Indian Giver of British Products

Less than three months ago, I was in London.  It feels like it has been ages since then, though.  I had so much fun.  I am working on a small, informational publication on the subject of London to be delivered, hopefully, as Christmas presents to my Friends.

On that trip, I met up with an old friend from yesteryear--Old Chap.  Back in the day, Old Chap, Cl. Panic, Green Thumbs McGillicutty, L. Woods, and I all worked in the same law firm.  Old Chap was in the London office.  One wintry day, we all flew to Washington, D.C., to participate in some training, and that's where we all met each other.  We have kept in touch since then!  It was one of only a handful of good things that came out of working in that firm.

Naturally, when I finally made my way to London, I called up Old Chap and off we went to have wonderful Pakistani food.  We went to Tayyabs.  O.  M.  G.  This was so good.  But Old Chap's food tips didn't end there.  He also directed me to Fortnum & Mason, described by Old Chap as "the quintessential supplier of English goodies."  Boy, he was not kidding.

On my last full day in London, I paid a visit to Fortnum & Mason and bought so many biscuits (cookies), teas, and jellies.  Most were slated for gifts to friends and family.  But I learned a valuable lesson:  Send food gifts as soon as possible because, the longer you hold on to them, the more likely they will end up in your own stomach.  There were two jellies (a hunter's marmalade and a rose jelly) that were slated for MonkeyPig and 3-Fish, respectively.  Those did not survive long enough in the US to reach their intended destinations.  So, I ordered replacements (plus other things) online.  I kept the dark lime jelly (detailed description).

Dutifully, I sent the goodies to their intended recipients.  In advance of their arrival, I tell 3-Fish that I'm sending her a rose jelly.  Well, guess who's too good for rose jellies and breakfast in general?  So, I tell 3-Fish to send the rose jelly back if she's not going to eat it because I would eat it.  The rose jelly was delivered back to my house yesterday.  What's wrong with this picture?  Yep, Mr. Nonny Nu had to pay the postman $1.55 because *somebody* didn't pay the full postage.  But here is the treasure trove, complete with polar bear greeting card to Mr. Nonny Nu conveying a hateful but accurate complaint about a most beloved rabbit:

Woo the Wonder Dogby MonkeyPig, guest blogger

Woo is a wonder dog.

I don't think many dogs can say I've been to almost the four corner of the United States. She's left her marks, and I do mean marks, at the beaches of Kaneohe Bay, Jekyll Island, Redondo beach, and St Petes in Florida. She's never been to the New England states. But. she's been to Seattle. She criss-crossed the US no less about 4 times.

She was a wonderful companion. She was considerate. Even up to the very end, she struggled outside to poop because she doesn't want to mess up the house for Mommy and Baysee.

She is a dog with will of steel. In February 2011, despite her arthritis and hip dysplasia, she slowly inched up a 45 degree incline hill of about 300 yards during one of our afternoon runs. We can't use the usual empty street because it was a work day. We went to a large empty field where Baysee and I ran. She did her usual thing to explore and light exercise. Baysee and I was running up-and-down that hill. As we came back the second time around, Woo was slowly hobbling up that hill as if to show us that she can do it, too. This is Woo - strong willed to the very end. I wish people are as strong as her.

She was really happy to see all the Aunties in May this year. It was supposed to be just Ca Loc, Wah Toh and Leung Gor. But, Nonny Nu, 3Fish, and So Ba Sing showed up to surpise Monkeypig. Woo was the star of the reunion. It was like when we were in the old house.

Even at the very end, on Wednesday, she mustered up all her energy to spent time with me. I fed her and stroked her back and gave her tummy rubs. The vet let us go outside. It was a sunny day. We spent about 20 minutes outside. She propped her head up to look around. She was so weak that I had to support her whole body for her to poop and pee.

When the decision was made, though she was very weak, for a few minutes, when she heard my voice, she looked into my eyes giving me permission and telling me to not worry about her as Sushi had reserved a bunk space for her.

She laid in my arms and went into a peaceful slumber around 1 AM.

The folks, like her Aunties, Cousins, and the Nu Warren family who had shared in our adventures, I thank you for your supports and love.

I encourage all of us with pets to view them like family and give them love. The funny thing about dogs and cats is that even if you don't love them, they unconditionally love you to death.

I put together this video as a chronical to Woo's life over these past 3-4 years. For those of you who are i-woo-literate, Woo is the black pit bull with the white streak up the nose and white chest. The younger brother Baysee it the funny looking brown down with a wrinkly forehead.

Woo, don't steal Sushi's food as you did mine.

Self-Portrait and Magnets

Happy Tuesday, everyone!

This morning, I rode the rails with Cl. Panic and dribbled tea all over my sweater because my beautiful Jane Austen inspired travel mug sprang a leak.  But all is well because someone at work gave me an enzyme stain remover wipe.  It works ok, but not as good as a Tide Pen.

Anywho, the moral of this story is:  I got a new magnet!!

Whenever I or one of my friends or sisters go on vacation, we bring back refrigerator magnets to share with the people who we left at home.  My very first refrigerator magnet was one from Seattle, but I will tell you how I got that later in this post.  Check out my office minifridge and my magnet collection (you can see a reflection of me taking the photo)!

I can't remember the order in which I received the magnets, but I know that the first one I got was from Green Thumbs McGillicutty.  It was from one day trip she took from San Jose to Seattle just to make the miles to keep her in some sort of airline "best customers" club or something like that.

I also have ones from San Antonio (from when I went to my niece's wedding), another one from Green Thumbs when she went to Philadelphia for a deposition, and another from myself when I went to visit MonkeyPig in Georgia (the little fish pictured was from Cl. Panic for our unfortunate but thankfully temporary stay at Drones 'R Us).

This one is from MonkeyPig when the sisters went to Georgia for a surprise visit.  And, this one is also from MonkeyPig from a few years ago when we had a sisters reunion in Washington, DC.  We ate at the Supreme Court's cafeteria and I saved my ticket stub!  The two Tinkerbell magnets holding the stub are from L. Woods when she visited Disneyworld in Florida.

Now, this one is an international magnet from Heidelberg, Germany, where L. Woods visited on business a year ago.  Note the giant gummy bears attached.

And, then, there is my most recently acquired one from Cl. Panic and A-Dog from when they flew to the Pacific Northwest recently.  It is from the actual Tillamook cheese factory and is 24K gold plated brass.  The magnetic bunnies are from Cl. Panic.  They got very hungry and attacked the cheese (they are not partial to giant gummies).

Finally, this one is not a magnet, but is nonetheless a sentiment from a dear friend who had gone afar and kept me in mind.  It is a keychain of a polar bear dressed in a UK t-shirt from when Mr. Nonny Nu went to London recently.  The bear has the Harrods' "H" stamp on the bottom of its foot.

So many little treasures!  I think my most prized items in my office might be my magnets and keychain.

Happy Birthday, 3-Fish!

For 3-Fish, I give you a cake with six fishes, three church going fishes and three fish who don't go to church.  May your days be filled with clear water and fish food!

nn