to be used at least once a day?  I disliked that word….because it implied that “everyone else” (i.e. the ones NOT proactive) were lazy, slow or unimaginative.   

           

Acronyms also came and went – “Y2K” – everyone knew what that meant and it’s significance (year 2000 and the slight possibility that computers would all stop working).  Hey, I kid you not….I even knew one guy who turned his basement into a bomb shelter stocked with food, batteries, water, supplies…..I’m not quite sure exactly WHAT he was expecting to happen in “Y2K” but he was darn sure was going to be prepared for whatever menacing thing lurked out there.  

           

The saddest of all was when and why “911” came into usage and how its meaning  changed from emergency numbers into the date of one of the most devastating days on the planet since World War II. 

Another word that was in vogue for a while was “redact”.  Oh, nothing was ever “erased”, “blacked out”, “covered over” – it was ALL redacted.

           

Then the word “gentrification” became used almost as often as “it’s a moot point”…..but the word carries a lot of implications and baggage.  When one first hears the word it almost sounds like “neighbourhood improvement” but it’s clearly a word used with negative sentiments.  Basically, when a neighbourhood is “gentrified” it’s current meaning is “a lot of White folks bought up cheap houses in minority neighbourhoods, fixed them up…..and this upsets the existing residents”.  I’m still not clear why it upsets existing residents….certainly their own property increases in value when other houses are spruced up.  It even encourages slumlords to clean up their properties or risk being an eyesore.   Anyway, it’s definitely a word of “exclusion” and does little to build bridges to harmony. 

Another strange word in the English language is the word “gay”.  I am OLD enough to remember when it meant “extremely light-hearted, carefree, merry and happy”.  Suddenly it was not OK to use for “happy” because it became to mean “persons of same sex preference”.  Then it took on a second meaning in youths – “oh, that’s so gay!” and that seems to mean (remember, I’m OLD, so I definitely don’t speak the “lingo” of youths!) that something is “silly” or “rubbish”….and supposedly when kids use that terminology they mean nothing derogatory against same sex couples. 

I’m old enough to remember when peers (and I….how embarrassing!)  used “groovy, man” or “far out!” when something was positive.  The word “groovy” was gradually replaced with “cool” and the word “man” was gradually phased out with “dude”.    I remember when it was fashionable for everyone to say “Ciao” instead of “Bye”, and when young people who’d never even been to Hawaii liked to say “Aloha” in place of “Bye” (I was in a courtroom when a young man said “Aloha” to the judge on his way out…..as you can guess, it didn’t go over well with the judge!).  I’m old enough to remember when “weed” was some unwanted plant in one’s garden that you got rid of.  I remember my Mum telling me about the “flapper girls” in the 1920’s and 1930’s….I had never seen a “flapper girl” and when I finally saw a picture of some, I was amazed.

           

Now we come to the term “person of colour”.  I do not use this term because once again it’s a term of exclusion.  Moreover, I’m not sure what a “person of colour” is….seriously.  I have Mexican friends who would be very much offended to be called a “person of colour”.  I have a Chinese/Thai/African-American friend who said she would also be thoroughly insulted if someone referred to her as that.  And – is it about “colour”….if so, what shades of colour are acceptable in that exclusive category…..is an Iranian a person of colour?.....then as we move geographically to Egypt, Syria, Israel….are these persons of colour?....what about Turks?....what about the country right next to Turkey…..Greece.  Are Greeks persons of colour?  Are Chileans with blond hair and blue eyes persons of colour?  Why do we have to put labels on people?  Wikipedia defines “person of colour” as : Person of color (plural: people of color; persons of color) is a term used, primarily in the United States, to describe all people who are not white.   Labels divide and exclude; they are not inclusive words.  This world has so many people of different skin hues, religions (or even lack of), sexual preferences….different cultures, languages…..that is what makes this world so wonderful.  The minute we start trying to categorize people into a specific box, we become exclusive to the people who can’t or don’t fit into that box.  The best response I ever heard was an interview Oprah Winfrey did with Tiger Woods (whose heritage is Thai, African-American and Native-American).  Oprah asked him “to which race do you identify with the most?”.  Tiger thought long and hard then responded “the HUMAN race”.  The audience went wild with applause.    Division is not a good thing.  Look how many wasted years of war there were in Ireland between Catholics and Protestants.  Look at current disputes between Sunni and Shi’ite Moslems.  Look at North and South Korea…sharing the same ancestral origin, the same language….yet allowing an ideology to divide them.     

And then we have “the bucket list”.  I can’t remember when I first heard those words but I thought it had something to do with a mop and bucket and scrubbing a floor and wanted nothing to do with that, thank you!!!  Now I understand its meaning…basically “a list of things to see/do before one dies”.  I’m still not sure how that term began (I hope it wasn’t some poor soul scrubbing a floor and died near the bucket!), but I do have a “bucket list” which I’ll share with you in another blog.

My Sweet, Sweet Pigeon.....

Nando rescued a pigeon who had been kicked by some bad boys and also tossed by a vehicle.  He is kind in that way.  We always have a spare "birdcage" (just in case) ....and we've rescued starlings, squirrels and more.  So Nando went back to put the pigeon into the cage.  That very afternoon we joined a Pigeon Forum to ask WHAT TO DO (we'd never cared for a pigeon before). 

