27 October 2017

A few birds with one stone

After keeping all of us awake thru the night, dad finally settled down and went off to sleep around 6 in the morning.

That left me with an window of opportunity to get a few things done. I needed to check on a few folks and also finish off my run. Needed 6 more miles to get to the 100 mile mark for the month.

So, basically I kept running in the streets of Kalyani going from one house to the other. The icing on the cake was when I went to check on a gentleman who I had fortuitously met a year back and lately has been fighting back cancer, I ran into his son and daughter in law there too! They would be none other than our own Partha and Sreyashi – erstwhile denizens of Atlanta who live in St. Louis now.

I even got their two year old daughter to come out for a walk in the streets with the promise of the one incredible allure Indian streets have for all two year kid visiting from USA – street dogs!!!

Category: Running, Vacations | 5 Comments on A few birds with one stone
16 October 2017

From the bartender’s corner – Tokyo Kaikan Gimlet

Not a bad cocktail for a cold fall evening like today. It is smooth but has enough stiffness to take in the the coldness of the evening. Rather simple ingredients – freshly squeezed lime juice, simple syrup, Rose’s sweetened lime juice and Gin. I have to admit that I am not sure why the recipe calls for the Rose’s juice after I had already put in fresh lime juice and simple syrup. But going my the end product, I am not complaining, mind you!!

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15 October 2017

Some Sunday morning English word puzzles

Here are some more interesting English words to get you going on a Sunday. Please feel free to answer in the Comment section if you know or after you have found the answers…

1. I remember growing up during childhood, one of the best things about rains was that typical smell of the earth after the initial showers. I am sure you remember it too – and even experience it today – that earthy smell you get after the first showers – especially if the ground was very dry. There is actually a word to describe that smell. Do you know what it is?

2. I have a not-so-healthy habit of piling up books. When I hear good reviews of a book from friends, I usually go to iBooks, read up a few sample pages and if it still interests me, I buy it. Here is the catch though – I do not often get to reading those books. Sometimes, it takes me a long time to start reading them. Do you have the same habit? That of buying books and not reading them? There is a word to describe that behavior. Do you know it?

3. Any of you who have visited us in our Atlanta house will know that we live in a forest. We love the raw beauty of nature and the privacy of a forest. There is a word to describe people like us who love the forests. What is it?

4. While I dabble a lot in alcohol, I never could get myself to drink beer. Certainly, I understand the production process and categories of various gins, wines, vodkas, whiskies, but I am an absolute neophyte when it comes to beer making. I have heard my friends use a few words – like IPA, hops etc when talking about beer. I never knew what hops are – except that it has to do with beer. Curiosity eventually got the better of me and I looked it up. Well, hops – I found out are a kind of plant and is used during the beer making process. In fact the category of plant that hops belong to is called “bine”. I was sure that was a misprint of “vine” (I guess I was thinking wine – grapes etc etc). Turns out “bine” is the right word. Do you know what a “bine” is? More importantly, what is the difference between a “bine” and a “vine”?

5. If you have gotten to this point, you obviously love words and are at least moderately curious about them. So, we will finish up with a word to describe you. What do you call somebody who is a lover of words?

Here’s to learning a few more new words…

Category: Word Play | 16 Comments on Some Sunday morning English word puzzles
14 October 2017

From the bartender’s corner: Gin #22 – “Only” Gin

It is sort of an unique name “Only”. This gin is distilled in Spain – near Barcelona to be precise. The base is neutral grain spirit and then during the distillation process the following are infused: juniper berries, jasmine, lemon balm, hibiscus, violet, rose petals, mallow, lavender, pansies, veronica and orange blossom.

From the botanicals, you can guess – and you would be right – that this is a very flowery gin. The nose and the finish is distinctly flowery. The palette was a little flat.

The bottle is a nice red and orange one.

Tried with gin and tonic first.

Category: Cocktails | 1 Comment on From the bartender’s corner: Gin #22 – “Only” Gin
14 October 2017

Oh! What fun…

It was to run
On Rosewell Parade Day
Hey! 🙂

Speaking of “Hey”, I had a “Hey” moment once I reached the racing start line. I had forgotten my Garmin. I had absolutely no idea what pace I was running in. Which was very disconcerting since I could not time myself and make sure I had enough energy to finish. I had no other option but to just let go and run at will. After the second mile, I was starting to run low on energy (I was sure by then that I had clipped faster than I should have). There was a lady running near me and I just decided to keep pace with her. But at the second hill, she slowed down. Saw another guy around my age up front – and paced up to catch up to him. And then hung on to it till the end of the race. We paced each other and encouraged each other – especially around the hills.

At the end, he came up to me and we chatted for a long time. Turns out Mike Jacobs started running in 2005. Which is when I did too! His eldest daughter is in Manhattan! As is mine!! Like I said, we talked for quite some time, became good friends, got a picture taken and then promised to run a 10 mile race in November in Atlanta together. Actually, he is running anyways. I told him I will join him. We were wondering how we could spot each other there on that day. “Come in your orange shirt”, he said!!

I will admit, it is a little loud 🙂

I will have to wait for the official results. I did not want to wait – instead, went to see the parade and came back home. But as I crossed the finish line, I noticed the clock tipping over 26 mins. So, it is probably 26 mins and a few seconds.

Category: Running | 4 Comments on Oh! What fun…