Friday, October 21, 2011

waterhole for birds

I had arranged to place a waterhole ( a mud vessel with water capacity of 5 lts) in the compound wall. It is frequented by sparrows, pigeons, and myynahs. Yesterday, at around 8.50am while starting from home to company, a pair of mynahs using that for not only drinking water, but also for a "relaxed" bath!!!! a pic


Tuesday, September 20, 2011

sparrow nest & pigeon shelter

Nov 2nd 2011.

As the young pigeons grown and started flying independently, got a sense of relief, as there is an end to the nuisance of pigeons droppings.

But the worst thing you may not aware, pigeons are worst infringers!!! There was terrific fight for the nest, to occupy the nesting place for new pigeons, in the commotion the whole place around the nest becomes even dirty because of spillage of the twigs, tweets and the feathers.

Atlast, I thought to putting an end to this non-sense. I dismantled the whole pigeon nest and cleared the entire area. It took more than two hours for me to clean the mess. The pigeons for quite some time came back and forth, and now it realised it must look for some other place for shelter.

On Oct 30th, Sunday... refurnished the Sparrow nest box by adding one more new sparrow shelter made of card board. Also cleaned and refilled the sparrow food, brought 500 gms of half cut rice and 500gms of bajira ( millet). A pic.. but as on date the new sparrow shelter was not occupied by any sparrows... waiting..





The baby pigeons started moving here and there, and it appears they are impatient and wants to take it wings. Yesterday 20th Oct 2011, one of the pigeon took a dangerous manoeuver for its first flight and in the process stumbled upon the shoe rack in the balcony and it settled itself for the whole night as it could not flight upto the nest and the next day early morning, with the support of its parents could get back to its nest. ( I also not tried to put-it back in the nest as I heard that if humans touches the young birds, then its parents and the bird community will not accept the contaminated bird ( may be identified by the smell???)  and the little one would be perished till its end or needs to be survived by its own strength ( if, my memory is correct, in Malayalam, this kind of outcast is called " BRIST"). A happy reunion picture...





=============================
Today is 17th Oct 2011, after one month of my previous photo. The pigeon had two little baby bird, which are now sturdy and ready to take its wings.
I could observe the sacrifice of the mother bird. The mother bird during hatching period did not moved anywhere, I wounder when it is moving out for eating? I don't know, whether it is having any food during the hatching period.. After around 15 days, I could hear the chirping sound of young ones. Then a cycle of tireless feeding. Oh.. after a gap of one month, both the eggs hatched and two healthy baby birds are out to start their life. But, giving pigeons in the balcony is not advisable, as unlike sparrows, makes the surrounds ugly by its droppings...I had to bear the brunt of housemaid and my family members for allowing the pigeon nest to continue...because of its droppings.

The Sparrow is ready for its next cycle.. it is still bringing fine feathers to the old nest inside the sparrow box.. but I don't think the next cycle of hatching started... a pic taken today.ie 17th Oct 2011.




-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The second cycle of the sparrow nesting started last week ie on 17th Sep 2011 in my home. Both the mother and father sparrow cleaning the nest and start remodelling the house. One more funny thing is that in the upper floor, a pigeon also started nesting. The inbetween Bata box sparrow house is already booked!!! by some sparrow and start visiting. I don't know whether nesting takes places, as the entry point for that Bata box sparrow nest is by the right side entry. This shows the birds, sparrows and pigeons are compatible and would love to live by live and lets live!!!! a pic
I need to refill the bird feeder, as the food got fungal growth due to wet and damp monsoon weather. Anyhow the Sparrow box and bird feeder gives a sense of satisfaction and good time pass, and it is pleasant to hear the chirpings of sparrows in the morning and all the day long activities by the parent sparrows is a treat to watch.

Thursday, September 15, 2011

to ponder... achieving peace of mind




PEACE OF MIND

Once when Buddha was walking from one town to another with a few of his followers, they happened to pass a lake.They stopped there and Buddha said to one of his disciples, I am thirsty. Go and get me some water from that lake there.

