Q: When performing the Saraswati puja at home, waking up early in the day is traditional practice. You can set an alarm for 5:00 - 8:00 a.m., or you can wake up when the sunshine comes through your window. Give yourself at least 1 hour to complete the ritual, though some people spend longer. To make the paste, soak 20 or so neem leaves in hot water until they are soft, strain the leaves, and then grind the leaves with a mortar and pestle. Then, pour in about teaspoon (1.23 g) of ground turmeric into the mortar and pestle. Grind up the paste, then rub a thin, even layer over your face, chest, arms, torso, and legs. This paste is believed to have therapeutic and medicinal effects. For example, neem and turmeric paste works great to treat acne and maintain healthy skin. Make more paste as needed. After you've applied the neem and turmeric paste over your body, fill up your bathtub with warm water, and sprinkle 13 grams (0.0350.11oz) of both neem and tulsi leaves into the water. Soak in the tub for 15-30 minutes, and scrub off the neem and turmeric paste. The bath purifies the body and protects you against infection. After your bath, it is custom to dress in these hues to perform the puja. You can wear a pair of pants, a skirt, a blouse, or a dress in these hues. Typically, those performing the puja dress in 1 of these colors, rather than dressing with some hues of both. For example, you may dress head-to-toe in white linens or you may adorn yourself in yellow clothing. Yellow is the color of knowledge and learning in Hinduism. White represents purity, peace, and knowledge.
A: Wake up between 5:00 - 8:00 a.m. Rub a paste made of neem and turmeric over all of your body. Soak in a bath with neem and tulsi leaves. Wear white or yellow colored clothing.

Q: Alternatively, you could brush the top crust of the pie with cream or egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon (15mL) of water). Then, sprinkle it with sugar to add texture and color to the pie crust. Baking frozen pies can be tricky because the top can get brown before the bottom cooks. Oven placement is essential for a frozen pie. Bake your pie on the lowest rack, which places the bottom of the pie closest to the heating element. You can move the pie lower and higher as it cooks as needed. One trick that may help if you have raw bottom crust is to preheat the baking sheet before you place the pie in the oven. Put the empty baking sheet into the oven as you preheat it. A preheated pizza stone will also work. Another tip is to place strips of foil around the edge of the pie. Keep the foil in place until the middle of the pie begins to brown, so that you stop the edges from over-browning. Or, you can "tent" a piece of foil over the top of the pie. To start out, bake the pie at 425F (218C) for 15 minutes. Then, reduce the heat to 350F (177C). Continue baking the pie for another 45 minutes. After 30 minutes total cook time, rotate the pie 180 degrees to ensure it cooks evenly. The length of time you will have to bake the pie depends on how cold your freezer is, how hot the oven is, and the amount of filling in the pie. A good general rule is to bake the pie for 20-45 minutes longer than the recipe specifies for cooking normally. If you added foil around the edge of the pie, remove the foil edge pieces when the middle starts to brown. If the top of the pie starts to brown before the middle or bottom is cooked, make a tent with foil over the top of the pie. When the whole pie appears golden brown, take the pie from the oven. Insert a knife into the center of pie to check if the filling is completely done. If you hit hard chunks, put it back in the oven on a lower temperature. Shield the edges with foil again if necessary. When it's done, allow the pie to cool slightly before serving. Baking a frozen pie (or any pie, for that matter) is both an art and a science. Every baker seems to have their particular tricks and tips, but there's really only one way to find out what works best for you. Luckily, you get to eat your mistakesand they'll still be pretty tasty! While some will argue in favor of it, most bakers seem to agree that it's best not to freeze a homemade fruit pie after baking it. Prepare it raw, then bake it from frozen. However, instead of assembling the pie before freezing, you may want to try freezing it in partsthe prepared filling and the (unrolled) dough. In this case, you will let the components thaw to the point that they are workable.
A: Brush the top crust of the pie with melted butter if desired. Place the pie on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake the pie for 1 hour, rotating it after 30 minutes. Remove the pie from the oven. Plan for some trial-and-error.

Q: Packing cubes come in full, half, and quarter sizes that each work best with a certain type of clothing. Generally, you should bring a couple smaller quarter-sized cubes for shorter trips, and a variety of the 3 sizes for longer trips. Lay out any clothes made of softer material, such as underwear, T-shirts, jeans, cotton pants, and knitwear. Fold them lengthwise, then roll up each folded piece into a bundle before placing them into the packing cubes. Rolling will keep your clothes compressed, letting you make the most of the space in your suitcase. This is especially helpful for extended trips that require more clothing options. Rolling can damage clothing made of stiff or delicate, expensive fabrics. Fold these normally and stack them in the packing cube. To avoid wrinkles, you can also pack them in a garment bag. This technique works best on items like blazers, dressy pants, dressy skirts, and starched shirts. Make sure that you can easily zip up the packing cubes once you've filled them. If they're straining or overflowing, pull out a few items. There shouldn't be any wasted space, but everything should still fit comfortably. Start by stacking any folded items in the bottom, then add rolled clothes on top. This will help protect the clothes from moving around too much and getting wrinkled or crumpled. Stacking will also help you get the best use of space out of the packing cubes. Place this cube at the top of your bag to keep the electronics from being crushed. The packing cube will help you find your electronics more easily when you need them, as well as keep all of your cords from getting tangled and mixed in with the rest of your things. If you use a packing cube as a designated laundry bag, make sure to bring some fresh dryer sheets as well. This will help control any odors and keep the cube smelling fresh. Keeping your laundry in a packing cube will help keep dirty clothes out of the way, separate from the clean clothes, and compressed so they won't take up too much space in your bags. A double-sided packing cube is perfect for storing laundry. Start with the widest packing cube and place it in the bottom of your bag or suitcase. Fit any smaller packing cubes around it and on top of it. This way, you'll be able to see and access each cube more easily. If you have trouble fitting the packing cubes into your suitcase, go for flexible ones over structured ones. This will let you fit the cubes into the contours of the suitcase more easily.
A:
Choose the sizes and shapes you'll need for the trip. Maximize space by rolling your softer clothes before packing. Fold stiff or delicate clothes instead of rolling them. Fill up the packing cubes without overfilling. Stack your clothes in the cube to reduce wrinkling. Put all of your electronics and chargers in a small cube. Pack a few dryer sheets into a cube to store with your laundry. Pack the cubes into your bag from largest to smallest.