The Indian Prince Had Arrived

Yes, dear friends, we finally became parents to a boy on the 5th of July at the start of the 39th week of pregnancy, and exactly a month after my D's birthday. Both my husband and son are summer boys :)

Well, what to say, I feel a little better today after all we had to go through. It seems like a bad dream now... I ended up with Cesarean section after 24 hours of labour but it was worth it! We are immensely happy and looking forward to new discoveries on this "being a parent" way. I get loads of support from my in-laws, so basically I only care for my baby and sometimes watch Harry Potter while he is sleeping or sleep myself :)) 

It is not at all easy straight after delivery start taking care of your little one! So many things we don't know yet however I hope it will get even better when he is at least 1 month old. My D takes a big part in everything related to our baby, and at times worries much more than me. As of now my little boy is taking a nap in his cot and probably dreaming of... the next portion of sweet milk.

Thanks to all for constant support as well, and I am happy to share this happy event of my life with you :)! I do hope that the days of blogging and crocheting are not that far away for me! The monsoon has started here, today especially the air is cool and fresh.You know how much I love this season :) And I love it even more because my son was born during it.

Have a blessed day, my dears!

Relishing the Present

The very first thing I want to say - no, I haven't disappeared because of the great event, it hasn't happened yet :) But of course anticipation and preparation made me a little less interested in some other things, sorry to say, in blogging too. I must be having loads to share, many pictures to post, and I will do this yet right before mid July... as of now I am slowly falling into some sort of renunciation while my body is getting ready to finally do what it has to and my mind is filled with emotion and unrest. We celebrated our 4th marriage anniversary on the 15th of June, and feeling blessed and grateful for our togetherness.

Me and D are also getting a little sad as our time we could spend only together is finishing to be replaced with a new kind of experience in which we will have to become even more caring, loving, tolerant and happy. So far the journey has been good for both of us, nature has been kind to me in terms of health, and we hope for a successful end of this period and a successful beginning of a new phase of life. I think that it is such a wit of nature it gives us whole 9 months to get used to new feelings and also plan things! If I could say I was not ready back then now I can't wait to kiss soft little cheeks and tiny fingers of our baby who will be entirely a creation of our own! We have prepared almost everything, and with a great help of my D's parents our room was repaired and now it is looking fresh and cozy :)  

I can proudly say that I have not been idle and am relishing:

1) lovely time with my D while shopping for our baby, attending counselling sessions, planning, enjoying evenings at home or outside, and so on! 

2) new dimensions of marriage

3) healthier food choices (which I hope to continue)

4) baby's movements and funny lumps formed by his body parts on my belly

5) love and care which multiplied

6) my clumsiness and a moment I have to take my belly in both hands in order to turn from one side to another (lol)

7) a thought of becoming a parent, and all good we can  teach and pass to a child (I hope it is good mostly)

What I understood while going through my pregnancy - be as active as you can (if health permits) and

this will save you from many discomforts both physical and mental. Having a support of your partner is very

very important too, I have been lucky to get it :) 

This post seems like it could be the last before I get back to my blog again (though I might make one right

before mid July). Till then, my dears, please bear with my absence. I will still be peeking into your posts

and reading as many of them as I can. I wish you to have days 

filled with happiness, pleasant moments, smiles of your loved ones and love of course! Keep on smiling and I

will keep on expecting ...

3 Magical Years

I don't really know how it has happened that it's been already 3 years after that memorable day of our marriage, back in 2010. It was memorable not only because of the character of the event itself, but how it actually happened. The way we met and became husband and wife still amazes us every time we recollect it. 

I perhaps would write a good, well thought-out short story about it later on, but not today, even though all those memories keep on coming into my head almost every day, and I say myself that if it wasn't nature's own wish, we would have never been together. So today on the 15th of June we have completed the circle of 3 years. 3 is a mystical and magical number in all Russian folklore and fairy tales. I wrote about it here. As soon as I am Russian  I believe that the power of 3 will give a good start for the next yearly circle of our union, full of good beginnings and successes, and happiness of course.

I love you my D, and I  hope that our love and understanding between each other will be increasing day by day, and spread around, making us, our parents and everyone else happy. I wish to both of us to keep that sparkle which came when we saw each other (live) for the very first time in Delhi airport and we didn't know  yet what this all would lead to. Let's cherish those days, and value present moment too, as we had to go through many things to actually make it the way as it is now. And now is beautiful.