The folks at the Pigeon Forum were sensitive and intelligent - they asked us to photograph the bird, its poop, etc.  They KNEW a lot by all these photos.  One of the senior members said that there would have been far more pigeon poop if the bird were healthy...he guessed the bird had internal injuries from abuse.

I fell in love with this beautiful pigeon and here is his photograph as held by our daughter:

Isn't he BEAUTIFUL???  Look at the colours - only God could have possibly designed such unique colours.  We did everything we were told to do by the Pigeon Forum food-wise.  Next morning, he was DEAD.  We all sat down and cried and cried and cried.  Many people cannot fathom such grief over a "street bird" - that's THEIR problem.  We gave him a very nice burial and I still cannot believe he's gone.  The people in that Pigeon Forum were so, so kind and loving to us.  Even when we told them he died during the night they THANKED us again and again for having given him a good last night in a very LOVING home!  Ahimsa (non violence to any living being) is a vow we have taken as Hindus.  I STILL grieve this bird, some two months later! 
   

You TOO can learn Hindi and Tamil alphabet!!

PRINT THIS and STUDY EVERY DAY - you can do it!!

Our former B&B CREAMY CORNBREAD & MAPLE MUFFINS....

CREAMY CORNBREAD:

MAPLE MUFFINS:

Recipe is only USD $1.59 for BOTH RECIPES.....step by step easy to follow instructions. 49 years experience as a gourmet cook. Pay at: Paypal: farrshimla@gmail.com and please mention WHICH recipe you want.

THE VOLCANO recipe aka "Popocateptel"

This was the MOST requested breakfast I ever made when we owned the Bed & Breakfast.  People from far and wide would ask (in a supplicating way) "Will you PLEASE make THE VOLCANO again?"

Recipe is only USD $1.59.....step by step easy to follow instructions. 49 years experience as a gourmet cook. Pay at: Paypal: farrshimla@gmail.com and please mention WHICH recipe you want.

The Man With the Numbers Tattoo....

     There I was in the hospital waiting room, waiting to visit my dear friend who had just had brain surgery.  "You'll have to wait a bit" I was told by the nurse, so I settled in at the waiting lounge until called.  Across from me was an elderly man with his sleeves rolled up.   At first, I barely noticed the man, since he seemed absorbed in his book.  Then, since the magazine abailable were "Field & Stream" (I'm definitely not a hunter!) or "Popular Mechanics" I began to focus on the elderly man across from me. 

     I'm not a good guesser of age, but he appeared to be in his early 80's.  On his left hand he wore a simple watch, and above the watch on his left arm were a series of numbers tattooed into his skin in blue ink.  I'm somewhat naive so I wasn't sure if these "numbers" were old-time prison numbers or....as I guessed, from a concentration camp. 

     Somehow, I NEEDED to know.  I needed to share a sadness and human moment with a stranger.  Totally unlike me, I crossed over to the couch where the elderly man was sitting.  I was now on his left side.  Like me, I presumed he was waiting to visit a loved one. 

      I've never done such a thing in my life, but I simply HAD to put my hand over the numbers on his arm.  Surprisingly, he did not jerk away and let me touch the tattoo.  He put down his book and looked into my eyes with eyes that told ALL.  This man had been to hell and back in a concentration camp.  I rubbed at the tattooed arm and began to cry.  Why did I cry???  I wanted to make up for all the injustices of mankind.  His eyes were KIND.  With a reassuring arm he said "That was a long time ago, and you are far too young to have been part of it."

      I wanted to ask more - which camp?  Dachau?  Auschwitz? Buchenwald?....but I dared not ask.  So there I sat arm in arm with a total stranger embracing his pain and injustice.

     Suddenly, I was called to see my friend - he said "Go now, and no more tears!"......I never asked his name or why he also was at that hospital waiting lounge.  I never saw him again, but I never forgot him.

  

Farr Inn....long ago in Horton Plains

Farr Inn, Horton Plains, Sri Lanka (Ceylon then)

                                     

     A long time ago on the cool, frosty grasslands of Horton Plains in the highlands of Ceylon (present day Sri Lanka) stood  “Farr Inn”, built in 1901 by Englishman Thomas Farr.  He built it as a hunting lodge and home. 

Originally, he came to Ceylon to become a coffee planter, but a blight wiped out all the coffee plants.  He decided to try growing TEA - and in many ways was one of the “fathers of Ceylon Tea” as we know it.   He died in 1919 in England – but loved Ceylon so much that it is said he asked that his ashes be scattered there in the mountains near Horton Plains.

 Thomas Farr’s bungalow was turned over to private enterprise shortly after his death, and became a guest house  known as Farr Inn.  It   was truly a MAGICAL and WONDERFUL place when I grew up in Ceylon as a child.  My parents and I would travel from the dusty, polluted capital of Colombo up to Horton Plains whenever  possible.  Horton Plains is not “tropical” although Ceylon is (for the most part) a tropical country.  The Plains consist of central mountains etched by time into a tabletop of rolling pampas that are punctuated by rhododendron, evergreen forests, waterfalls and crystal-clear streams.  Temperatures at night in the Plains drop to freezing.  The dawns are misty and the days are those of endless azure skies.  The plains are alive with deer, sambas, rabbits and - the occasional and elusive leopard.  Trout jump in the cool, clear streams; birds sing, butterflies flutter everywhere.  It was as close to heaven as one could find on earth.

