We thought we’d try out the hotel’s restaurant (Keshai at Hotel Dream) for an easy lunch, and I am oh-so-glad we did. The food was some of the best on our whole trip!

We started with crispy papadums served with fiery hot sauce:

And then were treated to rice and veggie curries:

My favourite was the South Indian specialty dish: Avial– a veggie curry made with yogurt curd, coconut, and curry leaves:

The long green vegetables are known as “drumsticks” (Muringakkaya). I was so glad to find out what they were, as throughout South India they kept popping up in my sambar! They are woody and delicious, and you can eat the pulp out of them. Mmmm.

The other curry was made with tomatoes and okra, and also divine:

The rice was a local red rice, that is produced only for eating within the country and not exported:

And lunch was served with some of the best flatbreads I’ve ever had:

The winner — a slightly spicy onion kulcha:

After lunch we went out for an afternoon of sightseeing. We started out at the Paradesi Synagogue, built in 1568. As it was the Sabbath we only got to see it from the outside:

So we wandered the streets in the surrounding area:

Found the spice shop (yum):

And checked out all the colourful souvenir stands:

We then headed down to the harbour to see the traditional fishing:

Which was such a neat juxtaposition against the very modern city:

It was such a perfect Saturday — everyone was out and about by the harbour, enjoying a relax:

Sitting under a big tree:

And getting snacks to share:

We also visited the lovely St. Francis Church:

Which also had gorgeous mandalas on the floor tiles:

And a beautiful green garden:

Outside of the church, a vendor was selling local puppets:

And off we went to the Cochin Cultural Centre to see a Kathakali show.  Kathakali is the traditional dance of India, and tells the stories of the epics.  Usually Kathakali dances last all night, and take place at the temples for religious festivals.  The cultural centre has set up a show perfect for tourists: you get to see the dancers put on their makeup, they explain the traditions, give a little demo, and then do excerpts of a dance.

We arrived to see the first male dancer demonstrating putting on his makeup:

They add on paste to hold the 3D pieces of the costume that add such depth to the male character:

And the male dancer on the right then did his own makeup to transform into the female character:

We were lucky to be treated to live musicians:

And one of the masters of the dance form, who showed us some of the stock gestures & facial expressions they use in the storytelling:

He had simply the most amazing and interpretive eyeballs I’ve ever seen:

Then the two dancers whom we had seen earlier applying makeup did excerpts of one dance for us:

It was amazing, and moving, and such a wonderful experience!!!  What a perfect way to end our tour of South India!

As soon as we arrived at our hotel, we were greeted with Welcome Coconuts:

Mine made me oh-so-happy, as I had been dying for one all trip!

And we thought we’d enjoy dinner at the hotel because they had a tandoor (clay oven that makes things delicious).  So we devoured tandoori cauliflower, which was served with mint-cilantro chutney (the same mint chutney that came with our Kathi rolls in Goa):

And we had a vegetable & rice biryani.  Mmmmm, it was delicious and topped with local roasted cashews and served with yogurt:

And of course, one of my favourite desserts – gulab jamun:

The next morning we headed down to breakfast and were greeted with a wall of humidity when we left our chillingly air-conditioned rooms.  It was seriously like walking into a brick wall of damp.  It also fogged up my camera and made for very romantic photos of the fishing boats:

Once the humidity cleared from my camera, you can see that it actually looked like this:

We thought we’d get out onto the backwaters, and so went on a houseboat cruise down the waterway.  We got to see all the other houseboats on the water:

Staring at the lush green trees along the bank:

Watching the locals fishing:

Contemplating the tires on the side of the houseboat (is there anything like a boatride to get you into a meditating mood?):

Watching the birds:

Drifting lazily under bridges:

Gawking at the lovely houses on the water’s edge:

And being totally amazed by the fact that they were building a houseboat ON A HOUSEBOAT.  Now that’s meta.

Mmmm, lazy days in Kumarakom.  I feel relaxed just thinking about it.