The disciple walked up to the lake. When he reached it, he noticed that some people were washing clothes in the water,and right at that moment, a bullock cart started crossing through the lake. As a result, the water became very muddy,very turbid. The disciple thought, How can I give this muddy water to Buddha to drink! So he came back and said to Buddha, The water in the lake is very muddy. I don't think it is fit to drink.

After about half an hour, again Buddha asked the same disciple to go back to the lake and get him some water to drink. The disciple obediently went back to the lake. This time he found that the lake had absolutely clear water in it. The mud had settled down and the water above it looked fit to be had. So he collected some water in a pot and brought it to Buddha.

Buddha looked at the water, and then he looked up at the disciple and said, See what you did to make the water clean. You let it be, and the mud settled down on its own and then you got clear water.

Your mind is also like that! When it is disturbed, just let it be. Give it a little time. It will settle down on its own. You don't have to put in any effort to calm it down.

IT WILL HAPPEN. IT IS EFFORTLESS

Friday, August 19, 2011

some random snaps
















South west monsoon transforms the parched land mass into green canopy with buss of life. The mesmerising effect of monsoon rains cannot be explained but only could be experienced. The above are some snaps of the myraid colours offered by the great Indian South West Monsoon!!!!

Tuesday, August 02, 2011

that's monsoon...



Yesterday after evening showers, thick dark clouds moving from SW, and suddently the sun peeps out.. a magical moment... some pics. just enjoy the nature in its true colours...


Monday, July 04, 2011

for better life

Three things to respect-
Old Age, religion and law.

Three things to love-
Purity, Honesty and hard work.


Three things to cultivate -
Courage, cheerfulness and Contentment.


Three things to control -
Tongue, Temper and Temptation.


Three things to watch-
Speech, behavior and action.

Three things to prevent -
Laziness, falsehood and Slander.

small things

A little boy selling magazines for school walked up to a house that people rarely visited. The house was very old and run down and the owner hardly ever came out. When he did come out he would not say hello to neighbors or passers by but simply just glare at them.

The boy knocked on the door and waited, sweating from fear of the old man. The boy's parents told him to stay away from the house, a lot of the other neighborhood children were told the same from their parents.
As he was ready to walk away, the door slowly opened. " What do you want?" the old man said. The little boy was very afraid but he had a quota to meet for school with selling the magazines.

"Uh, sir, I uh am selling these magazines and uh I was wondering if you would like to buy one." The old man just stared at the boy. The boy could see inside the old man's house and saw that he had dog figurines on the fireplace mantle. "Do you collect dogs?" the little boy asked. "Yes, I have many collectibles in my house, they are my family here, they are all I have." The boy then felt sorry for the man, as it seemed that he was a very lonely soul. "Well, I do have a magazine here for collectors, it is perfect for you, I also have one about dogs since you like dogs so much." The old man was ready to close the door on the boy and said, "No boy, I don't need any magazines of any kind, now goodbye."

The little boy was sad that he was not going to make his quota with the sale. He was also sad for the old man being so alone in the big house that he owned. The boy went home and then had an idea. He had a little dog figure that he got some years ago from an aunt. The figurine did not mean nearly as much to him since he had a real live dog and a large family. The boy headed back down to the old man's house with the figurine. He knocked on the door again and this time the old man came right to the door. "Boy, I thought I told you no magazines."

"No, sir I know that, I wanted to bring you a gift." The boy handed him the figurine and the old man's face lit up. "It is a Golden Retriever, I have one at home, this one is for you." The old man was simply stunned; no one had ever given him such a gift and shown him so much kindness. "Boy, you have a big heart, why are you doing this?" The boy smiled at the man and said, "Because you like dogs."
From that day on the old man started coming out of the house and acknowledging people. He and the boy became friends; the boy even brought his dog to see the man weekly.

This simple gesture changed both of their lives forever.

Thursday, May 19, 2011

NICE MORAL STORY





The only survivor of a shipwreck was washed up on a small, uninhabited island.
He prayed feverishly for God to rescue him. Every day he scanned the horizon
for help, but none seemed forthcoming.



Exhausted, he eventually managed to build a little hut out of driftwood to protect himself from the elements, and to store his few possessions. One day, after
scavenging for food, he arrived home to find his little hut in flames, with smoke rolling up to the sky. He felt the worst had happened, and everything was lost. He was stunned with disbelief, grief, and anger. He cried out, 'God! How could you do this to me?'



