Happy Tuesday!

Hope you had a lovely weekend.  Ours was eventful to say the least!  It was our Indian festival of Diwali this past weekend and Indians all over the world were celebrating in grand style.  I had planned a big party on Saturday for all my friends and family and had catered food and arranged for sweets to be baked by my friend Rose, only to find out Friday that the high wind danger in our area was going to cause power outages on Saturday evening! After all the planning I had done I had to reluctantly cancel our big party 😒😞.   Better safe than sorry.

As you can expect folks were disappointed but understood why I had to cancel.  I mean, it is the one time of the year when all our friends and family can see each other all decked up, catch up with each other and enjoy an evening of laughter and fun.  Luckily the caterers I had ordered food from were understanding and agreed to hold my deposit for another day. My friend Rose’s sweets on the other hand of which I had plenty I delivered a bunch to friends who live close by.

But it was Diwali and sitting at home waiting for the power to go out Saturday night just didn’t sound festive so we decided to head out of our area to Los Altos where power was on and we had dinner at Japanese restaurant Fuki Sushi.  I know! It’s hilarious to me as I type this that the biggest Indian festival of the year and we celebrate it at a Japanese restaurant!  Not only was it a fusion of two cultures Indian and Japanese, it really was a fusion of four cultures as we had dinner with our friends Rose and Dave who also wanted to get out of the power outage area and have a relaxing dinner.  And at the last minute our other friends Shalini and Prasad joined us too. We are talking Indian Americans celebrating with an American of German descent and an American of Pilipino heritage, and Indian Americans who are originally from England, all eating at a Japanese restaurant. It was a true melting pot of so many cultures, languages, and religions.  What a fabulous way to celebrate Diwali!

A toast to a memorable Diwali with wonderful friends!

Dinner!!!

After a fabulous dinner we came home to find our home in complete darkness. Our area did get a power outage as predicted.  Candlelight was our source of Diwali light for the evening. Boy was I glad I postponed our Diwali party!

Sunday Morning Power Still Out.

We woke up Sunday morning to our power still being out.  As we were figuring out when the  power would come back on, and what to do about the kids having to turn in homework assignments all on their computer with no WiFi, I got a lovely text from my friend Roli offering to deliver lunch! She knew our area had a power outage and wanted to make Diwali feel special and graciously offered to make a scrumptious Indian meal. Her lovely text read “Kalpana, will you allow me to bring some lunch for you? I am cooking right now and would like Manas to drop off some for you. Maybe in about an hour? I don’t want to be intrusive, hence not showing up unannounced.”   I took her up on her offer! And we got an amazing food basket that was delivered by her husband Manas!  We were all so touched by her genuine thoughtfulness that honestly I was at a loss for words.  Roli had made a delicious gourmet vegetarian lunch and it was like ambrosias for us on this afternoon!

Sunday Afternoon Power Still Out

After lunch I asked by friend Rose if I could drop the twins off at her home so they could get their homework done, of course Rose agreed and hosted the kids for the afternoon.  Aunty Rose as expected spoilt them with her hospitality, baked goods and treats 😋🍪.

Sunday Evening Power Still Out

Come Sunday evening our power was still out and getting darker by the minute when I received a lovely text from my friend Shalini asking if our power had come back on, and when I texted her “no“, she invited us all over for dinner!  Another gracious invitation that we were so happy to accept.  An absolutely lovely evening awaited us at Shalini and Prasad’s place.  Their home was beautifully illuminated with candles and diyas (clay tea light candles) for Diwali that it really looked festive.

It was starting off to be a beautiful evening of laughter, conversation and delicious dinner.

Dinner made by Shalini as usual was scrumptious as ever!

Sitting down for a relaxing meal with good friends.

Dessert and laughter was our after dinner treat.  We laughed so much on this evening to last us all week long!

Ended a perfect evening spent with wonderful friends with a surprise – Diwali sparklers! We were mindful of the wildfires and lit them in a closed concrete space with a bucket of water.

What turned out to be the most unpredictable Diwali for us ever, turned out to be the most heartwarming of experiences, with wonderful friends showing their genuine kindness and compassion.  We are truly blessed to be surrounded by such an amazing group of loving and caring people!!😘🥰😍

And on this positive note let me wish you all a
Very Happy Diwali!
Happy Halloween!
Happy Fall and Happy November!

Power finally came back on Monday night! I’m looking forward to a normal week ahead 😀.

One more last sentiment I’d like to convey is our heartfelt gratitude for all the firefighters and first responders who are out there fighting all the wildfires in the North Bay and around California. Our prayers and utmost gratitude go out to you all!  One of the group of men and women that we all sometimes overlook during storms like this are the hardworking technicians who work for PG&E and other utilities companies.  They get out in the elements no matter what the conditions to check the power lines and make sure they are safe to turn on so that thousands of residents can get power back on.  Truly grateful for every one of you!  Stay Safe 🙏🏻.