Finally... started blogging

Beginning to get Greener

2012-02-13T12:56:00.004+05:30

There is a lot of sprouting activity happening in the pots on my terrace and in the kitchen. Each day I see tomato sprouts, tendrils on the green pea shoots, chillies foilage, lovely red leaves on the red spinach, and many more eyes and buds on the stem cuttings. I literally love to see the buds and sprouts. It makes my heart jump with joy.

Yesterday hubby and me transplanted tomato and chilly seedlings into their originally intended pots.

What I hate and love both about gardening is my hands getting dirty. I am not using any gloves (I may have to start using though) and initially don't like messing up my fingers in the sand. But once I start the digging and raking and my hands are dirty, I end up playing in the sand like a kid only to realize how dry my hands become later.

I intend to transplant the red spinach seedlings next week. Taking pictures are really difficult these days. By the time I reach home, it almost starts getting dark and so am not able to click pictures that do full justice to the beauty of the leaves and shoots.

Dried to Green

2012-02-03T09:41:00.002+05:30

My plants have been in a pity state for a quite some time now. There were many evenings when I was so busy to go up to the terrace and water them and many a days I completely forgot owing to the other jobs I had at hand. And to top all these, we had to travel for a couple of days on short notice without being able to make arrangements to water the plants. Result,

Yes, all my plants dried. One or two which were strong enough to survive, I gave them ample of time to wither.

Now my terrace has just a lot of pots with soil and no greens.

So what am I doing now? I am replanting. I started on with taking the soil out of the pots, aerating them properly, and filling it back. There are 26 pots - small, medium, and large. Till date, I have been able to refill only 9 pots. It takes a lot of time for this task as the soil has kind of got set in the pots. So before I start on the raking, I have to water the pots, wait for some time and then start off. Once half way through the pot is raked out, I can tilt out the rest of the soil. This is easier in the smaller and medium sized pots. But doing it alone for the big pots is very difficult owing to the weight. I left out those pots for a day when hubby is at home. Currently, each day, after office hours, I get around 30 minutes at home, before it gets dark. In this time, I am able to complete the refilling process for three pots.

So in the 9 pots I have refilled, I have started sowing seeds and putting cuttings. Indoors also I have started sowing seeds so that they sprout quickly and don't get dried up in the hot sun these days.

Well, lot of work is still left to be done to make my garden healthy, green, and lively again!

End and Beginning

2012-01-03T16:45:00.002+05:30

Finally said goodbye to 2011 and started on with 2012. Everything seems normal and okay till now. I haven't taken any new year resolutions as I know resolutions never work out for me. Just taking life in the pace it is coming to me.

As usual there was the annual company shut down for a week. So got a few days off and went down to Kerala. As always, it was hectic - travelling. And the days went past so quickly that within no time it was time to board the bus back to Bangalore. For a few days, my co-sister and kid came and stayed with us. It was joyful when they were here. The kid is just a year old and now learning to speak and walk. It is hilarious when she tries to speak - alien words and phrases. But her expressions are cute. Walking is another nice part. I love to see the way she falters when she tries to walk without help. And even better is to watch her yawning when waking from a deep sleep. So cute!

On the day of New Year, they went back to Kerala. We were back to being the two souls in the big house, lonely! Going back to office seemed very painful after the vacation. Now we are falling back on track and hoping for the best in this new year!

Hope you all had a wonderful time!

A day at Home

2011-11-24T14:50:00.001+05:30

Yesterday was a slow day for me. I did not go to work and got to spend the whole day at home relaxing. Hubby had been to work and there was food so that I didn't have to cook (and waste time ;-)). My time was spent in the following order till evening - reading, crochet, reading, crochet, sleeping, crochet, and reading. Whoa! I just loved it.

In the evening, an idea suddenly struck me - Swiss Roll. I love this thing and had been wanting to make it from a long time. And the day arrived yesterday. I was happy that all the required ingredients were there in the kitchen. I browsed through a couple of recipes and started on the process quickly. Within half an hour, the Swiss Roll was ready. The only improvement required, as I felt, was that I had to beat the eggs a little more to have made the cake softer. But that's fine; Next time! And I was really thrilled with the result. I didn't have the patience to even photograph it. Bro, hubby, and me finished it within no time!