 “My parents and I entered the mud room of Farr Inn.  Of course, one leaves ones shoes and parasols there.  Mrs. Perera - the innkeeper - greets all with a sincere and warm CHEERIO - and a kiss on each cheek.  We rub our hands swiftly together in a childlike way- to WHOOSH away the chill of the evening air.  We sink into the overstuffed chairs around the fireplace - the fire feels heavenly....we even begin to feel cozy now.  We exchange CHEERIOS and other salutations  with all the other guests and begin some of The Farr Inn customary rituals....talking, playing cards, getting to know one another, telling mystery stories and tall tales.  Just then Mrs. Perera wheels in a teacart full of little lemon biscuits and rose-water flavoured tea cakes.  We sip cup after cup of delicious tea - grown at the nearby Bogowana Tea Estate (and I, of course, grin ear to ear in pride - because my Uncle Tiger was the Manager of the Bogowana Tea Estate!).  Mrs. Perera returns wearing a silly paper  handmade hat - similar to those worn at Boxing Day or Christmas - she  announces that it’s SING-ALONG time.  Up you go, now - don’t sit and mope, JOIN IN - she says.  The selection of music is small, and we share the words from frayed, hand-written cards - The Prisoner’s Song, Goodnight Irene, It’s a Long Way to Tipperary, The Nightingale Sang in Barclay Square, etc.  Mrs. Perera gets us going - then disappears (she has dinner to tend to).

 We’re all engrossed in song.  Just then, Mrs. Perera rings a loud bell - and the spell magically breaks - but only for a moment....replaced by yet another big of magic.  It’s DINNER time!  Chicken curry tonight (it’s chicken curry most every night, but that’s how things go).  After Rice & Curry, we have dessert - Mrs. Perera loves making desserts.  She tries to outdo herself each night with desserts.  Tonight she’s made “Mousse de chocolat” and it is delicious.

Whew!  We are so full, but it’s time for ghost stories by the fireside.  Each guest has a more intriguing ghost story than the other.  You know - the kind of story one doesn’t really care to hear....yet one scoots a little closer so as not to miss a single word.  The lights dim and flicker - no, it isn’t “special effects” - you see  Farr Inn is completely powered by generator.  There are no electricity poles at this altitude and this isolation.  There will be LIGHTS OUT in a few more minutes.  Of course - someone must always tell just one more ghost story....the lights have already gone out.  We carry candles to our rooms.  Did I mention that there is no heat at  Farr Inn?  We have only the warmth from the sitting room fireplace, and at night - each bed has a hot water bottle filled with extremely hot water in the very centre of the bed.  Each bed has layers of covers.

     I am in bed, nice and cozy  - oh - why oh why did I have to drink that extra cup of tea?  I have to get out of this cozy, comfy bed to go to the bathroom.  I dread that because I know that the bathroom floor will be chilly even with my slippers on....but, get up I must.  Suddenly, on my way back to bed I hear a scratching noise on the other side of the  window. We are all on the ground floor (there isn’t a second floor).  Should I look?  What if it’s a - you know - a GHOST - after all those lurid stories - it could be anything.  Should I look?  Should I?  I feel brave.  I gently peel back the heavy chintz drape and see......a magnificent leopard looking back at me.  He just looks at me and I look at him; I am suddenly not afraid.  I am, instead, in total awe of his beauty.  He lifts his head to one side, turns around - and silently is engulfed by the night.  I look up, noticing the exceptionally bright stars.  This has to be heaven.    

     The next morning I wake up to a hearty English breakfast.  I tell my parents and all at the breakfast table about my night visitor.  Mrs. Perera just smiles - others have seen leopards before.  She offers to let us ride  Farr Inn’s only horse down to Little World’s End and then to Big World’s End.  She packs us a picnic lunch to enjoy at one of the many streams or waterfalls along the trail.  Mrs. Perera stays behind.  Very soon - we realize that the poor horse is half-blind and very, very old.  We decide not to tire out the poor old nag.  We lovingly tie up the horse at a place where she can graze; we’ll pick her up on our way back.  My Dad puts his arm around my shoulder and I look up at his kind, loving face and smile.   Mum squeezes my hand in a “I love you too” motion - I am so happy and loved and SAFE at this moment in my life.   

     We are halfway there - we are now at Little World’s End - a magnificent view lies ahead - valleys and waterfalls abound.  We trek onwards to World’s End - and we know why they call it that.  One feels just that - at the END of the WORLD - the entire WORLD seems to lie in front - surely, the entire island of Ceylon!  On a clear day, one can see for hundreds and hundreds of kilometers.  Even on a misty day - one can see for miles away.  We walk back to Farr Inn, picking up our semi-blind horse on the return.  It’s tea time, of course.....”