Well, we finally bought a new car to replace our written off minivan. It's another minivan and a couple of years older, 2001 Dodge Grand Caravan Sport but it's in better shape than our 2003 Dodge Caravan .

It's almost fully loaded - almost meaning that it doesn't have the driver side automatic sliding door, travel computer, under seat storage, the multi purpose garage door opener and autoshift - damn, eh?

Well looks like I'll be working from home for a couple of days until the insurance can set me up with a rental.

Nazima decides to go to the mandir today - on the first day of a very bad snowfall with inches and inches of snow which hadn't been cleared yet by any snow plows.

Halim's wedding is in February to Preeti and we're looking forward to going down for it. Sometimes too much heat is worse than too much cold

Well Nazima's been recovering from the knee surgery for the past 4 months or so and now she's back to work. She's working on a part time basis - 4 hours a day and gradually moving back up to full time. She's still going to physiotheraphy still and things are looking good.

She's got a little bit of a limp when she walks but hopefully that'll go away as well. One thing that won't go away is her huge scar on her knee...looks like no short skirts for her.

Here’s something Nilz forwarded to me, It's so true.

F A M I L Y

I ran into a stranger as he passed by,
"Oh excuse me please" was my reply.

He said, "Please excuse me too;
I wasn't watching for you."

We were very polite, this stranger and I.
We went on our way and we said goodbye.

But at home a different story is told,
How we treat our loved ones, young and old.

Later that day, cooking the evening meal,
My son stood beside me very still.

When I turned, I nearly knocked him down.
"Move out of the way," I said with a frown.

He walked away, his little heart broken.
I didn't realize how harshly I'd spoken.

While I lay awake in bed,
God's still small voice came to me and said d,

"While dealing with a stranger,
common courtesy you use,
but the family you love, you seem to abuse.  

Go and look on the kitchen floor,
You'll find some flowers there by the door.

Those are the flowers he brought for you.
He picked them himself: pink, yellow and blue.

He stood very quietly not to spoil the surprise,
you never saw the tears that filled his little eyes."

By this time e, I felt very small,
And now my tears began to fall.

I quietly went and knelt by his bed;
"Wake up, little one, wake up," I said.

"Are these the flowers you picked for me?"
He smiled, "I found 'em, out by the tree.

I picked 'em because they're pretty like you.
I knew you'd like 'em, especially the blue."

I said, "Son, I'm very sorry for the way I acted today;
I shouldn't have yelled at you that way."
He said, "Oh, Mom, that's okay.
I love you anyway."

I said, "Son, I love you too,
and I do like the flowers, especially the blue."  

FAMILY

Are you aware that if we died tomorrow, the company
that we are working for could easily replace us in
a matter of days. 

But the family we left behind will feel the loss
for the rest of their lives.

And come to think of it, we pour ourselves more
into work than into our own family, an unwise investment indeed,
don't you think? So what is behind the story?

 Do you know what the word FAMILY means?

FAMILY = (F)ATHER (A)ND (M)OTHER (I) (L)OVE (Y)OU