Women pick the tea leaves:

And women also make bricks, by packing clay into moulds:

And men fire them up:

On our road trip to Periyar, we also saw several huge sculptures & shrines, just off the side of the road (kind of like the giant chairs/donuts/cowyboy boots that have become a part of small-town USA roadtrips):

And I got to see a tamarind tree up close, full of pods of that sour-sweet fruit:

We shared the roads with bullock carts:

And giant tour buses:

But it was all worth it… all for the views:

Once we arrived in Periyar itself, we stared longingly at salty/sweet banana chips (that we didn’t eat due to our self-imposed “we don’t have local immune systems, so let’s not die from street food” rules):

And arrived at our hotel to be greeted by a sweet rose-flavoured Welcome Drink:

And a gorgeous meal of tawa-cooked veggies (a tawa is a cast-iron skillet, also used to cook flatbreads):

With naan from the tandoor (naan is the best flatbread of life, a tandoor is a special brick oven to cook it)”

And a brilliant carrot and cilantro kulcha (kulcha is like naan, but with stuff on or in it):

And I ended my meal with my favourite drink, masala chai (spiced black tea, usually made with cardamom, cinnamon, ginger):

And we had some chill time to enjoy the lush surroundings of our hotel:

Which had cacao pods by the swimming pool:

And stunning flowers on every pathway:

While in Periyar, we also headed to the Periyar Tiger Reserve, where we met this little guy (not a tiger):

And when on a boat ride to see the lake scenery:

And the elephants, including babies!!!

We also saw repeats of all the other animals we saw at Ranthambore last year… no tigers, but lots of deer & birds.

After a ferocious day on safari, we headed back for drinks at the hotel — I indulged in a coconut milk & fresh pineapple juice colada:

Breakfasts at the hotel were also delicious, especially the savory fried bananas:

But my favourite part of Periyar was our visit to the tea plantation!

Tea grows in short (waist-high) bushes right the way up the hillsides.  The farmers make the tea bushes stop short at easy-picking height and cut them Bonsai-style into submission, otherwise they’d be tall tall trees.

We visited the Connemara Tea Factory & Plantation (an Irishman established a tea factory, hence the Irish name), and got to tour both the factory and the grounds:

The Connemara factory makes only black, loose leaf unflavoured tea, mainly for export to England.  And it was quite tasty!

We saw the new baby tea bushes:

Which are all wrapped up in coconut husks to protect them from the elements:

We went on a tour inside the factory, which showed the total process of making tea leaves for sale — the most amazing part was the smell.  A number of us on the tour decided that drinking tea was so-last-year and that from now on we were just going to inhale the tea aroma.  Ohhhhhh the smell of tea leaves roasting.  If you ever get a chance, you need to go sniff roasting tea!

In fact, I think it’s time for a cuppa.

We started our day at the glorious Palace of Thirumalai Nayak, with our elegant guide, Meenakshi:

The palace is the perfect spot to visit if you’ve recently developed an obsession with ceiling mandalas and Mughal arches:

They keep bees in some of the arches:

One of the largest rooms has now been established as a sculpture gallery, showing beautiful stone carvings and bronzes from across India’s history.  I think I looked at the arches more than the sculptures:

Back out and into the bustling city!  On our drive through town, we were taken through the market streets, where several of the streets are set up as vegetable shops. For example, the street that’s nothing but onion vendors:

And the banana street:

And on every corner, eggs or veggies for sale:

We parked and walked our way over to the most beautiful (and impressive!) temple I saw in South India: the Meenakshi Temple. En route I managed to see chalk mandalas on the ground:

And had to be prodded to look up at the awe-inspiring gopurram of the temple:

Inside the temple complex was a beautiful tree shrine, where women would leave offerings as a prayer to become pregnant:

In some of the complex buildings, people were worshiping or learning to worship:

Above them were stunning ceiling mandalas — painted with natural veggie dyes:

In the main buildings it was quite dark, and filled with people there to worship:

And my favourite floor mandala of the trip:

After the fantastic temple visit, our guide Meenakshi took us to a local tailor – where we had outfits made out of the local wash-and-wear cotton-silk blend that they weave in the workroom behind the shop:

These are all silks — you want them:

And after playing with fabric, we headed back to the hotel for fortification.

We had a delicious buffet lunch — and I managed to grab some guava salad (on the left):

Meenakshi told us it was traditional, and made with guavas, chilis, garlic, onions, and lime juice. YUM.

