Wicked weather romantically perfumes in double Labyrinth
13-01-19 18:56 Christmas,Grandchildren
… the holiday continued. After the Hot Air Balloon, we celebrated on Christmas Day with four children under the age of five. It was pandemonium. Tiger, Arrow and Azelle started unwrapping presents at Melika and Tom’s home before joining us at TALA Coast (our home on Fellowship Rd). The experience was overwhelming. Arrow, recipient of large numbers of gifts …
“… covets the scooter that Darius and Christiane got for..”
“ … Tiger, Dan.” Nazy replied. “That scooter is Tiger’s.”
“I know,” I said while grappling with a very determined two year old Arrow. “But he doesn’t know,” I muttered.
“Would you like to share your scooter with Arrow?” Nazy asked Tiger. Fruitlessly.
“No!” Tiger replied forthrightly. “Arrow?” Tiger thought. “Never. It’s mine. Mine! All mine.”
Tiger, unwilling to share the scooter, was more than willing to help people unwrap their presents. Arrow remained disconsolate. Azelle slept through the commotion and Leandra enjoyed playing with her cousins and the wrapping paper.
The following day, we all went to the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles to see Wicked! It was a great show — and timely for the current political situation. (Just change the green to orange.) Tom and Melika, using charm and suave debonair-ness, got everyone really great seats.
Nazy and I had time to visit with Darius and Christiane while getting to better know (the lovely) Leandra. She is a vivacious and talkative little girl who is great at recognizing people in photos. She understands French, English and Arabic. I joined Darius and Leandra for morning walks to Starbucks. It was…
“.. fun. Leandra really likes walking with you,” I noted one morning.
“She likes the fresh air. Bellingham has really fresh air.”
“We’ve got air, Dar.”
“We’ve got Trickle Creek, Dad.”
“Right. Do they have a bathroom at Starbucks?”
Later, we took Darius, Christiane and (the lovely) Leandra to the Santa Barbara Zoo. Right afterwards, the sun disappeared from Santa Barbara.
“It must be the ‘rainy season’,” I thought.
When I walk to Starbucks with the local grandchildren, I get a LOT of help pushing Azelle’s stroller.
“… romantic,” I thought. “Something that will show her my dashing side.”
I thought back to when we had met at Georgia Tech. I remembered her perfume — Capricci, by Nina Ricci. It is a scent that is no longer produced. To no avail, I had looked for it at Duty Free in several airports during my business travels. Now I had the internet — where I found a vintage bottle. I ordered it and paid for it before checking on the shipping time.
“… arriving after January 9,” I thought. “Somewhat disheartening. And not especially romantic.”
The package has arrived. It was met with muted enthusiasm.
“Perhaps Nazy saw the shipping date, December 25, and thinks that I waited until the (very) last minute.” I thought. “Or maybe she’s not impressed by a package that came from Moscow.”
“Do you think I can wear this perfume, Dan?”
“Of course.”
“It may clash with my current scent.”
“I assume that you won’t use them both at the same time.” I replied.“But I usually carry a small flask to refresh..”
“Who knew?” I thought.
“But it was a very nice thought, Dan.”
Mitra spent most of the holiday week in Santa Barbara as well. She and Tiger enjoy creating labyrinths using Tiger’s giant (but toy) dump truck, excavator and flat bed transport vehicle. Before starting, they sketch out a plan.
“And we built a double labyrinth, Dan.” Tiger exclaimed.
“Really?” I replied. “What’s a double labyrinth?” I thought.
“You should see it, Dan.” Tiger replied.
While we were driving to The Mission to see his masterpiece, Tiger was thinking about other things.
“Why do they call it a ‘forehead’? I only have one of them.”
“That is a very clever observation,” I replied.
“He says really interesting things,” Mitra interjected. “When we were coloring, I pasted a star on the tree that Tiger had drawn. He said: ‘.. and this star will help us shine in all our brightness.’ Pretty cool, right?”