Early the next day, he was awakened by the sound of a ship approaching the island! It had come to rescue him! 'How did you know I was here?' asked the weary man of his rescuers. 'We saw your smoke signal,' they replied.



The Moral of This Story:
It's easy to get discouraged when things are going bad, but we shouldn't lose heart, because God is at work in our lives, even in the midst of our pain and suffering. Remember that the next time your little hut seems to be burning to the ground. It just may be a smoke signal that summons the Grace of God.

Thursday, April 07, 2011

PRAYING GOD NICE STORY



The Power of Prayer...



There is a story of about a sea captain who in his retirement skippered a boat taking day-trippers to Shetland Islands. On one trip, the boat was full of young people.

They laughed at the old captain when they saw him say a prayer before sailing out, because the day was fine and the sea was calm.

However they weren't long at sea when a storm suddenly blew up and the boat began to pitch violently. The terrified passengers came to the captain and asked him to join them in prayer.

But he replied, "I say my prayers when it's calm. When it's rough I attend to my ship."

Here is a lesson for us:

If we cannot and will not seek God in quiet moments of our lives; we are not likely to find Him when trouble strikes. We are more likely to panic. But if we have learnt to seek Him and trust Him in quiet moments, then most certainly we will find Him when the going gets rough.

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

be happy

think simply.. nice story with a moral




One of the most memorable case studies on Japanese management was the case of the empty soap box, which happened in one of Japan's biggest cosmetics companies. The company received a complaint that a consumer had bought a soap box that was empty.

Immediately the authorities isolated the problem to the assembly line, which transported all the packaged boxes of soap to the delivery department. For some reason, one soap box went through the assembly line empty.

Management asked its engineers to solve the problem. Post-haste, the engineers worked hard to devise an X-ray machine with high- resolution monitors manned by two people to watch all the soap boxes that passed through the line to make sure they were not empty.

No doubt, they worked hard and they worked fast but they spent whoopee amount to do so. But when a workman was posed with the same problem, did not get into complications of X-rays, etc but instead came out with another solution.

He bought a strong industrial electric fan and pointed it at the assembly line. He switched the fan on, and as each soap box passed the fan, it simply blew the empty boxes out of the line.

moral: Always look for simple solutions. Devise the simplest possible solution that solves the problem. So, learn to focus on solutions not on problems. "If you look at what you do not have in life, you don't have anything; if you look at what you have in life, you have everything.

Thursday, February 17, 2011

nice moral







AKBAR'S GOLD COINS
The wisdom of Birbal was unparalleled during the reign of Emperor Akbar. But Akbar's brother in law was extremely jealous of him. He asked the Emperor to dispense with Birbal's services and appoint him in his place. He gave ample assurance that he would prove to be more efficient and capable than Birbal. Before Akbar could take a decision on this matter, this news reached Birbal.
Birbal resigned and left. Akbar's brother in law was made the minister in place of Birbal. Akbar decided to test the new minister. He gave three hundred gold coins to him and said, Spend these gold coins such that, I get a hundred gold coins here in this life; a hundred gold coins in the other world and another hundred gold coins neither here nor there.
The minister found the entire situation to be a maze of confusion and hopelessness. He spent sleepless nights worrying over how he would get himself out of this mess. Thinking in circles was making him go crazy. Eventually, on the advice of his wife he sought Birbal's help. Birbal said, Just give me the gold cons. I shall handle the rest.
Birbal walked the streets of the city holding the bag of gold coins in his hand. He noticed a rich merchant celebrating his son's wedding. Birbal gave a hundred gold coins to him and bowed courteously saying, “The Emperor Akbar sends you his good wishes and blessings for the wedding of your son. Please accept the gift he has sent. The merchant felt honoured that the king had sent a special messenger with such a precious gift. He honoured Birbal and gave him a large number of expensive gifts and a bag of gold coins as a return gift for the king.
Next, Birbal went to the area of the city were the poor people lived. There he bought food and clothing in exchange for a hundred gold coins and distributed them in the name of the Emperor.
When he came back to town he organized a concert of music and dance. He spent a hundred gold coins on it.
The next day Birbal entered Akbar's darbar and announced that he had done all that the king had asked his brother-in-law to do. The Emperor waited to know how he had done it. Birbal repeated the sequences of all the events and then said, The money I gave to the merchant for the wedding of his son – you have got back while on this earth. The money I spent on buying food and clothing for the poor " you will get it in the other world". The money I spent on the musical concert " you will get neither here nor there."
This is true even today.

