What a night!

I know I’m in the middle of a story series and for those of you lovely people who are following along everyday as I publish a new chapter, I will tell you more about Emily and her journey tomorrow. I had to pause and tell you about last night!

Bahrain, the tiny little island on which my family has lived now for a little over three years, hosted its first international jazz festival! The husband and I heard of the festival in early September but, as with most things we figured that we would go and buy tickets only closer to the show if we really wanted to go…

Fast forward to last night, the 6th of October, the day of the festival and the two of us still didn’t have tickets and were still unsure about going. Although the gates opened at 11 AM and performances began at noon, at 5:30 in the evening, the two of us were sipping on tea trying to decide whether we would enjoy doing the grocery shopping for the week and playing a game of scrabble after or actually going to the show. Fortunately, tickets were available at the venue and we made the effort to attend the jazz festival.

We arrived in time to catch the last three acts. I wish we had reached in time to watch the Speakeasies, a Greek swing jazz band, play their whole set, but we didn’t. We heard them belt out their last three or four numbers and my otherwise stick-to-mamma-in-a-crowd little one was on her feet dancing in no time.

The next band to play were the Ska Vengers who had music that was a very interesting fusion of old style Indian sounds, Cuban, jazz and rap among other things and they had everyone dancing along; including my daughter who tried very hard to imitate the movements of their lead singer. 😀

The final act was the Electric Swing Circus and not only did they make amazing music on stage they were also extremely entertaining. Unfortunately, attending a show that late in the night with a toddler has its limitations and my daughter had had enough. So, we left before they finished.

However, I have two regrets. One, I think I should have taken pictures. I was so busy enjoying myself that I didn’t take out my phone. Two, which is my bigger regret: We missed the rest of the performances. If they were anything like the last three acts, they would have been worth watching, even if they were playing in the middle of the afternoon in the open air.

For my two and a half year old and I – a thirty-one year old – it was our first “concert” experience. (Don’t judge on either counts…) We had a fabulous time! Sitting on the grass, dancing to some great music, munching on good food, sipping cold drinks, enjoying the kid’s play area AND listening to amazing music.

Well done Bahrain!

What a night!!

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Come back tomorrow to find out what happens to Emily!

Am posting everyday in an attempt to complete the Ultimate Blog Challenge this month.

Firsts

My mother has been using a very basic phone so far. It’s so basic that the ‘smartest’ feature on it is its speed dial option. The time for an upgrade was yesterday but, in spite of scouring the internet, anything remotely interesting was way out of budget. Then, I chanced upon the launch offer of the Moto E (2nd Generation) phone. As I studied the specifications (albeit with my limited knowledge of these things), I realized that the phone is like one of those cars which cost a fraction of the luxury brands and still have all the important features – in other words, it has all the things I am looking for in a new phone and won’t burn a hole in my pocket!

But, I can’t just go ahead and buy it. Ma has to use it and not just put it away until the current box of metal and plastic dies completely. So I asked her what she wanted out of a new phone. After the usual reluctant, “No, but I don’t need a new phone…” and “What will I do with a new phone?…”, she warmed up to the idea a little and said, “Well, I want something that I won’t struggle to operate. I am comfortable with my present phone, simply because it’s so easy to use. These new phones that all of you handle look much too complicated for me.” (Now I know where the technologically challenged strand in my genetic make-up comes from…) From what I could see on the website, the Moto E is quite simple to use once you get used to the touch screen from the old phones with keypads. No complicated settings or difficult to use software. Being as good with technology as I am (read not good at all!), it looked like it would be a breeze for my mother to get used to it.

But an easy to use phone isn’t what makes a smart phone a smart phone so I asked, “What else Ma?”