I also had a great paneer, in a sweet-savoury and creamy sauce (probably Paneer Makhani):

My only complaint about Madurai would be the booze at our hotel.  We were served a glass of domestic red wine that was actually transparent (note to travelers, try the Golconda at your own risk – shudder).

We thought we’d make up for the wine with a Kingfisher — because really, how can you go wrong with bottled domestic beer that you know and love?   When the waiter served the beer, he added such a proud flourish that the bottle (not the glasses) ended up becoming filled with head.  I didn’t even know this was possible!

How can you complain about booze though, when you’re in a city that smells so good? Meenakshi told us that Madurai was known as the “honey city” because it smelled of jasmine.  I had never smelled fresh jasmine before, and Madurai is known for it.  Women wear fresh jasmine in their hair for beauty and perfume.  I even saw gorgeous jasmine braids on the backs of lovely sari-clad ladies on motorcycles during the rush hour commute!  Our driver saw how captivated I was by the smell, and took us to the flower market.

We parked in the rice distribution warehouse area:

And then wandered over to the flower market, where we found many men sitting with their bags of freshly picked flowers:

Many flowers were sold as is, but there were also vendors stringing garlands you could buy:

We also saw what happened to the flowers at the end of the day — they made the most gorgeous garbage pile you’ve ever seen:

My sweetie thought I needed to act out a bit of “when in Rome” and treated me to some Jasmine for my hair. I simply couldn’t stop sniffing it!

And I also found the lone yarn shop in town (hey my Rominette friends, this one’s for you):

Ah Madurai. I wish we could have spent longer there exploring. I would have loved to spend even more time at the Meenakshi temple, and to spend more time prowling through the city. If I manage to make it back to South India, I will definitely make sure there’s ample time for Madurai!

And we were again treated to a temple full of stunning carvings:

And glorious mandalas on the ceilings, painted with natural vegetable dyes:

This mandala was above a huge Nandi statue (my favourite Nandi of the trip):

Many tourist sites have elephants around for photo opportunities, and this temple was no exception:

We also visited the Gangaikondacholisvaram temple:

Where Shiva followers left handprints of ash:

And women left offerings at a shrine, hoping for babies:

The temple also had more ceiling mandalas:

And my favourite elephant:

Our final stop at the complex was at the Darasuram temple:

And off we went driving again.  En route we stopped to see how traditional bronze sculptures are formed:

We then drove through Karaikudy where we saw these stunning houses:

Apparently the very wealthy folks in India have holiday homes here, which they only visit once a year. And look at the flowers!

We were fortunate to be able to tour the inside of one of these houses:

I always love seeing other people’s kitchens — this is how a traditional kitchen would look:

The people looking after the home were drying out a paste of ground rice and water, which they would then fry into snacks:

And outside, another chalk mandala:

We continued on our way and stopped at a lovely hotel:

Where we enjoyed a traditional lunch of Chettinad Food, served on a banana leaf:

Crispy papadum, fluffy rice, coconut curry:

A lightly fried veggie ball, sweet mango, yogurt & pomegranate, and green bean curry:

Mixed veggie curry with two of my favourite veggies — eggplant & okra (why don’t I do this all the time?):

And my favourite part of any meal – sweet mango chutney and spicy hot pickle:

When we walked out, pleasantly stuffed, dozy, and dreaming of temples, we were greeted by the most gorgeous flowers. A perfect way to end a fantastic meal!

We needed to power up with a good breakfast for the drive, and so started with an incredible plate (clockwise from the top: masala uttapam, coconut chutney, roasted tomato chutney, sambar (lentil soup), idli, and vada (fried lentil donuts):

The masala uttapam (mixed spice savoury pancake) was the best part — crispy on the spiced edges and soft inside with all the bubbles from the overnight-fermented batter (just like when you make masala dosa).  Yum yum yum.

