Hello 2011

We ended a year and began a new one with a staycation that involved much happiness, laughter, adventure, good friends and dear family. Now things are settling down and we are slowly easing into our old routine that I have almost forgotten.  Here wishing a year filled with discovery, learning, growth, peace and good things.

simple, light-hearted reading

I hardly read these days and what little reading I manage includes things like three bears and a girl, a chick called saturday and a rabbit that goes bump bump bump.  I want to change that and this is a start.

Diwali, November 2010

It feels like I have lost a few days. That is the only way I can explain the lagging -behind feeling. I’m always strapped for time and rushing to finish chores that should have been dealt with two days back.  It's no fun!

Anyway, so in a catch up post, here are some pictures of our quiet Diwali celebration. We are not big into festivals, but this time we lit some lamps around the house and did a massive clean up. My Ma-in-law even made and strung a thoran on the front door. We enjoyed a lovely long walk in a nature reserve and had that full and happy feeling by the end of the day. And it was not just from the yummy Thai food we ate for dinner.

new resolve

After letting another bag of fresh veggies rot in the bottom of my refrigerator, I've given myself this simple rule, "buy what you'll use and use what you buy." I've decided this is my mantra and will try to abide by it.

(Phew, I needed to write that down!)

weekend was

rainy and cloudy
 long walk
cleaning and vacuuming
getting ready for a guest
cheesecake brownies
grocery shopping
lots of painting, drawing and jigsaw puzzles
afternoon naps
sitcoms on TV
simple but nutritious meals
Diwal decor in Little India
butterfly photography
picnic by the fish pond

happy and busy.

So confused!

This has been plaguing me for a while. I have a few hobbies, so should I create a different blog for each hobby or just post everything in one blog under different categories?

 One blog and many topics, or many blogs with one topic?  That’s the question. I’m So confused!

Our Art Wall

Old is Silver

I got an email from a dear friend this morning informing me about the Tabletop August Party at Colors Dekor. I thought it would be nice to send a picture from my new home. This is part of a silver collection that belonged to my husband's grandmother. The bits of yellow in there are gold, I'm told. It has been passed on from generations. It is now ours to cherish until it's time to pass it on to the next generation. I love this tradition!

Linking to Table Top August.

not salad

I thought I’d make a pretty orange salad just like in the cookbook, but soon lost patience with the tedious slicing. Taking photos was much more fun and satisfying. The oranges? We ate them as dessert; they were perfect and simple.

A parting gift so perfect for me. I love the little silver bowl my friends gave me when I left Chennai. It's the right size to float little treasures I bring back from my morning walk. I think of all of them when I see this and feel blessed to have found great friends like them.

Unpacking

Overwhelmed by the number of boxes and things scattered around the house, I sat down for a coffee.  I pride myself on living a clutter free life, but still this seems like an awful lot. We still don't have a TV, bed, sofa, TV table, coffee table and a bunch of other furniture, yet the house seems full. Maybe it is something to do with how small the house is. Once I find a home for everything maybe it will feel roomy and open. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

I finished organizing the tiny kitchen and was pleased to note a few empty shelves. I intend to keep it that way. I hate shelves crammed with things. I arranged everything within easy reach, keeping in mind my height. I don't want to be spending more time than absolutely necessary in the kitchen. I also arranged our crockery in our 50 or 60-year-old cupboard and that for some reason made me very happy. Our eclectic collection of ceramics cups and dishes apparently makes me smile.

The thought of going back to the boxes makes me weep. The baby seems a bit cranky today, maybe it is a sign that we both should take a nap and let the boxes remain for a while!

June 12

It is late. I'm tired and almost dropping off to sleep. I had a full and happy day celebrating with the two most special people in my life. Did a lot of mundane stuff for the apartment. I didn't mind because I knew there would be ice cream for dinner.

home

They delivered our stuff to our new apartment today. I cannot describe the joy on her face when she saw her toys and books. It felt good to be surrounded by familiar things. Yes, it's going to be fun turning this house into our home.

Lazy mornings

It's a lazy morning. The gentle rain outside adds to the mood. Breakfast is eggs, raisins, an apple and bits of cheese. Milk for her, coffee for me. We are still in our pyjamas relaxing. I feel guilty about the laziness. It stays only for a moment because I remind myself to enjoy this while it lasts. In a month or two, I know, moments like this will be hard to come by and I'll be left longing for lazy mornings just like this.


Later::

The rain stops, the sun hides behind a blanket of clouds urging us to step outside and enjoy the glorious weather. We climb the steep steps behind the bus stop and find ourselves in a lush field glistening with raindrops. Then just like that, we find butterflies. Lots of them. I'm happy. She is too, content for a while running around the place, showing me flowers, plants, and bugs. She lets me know when it is time to go and so we walk back hand in hand.

A little girl missing her dad

Her evening routine is to stand on a table below the big wide window and look for her baba returning home from work. She can see a little patch of road through the trees nine storeys below and gets excited when she sees someone walk by or when she spots a red bus. I enjoy the routine as much as she does.

Her dad's away on a short work related trip and while she didn't show any signs yesterday (first day of his being away) of missing him, the first thing she did this morning after she was up was to climb up on that bench and look for baba. I quickly distracted her with her breakfast and told her baba is in office. "Oh baba office" she repeated and nodded as if she understood.

I wanted to capture this moment for him and torture him a little, hence this post. I know he’s missing her too.

She's back on her perch looking for baba as I type this and simultaneously is on a pretend phone call with Kushi, her friend, in India.

Sigh, I have a long day ahead.

Kapi

Trying to ward off a case of homesickness with a hot cup of filter coffee.

Mall Rats

Rainy Morning

Traditional Cake Moulds

Mangoes

Before I left Chennai, I wanted to enjoy more than my share of mangoes because I didn’t know when my next summer in India would be. I was disappointed at not finding good ones. Every shopkeeper just said the crop has not been very good this year. Is this true? Are they available now at least? What about other cities?
Fast forward to Singapore. They are all here! Boxes and boxes of alphonso, kesar, himapasand, sindhri (a new-to-me mango, not to be confused with sindhura) and beganapalli just to name a few. I can’t make up my mind to be happy or sad, so I’ll just stick to eating them. I will be thrilled though when mallika and langda makes an entrance here.