“It would be nice ”, she said, “to be able to check e-mails and sign in to Facebook when I am sitting comfortably in the living room instead of having to go to the computer. The mountain and Mohammed type scenario, you know? I want to be able to get access to the internet from anywhere in the house. Plus I would like to be able to take good pictures of Adelin (my niece) and my garden whenever I feel like it and upload them instantly onto Facebook without having to transfer them to the computer first. With my present phone, the pictures are so unclear. Also, if my new phone has a front facing camera it would be even better because then I could have video calls with you when you go back to Bahrain. I’ll be able to see my new little grandchild everyday and not just when you come on holiday or if you post pictures to me.”

Having been a child who grew up in the time before Skype and IMO and other video calling apps hit the market, I saw my own grand parents only once a year and I was ever envious of my cousins who grew up close enough to see them everyday. My mother’s wistful request has made me feel emotionally compelled to get her a better phone. I checked the features on the Moto E and I found that although the cameras are no where close to the kind you would have on a high-end model, (and perhaps this is one of its only slightly disappointing features), at least with the Moto E, Ma will be able to connect to the internet on her new WiFi enabled phone and see us when we move back to Bahrain. My baby will feel more connected to everyone here too. (Bonus feature: The Moto E battery has been specially designed to make sure it lasts all day and the processor has been upgraded so that it’s faster and smoother than the earlier model so my mother won’t need to worry about running out of charge all the time. Added bonus: My child would be cooed at by so many more people! 🙂 ) Welcome to the addictive world of the internet on your phone Ma!

“Anything else Ma?”, I asked when she had been quiet for a little while. “Well…”, she said laughing, “…does this phone you have in mind look good?” I could not help but laugh too. Of course she would want a phone that looked good! She is one of the most stylish women I know and is consistently complimented on her choice of clothes, shoes and jewellery! I said, “No problem! Check out the variety of coloured bands that you can use!”

That’s when I showed her the videos on the site.

My mother couldn’t stop smiling…

Who doesn’t hold their firsts in a special little place in their hearts? That first love, first kiss, first job, first salary or even, as it is in my case, first pregnancy related stretch marks (which made their appearance about a week ago and brought a very wide grin to my face)! So what if it’s not me making that first smart phone memory myself? It’s my mother and I can’t wait to see the delight on her face when she starts with Moto E!

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Do visit their website at http://www.startwithmotoe.com/!

Photo Credits:

Pic 1: My mothers phone.

Pic 2: Here

E is for Exciting Experiments!

So for those of you reading my posts regularly you would know that yesterday I was excited about the outcome of my first bread baking experience in my new kitchen here. Let it be known that all my earlier experiments with baking bread have been fails. Enormous fails. Usually, the dough just never seems to rise enough and the finished product is terribly heavy and dense or it never gets that beautiful golden crunchy crust and well, I’ve had to throw the blob of hard dough out without having eaten more than a slice.

So, yesterday, when I had kneaded my dough into a smooth elastic ball and placed it in a greased bowl, I prayed to the big bakers in the sky to help me out a little. They were kind to me for when I checked on the dough after about two and a half hours it had doubled in size and was this big airy soft ball. It felt almost therapeutic to punch it down and re-shape it into a loaf shape. When I put it in the oven, it was with the hope that I would, after so many failed attempts, at last have edible bread.

Maybe it was going to be my lucky day… 🙂

Once it had baked, I took it out, tapped the bottom and was rewarded with a glorious hollow sound (which experienced bakers tell me is supposed to mean that the bread is baked well). Ta-daaaa!

I know it’s a little flat but I choose to believe that that is because the loaf tin was a little too big for the amount of dough so it spread out first and then rose up. Next time I’ll make more. But, it’s golden and look at those air pockets on the side! 😀

Any of you who have baked will know what I mean when I say that the hardest part is waiting for the enticing baked yummy to cool down enough before you can cut it. For me it was excruciatingly long. But it was worth it because when I finally when I cut it, this is what I saw:

It looked just like those bread slices from the store. Well maybe not exactly, but close enough! And oh joy! It even tasted quite like bread from the store! Perhaps this marks my independence from store-bought bread. Speaking of which, happy independence day to everyone who is celebrating today!

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Written for ABC Wednesdays E is for…