Popcorn maker
As a birthday gift from Parm and Sian this year, Rum and I received a popcorn maker for the new house. The idea was we wait until December, have a movie night and enjoy some freshly made popcorn. Well we couldn’t wait. It was a nice idea but we simply couldn’t hold out till the house was ready, we had to use it! It took Rum about a minute to get it out of the box and to plug it in. Lights on, camera running and action in about 5 minutes.
We let it run for about 3 minutes for the kettle to warm up, added 2 teaspoons of oil, 1 scoop of popcorn and that was it. Popcorn was popping out of the kettle and the room was smelling like a cinema foyer. Two scoops later we had half a bucket of popcorn and a very smiley Rum!
Cleaning it was no big deal, one wet wipe and one dry wipe. Job done and ready for next time :) All we need now is to get some popcorn oil and popcorn flavours… this time it was salted… my favourite. Right, I am off to find a toothpick!!! View video below.

Happy Birthday Dal
As you all know we are in the process of building a house out here in Oz. One of the rooms will be a dedicated home cinema room, something we aren’t quite used to back home yet. The audio and Visual kit is not quite finalised but one thing is for sure the cinema room will boast a 105″ screen
Raksha Bandhan is the celebration of brother sister relationship. The sibling relationship is nowhere so celebrated as in India. The day when the siblings pray for each others’ well being and wish for each others’ happiness and goodwill. As the name ‘Raksha Bandhan’ suggests, ‘a bond of protection’, Raksha Bandhan is a pledge from brothers to protect the sister from all harms and troubles and a prayer from the sister to protect the brother from all evil. The festival falls on the Shravan Purnima (full moon day of shravan month) which comes generally in the month of August. The sisters tie the silk thread called rakhi on their brother’s wrist and pray for their well being and brothers promise to take care of their sisters. The festival is unique to India creates a feeling of belongingness and oneness amongst the family. Though now it is considered as a brother and sister festival, it was not always so. There have been examples in history where in rakhi has just been a raksha or protection. It could be tied by wife, a daughter or mother. The Rishis tied rakhi to the people who came seeking their blessings. The sages tied the sacred thread to themselves to safe guard them from the evil. It is by all means the ‘Papa Todak, Punya Pradayak Parva’ or the day that bestows boons and end all sins as it is mentioned in the scriptures. Rakhi for many centuries encompassed the warmth shared between the siblings but now it goes way beyond it.





