Buttercupchappati Chronicles

What I really wanted for dinner last night ...

Tsoma - Kokonor style!

a new one

Two thousand and eleven, a year well launched with friends and family, laughter, dancing, singing, momo's, Texas chili, margaritas and The Rocky Horror Picture Show on dvd.

I suspect the horror part was all of us doing the time warp some time around midnight, but anyway...

It was cozy - and that is one of my main words for this coming year. I want to snuggle in and read, study, work, create, be myself; with occasional outings for travel where I do all that, just in a different place.

Key words for 2011:

reflection

meditation

mantra

reading

study

music - really listening, not just playing in the background

healing - myself and my patients

art

writing

solitude

gratitude

poetry

a dharma year
a catching up year
a year where I return to Amdo - always!
a year where I say hello to myself, everyday

well - resolution comes from resolve, so let's just see.
Intention is everything, I tell everyone else that! Best listen to my own awesome advice.

Happy new year everyone!
Peaceful, safe, prosperous and brilliant.

phone fun and other stuff

Have to respond? What is it about text messages? I have just spent the afternoon torturing my eldest son via text. He cannot help himself, he has to reply no matter how insane my message is. It is too funny.

I need a t-shirt that says "bad when bored", one with flashing warning type lights.

On another subject altogether, made momo's last night, fabulous. Unfortunate side effect of losing weight, I can only cram in about four before my stomach yells stop! But they were good, good, good. You have to eat them fast to get as many down as you can before you realise you've eaten about two too many.

(And the younger son who is known to disparage momos was heard heating some up in the microwave when he got home from work late last night...)

Thugkpa

Cold days call out for thugkpa.

My kitchen now smells like Tibet.

And that is a good thing.

(All thats' missing now are momo's, but not enough time today)

wedding cake and momo's

It's been a very social buttercup this week. We went to the wedding of a long time colleague of PRS, a restauranteur he has known for many years and quite a few restaurants. I wasn't sure what kind of a night it was going to be as we didn't really know any of their family or other friends, and it was at Crown Casino, not my favourite place. (eek, the energy in there makes you want to rush home for a shower).

But - it was a lovely, lovely wedding. An Italian family marrying with a Sri Lankan family, it was all family! Children everywhere, everyone dancing, singing. The father of the bride, at 72 years of age, would put a younger John Travolta to shame. Even PRS was happy to shake his groove thing! And only one couple on our table insisting on playing the "we have known them longer than you" game. Why do people do that??? These two were friends of the groom, and I am sure if we pushed it, they would have claimed to have known him longer than his own parents!

Sunday, which seemed to arrive very quickly on the heels of Saturday night, was a smaller party, just family for my Dad's 77th birthday. As is normal for my family there was way too much food. Mum keeps adding items to the menu as the day approaches; and my brother who also loves to cook will throw something into the mix along with me. I made momo's, it was time to initiate them all. I think they went down okay, if not it doesn't matter; I love making them and my lot love eating them, so it's all good. And they get better with each batch.
I can sense the people who taught me in Tibet, watching me while I do it, it's a good memory. And good memories combined with good food is one of the greatest pleasures we have I'm sure.