The money you spend on friends is returned or reciprocated in some form or the other.

Money spent on charity gets converted into blessings from God which becomes your eternal property.

Money spent on pleasures is just frittered away!

So when you spend money, think a little, if not a lot!

3 wishes of Alexander the great






Alexander, after conquering many kingdoms, was returning home. On the way, he fell ill and it took him to his death bed. With death staring him in his face, Alexander realized how his conquests, his great army, his sharp sword and all his wealth were of no consequence. He now longed to reach home to see his mother's face and bid her his last adieu. But, he had to accept the fact that his sinking health would not permit him to reach his distant homeland. So, the mighty conqueror lay prostrate and pale, helplessly waiting to breathe his last.

He called his generals and said " I will depart from this world soon, I have three wishes, please carry them out without fail."

With tears flowing down their cheeks, the generals agreed to abide by their king's last wishes.

"My first desire is that My physicians alone must" carry my coffin",

After a pause, he continued " Secondly, I desire that when my coffin is being carried to the grave, the path leading to the graveyard be strewn with gold, silver and precious stones which I have collected in my treasury".

The king felt exhausted after saying this. He took a minute's rest and continued "My third and last wish is that both my hands be kept dangling out of my coffin".

The people who had gathered there wondered at the king's strange wishes. But no one dared bring the question to their lips..

Alexander's favorite general kissed his hand and pressed them to his heart and asked " O king, we assure you that all your wishes will be fulfilled. But tell us why do you make such strange wishes?"

At this Alexander took a deep breath and said:

"I would like the world to know of the three lessons I have just learnt.I want my physicians to carry my coffin because people should realize that no doctor on this earth can really cure any body. They are powerless. And cannot save a person from the clutches of death. So let not people take life for granted.

The second wish of strewing gold, silver and other riches on the path to the graveyard is to tell People that not even a fraction of gold will come with me. I spent all my life Greed of Power, earning riches but cannot take anything with me.Let people realize that it is a sheer waste of time to chase wealth.

And about my third wish of having my hands dangling out of the coffin, I wish people to know that I came empty handed into this world And empty handed I go out of this world".

With these words, the king closed his eyes. Soon he let death conquer him and breathed his last. . . .

3 Wonderful Lessons to be learnt from this special story is that

1.Remember, your Health is in your own hands, look after it.

2.Wealth is only meaningful if you can share it with the poor and the needy you are still alive & healthy.

3. What you do for yourself, dies with you, But what you do for others will live for ever.

Worth emulating - the universal truth...

Tuesday, January 25, 2011

enjoy reading this


1. Once abig stone obstructed Rajani's way.
He kicked high in sky and now it is so called
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.The MOON

2. Once when shooting on a beach in Tamil Nadu, Rajanikantkicked a stone..
Now that stone is known as
.
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.
.
.
.
.
.
SRI LANKA


3. Rajinikant participated in 100 meter race and obviouslyhe came first...
But Einstein died after watching that...
bcoz..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
LIGHT came second...


4.Once Rajinikant participated in Moto gp Bike race......
.
.
.
.
.
Don't even try to guess wat happened
.
.
.
.
.
Rajinikant won d race on neutral gear!


5. Rajinikanth doesnt breathe. Air hides in his lungs forprotection.


6. Once Rajinikant went to Bhopal for shooting and had astomach upset.....and the result was..
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
BHOPAL GAS TRAGEDY...


7. 1 day Rajinikant got angry on his sweeper boy., he kickedhim so hard that he went flying in the sky with is broom...
2day that boy is famous as "HARRY POTTER"...