Calendula and a Cheshire Heart - Friday Garden

Good evening, my dears! It is late evening here now, I am almost sleeping, as the day has been a little hectic and I'm going to office tomorrow. I was making my D ready for a trip to Rishikesh - a must destination for many tourists who come to India. This is a holy place as well as a place famous for adventurous sports like river rafting, biking and camping. So I wish he would enjoy all these and will have some interesting photos to share. And speaking of me, he promised to take me there too, but this time it was strictly only employees' entertainment. 

So I am being a nice wife, continued my gardening and crocheting, and D, being a caring and attentive husband, brought these flowers from his office yesterday. Calendula was always a necessary  flower at my parents' dacha, I hope to continue this tradition.

 

This type of Calendula has cute fluffy blossoms. They were looking fine today after being planted into a pot...

What I can't say about this one, perhaps it shouldn't have been taken out of the soil while still having flowers. Though I hope it will get accustomed to new environment.

I have no idea how a stripy heart got into a post about garden :) Today was my friend's birthday, so I gifted her a new version of my Cheshire heart - with little bit of beads and sequins. I've gifted already many of these hearts and I enjoy making them a lot, and now to embellish, why haven't I thought of doing it before? "Good thought comes afterwards" according to a Russian saying.

Aha! Now I know why the heart decided to pop up here - it pretended to be a fruit on our citrus tree. How clever of you! The pattern for this heart can be found here.

Now I have to think of what I am going to do this weekend, as my D will not be with me. This is not an issue as soon as you have hobbies and projects in progress. Or friends who might take you out. Let's see how it all goes.

Have a great relaxing weekend wherever you are!

A Day Of Love and Happiness

My dears, your Valentine's day wishes worked as magic for me, because we had an enjoyable and a happy day. I hope yours was the same and even better! I have many things to share with you today, so make a cup of tea or coffee for yourself and get ready for my V's day's adventures :)

That was one of those days when only good things happen. Here I want to say a BIG Thank You to dear Tanya from Bead and Needle! I don't know why I deserved this, but she wished to send me a small gift, which reached my house within a week, all the way from US to India! Unbelievable! Not only she is a versatile blogger, who always shares her interesting trips,she is also a wonderful crafter! Yes, you are ;) Thanks for these beautiful potholders in such lovely fabrics!

The potholders were packed in this lovely paper. I opened the parcel when my D came back home. He knew I was waiting for it to come so I wanted to share my happiness with him of course.

My D liked Tanya's gift very much too; when I said that she made it all herself, he kept on asking how she managed to overlap fabrics in such manner, I said I had no idea, but it was an artist's secret :)

A gift of a friend is precious, moreover, the distance is not an issue ( I know it by own love story ) when you really wish something with the whole heart. This fabric made me smile. I'm sorry, Tanya, they are too good to use them, but I will definitely decorate one of the dinner tables with them some day :)

My husband doesn't gift me flowers every day, otherwise it would have become boring, but when it's my B'day or V's day, or any other romantic reason, he always brings some cute bouquet. Like this one :) He said that flower sellers refused delivering it straight to my office, because they had too much work load anyway. So my D went, I know that hurriedly, to buy this roses in the evening, mystically disappearing from the house for about 20 min while I was making tea for him. He is so clever and... so sweet :) A remark: today is 2 years and 8 months of our marriage, yes, we count months too, as we don't want to lose any of such special day for both of us. I read a very beautiful and inspiring post at Mrs. Micawber's blog. How to keep love through ages, how to stay with your loved one no matter what, we shall learn from such stories :)      now...

A good evening was on our cards. We went to the City heart, sector 17,  for a walk. It was crowded there, and I didn't feel like taking the pictures. But what I wanted to show was the Indian New Moon, which is reversed.

I will not be telling you about all our roaming in the city in search for a restaurant, because all of them were literally packed, and the wait time they were giving us was minimum 1 hour... However even this was pleasant because we were together and when I'm with my D, I enjoy every moment of our time. Finally, we ended up in sector 17 again when my D drove there from another side, where there were few good restaurants. Yey! We chose the one called "Ghazal". Ghazal is a poetic form originated from Arabic verse. 

 Though my D had doubts for a second, later he liked the place very much, so did I. It was exotic for both of us because of its interior and the ghazal songs filling the air with their relaxing and melancholic tune.

We weren't disappointed with the menu as well.. and now the moment of temptation - our dinner. It was delicious - chicken shashlyk sizzler, paneer lababdar, rotis, and pickles!

 We left this nice place around 11 in the night. This is the entrance. You can see an Urdu word from the right side of the picture meaning "the pub". I thought we would take here my parents when they visit India next time.

 I liked being out at late hour... It was quiet, and deserted, but we were together and no matter what, we were happy. We are (touch wood).

