Fun & Games

INTERESTING EVENING: Saturday night found us at the NewHolly Gathering Hall  in southeast Seattle. Annabelle and her fellow Bollywood dance classmates performed at a Diwali celebration.

We got there at 7, as instructed, and Annabelle connected with some classmates. Soon, a prayer service started. I would love to tell you what was said, but the entire 40-some minutes of it was in Hindi. The prayers were followed by chanting and singing. Which also might have been prayers. :)

There were about 150 people in the room, and the girls and women were all dressed in lovely, colorful sarees. A little after 8 p.m. they started bringing around bowls and spoons and filled them with some mystery-to-us food. It kind of looked like oatmeal or thick cream of wheat. It tasted a little bit like half baked cake batter. Here's what it looked like. ...

Naturally, we asked CJ and Annabelle if they wanted to try it. I was happy that they both said 'yes.'
Annabelle took one bite and then passed on more. CJ ate the whole bowl up.

Christian and Kennedy browsed the buffet and came back with a bowl full of more mystery. From the magic of the Internets, I was able to learn that the orange thing in the bowl is a jalebi, which is made by deep frying wheat flour (Maida flour) batter in a pretzel or circular shape and then soaking them in sugar syrup.

We've tried researching the other two types of food in the bowl and remain completely in the dark regarding what they're called and what they were. Neither of them had any meat in them is about as descriptive as we can be. Christian thinks the darker ones might be pakoras.

To drink, there was a red punch like juice. Annabelle said, "It tasted like watermelon a little." The rest of us drank what I believe was masala chai. It was delicious.

About 8:20, it was time for the dance troupe to take the stage. First they did a number where they were divided into two teams, kind of having a dance off.  Annabelle was in the blue bandanna group.

Then, the kids changed into their costumes (see photo at top of post) for their second number. Earlier in the day, I had spent some time doing surgery on Bee's costume. It was too small when she got it several months ago, and it was too-smaller now. MUCH too smaller, as in when she lifted her arms over her head, she was flashing way more than her belly. So, off to the fabric store I went, in search of a suitable swath of something I could add to the bottom of her shirt.

I finally found some green fabric with gold circles on it which matched the dark green throughout her costume (including around the bottom of her skirt), but the fabric was completely transparent and wouldn't match the rest of the costume, so I also had to find some matching green lining to use under it. I think it turned out OK, and I was happy that no one in the dance ground asked, "What the hell did you do to her costume?" :)

GAME ON: Thanks to yesterday's fall back, we all were up an hour earlier than usual. The kids had knocked out math, language arts, some science and guitar practice by 11. Nice! Their reward? This afternoon we went to Gameworks!

Last night, when searching for our tickets to the upcoming Video Games Live! concert we're going to, I came across a couple of Groupons for Gameworks that were about to expire. Christian and I had spent all weekend working on the house (sound familiar?), so we decided Monday afternoon would be a good time to get out and have some fun.

The kids both played PopMusic (where you have to hit the right colored buttons in time with the music).

They played lots of driving/racing games. Here's Annabelle getting her motor running on a Harley themed game.

 They played several sessions of Tank! Tank! Tank! - probably their favorite game in the arcade.

 And, with Christian's help, they killed hundreds of zombies.

 I played a few games too, and admired the scenery - including this poster. ...

Tomorrow, it will be all about the election. I, for one, will be soooooooo glad when the political ads are gone from the airwaves.