Don't even rent it! Bruno - Nay.

Do you remember Bhorat?

That was the 1st movie by Sasha Cohen about the eastern

European character Bhorat who traveled in the U.S.A.

That one was quite funny even though it was

pretty shocking in general.

It poked fun at everyone and we all had a good laugh.

There was one scene in it that was really crude and

may have gone over the top.

Bruno on the other hand - has about one acceptable scene

and simply goes way over the top on decency and political

correctness. It manages to offend everyone even Me.

That is pretty hard to do but it happened.

Bruno is a gay Viennese fashionista who is trying to make it

in Los Angeles. He decides he needs to be straight in order

to achieve this so he swaps an ipod in Africa for a baby and

brings him back to America where he

takes him on a black talk show.

Okay you get the drift

Do not waste your money!

Donate it to save the whales.

Most of all do not waste your time.

This was the morning after thanksgiving 2009

view from my bedroom

Dawn of another beautiful day in my life.

Kind of a lazy day when you get out of your jammies at noon.

You have coffee in bed reading a book, watching tennis.

Holiday weekends are just the best.

Thank God for the new kidney, the new baby and this day.

Thanksgiving at Vanessa's house

Aunt Vanessa wishing she had a cute little girl like Hudson
Some of the goodies!
I always look forward to my sister's stuffing each year.

Ethan celebrates his 10th birthday.

He got a cd of Bahai songs from Grandpa.

His cake was a pistachio delight made by his Po Po.

Do you remember the adult table and the kid's table?

I had to sit at the kid's table for many years at my family

gatherings and then one day before I knew it I had

graduated to the adult table. Sometimes I wish I could

go back to that kid's table again.

Kissing Cousins!

Grahm and Hudson really love each other

they are so happy together.

After 2 thanksgiving dinners and 3 turkeys we just continue on eating the

next day till the weekend is over. It's all about the families getting together.

THE HUGHES THANKSGIVING 2009

The three Aunties

Tina, Kathy and Patty

Alana plays jingle bells. She says "showtime" and after she

is done she curtsies and we say "Bravo". She has had no

lessons but was able to sound it out.

Some of the beautiful family!

This speaks for itself.

Pie shortage. I always say the thing about the Hughes thanksgiving

is that they never have enough pies.

Kevin fixes a grilled bird as well just because its so good!

Kevin carves up the second turkey done in the
traditional manner with the stuffing inside

Thanksgiving is a time for families and friends to gather, eat, drink

and thank God for his bounty. This is a good family to spend

this holiday with. Thanks goes to Kevin and Mary for hosting

this year.

ONE OF THE MAJOR THINGS I AM THANKFUL FOR

Here is Scott and Aunt Tina at thanksgiving 2009

She gave Scott her Kidney so we will have an annual photo

of them together

This is Scott and Tina last thanksgiving before the transplant

Nobody asked me but this is still the most major thing that

I have to be thankful for.

Glad that they are both doing well.

Who is Baby D's favorite?

So I learned the 3 bears song and wore lots of jewelry to
attract Baby D's attention but to no avail. Uncle Scott was his favorite
by far. He didn't even have to try. Okay, I have big shoulders
and I can handle rejection but check out this loving look
that he is giving him.

Uncle Scott playing with baby D



Notice how he does not even squirrel out of his arms.

Maybe Uncle Scott reminds him of his Appa who

is letting baby D wear his hat. Perhaps that's the

reason why he took to scott so readily.

I think this was my prize photo for the weekend

Maybe this was the prize photo.

Baby D's many smiles will be missed by us. By the time we see

him again he will be walking. I hope he remembers us.

He is smart so I am sure he will. We love him.

Baby D's 1st "TOL"

The Tol table was carefully and painstakingly set by my daughter in law.
Each item has a significance and some items were set to honor
ancestors. There were items to remember birth and foster mothers.

Just some of the party goodies. A perfect blend of American
and Korean cuisine.