Reading and Reading

2011-11-21T13:41:00.000+05:30

This weekend, we spent it completely at home. The climate is changing and the days are usually very cold these days. So the whole of Saturday and Sunday we spent at home - under the blankets or in the sunlight available. Cooking took a very back seat. I made easy stuffs as I didn't want to stand in the cold kitchen. Even worse was while doing the dishes. The water was also cold. And on Sunday I did all the laundry and sweeping the rooms. The rest of the time I spent in reading.

Now that my Twilight collection has arrived, it is very difficult to close the book and do some other chore with a clear mind. Within a day and a half I completed reading the second book of the series - New Moon. And yesterday evening I started with the third - Eclipse. I like the descriptive nature of the books.

Additionally I did a little bit of crochet also. Though I am not progressing much, I would like to finish the Big Pink Blanket before the end of this year. Hopefully I'll be able complete it soon.

Experimenting!

2011-11-21T09:21:00.003+05:30

Over the past few weeks I tried a bit on making buns and breads. But each time, it was a disaster. The problem was that the dough was not rising and the end result was a hard mass of dough. Last week I again thought of giving it one final try and yes, it was a success.

And now the pics.

I finally figured out the reason why I failed in the past attempts. My measurement of yeast was wrong. The recipes I referred always mentioned the quantity in ounces which when I calculated to grams came out wrong. Yesterday I got the correct proportion and Voila!

I don't have any specific site to mention as I referred a couple of random food blogs and other websites. Additionally I sprinkled some sesame seeds, and must say I loved it!

A depressing and addictive weekend

2011-11-14T11:02:00.001+05:30

This weekend was a little depressing one for both me and hubby. My parents left for Kerala. Last week my brother also had come down for a small vacation. And now that everybody is gone, the house seems so empty and silent. And we are not liking the silence at all!

They left on the morning of Saturday. The whole of Saturday we spent indoors, literally doing nothing other than watching some movies. I was too sad that I didn't want to go out or even do anything interesting. Somehow we managed to finish the day.

Sunday seemed a little better. We completed bits of tasks at home like washing and cleaning. Together we did many of the tasks and we were coming to terms with being just the two of us again after so long. After the work, we went out. And to make it a bit interesting, we tried the Bangalore Metro service. Except for the rush and some waiting, it was good. We got down at the MG Road Terminal and headed off to the Commercial Street. We did some yarn and other shopping. It was after a long time that we spent some time together and it did actually seem nice. After lunch, we boarded the Metro back to Baiyappanahalli. It was quick enough.

Once back I watched the first two movies of the Twilight Series and was completely in a different world for the rest of the day. I must say admit that it is indeed addictive and I have already ordered for the complete set of books of the series. Waiting eagerly to receive the set now.

Planning

2011-11-05T09:41:00.004+05:30

Day seems to be a bit dull today - its cold and gloomy. I have been in bed for very long, thinking whether to get up or not. Finally I did. Husband is not in town, so I am thinking of planning my to-do things today. And unlike always, today's list does not include any cooking, cleaning, or washing. I am planning things that I want to do.

I want to make some progress on the reading I have been doing, continue working on my crochet (Big Pink Blanket), take out some time alone for myself, and finally catch up on a little bit of sleep I lost, if possible. So these are what I have planned.

Though these are planned, born as a girl I am, I have to do or help around with the household work, especially cooking. And cooking is what I hate the most at times. But, can't help. So let me see how the day goes.

Changing...

2011-11-04T16:40:00.002+05:30

Over the past few days, my perspective is changing. To life and the way I live it. I did a thinking and comparison of many things in life. I started with the changes that have come over me during the past few years; and the difference seemed shocking to me. The difference - I used to read a lot, hang out with friends past college/office hours and over the weekend also, explore new things, keep in touch with friends via phone or meet them, watched a lot of movies, and also used to take out a lot of time for only myself.

But now, my life has become kind of planned I'll say. Earlier each day was different. Nowadays, I know what my tomorrow will be and how I am going to spend my weekend. There is nothing NEW. The reason - once I became busy with life and work, I just chalk out the plans and try to stick to it. There is no time to experiment or even think of the life I was leaving behind.