This week, Nazy and I have been taking down decorations and getting back to normal. We’re preparing for our March vacation to Australia. We signed up for Global Entry status, but unfortunately, we can’t do our in-person visit because of the Trump shut-down.
“… covets the scooter that Darius and Christiane got for..”
“ … Tiger, Dan.” Nazy replied. “That scooter is Tiger’s.”
“I know,” I said while grappling with a very determined two year old Arrow. “But he doesn’t know,” I muttered.
“Would you like to share your scooter with Arrow?” Nazy asked Tiger. Fruitlessly.
“No!” Tiger replied forthrightly. “Arrow?” Tiger thought. “Never. It’s mine. Mine! All mine.”
Tiger, unwilling to share the scooter, was more than willing to help people unwrap their presents. Arrow remained disconsolate. Azelle slept through the commotion and Leandra enjoyed playing with her cousins and the wrapping paper.
The following day, we all went to the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles to see Wicked! It was a great show — and timely for the current political situation. (Just change the green to orange.) Tom and Melika, using charm and suave debonair-ness, got everyone really great seats.
“.. fun. Leandra really likes walking with you,” I noted one morning.
“She likes the fresh air. Bellingham has really fresh air.”
“We’ve got air, Dar.”
“We’ve got Trickle Creek, Dad.”
“Right. Do they have a bathroom at Starbucks?”
Later, we took Darius, Christiane and (the lovely) Leandra to the Santa Barbara Zoo. Right afterwards, the sun disappeared from Santa Barbara.
“It must be the ‘rainy season’,” I thought.
When I walk to Starbucks with the local grandchildren, I get a LOT of help pushing Azelle’s stroller.
Azelle (in stroller), Tiger pushing stroller, Dan helping to steer, Arrow pushing Dan
Because the weeks before the holiday had been very crowded, I had been remiss in getting an appropriate gift for Nazy. In the end, I found (with some pointed assistance from my lovely wife) an appropriate stocking stuffer. But I wasn’t satisfied. I wanted something more…
“… romantic,” I thought. “Something that will show her my dashing side.”
I thought back to when we had met at Georgia Tech. I remembered her perfume — Capricci, by Nina Ricci. It is a scent that is no longer produced. To no avail, I had looked for it at Duty Free in several airports during my business travels. Now I had the internet — where I found a vintage bottle. I ordered it and paid for it before checking on the shipping time.
“… arriving after January 9,” I thought. “Somewhat disheartening. And not especially romantic.”
The package has arrived. It was met with muted enthusiasm.
“Perhaps Nazy saw the shipping date, December 25, and thinks that I waited until the (very) last minute.” I thought. “Or maybe she’s not impressed by a package that came from Moscow.”
“Do you think I can wear this perfume, Dan?”
“Of course.”
“It may clash with my current scent.”
“I assume that you won’t use them both at the same time.” I replied.“But I usually carry a small flask to refresh..”
“Who knew?” I thought.
“But it was a very nice thought, Dan.”
Mitra spent most of the holiday week in Santa Barbara as well. She and Tiger enjoy creating labyrinths using Tiger’s giant (but toy) dump truck, excavator and flat bed transport vehicle. Before starting, they sketch out a plan.
“And we built a double labyrinth, Dan.” Tiger exclaimed.
“Really?” I replied. “What’s a double labyrinth?” I thought.
“You should see it, Dan.” Tiger replied.
While we were driving to The Mission to see his masterpiece, Tiger was thinking about other things.
“Why do they call it a ‘forehead’? I only have one of them.”
“That is a very clever observation,” I replied.
“He says really interesting things,” Mitra interjected. “When we were coloring, I pasted a star on the tree that Tiger had drawn. He said: ‘.. and this star will help us shine in all our brightness.’ Pretty cool, right?”
This week, Nazy and I have been taking down decorations and getting back to normal. We’re preparing for our March vacation to Australia. We signed up for Global Entry status, but unfortunately, we can’t do our in-person visit because of the Trump shut-down.
For last week's letter, please click here
Mitra and Tiger building the double labyrinth
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