Carnival: Remembering September 11

As the weeks of September 11 approached, this year, as in the past 8 years, my mind has been filled with the memories of a day the World as we knew it then, has completely changed. We went from a carefree existence into a life struck with terror within just a few moments of time.

Living so close to the City, everyday has it’s own memories that cannot be forgotten, as I remember the loss of so many people that I may have passed everyday never thinking that this may be their last in a world about to change. Like many, I had just arrived at work a few minutes before 9 am, when someone announced they heard that a plane crashed into one of the World Trade Towers. We watched in horror at the burning of the 1^st Tower, only to see about 15 minutes later a second plane crash into the 2^nd Tower. Working in the Financial Trade business, we knew that many Trade companies we dealt with on a daily basis would be affected by this devastation, never realizing how much more that devastation would take. Unfortunately many brokers that we dealt with on a daily basis were breathing their last breaths, as we held our own breaths watching in horror as each of the buildings started to collapse. We have heard so many stories of the workers who died, and those heroes who gave their lives to try to save some of the others, only to lose their own lives.

That afternoon as the whole world came to a complete standstill, and people talked only in whispers, my friend Paul and I drove to our favorite place along the sound where we would often sit and look out over the water. We sat in silence as we watched the smoke rising miles high in the sky from across the bay spreading across the City. Little did we know that our some of our own friends would be lost, or experience the terror and horror that I hope we may never have to experience. I will tell the story of one of our friends, who miraculously survived, and one who didn’t. Monica, a close friend of ours worked in Tower 2. She was almost out of the building when it starting collapsing. No one there knew what was happening or what was to occur, but Monica was suddenly overcome with a vast cloud of smoke and ash. From that point on she was left in a haze of smoke, dust; not being able to see or hear anyone or anything thing. It was at that moment that she thought of her 2 young boys that she would never see again, as she truly thought she had died. Still thinking she was not alive, Monica continued on through this maze of think smoke, her face, and body completely covered in ash, still not be able to see anything or anyone. With God on her side, one of the firemen found her wondering around in this vast mass of molten ash. It took quite a while before she realized that she had survived this horrible tragedy. The next morning many of us went to Mass to pray for the thousands who never made it out of the towers alive. There sitting alone in the Church was an elderly woman crying. Her daughter had been in Tower 1, and as of yet had not heard from her. To this day they have not found any remains of her daughter, and the tears now lives within the heart of her mother. Another friend, Mary, whose husband John was VP of Aon, did not survive the fires that consumed the top floors of Tower 1. They have 2 daughters, one of whom was born with developmental disabilities, (who I worked with for a few years) were a very close and strong family. I didn’t know if Barbara would understand, but I remember at the funeral, she and her sister stood bravely thanking people for coming, and wondering if I myself could have been that strong. In total, we lost 111 people from just our area. The town erected a beautiful monument called “The Rising”. It consists of 111 silver beams reaching up to the sky, each one engraved with the name of a person lost to a senseless tragedy, and at the base are 111 marble stones each etched with the name of the deceased and a small remembrance written in dedication by each family. So for me September 2001 was just not a day which I remember once a year, but as I see the faces of my friend who survived, and the faces of the young girls (the youngest in her last year of college), I relive that horror within myself on a daily basis.

Above is a picture of the memorial “The Rising” and two quilt squares I did in memory of September 11.

Carnival Blog: A Favorite Indian Recipe

This is really a tough decision, since I like so many different foods. I grew up in an English, Irish household where roasts were our Sunday dinner staple, of course with all the trimmings; Yorkshire pudding, baked potatoes, vegetables. But as my life expanded, so did my taste in foods. I think my favorite food which I primarily cook is Italian, which is my kids favorite also. Even now that one of my son’s (Ryan) has gotten his own apartment – I still get requests for my homemade sauce – which is then delivered. In fact last week I sent some over to him and his roommate, who ate here everyday for a few years. The look on their faces said it all, especially after 3 months of eating jar sauce! My other favorite food is Indian which I cook often also. My boys basically grew up on Indian food and all their spices since they were practically toddlers, since one of my closest friends is Indian and was always cooking for them. When she makes chicken curry which they love – she always manages to send some over for them. So now the decision is do I share an Italian or Indian recipe. Well since I know most people know a lot of Italian cooking (at least here in the East), I will share one Indian dish that I made for some friends from India – they couldn’t believe I actually made it and keep insisting that I had to have gotten take out from a restaurant. Well I did make it myself and here is the recipe. By the way, it is not very spicy at all!
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Murgh Makhani (Chicken Curry)
Marinate 2 lbs chicken (thighs, breasts) cut into pieces with lime juice, 1 tbsp. Ginger/Garlic Paste, 1 tsp Chili Power and ¼ c. plain yogurt. Let stand for about 4 hrs.
In saucepan, heat 2 tsp oil; when hot add 1 tbsp. Ginger/Garlic Paste; 1 chili pepper (minced) – sauté approx 1 min. Add 3 tomatoes skinned and diced; ¼ tsp Tumeric; 1 stick butter; 1 tbsp tomato paste; 1 tsp. Garam Masala; 1tsp Ground Cumin; ¼ black pepper. Simmer 10-15 min, then puree in blender. Return to saucepan; add ¾ cup heavy cream. Add chicken, bring to boil, then simmer ½ hr, or until chicken is cooked. Before serving slowly stir in another ¾ cup cream. Serve with Basmati rice.