8. Before tom cruise,rajnikant was approached for
the movie "mission impossible"
but he refused
.
.
.
.
.
.
as he found the title insulting


9. Once Rajnikanth was asked how he felt about the jokesmade on him which were spreading through sms and internet.
To everyones surprise he started laughing and replied-EnnadaDo you really think they are jokes?


10. Rajni once taught a child how to play

counter strike and that guy is now
called..............
.
.
.
.
.
.
"OSAMA BIN LADEN"

thats rajini mindit


11. Once Dinosaurs borrowed money from Rajnikanth andrefused to payhim back... .
.
.
.
.
.......
.

That was the last time anyone saw Dinosaurs


12. Rajinikanth once kicked a horse in the chin. Itsdescendants are today called giraffes.



13. An e-mail was sent from Pune to Mumbai
.
.
.
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.
.
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Rajnikant stopped it in Lonavla ... : D

14. as a kid Rajnikant maintained a diary of day to dayactivities,
today that diary called as.
.
.
.
.
.
..
.

Guinness Book Of World Records

15. once Rajnikan taught a kid how to enter a house withoutringing the doorbell....
.
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.
today that kid is known as inspector Daya.


16. Once a boy inserted A CD named rajnikanth
into his PC...
Guess wot...

.
.
.
.
.
.His PC started Rotating around the CD rom



17. Intel's new tag line for its processors ...
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
"Rajnikanth Inside"

18. Rajnikant's school time homework is now known as
.
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.
.
wikipedia

19. Rajnikant was caught on d highway forspeeding................
.
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While walking

20. Rajnikanth and Superman once had arm wrestled and theloser had to wear his Underwear over his pants..
.
.

.
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.
We all know who won



21. Rajnikanth knows that Bingo Mad Angles is tasty from .
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
which angle.

22. Once Rajnikant taught a boy how to kiss. Now that boy isknown as '.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Emran Hashmi'

23. Rajnikant can make two parallel lines.
.
.
.
.
.
.
. Intersect each other.





24. When Rajinikant croses the Road, the cars have to look
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
left and right before moving.

25. After release of Robot, Rajnikanth gave Times of India 3stars.



26. Rajnikanth calls VOLDEMORT by his name and Voldemortcalls him as "u know who"


27. Rajnikanth goes to court and sentences the judge...


28. Rajnikanth kills harry potter in the 8th book.

29. Rajnikanth can kill Spiderman with BAYGON!!!


30. Time and tide, wait for Rajnikanth.....


31. Rajnikanth knows ...
:
:
Who let the dogs out !!! :D


32. Rajnikanth was practicing for a spelling test... Therough sheet he used is known as ...
:
:
OXFORD DICTIONARY !! :D

33. Rajnikanth has seen the face of the fat lady who ownsthe house in ...
:
:
TOM and JERRY !! :D

34. If Rajnikant was born 100 years back, Britishers wouldhave fought to get independence from India !! :)


35. The ultimate RAJNI fact :

Even GHAJINI remebers RAJNI !!!!!

Rajni Rox !!! :)

36. People who set CAT paper will have to pass RAT paperfrom this year onwards.

Yes RAT paper....
:
:
Rajnikant Aptitude Test !!! :)


37. Rajinikanth once had a heart attack...
His heart lost..:-p

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

wisdom

1] Prayer is not a "spare wheel" that you pull out when in
trouble, but it is a "steering wheel" that directs towards the right
path!

2] Do you know why a Car's WINDSHIELD is so large & the Rearview
Mirror is so small?
Because our PAST is not as important as your FUTURE. Look
Ahead and Move on

3] Relationship is like a BOOK. It takes few seconds to burn,
but it takes years to write

4] All things in life are temporary. If going well, enjoy it,
they will not last forever. If going wrong, don't worry, they can't
last long either.

5] Old Friends are Gold! New Friends are Diamond! If you get a
Diamond, don't forget the Gold! Because to hold a Diamond, you always
need a Base of Gold!

6] Often when we lose hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles
from above and says,
"Relax, sweetheart, it's just a bend, not the end!

7] When GOD solves your problems, you have faith in HIS
abilities; when GOD doesn't solve your problems HE has faith in your
abilities.