My daughter explains the significance of the 1st Tol which is a

big celebration in Korea. Tol means Birthday. In the old days

many Korean babies died before they were one year old due

to disease and other conditions. If they made it to one year

their chances of survival were much higher. So Koreans

rent halls as their homes are small and have a big bash.

One of the rituals is that.....
The child chooses from several items and he is allowed 3
and being superstitious people they believe these will
determine the child's path in life. So what did baby D
choose?


Baby D chose a basketball which means he will be a great
athlete like his Po Po. Secondly he chose yarn which means
he will have a long life. Finally he chose a microphone
which means he will be a rock star. The strange thing is
after choosing these first he took the hammer and clung
to it all day. The hammer signifies strength. He is wearing
his Hanbok which is a traditional Korean costume.
He did not pull his hat off but he changed for the rest of the
activities.


We had cake and Baby D had his first taste of sugar and he did justice to his cake.

Then it was time to open presents. He had a 4 year old

helper but managed to give equal time to all his

newly acquired goodies.

Proud family on this special day. Uncle Scott got the honor of holding

D as Appa had hurt his back that morning. I need to say that this was

such a memorable day that I will remember forever . I should

thank my daughter in law for being so meticulous in her planning

and for her desire to preserve the Korean culture for this

truly wonderful child that we have been so lucky to add to

our family.

TALK JAMAICAN PATOIS WITH ME

Last night I was having dinner with my cousins to celebrate

Percy's 78th birthday. Several of the grandkids were there

as well as my son Scott. We always talk some Jamaican patois

when we get together because I think sometimes it has a peculiar

way of phrasing life situations. So I got the idea of putting

forth a few well known Jamaican proverbs on my blog.

1. One one cocoa full de baaskit.

translation : Each Cocoa placed in a basket

will eventually help to fill it

Cocoa is a yam and if you place each one individually in a basket

that basket will eventually become full.

The idea is that small efforts in life are meaningful and should

not be underrated as all actions eventually contribute to the big picture

of accomplishments.

2. Chiken merry - hawk de near

Translation : Merry Chickens - Hawks are nearby

If life is going very well we should still prepare ourselves

for the fact that some sadness or obstacles can be in our future.

Just as Chickens are celebrating a hawk could be ready to

swoop down and eat them up.

3. Every ho ave dem stick a bush.

Translation: Every hoe has their stick in the bushes.

Think of a crude hand made hoe that was made in Jamaica.

In order to be complete it needs a handle and those were sticks

that were found in the bushes. Not all sticks will fit perfectly

but there is always a match out there

if we look hard enough. Just like life - there is a match for everyone

when looking for a life partner. You just have to keep looking for

the right one but they are out there.

4. John Crow always tink dem pickney pretty

Translation: John Crows always think their children are pretty

The John Crow is a Jamaican name given to a vulture which is

considered to be the ugliest bird perhaps because they are

scavengers and they are black with no pretty colors or markings and

their heads have no feathers. Pickney is a Jamaica word for children.

Well, even an ugly John Crow thinks that his offsprings are beautiful.

That is the wonder of being a parent and loving your child

unconditionally.

The 3 Bears song in Korean

I have been trying to learn the 3 Bears song in Korean

which my daughter in law Janet told me is loved by baby D.

Now I don't speak a word of Korean but I feel I need to

do something different so Dylan can remember me as I

don't get to see him very often. Maybe I am just trying

to one up the other grandparents. Anyway it is fun trying.

Apparently it is a popular song Koreans sing to their children

and was made popular in a current TV show called "Full House".

I am about 80% there. Regardless of how it turns out, I am

having fun and learning some Korean words.

Am I a crazy Po Po?

Maybe the travel business needs to pick up a bit.

Way too much time on my hands.

SCORPIOS RULE

Effie, Nancy and Me

Laura, Julie and the Birthday girl Shelley says I can get down too!

Patty and Kathy says we still have it we just forgot what it was.

Patty and Darcie 20 years ago really going low Patty and Darcie seeing if they could recall that dance of years past- OUCH!