The interesting things I do in my life now are my crochet, gardening, baking, and spending time with my husband. Though these do give me pleasures in different levels, I miss the pleasures of the things I am not doing now. One step-at-a-time, I am planning to keep adding more enjoyable activities to my life. As a matter of change, I have already started reading. Though I do not have that pace I had earlier, I am slowly trying to catch up. I am reading Twilight. And hubby is also travelling over the weekend. So it seems like I am going to have a lot of time to myself. Let me see how much I can finish.

Yesterday and Today

2011-11-02T15:41:00.002+05:30

The date seemed interesting yesterday 1-11-11. And nine days later from today it will be 11-11-11. Even more interesting!

Well, the whole of my yesterday was spent in organizing and reorganizing. Wondering what I was organizing so much? Just the cupboard in my room. Actually the whole of the room seemed in a messy state. So I took up the task of putting it back in a better shape. I started with the cupboards and that itself took up almost all of the time. I pulled out all the clothes, did some sorting, unfolding and refolding. And finally the result looked nice. And that is all what I wanted.

Nowadays it is raining very often and it is a lovely sight to watch. Even now, as I type, it is raining very heavily. Love the rains also. I guess it has been a long long time since I got drenched in the rains and enjoyed it. May be did that when I was in college. Missing those lovely days!

A well lit up and noisy day

2011-10-27T10:50:00.005+05:30

We celebrated Diwali yesterday. It was not that fun as I intended it to be, but I did enjoy. I had planned to burst few crackers, light diyas, and make a rangoli. But out of the three planned items, only one materialized - lighting diyas around the house. We could not buy crackers on time and I could not make a rangoli as well. But I was very contended when I saw all the diyas lit up.

Lighting up the diyas was very difficult. The winds kept blowing it off. My initial plan was to keep the diyas all along the stairs. After almost 8 failed attempts to keep them buring, I finally decided to keep them away from the stairs and kept those at the entrance of the house. That looked very pretty and they kept burning till almost midnight.

Initially we had plans to buy and burst crackers but then we were late and could not get any. And finally we decided not to burst any. There were so many crackers and fireworks all around that our Mittu was so scared. Likewise, all the stray dogs were running here and there helplessly and the birds and bats kept flying constantly out of the fear. This was a sad sight. So we didnt want to harm them any further. All of us gathered on our terrace for some time and watched the beautiful fireworks. I hate the noisy crackers but enjoyed the lights.

Finally when the city became calm, the air was smokey. But luckily it was a bit windy, so the smell and particles drifted away slowly. At around 11 pm everything was normal and that is when Mittu could atleast start sleeping peacefully. And the night was beautiful - windy and the clouds were drifting across the sky and it was cool also.

Monday Morning

2011-10-24T10:22:00.001+05:30

Somebody just asked me why I am looking a bit sad. Monday mornings always make me sad. This has been true since school days. But today I am actually a bit sad owing to some personal things. Blogging to make myself cheerful :-)

Weekend was not a great one, but it was okay. Saturday was spent in helping Mom in the kitchen and some small activities at home. Sunday morning was real busy. We did a lot of work at home. Washed, cleaned the balcony, sowed some seeds, cleaned our shoe rack, which had a lot of unused shoes, started sewing a small project, and so on. So Sunday morning was very busy for us. By the evening, all of us went out visiting a family. And after coming back, me and hubby went out roaming in the nearby area. Once we were back, I was too sleepy and went to bed very early yesterday. So ended our very longingly waited weekend!

This week hubby is having two days off for Diwali while I have just one day off. Last year, for Diwali, we just celebrated by bursting crackers. This year , I am thinking we must celebrate it a bit more as my parents also are here. I plan to light some diyas, make a rangoli (if done, this would be my first attempt), and finally burst crackers :-)

Waiting for the Weekend

2011-10-21T08:58:00.002+05:30

I had been away from my blogs for more than a month. And now I am back. As always - lazy and little busy.

Its a Friday and though the day begins with a meeting, Friday is always good. It is just like the cloud with that silver lining. Once it is 5 pm, I get so elated and happy. So I am just waiting for the weekend to start. We haven't planned anything for the weekend but I do have some things in mind. Hope it works out. Though it is almost the end of October, winter has not yet started here in Bangalore. The days are pretty hot and sunny. So going out is always subject to a lot of discussions and laziness.