One picture above is an ancient (approx 2,000 yr) carved building. The colors are still magnificent to see. The other picture was taken of me speaking to an audience at a school dedication in Tamil Nadu, So India. I actually spoke partly in their language Tamil.

Carnival Blog: How I Spent My Summer!

This truly has been some summer! I think most of us (at least those of us here in the US) experienced the coldest and rainiest summer on record. But needless to say, I didn’t let that put a damper on most of my summer fun.

So I will just have to give you a little bit of the ups and downs of the Baker’s summer. My days are filled with watching little Ava grow. At the beginning of the summer, she was just barely sitting up while being supported. Within the past two months, Ava has progress to the “I only want to stand” stage; although she now sits up, as fast as I put her down, she has grabbed onto something and is standing with that little expression of “look at me, it won’t be long now that I will be into everything!” I bought little Ava her first baby doll the other day, and it didn’t take long for that to be her favorite little friend.

The end of June was met with the announcement from my son Ryan that he would be moving out on July 1. Although I still have one more son home, I do admit I did shed a few tears when I walked into his empty room the day after he left. Unfortunately they do have to leave the nest one day. Leaving with him was our newest member of the family, Jada (his little Bengal kitten). My cat, which I never really named, we still just call her kitty, really misses her little playmate. She is a very quiet and shy kitten, and from the second Jada arrived, never gave her a moment of peace. But I can say now that she really loved every minute of being chased around the house and even sat on. With every ray of sun, a cloud burst seems to follow. Little Jada, who was just 6 months and only 5 lbs, passed away last week while at the Vet for the minor procedure of getting spaded. There are still no answers, but it really did affect all of us. “The cloudburst doesn’t last all day” The Vet was so upset herself that she gave Ryan the money to replace Jada (which was a show cat), and 2 days later tiny little Dexter joined our family to fill the void. He is just as cute, although not as crazy, yet.

Jada.5mo. Dexter .2mo

Kitty.

Well, I don’t want you all to think the rain dampened our summer and our spirits, I spend most of the summer (after recovering from falling off a ladder, and am still pretty bruised up a month later), preparing for a most special and exciting event: The Baby Shower! My daughter’s first baby (I am assuming there will be more), is due Oct 3. I spent most of the summer sewing away to make a baby quilt for my first little grandbaby. Of course, my daughter wanted a “vintage” Winnie-the-Pooh quilt, a bear which was always her favorite. It was not easy to find that fabric, but after much searching on EBay and online, the material was bought, and the quilt done just in time for the shower, which was last week. I planned an outside garden party, yes, I did take that chance with all the rain this summer; but somehow knew my little angels would come through for me. So the party was a complete success; and her brother Keith, had a Winnie-the-Pooh cake made especially for the occasion! Now we just have to wait for little Zachary to arrive in the Fall.

In between all of this sewing and planning and moving and accidents, and of course, working on my jewelry, I did manage to have some time for myself to enjoy with friends. Last night I had dinner with some friends from HS, one of which has been a friend since elementary school. So if you don’t find me here chatting and blogging, you might find me sitting at “Starbucks”, or having dinner or lunch with my friends; or taking a peaceful walk along the Sound watching the sailboats floating by. I guess one doesn’t always need to travel to enjoy their time, it seems a summer or anytime can be filled with the love of your family and closest friends who are always there for you.

Dinner with friends July 2009/ Family at Kelly's Wedding