En route to Mahabalipuram, we stopped ever so briefly in Pondicherry (formerly Puducherry), a former French colony in India.  I loved this Gandhi statue:

And a gorgeous chalk mandala drawn on the sidewalk:

We also saw a church:

With gorgeous arches:

And my favourite statue of all time at one of the roadside shrines:

We stopped for lunch en route at a restaurant and had a plate of delicious curries: (clockwise from top: naan bread, dal over rice, okra and eggplant (hello, inspiration! I’ll be cooking you soon), kootu (my new favourite — a veggie curry made with coconut), and cumin potatoes, with lemon rice in the middle of the plate)

The dal & rice was unbelievably good:

And for dessert, gulab jamun (condensed milk balls in syrup):

Once we arrived in Mahabalipuram we explored the town to see the local sites: a group of monuments that form a world heritage site.  Mahabalipuram is known for its stone carving, and all of the monuments show the different types of stone carving done in the region. We saw some excellent examples of the stone carving:

We visited Thirukadalmallai, a temple in the pallava style:

That had a really big nandi (bull) as well as a Chinese dragon:

We in fact saw Chinese dragon figures incorporated into almost all the shrines in Tamil Nadu:

And more gorgeously intricate pillars:

And a beautiful Meenakshi (Parvati) shrine:

We also visited a huge bas relief sculpture called Descent of the Ganges:

Then we moved onto Krishna’s Butter Ball (a big rock — that’s the explanation we got):

Which also had goats:

And mandalas carved in the ceilings of the surrounding shrines:

The Shore Temple (next to the Bay of Bengal).

And my favourite spot: the Five Rathas (Five Chariots) named after the five Pandava brothers.  It was so cool for me to be there, because I had just finished reading a retelling of the Mahabarata from Draupati’s perspective — The Palace of Illusions by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, and so the Pandava brothers were familiar characters to me.  Each of the five buildings was devoted to one of the five brothers.

There were lots of tour groups around, including students being students:

And a group of people my height — we became quick friends and practiced our English together:

The sculptures were incredible:

And for scale, here’s one of those images with our guide for the day:

Back to chill, our resort in Mahabalipuram had a fantastic view from the bar:

As well as a great bar with bar snacks.

We got a dish that was totally new to us (that we then saw throughout South India) — cauliflower fritters:

And a fabulous veggie Kathi roll served with mint chutney:

Ahhhhh yes.  Travel perfection.

Happy long weekend, happy Easter, happy Sunday!  Whatever you’re enjoying today (Happy Birthday, Ash!!), you need banana bread to celebrate.

We had our friend Dave over for a chill Saturday afternoon hangout & scotch tasting yesterday, and I thought it was high time to use up the really ripe bananas hanging out on my counter.  Turns out Dave likes banana bread.  Perfect!

Have you noticed that a lot of whole wheat recipes say they are whole wheat and then have only 30-50% whole wheat flour, and then they bulk it out with all-purpose white flour?  That drives me crazy.  So I’ve been trying to make a whole bunch of my standard recipes that I’ve been using for years into 100% whole wheat recipes (like my 100% whole wheat chocolate chip cookies, compost cookies, toblerone cookies, pizza dough, calzone dough, crepes, sweet tart dough, savoury tart dough, and flatbreads), so I thought it would be a good idea to try it out with my standard Banana Bread recipe.  And success!!!  So now you have a 100% whole wheat banana bread recipe.

I have made this banana bread so many ways over the years — with applesauce instead of the butter (works great!), honey instead of the sugar (also good), with no extras mixed in, just nuts, nut-free, or now this version: with absolutely everything but the kitchen sink.  Seeing as I had just cleaned out my freezer, I knew I had a bunch of extra delicious bits and bobs I could throw in.  The pumpkin seeds were my last thought, and I am so glad I added them.

Feel free to experiment with whatever add-ins you’d like.  Somewhere between 1/3 cup and 1 1/2 cups of stuff works pretty well.  I think pecans & pumpkin seeds could be a nice combo.  When you search Pinterest for “banana bread”, you may be inspired by the combos on there like chocolate + orange, blueberry + walnut, or even dried cranberries!

To make it pretty, I poked some banana chips I had on hand into the top.  They make it a pain to slice, but the loaf looks so lovely.  I think a sprinkling of chopped nuts would also look fabulous. Enjoy!

Whole Wheat “Kitchen Sink” Banana Bread

•  1 1/3 c. whole wheat flour
• 2 Tbsp. ground flax seeds
• 1 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• 1/3 c. butter
• 2/3 cup raw cane sugar
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 3 very ripe bananas, mashed
• 1/4 c. chopped walnuts
• 1/4 c. chocolate chips
• 1/4 c. cacao nibs
• 1/4 c. pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 c. unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/4 c. banana chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 350F.