Just looking forward to go home!

Onam

2011-09-08T16:42:00.003+05:30

Again another Onam! Time just flies off quickly.

Last year, we celebrated the first Onam after marriage. It was a hectic Onam. After marriage everything changes. One such change is in the way Onam is celebrated. When you are single, you have all the leisure to celebrate Onam with your parents or friends. But once married, the tradition is different - ThiruOnam is celebrated at the husband's place. And the day after, at the parent's place. So last year, we were here one day, there next day, and again here the third day. The only concern is not being able to relax well after a festival.

But this year things are different. My parents are here. And we do not have so many Leaves to travel to Kerala as well. So Onam is in Bangalore itself. And no travelling here and there. So, tomorrow we celebrate Onam in its full grandeur. And to add to it, my in-laws are coming down on Sunday. So this year, we are celebrating an extended Onam, which is actually nice. And the best part - celebrate all the days at the same house with your dear ones around, without having to travel lots and can relax well :-)

Tomorrow, both myself and hubby are taking off to celebrate the day. So the duties for the celebration start from today evening itself. Arranging, organizing, cutting, cooking, cleaning, washing, ....... and on goes the list. And finally, if time permits, and if I get flowers, I wish to put an Athapookalam (floral mat) in the house. Let's see whether I am able to do it.

We also might have few friends visiting. So cooking will be in full swing. Though Mom is in control of the kitchen, I being the assistant will be loaded with work as well. But, still looking forward to celebrating this Onam at its best. :-)

Happy Onam!

Next 2 days...

2011-08-30T13:34:00.004+05:30

This week is a pretty good one. We are having tomorrow and day after as company holidays owing to Ganesha Chaturthi and Ramzan. And then one working day on Friday and then the weekend is here. I actually feel that all weeks should be like this :-D

So what do I plan to do during the next two days? Well, I may have to crochet a lot. If that doesn't happen, and if everyone at home is in good health we may plan an outing, not too far. Somewhere close-by only. It is actually long since we all went out together for an outing. Reason - all were falling sick over the past few weeks. And now that all at home are recovering, I am feeling feverish since yesterday night. But still it doesn't look as scary as it was last time when I fell sick.

Mittu is the laziest one at home now - he wakes up, has his pre-breakfast snacks, sits by the window side for time and then sleeps off. Wakes up in time for breakfast, has food till his tummy is full, and then goes into his cosy cage by himself and sleeps till noon. On waking up, comes out, stays here and there for some time, again has his lunch and takes his afternoon naps. In the evening he has two cashew nuts, a little bit of tea and if possible little bit of a biscuit also. Then will be awake and busy loittering around till late in the evening. Again sleeps off till dinner is ready. After dinner he makes a dash to his cage and is busy sleeping again! What a life! But when I am around, I make it a point to disturb him every 15 minutes so that he doesn't sleep properly. And if it is not raining in the evenings after I reach home, and if he isn't that sleepy, I take him onto the terrace. There he sits and watches the birds flying home and sometimes tries to make noises along with them.

Well, I don't know how Mittu's topic came in. But however, that is the story of the laziest parrot these days.

Updating Lazily

2011-08-16T14:58:00.004+05:30

I am not able to update my blogs very often these days. Even though I reach home early and have nothing to do after reaching back, blogging is not happening nowadays. My parents and Mittu are with us for a while. I tend to spend more time with them. I have even given up on crochet for some time now. And as it rains very frequently, gardening also is not being taken care of. So, a lazy routine now.

My weekends are pretty nice. All of us go out and it is fun. And hubby and me go for movies more often now. Last week we went for Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara. Yeah, I know I am late. But the movie was nice. I loved the cast and the concept.

I haven't been writing anything about Mittu for a long while now. He is naughty, as usual. But I must say he is very obedient and understanding. The moment we all started getting ready to go out, he understands, and goes and sits in his cage by himself. Such a lovely creature. But the moment we are back and put the key in the keyhole, he is out of the cage!

