Home Girl

Hooray! A letter from my stepmother that she has arrived home safely. I anxiously await receiving letters from her since her messages are always thoughtful and her calligraphy beautiful. I have stacks of her letters, yet each correspondence is scribed on different stationery, ranging from classic mulberry to modern cards.

Message from home

When she comes home, ofttimes she bears a treasure trove of gifts delivered by the postman. If I posted a picture of everything she sent, this entry would be 10x longer...seriously. Here are just a few items...

Umbrella

The two umbrellas that she sent were beautiful and unusual that I wish I could use both at the same time without drawing weird stares. The other is my favorite shade of solid grey on top and scant geometric lines along the underside. The umbrella above has a solid maroon top with bands of flowers along the underside.

Dolls

These little dolls are so cute and squishy.

Purse

This purse is the perfect size for me. I have another with a different design that she sent from a previous trip.

Senbei

We received several boxes of fancily wrapped assortments of senbei. It's really fun and amazing to discover the numerous different flavors senbei that can be made.

Since we pick up the mail once a month at most, we were surprised to find a box from my aunt filled with snacks, a banquet program, and an old photograph. My aunt will often send pictures or items from my childhood or my father's childhood.

Mac nut attack

The nuts are huge, almost the size of those coated whole strawberries from Harry & David. The flavor of the dark chocolate, both bitter and sweet, and the texture are reminiscent of dark roast coffee beans.

Hiroshima Kenjinkai program

My family belong to the Honolulu Hiroshima Kenjinkai, an organization that promotes goodwill between Honolulu and Hiroshima, sister cities, within and between both communities.

Honolulu airport (1971?)

Yes, I realize it is tacky to take a picture of a picture. I don't think my mother and I were headed to Japan that particular day, considering the way I was dressed. We may have been picking someone up or seeing someone off.

I look like a troll.

- Cassaendra

April Showers

The yard yesterday

The weather report mentioned the snow belt is to receive a foot of snow from yesterday and today's snowfall combined. We'll probably see trace to 1" of snow.

It often snows right around the time baseball season begins, so snow in the forecast doesn't surprise me. If one were to judge our weather from the hyped up news reports, you'd think Cleveland never snows.

- Cassaendra

Masala Western

Bug and I enjoy Indian food and actively seek out new places to try. After reading Cara's description of India Garden on her blog, A Girl About Cleveland, we were excited to check this place out.

India Garden was good, but we don't plan on returning.

That was rather abrupt, wasn't it? Of course, I mean no offense to Cara's recommendation.

This is the run-down of our experience...

Buffet starts at 12:00 p.m. We arrived at 12:45 p.m. There was a 10-minute wait to be seated since the restaurant was full.

The good:
- From the outside, the restaurant looks a lot smaller and very plain. Once you walk in, the deep tones are very relaxing and the spongepad yellow walls brightened the place. The woven gold placemats atop white tablecloth under glass was very pretty.
- The variety of dishes.
- Pans were well stocked most of the time.
- The service was good considering how busy people were filling stations, water, and clearing plates.
- The price was good for the most part. $8.95 for brunch buffet. The mango lassi was $2.95 for a small glass.

The bad:
- What they didn't have available. This is more personal taste, but papadum was unavailable. Bug was a very sad panda.
- Some dishes were really overcooked.
- Lack of warmth. It's hard to be warm when it's busy...some people can pull of an aura of sincerity in the midst of a blizzard, some can't.
- No Indian diners.

The ugly:
- The patrons were obnoxious. That is not the fault of the restaurant. I know it isn't. I still don't have to subject myself to several tables of people yammering loudly on the cell phone either.
- Some diners were so grating, it was actually funny. "Oh, hi! I didn't know you ate here!" Air hug-hug, kiss-kiss. Good grief. *roll eyes*
- Nothing ugly about the restaurant itself though! :)

The offerings...
The lentil soup was sour, so it wasn't my cup o' soup.

The pickles packed a nice punch of heat and sourness. I love them.

Nan was nan.

I am not a big fan of samosas since they tend to be dry. The batch that was just brought out fresh was still dry, as to be expected. Between samosa and pakora, I prefer pakora. No pakora.

The curry selection was chicken curry, goat curry, and a vegetarian one - I forgot. My best recollection of the veggie curry description was garlic, onion, more garlic, and onions. I steered clear. The goat curry was well spiced. I think the previous diners took all meat. It was soup and bones when I got to it. lol

I took a bite from Bug's tandoori chicken and found it to be bland.

The rice was awful. A fresh batch was crunchy and chewy.

Carrot halwah, rice pudding, and that other orange thing shaped like a gigantic pressed powdered orzo in honey were delicious. The carrot halwah had a good amount of nuts. The rice pudding had a light flavor and great consistency - I think it's because the rice was crushed. I like the light syrup that came with that disc.

The tea was okay. I've had better. The cloves made it a fine end to a meal, but it was watered down. I'm used to drinking it with a little more texture and depth.

I like the spice level. Not too spicy to require a gallon of water, but enough to know you're still alive.

Having seen pictures of India Garden, I had to give Cara a warning when I suggested India's Cafe to her -- it is not as pretty as India Garden. Having been to India's Garden, I almost feel that upon walking in to India's Cafe, for many, their minds would be made up. India's Cafe looks like a kitchen; however, as far as flavor, soul, and better mango lassi go, they are the best Indian in Cleveland. While this may sound weird, I actually enjoy eating where I'm surrounded by Indian people and the owner gives off the vibe like you're eating at his home.

This made me realize how subjective a restaurant experience can be based on past experiences. Many sensations contribute to what forms that lasting impression from the sketch you have in your mind prior to stepping out of the house. Sometimes it has nothing to do with the food.

- Cassaendra

India Garden
18405 Detroit Ave
Lakewood, OH 44107
(216) 221-0676

India's Cafe
5549 Ridge Rd
Cleveland, OH 44129
(440) 842-7724

Silence is Deafening

It's amazing when something as invisible as phone service is disconnected. We don't call people nor do we receive many calls. When I say we don't receive many calls, I mean we MAY receive 1 call per month...if we have a doctor's or vet appointment. So what is the problem?

No internet!

99% of our communication with family and friends involves email. We got over the IM addiction 10 years ago. Our world revolves around our computers -- looking up information, playing games, etc. These days, even single person games may require an internet connection, e.g., Left for Dead.

Cell phone? Our [single] cell phone is turned off unless we need to make reservations at a restaurant or when we are in a car accident. The phone gets turned off immediately after our call. Voice mail is often retrieved months later when I remember to check. Bug doesn't even know how.

We feel a bit shackled, but it's not even close to the end of the world. We still spend the same amount of time together, but we're more apt to spend it outdoors. A good thing, even though we are having spring thunderstorms every other day and forecasted to have snow next week.

- Cassaendra