Prepare a loaf pan (standard size: 23cm x 12.7 cm or 9″x5″) by greasing it with butter or coconut oil.

Whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, flax seeds, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.

In a large bowl or stand mixer, cream together butter and sugar.  Add the flour mixture and mix until the mixture is crumbly.  Beat in the eggs and vanilla.  Fold in the bananas until all ingredients are incorporated.  Then fold in the walnuts, chocolate chips, cacao nibs, pumpkin seeds, and coconut.

Pour the mixture into the greased loaf pan.  Decorate the top of the loaf with banana chips, or any extra toppings.

Bake at 350F for 60 minutes, until the top is browned, and a knife or skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean.

Let cool in the loaf pan for 5-10 minutes.  Remove from the pan and let cool completely on a wire cooling rack.

Slice, eat and enjoy!

The first official stop on our sightseeing tour of South India (after we got our landlegs back under us in Goa and said goodbye to the magical masala dosa), was Chennai (formerly Madras).  Chennai is an IT hub, a big city, and the capital of Tamil Nadu.

Chennai is a city that (like Mumbai) employs a traffic measure that I call “Honk & Go”.  Essentially, if you honk, you get to go.  And you don’t use turn signals for passing, you just honk continuously until you are passed the other car.  All of the trucks & buses have “Sound Horn” written on the back to ask you to please “Honk & Go” and somehow it all works.  It’s madness, and it’s loud, but it works.

And some signs tell you things like “No Entry for Bullock Carts”.  That’s how you know you’re not in Kansas anymore.

Our sightseeing plan was to go and see the National Art Gallery.  But we were only in Chennai for a day, and that day was a Friday.  For your information, museums and galleries in Chennai are closed on Fridays.  Onward!

So we went to go see a gorgeous Hindu temple.  There are three main gods in the Hindu Trimurti: Brahma (creator), Vishnu (the maintainer), and Shiva (the destroyer of evil).  The temple we visited was a Shiva Temple called Tiruvalithayam.

As you approach the temple complex, there are vendors outside selling flowers for offerings:

Offerings are also made out of coconuts (you break them on the ground, to symbolize breaking the ego), bananas, and flowers.  The food is then offered to the poor as an act of charity:

This was the entrance gateway (gopuram) of Tiruvalithayam:

The quantity of sculptures that adorn the gopuram is unbelievable, but so is the detail of each character:

Inside the Tiruvalithayam temple complex there were many shrines:

And each had ornate and colourful sculptures:

This one was atop a shrine to Ganesh:

If you see a bull, it’s representing Nandi, Shiva’s mount:

I became captivated by the geometric patterns of the mandalas drawn in chalk or painted on the ground around the temples of South India:

We also went to visit the San Thome Basilica.  The church is built over the grave of St. Thomas (aka. Doubting Thomas / Thomas the Apostle, who preached in India from 52-72 A.D.).  It’s a Neo-Gothic style British Cathedral that was built in 1893.

And you know how I love archways:

We also went into Fort St. George (built by the East India company and completed in 1644, and now houses the State legislature) to visit St. Mary’s Church, “the oldest Anglican Church east of the Suez”, which was consecrated in 1680:

I was confused by the number of churches we were visiting, but of course it all makes sense.  Chennai has the second largest port in India, and so sailors have been traveling to Chennai for trade for ages — and needed places to worship, and to bury their dead.  Fascinating!

Back in our hotel, we were pleasantly amused by the decor.  This was the art hanging in the lobby:

And this was the art hanging above our bed:

And the food in the hotel included a buffet breakfast (clockwise from green blob: mint chutney, idli, hashbrowns, uttapam, vada, pea curry, spinach uttapam, and vermicelli upma in the centre).

The best were the uttapam (savoury pancakes made with onions and a mix of spices):

Or mint idlis with chole and poori and a couple vada for good measure:

And of course, many lovely cups of black tea accompanied breakfasts:

We also did a buffet meal out at a vegetarian restaurant… the kitchen staff there seemed surprised to see people other than locals eating there — they had their noses pressed up to the glass of the kitchen window watching us choose food and eat.  But they were very hospitable and the food was great!