8] A blind person asked Swami Vivekanand: "Can there be anything
worse than losing eye sight?"
He replied: "Yes, losing your vision!"

9] When you pray for others, God listens to you and blesses them, and sometimes, when you are safe and happy, remember that someone has prayed for you.

10] WORRYING does not take away tomorrows' TROUBLES, it takes away
today's PEACE.

Tuesday, December 07, 2010



An excellent piece to read and enjoy.- sorry I dont know who written this piece of article, but i received this as email.. borrowed wisdom.. worth posting in the blog...
-------------------------------------

It has been 18 years since I joined Volvo, a Swedish company. Working for them has proven to be an interesting experience. Any project here takes 2 years to be finalized, even if the idea is simple and brilliant. It is a rule.

Globalized processes have caused in us (all over the world) a general sense of searching for immediate results.. Therefore, we have come to posses a need to see immediate results. This contrasts greatly with the slow movements of the Swedish.
They, on the other hand, debate, debate, debate, hold x quantity of meetings and work with a slowdown scheme. At the end, this always yields better results.

1. Sweden has 2 million inhabitants. .
2. Stockholm has 500,000 people.
3. Volvo, Escania, Ericsson, Electrolux, are some of its renowned companies. Volvo even supplies NASA.

The first time I was in Sweden , one of my colleagues picked me up at the hotel every morning. It was September, bit cold and snowy. We would arrive early at the company and he would park far away from the entrance (2000 employees arrive in their cars to work).

The first day, I didn't say anything, neither the second or third days. One morning I asked him, "Do you have a fixed parking space? I've noticed we park far from the entrance even when there are no other cars in the lot."

To which he replied, "Since we're here early we'll have time to walk, don't you think that whoever gets in late will need a place closer to the door?" Imagine my face.

Nowadays, there's a movement in Europe named Slow Food. This movement establishes that people should eat and drink slowly, with enough time to taste their food, spend time with the family, friends, without rushing. Slow Food is against its counterpart, Fast Food and what it stands for as a lifestyle. Slow Food is the basis for a bigger
movement called Slow Europe, as mentioned by Business Week.

Basically, the movement questions the sense of "hurry" and "craziness" generated by globalization, fuelled by the desire of "having in quantity" (life status) versus "having with quality", "life quality" or the "quality of being".

French people, even though they work 35 hours per week, are more productive than Americans or British. Germans have established 28.8 hour workweeks and have seen their productivity driven up by 20%..

This slow attitude has come to the notice of USA , the pupils of the fast and "do it now" brigade.

This no-rush attitude doesn't represent doing less or having a lower productivity. It means working and doing things with greater quality, productivity, perfection, with attention to detail and less stress. It means re-establishing family values, friends, free and leisure time.. Taking the "now", present and concrete, versus the "global", undefined and anonymous. It means taking humans' essential values, the simplicity of living. It stands for a less coercive work
environment, more happy, lighter and more productive work place where humans enjoy doing what they know best how to do.

It is time to stop and think on how companies need to develop serious quality with no-rush that will increase productivity and the quality of products and services, without losing the essence.

In the movie, 'Scent of a Woman', there's a scene where Al Pacino asks a girl to dance and she replies, "I can't, my boyfriend will be here any minute now". To which Al Pacino responds, "A life is lived in an instant". Then they dance the tango!

Many of us live our lives running behind time, but we only reach it when we die of a heart attack or in a car accident rushing to be on time. Others are so anxious to live for the future that they forget to live the present, which is the only time that truly exists.

We all have equal time throughout the world. No one has more or less. The difference lies in what each one of us does with our time. We need to live each moment. As John Lennon said, "Life is what happens to you while you are busy making other plans".


Congratulations for reading this email till the end of this message. There are many who will have stopped in the middle so as not to waste time in this "Globalized" world..


Life Is ,yes, Short,
Break The Rules, Forgive Quickly,
Kiss Slowly, Love Truly,
Laugh Uncontrollably,
And Never Regret Anything
That Made You Smile.
Life May Not Be The Party
We Hoped For,
But While We're Here, We Should Dance...



Have a Wonderful Day!