Two Scorpio buddies Scorpios rule was the chant at Darcie's 50th surprise party.

There were at least 7 Scorpio women present. We have no

idea why Scorpios gravitate to each other but it is always

about being the center of attention. We are supposed to be

loyal, creative, intense blah blah blah blah. But it is not all

about us. There are some other astrological signs out there

but for the life of me I cannot recall them. Did I say I was a

Scorpio?

THE BIG BIRTHDAY MONTH

Mike Brown, Annie Wong, Me and Melanie Bitter

My Aunt Jap who is 91 years old who had to bury her daughter Yvette

FRIENDS AND FAMILY GATHER FOR THE 64TH in Indy

The month of November is always a time for celebrations of the birthday. The actual day was in Miami

attending my friend's funeral. I was able to reunite with

Chinese Jamaicans that I had not seen for years.

It was a bittersweet time.

Then when I arrived home the Indy friends came over

with food and drinks to celebrate with me. I can only thank God for

creating all these beautiful people that I hang around with. I am truly

blessed. I am a millionaire when I judge the value of all these people.

Thanks to all for these impromptu and meaningful moments.

My 1st movie review

"AMELIA"

Director Mira Nair

I know this movie may have not had great

reviews. Some said it never took off and didn't even make it out of the hangar. I never listen to reviews really so why should I even be presumptious in

reviewing a movie? It's my blog and I can do

whatever I want to do here.

I like historical movies and I love Hillary Swank.

I think she is the real deal unlike many actresses today.

Amelia Earhart was a true American pioneer in aviation.

Her deeds go beyond bravery but we all

knew that. What I did not know was about her love affair with Gene

Vidal who was Gore Vidal's father. I got more insight into how her

aviation was funded during the depression. It's too bad that even

Hollywood could not change the ending of the story but a small twist

that her transmission failure was caused by a dead battery

that had been left on all night at the coast guard station

was uncovered for me.

I loved the period clothes and the footage of her flying over

the different terrains of the world. Richard Gere is still quite

convincing as a leading man even though he is now the older man

and not quite "The American Gigolo".

He still has that cute swagger in his walk.

I have also loved many of the director's movies. Mira Nair has done

some of my favorites like Monsoon Wedding, The Namesake,

Mississippi Marsala.

Maybe you wouldn't rush out to see it but you should at least rent it.

My Evening Sky

Beautiful Evening Sky Today I just learned of the death of one of my High School friends
named Yvette who we always called "Yogi " because of some
connection to Yogi the bear. She had fought breast cancer years ago
and died from lung and heart failure under somewhat mysterious
circumstances . No one really knew for sure what caused her
organs to fail. I also experienced the loss of my dear cousin
Cliff who was only 48 years. Cliff died from lung cancer
and leaves 2 young children and a big chinese family who loved him.
My point here is that we never know when or how we go so we may as
well take advantage of what we have now. Savor an evening sky or a
morning sky. Use the good china and glasses - do not worry if they
break. Family and Friends are there to be enjoyed. Don't miss out
on any chance to have lunch , go to a movie or play cards with them.
Always keep your eyes on the skies.

NOT YOUR MOTHER'S BRIDGE CLUB!

Savory pies by Penny

Immaculate conception girl and captain of the swim team

Prom Queen, catholic school girl, cheerleader, girl with pearls and Saddle Shoes.

Prom King/football star and Prom Queen

Some people get together to play bridge or euchre and they have

dinner and drinks and go home. However, when you go to

Penny and Greg's you have a theme. This was "High School".

As you can see everyone had different experiences in their School.

I did not have proms, nor football, nor saddle shoes, nor swim teams.

We had a strict boarding school run by Franciscan nuns and

we had to wear a uniform and a straw hat just as I am featured

here. We had 4 houses with a merit and demerit system similar

to "Harry Potter's" School. We did not have cheerleaders in our

sports in fact we did not even have boys in our school.

Yes, girls only. Somehow we all managed to get through

the school years with lots of fond memories.