The climate is a bit dull these days. It rains very often, not sunny, and is a very lousy one. I don't know whether it is this weather, but something is causing me to fall sick often. Either I am down with fever or am sluggish and fully drained out. Whatever be the reason, I am not liking it.

The flower show was on at Lal Bagh Botanical Garden. I wanted to watch it so badly that my husband was ready to take me over the weekend. But to my badluck, the moment we got into the car, it started raining very heavily. And just imagine the plight of the place after a heavy downpour. We reached there - there was no parking space available, it was dirty and muddy, everywhere people were huddled up, dripping umbrellas, and all what can make an after rain experience bad were there. So, what did we do? We went back without seeing the show :-D Hubby agreed to take me on another day! We again went out but as it was the final day of the show, didn't dare to go out in the bustling crowd.

Well, that's all for today :-)

BACK!!!

2011-07-25T19:35:00.003+05:30

Nowadays I take real long to get back to my blogs and write. Today I am at home - a little down with fever. All through the day I thought I would update my blogs, but got some time only now.

The latest update now is that my parents are with us for a while now. Its been over an year since they had come to Bangalore. So two weeks back we went to Kerala, and all of us came back together. On the way, we halted for a night at Guruvayoor, visited the temple, and started to Bangalore the next day. Now that my parents and Mittu are here, the house is real lively. Always full of sounds and people.

On workfront, things are progressing pretty well. Apart from the fact that I have been falling sick frequently, everything is good.

Cooking, gardening, crochet - everything has taken a backseat for me now. I enjoy spending more time with my family now!

Well, taking leave for now. Hoping to come back soon :-) See you all.

Watching the Skies

2011-06-15T09:35:00.006+05:30

Nowadays, watching the skies is a wonderful experience to me. Reason - the weather is so pleasant. I reach home when there is still ample of daylight available and rush up to the terrace. I spend a lot of time there - almost an hour or so. I water my plants, pull out the weeds, trim the roses, and rake the stubborn hard soil. After all these tasks, spend some time enjoying the breeze and watching the clouds rolling through the skies.

These days it is very windy and the clouds roll in and out very quickly. Its a real pleasure to stand there and enjoy it. Let's see my evenings in some photos I took recently.

I love these white, fluffy clouds.

Even love the rays of the sun coming through the clouds.

Suddenly the rain laden clouds start to rush in.

And all of a sudden, everything is dark and rainy around.

On those days when I am lucky enough, I spot these red, blue, and yellow lights flashing through the thick rain laden clouds, far up in the sky!

Birthday

2011-05-24T12:27:00.004+05:30

It was my hubby's birthday yesterday :-) The second one after our marriage. I really wanted to plan something nice for him. But it was not that possible. Because it was a working day. But then I thought a surprise cake will be a good idea. In the morning itself, I ordered for a cake and planned to leave office a little early so that I could go home, on the way pick some fresh flowers, and prepare for the surprise. I had to drop that plan as I had a meeting which went on for an hour after office hours. So I had to drop the plans of flowers.

On the way, I picked the cake, candles, and rushed home. And added to the chaos, hubby called up and said that he'll be home early. This was one day I really hoped that he would come a little late so that I could arrange everything neatly. But No! I reached home and just took the cake out of the box when hubby rang the bell at the front door. I started to panic. I quickly pushed the cake into the fridge, threw the candles, cake box and wrappers into the kitchen cabinet and hurried towards the door. He wasn't suspecting anything. Lucky!

The rooms were a mess following the weekend laziness. I quickly cleaned up the rooms and kitchen, mopped the floors, took my bath, and was ready. We went to the temple, spent some time there, and came back. Hubby said that we'll go out for dinner. And then I started arranging the table to cut the cake. He was indeed, very very surprised when I took out the cake. Wow! That surprise and happiness was all what I had hoped for. We pre-heated the griller and warmed up the lovely cake, lit the candles, took some pics, blew the candles out, cut the cake, gorged on it, and had some drinks. Yes that was it. I was the one who was the most elated.
The day followed by a nice dinner and coming back home a bit late.

