It was a relaxing day yesterday, spending time with my family and running errands. The highlight for Nadia was finding a new store with imported delicacies such as olive paste from Spain, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, etc. The Maison de Gout is located near the Minor Mosque and the Little Ring Road in Tashkent. There is moderately sized shopping mall and outdoor market attached to it. She felt like “she was out of Tashkent for a little while” and the kids appreciated the snacks. There were lots of people, many without masks as many people seemed unconcerned about the spread of Covid. I think after 7 months, people are getting worn down with the isolation procedures. I love watching people and the hustle and bustle of life downtown and in the neighborhoods is always interesting to watch. I think people do not like spending time in their homes because they are usually small and so the idea of the “third space” (not work or home) has more people than in Michigan where I grew up.
Our dog Obi is becoming a bigger part of the family. I love taking him out for walks and he follows me around the house faithfully. I really see the appeal of dogs and that point was hit home with the movie Marley and Me, that Ocean, Nadia and I watched Marley and Me Friday night. The girls were crying when Marley dies at the end of the movie (spoiler alert). Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston star in the movie and their family mirrors our family with 2 boys and a girls and watching Owen’s career develop over time. If you love dogs, you will love the film.
We installed Sonos speakers last night in our home. Wow! They are almost wireless, portable and sound fantastic. It sounded like a live band was in our living room with the bar speaker under the television and 2 other speakers simultaneously playing music. I had one of those thrilling moments in awe of technology, thinking back to hooking up a speaker system in university and all the hassles to get the wiring right and then worry about blowing them out. We were up and running with Sonos in just a few minutes and they could be controlled by the Sonos App on my phone. 1987 is a long time ago!
Finally, I had a classic Central Asian moment this week. The smoke alarms were triggered at school by contractors cooking plov for their lunch. Construction workers build makeshift fire pits to heat the national dish of Uzbekistan, plov. The smoke from the fire meandered into the technical room of the gymnasium, triggering a full school fire alar.
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