Christmas Dinner

Saurabh made a delicious meal of buttered scallops and peas risotto for Christmas. The shopping expedition a couple of days ago yielded delicious scallops. The meal capped a lovely Christmas day. :)

Christmas Eve Hot Chocolate

A perfect cup of hot chocolate brewed by Saurabh for a snug Christmas eve at home. 

Christmas Eve Dinner

After a wet and cold day at the coast, where we hiked around the dunes of Baker Beach, we found ourselves at trusty old High Street McMenamins. We were still wet from the hike, but a toasty fireplace and a delicious burger, made everything better. 

 

We love how snug their bar is. 

Baker Beach Exploring

It has been a LONG time since we have hiked. We finally got our act together and headed out today. We drove to the coast, and on the way decided to go to Baker Beach. We got there, and it was raining pretty heavily. We still decided to go to the beach/dunes and hike. It was beautiful. And with the grey skies, grey waters, and undulating dunes, it almost felt otherworldly. We got really wet while we hiked, but we returned to our car happy and satisfied with our outing. 

The short trail from the parking lot to the dunes that looked over the beach and ocean. 

When we turned around to look from where we had walked up. 

Our first view of the ocean. 

We continued on, hiking on the dunes. The sand was sometime so firm, it was like walking on concrete. Other times, our feet would sink in anywhere between 1-4 inches. Despite the cold and rainy weather, the vistas were beautiful. We found ourselves completely alone on the beach and dunes, and reveled in it. This is how Oregon spoils us. We get to see such beauty, and not get disturbed by people and conversations that would bore us. 

Footprints in the sand

2017 Ornaments

 

I have really tried to limit the ornaments I buy now, and I am proud of myself for just buying one this year. However, gifts! So I still add a total of 5 new ornaments to my collection this year. 

This one is from Sohini, from her trip to Alaska this summer.

This one we got from the Mushroom Festival this year. I got a matching one for Sohini. The artist is local to Eugene and does a bunch of work with wood. 

This is from Smita, when she visited us in October. :) An NYC ornament. 

I got these two from Kristina. They are from her trip to Japan. The fan, is technically a bookmark, but I will be using it as an ornament.

I love the jingling bell. Kristina has a matching one.

Technically a bookmark

And these are some of the ornaments I gifted.

To Sohini:

Mushroom/Acorn Bird House (Eugene, OR)

The Wood-Metal Tree (Edinburgh, Scotland)

To Kristina:

Wooden Lighthouse (Eugene, OR)

The "Naila Section" of Kristina's Tree

Shopping for Christmas Dinner

Saurabh will cook his famous Buttered Scallops and Peas Risotto. We picked up the scallops at Newman's Fish Market on Willamette. We heard they are really good, and apparently better than Fisherman's Market that we usually go to. However, Fisherman's Market seems to have more local fish, and at Newman's more seemed from further away and less local. We didn't pick up shrimp from Newman's for precisely that reason, it was from Mexico. 

Anyway, this post is mostly because I loved the little scene that was set up at Newman's and took photo, and needed a place to post it. :)

Jingle Bell-ing Our Kitchen

The coloured jingle bells are from Pewter Rabbit, an antique store in Eugene, which is now closing down. These bells were made in Japan. Apparently there was a time when a lot of Christmas decorations were made in Japan. 

I can't remember where the single jingle bell with the red and white ribbon is from. I had it in DC too, and hung it on the door knob of my closet that was in the living room. I think it was on some gift I was given. Wish I remembered...

Dinner at Aunty Umaima's

In an act of stars aligning, when I went to Bombay in March for Dad, on my flight to LAX from EUG, I found myself sitting beside the only other Bohri lady in Eugene. A few days before, mom had mentioned a bohri family living in Eugene that Aunty Farida Chiba had told her about. But, there was no way I was randomly going to look them up. 

She sat next to me, on a flight she wasn't originally booked on, but was made to take since her original flight was cancelled. A few minutes into her sitting next to me, I had a strong suspicion she was Bohri, and so after the initial, "Hello. Do you live in Eugene?" pleasantries, I just decided to ask her, "This might seem weird, but, are you Bohri?" She was absolutely stunned by my question, I had to repeat it, and she said yes, with complete shock. Haha! 

Anyway, we got talking, and her parents had lived in Oman. Later, when she reached Houston to her mom's, she found out that her dad had worked for my dad! In Bombay, dad told me that he remembered her parents well. Her daughter, Sophie, works across the street from our apartment in Eugene. It's a crazy small world and I love that I found her. 

We have been to their place a few times now, and today, they had us over for her version of khao suey. She also made an absolutely delicious curried cauliflower soup, and homemade chickoo icecream. Oh, and when we got there, there were chaklis on the coffee table with jeera. She had made those at home too! 

Japanese American Internment Memorial Garden

  

The Japanese American Internment Memorial Garden, near the Hult Center, in Eugene is my favourite spot in Eugene. I love the representations of figures and items in the memorial, the intricate detail and relatable design. But, more than that, within the PNW's white utopic origins, I love this commemoration to a non-white population.

 

 

2017 Christmas Windows in Eugene

Christmas windows in Eugene, obviously, aren't as grand as one will see in NYC or other big cities. But some of them are still really nice, and makes you feel the warmth and magic of the season. 

In '5th Street Market'

In '5th Street Market'

At 'Out on a Limb'

At 'Goldworks Jewelry Art Studio'

I have noticed a lot of windows painted for the season, here in Eugene. Cafe Soriah's window is my favourite, so far. But, Amadeus Salon's window is pretty good too! 

Cafe Soriah

Amadeus Salon