What followed was the worst :-( I have fallen sick. Throat pain and the beginning of a fever. I was unable to sleep properly the night. Hubby was too kind and caring enough to come down with me at 2 am in the night and help me prepare some hot water. He waited very patiently as I washed my face and neck, gargled a bit of saline water to soothe the sore throat, and prepared a little bit of hot drink to my self. Today I am at home. That definitely was required, as I could not sleep properly the whole of the night and my body feels a bit weak as well. But I do have work to complete and I am working on that.

So ended my hubby's birthday!

Now time for some of the pics from the birthday!

Blooms!

2011-05-16T23:14:00.005+05:30

Want to see what is happening with the plants on my terrace?

Roses! I just love them. And I know most of you do. The sepals had dried up a bit during the afternoon heat.

My tomatoes are almost on the verge of dying. Still they are laden with fruit. I have to occassionally pinch away some fruits so that the plant doesn't fall down due to the weight.

I don't know what this is. May be a cucumber, watermelon, or even a bitter gourd. I put the vegetable wastes for my plants and something lovely is coming out of that dirt. Let's wait and see what this turns out to be.

I don't know the name of this plant. My father-in-law had given this to me. Whatever it is, it is beautiful. The fresh blooms are a lovely-pinkish colour and when in full bloom, the leaves cannot be seen.

And some pretty jasmine flowers. What I love about these are the pearl like buds and the awesome, fresh smell when it blooms.

Back after a Break

2011-05-03T21:17:00.002+05:30

After a gap of almost four months, we went to Kerala, two weeks back. It was a well-deserved break for both of us. We have been away from our families for a long time and yearned to be with them. And it was really good to be back home.

The climate was not too good but still, it was not as hot as last year. It kept raining as and when the temperatures rose. The nights were usually cool. During the day, we kept travelling, visiting relatives, and just roaming around. We went to Trivandrum, the beaches, the new shopping destinations, and of course, had a lot of tasty food.

This visit, there was something new - there is a baby in the family! My husband's brother and wife have a baby girl who is just four months old. Cute right! The baby is really adorable. She is extremely pleasant and always active, doesn't cry at seeing new people or even when woken up forcibly from deep sleep! That's how I love babies to be!

Unexpectedly we had to extend our trip for two more days, but I was happy that I got to stay with my parents during that span. My Mittu is doing great. He is enjoying the sun, the rains, and the blossoms all around him.

So that was one small, yet good vacation we had :-)

Freshly Picked...

2011-03-31T19:23:00.008+05:30

...from my terrace!

My shallots need to be cleaned thoroughly.

It is a joy when you grow something and see it fruiting.

Women's Day

2011-03-08T09:44:00.003+05:30

Happy Women's Day to all the ladies out there!

Well, its wonderful being a woman and I know almost all of you would agree to it. Life gives us surprises, wonders, and all happinesses in small, yet neatly wrapped packages. And I love that. I don't want everything at one go.

Enjoy!

I have been...

2011-03-03T10:52:00.004+05:30

...hooking

Watching my plants grow

Loving the cloudy sky

Enjoying the rain

Loving the sunsets

and baking

My Brother, My Brother!

2011-02-23T21:12:00.005+05:30

The title of this post is actually the title of a short story. I just picked it because that is what came to my mind when I started writing this post.

Yesterday was a rather gloomy day. The weather was dull and things were a little tough at my end too. My brother has got a job abroad and had to leave yesterday. Well, on the brighter side, it is good news. But on the not-so bright side, I was sad.

Me and my brother, we have not been the greatest of friends or always been throughout our lives. We used to fight lots and lots, may be until the last few years. Now we are GROWN up and so don't fight physically, but verbally :-D School days were the best. We were the best friends and the greatest foes. Well, we had lot of wonderful childhood moments and memories that I cherish, always. He used to hit me, and I would start crying. Result, he gets scolded by dad. And that exactly was what I wanted ;-)

Everyone says I am the one who starts the fights. Whatever! We have been apart for a good number of years. But over the past, almost 3 years, we were together, in Bangalore. Fights were way too MANY. But over these few years, I have grown used to him being around me. After marriage, he stayed separate. But each time he came home and left, I felt sad. And now that he has gone abroad, it seems even harder.

I know this is life and all that happens is for good. Today he joined at his new job. Have not got a chance to speak to him yet. Wishing him all the best in his life. And oh yes, today is his birthday too! :-)