They also had 2 types of flatbreads — whole wheat roti (on top) and naan (bottom):

Perfect food to see us on our way to Mahabalipuram!  Stay tuned…

Our hotel had fantastic breakfasts — from the morning masala dosa to the buffet laid out with all sorts of treats:

Idlis, vada (lentil fritters), and poori (a.k.a. puri — deep fried, whole wheat flatbread) with bhaji (potato curry):

Bhatoora (giant poori) and chole (chickpea curry), mint idlis, and vermicelli upma (breakfast noodles with spices, chilies, ginger, onions, and veggies):

Paratha (stuffed flatbread) and bhaji, and an idli:

The hotel also had a gorgeous pool over which hung a tree with gorgeous white flowers — I bet my friend Ashley would love to wear one of these in her hair:

We also did some sightseeing.  Goa was a Portuguese colony until 1961 (!) so there are many churches and beautiful displays of Portuguese architecture!

We visited the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Old Goa (a World Heritage site, built 1594-1605).  The church holds the remains of the incorruptible St. Francis Xavier, and is beautiful:

The church has a gorgeous carob tree out front:

We also saw a cashew tree (up in the fork of the branches at the top of the picture is a cashew nut growing out of a beige cashew fruit):

Then we took a trip up to a gorgeous vantage point at an old chapel with a perfect view of Old Goa and the palm trees:

And one of my favourite stops was at an indoor market with tons of fresh & local veggies, like white radishes:

Red spinach:

Hot, green chilies:

Fresh, young green coconuts:

Earthy & nubbly ginger:

And such an array of fresh deliciousness and bright colours:

Outside of the market was a vendor selling families packets of highlighter-coloured dyes for Holi, the Hindu festival of colours. Maybe not the natural colours of fruits and veggies, but bright and colourful!

My new find of the trip was my favourite new snack/lunch food — a veggie kati roll. The roll is a whole wheat roti (flatbread) filled with paneer (homemade cottage cheese), sauteed onions & peppers, and served with mint & cilantro chutney. Ohhhh yes.

And believe it or not, they came with the world’s best onion rings.  Ever.

We then ate kati rolls wherever we went in South India, whenever we needed a snack.  I think they’d be awesome for picnic lunches too.  And definitely good for recovery from jetlag!

My favourite South Indian meal is a dosa.  We get it here in Toronto for dinner (we love Udupi Palace in Little India), but in South India it is eaten as a snack food, or for breakfast!  And did we ever have dosas for breakfast!

Imagine large savoury crepes, with a little bit of a tang, and you’ve got dosas.  They’re made from a batter of ground rice and lentils, so they’re naturally gluten-free.  The batter is left to ferment overnight, which gives it the tangy flavour.  Dosas are often served as masala dosa, which means they are stuffed with a curried potato filling.  Yum.  If you make dosa with ghee (clarified butter) it’s a great vegetarian option, and if you use coconut oil it’s even vegan!

You can also have a plain dosa, or even a honey dosa (yes, dosa smeared with honey).  Sooo good.

Dosas are served with sambar (lentil & veggie soup!) and chutney — usually coconut chutney, and roasted tomato chutney, and sometimes mint & coriander chutney too.

I made friends with the dosa chef at our hotel in Goa. He made some of the best masala dosa on our whole trip through South India!

In order to make a dosa you need a large flat & hot surface. A griddle works great for this, but so does anything you’d make a crepe in — so a crepe pan or even a large non-stick frying pan.

First, the chef poured the rice & lentil batter (which had fermented overnight) onto the griddle, and spread it out thin thin using the bottom of a small cup, in circular motions:

Then he also placed the precooked curried potatoes (the ‘masala’ part of masala dosa)on the griddle to warm them up:

As the dosa cooks, one sides gets crispy and golden brown, and the other gets crispy but stays white:

Once the golden brown side is cooked enough, he piled the curried potatoes into the centre of the dosa:

Folded it over:

And even cut it in half, so we could share dosa AND have the breakfast buffet:

I think I need a we-made-it-home-let’s-have-dosas party… which means you’ll be getting a recipe soon.

Let me tell you, it’s so easy to wake up in the morning when you know you’ll soon be having dosa.  Tough life, right?  Now to make it dosa-o’-clock here at home!