I hope you liked experiencing these moments with me. I'm glad I have all of you, dears, who are always ready to support, encourage and simply be happy for me

Have a happy weekend filled with love! Blessings to all of you wherever you are.

Our Happy Diwali

First I can't recognise myself as this month I make posts again and again, and it's only mid of November :) Well, may be I discovered more things to blog about Sunny Indian Days which continue to be as such. Today is the eve of Indian Festival of Lights called Diwali or Deepavali. This one is one of my favourite holidays! House decorated with bulb lights, in the evening we will put lit diyas (small vessels made of clay) around the house and outside. This looks so festive! However Diwali is also such a joyful holiday because the families get together. Diwali for Indians (Hindus, Sikhs) is like Christmas and New Year for Christians.

My husband, thank God, came back from his awesome trip exactly before Diwali, and this what makes it so much happy for me. He brought so much joy in the house straight away and was like Diwali Santa, giving away all these yummy and fragrant stuff. I must say that he knows what we both like, and we like chocolate a lot!

This chocolate bar is made in Lippstadt, it has some of the city views on the cover. We haven't tasted it yet, I am sure it will be yummy!

 A set of sweets and a mug with Mozart's picture as a souvenir from Vienna.

 In order to celebrate my D's arrival and coming up Diwali we opened this lovely fizzy wine yesterday evening.

 We sat comfortably on the sofa, poured it in the glasses, and then I threw a look at the crochet cushion case... I said "Hey, dear, I spoke about it so much in my recent blog post. I need you to hold it tight and I'll take the picture!"

So here is he, clutching the cushion :) Yes, he liked it a lot!

And here's me hiding behind it. I am happy... Diwali is going to be great! We will go to buy different crackers and will make some noise in the evening! See how many of exclamation marks I inserted in my post!

Happy Diwali to you, my dear friends!Be Happy!

Homely Cushion Case

How could I not to share my Tah-da moment with you! Meet The Wagon Wheel Square cushion case! I was so much worried about color selection... but I am in love with it now! This cushion case reminds me of  Xmas and New Year, snow fall, candles, cozy house... That's why I was hurrying so much to accomplish the cover before my D comes back so that he can feel homely when he sees it:) Yes, my husband is coming back tomorrow, exactly before Indian festival of lights Diwali which is on 13th of November. 

I was turning the cushion  on the sofa and found out that it looked good in any position. This is indeed the first crochet project I made which I really like a lot, and probably the first I managed to work so neatly. I also hadn't thought about it before, but that the cushion cover has actually 2 in 1 design, as I worked back side in simple granny square. Here is the Wagon Wheel Square pattern.

Yesterday I bought lovely buttons to close the cover at the bottom. It appeared to be an easy way and also it has many designing options ( like smaller button, buttons of different colors and so on).

  I hope my dear D will like it.. I just can't wait to see him and hug him and say how much I was missing him! 

 Have a lovely day ahead and Happy Diwali! Be with your families, feel joy of being together!

Europe... Why Not?

I have been struck by a thought, why not to post about my husband's trip? My blog after all is not only about MY things, but about OUR things. Anyway, whatever I do these days, my D is always on my mind.  I am sure, I am on his, what makes us connected through distance, good that we have experience in this already. 

The city my husband went to is called Lippstadt, and this is where the company he works for has its headquarters. My husband was astonished with the city's beautiful architecture. He kept on telling me over the phone that it is so cozy in the streets, so beautiful and so...  I myself visited Germany many many years ago with my Mum, so now I am glad my D can understand why I was always so much in love with this country.

The road from the Dusseldorf airport. The Autumn is over there now. So you can see all its colors. I miss real Autumn very much.

The city is not big. I guess what makes its beauty is houses in different shapes and colors. 

I think that this is the city's plaza. The houses are like decorations! Oh I wish so much to be there too!

My D was quite surprised to see so many people riding bicycles there.

I love this picture! Some bridge.. so romantic and a little Gothic... I miss such kind of surroundings and weather...

What my D enjoyed there for sure is ...food! He likes to try something different, but I was quite worried whether he finds anything what suits his taste. I was much relieved when one of his first statements was that he liked the food a lot! This is a restaurant they went to have dinner to. Cozy, cozy!

I guess it's all for now. Ahh... you can't imagine how much excited I am to see all these. I know my D definitely has a cultural shock, and I am glad he does. This acts like an injection of fresh air! I even remade a famous Sting's song "Oh oh, I am an alien, I am a little alien, I am an Indian in Europe!" :)

Have a lovely day, my dear friends, and may you discover more and more new things around!

Second Wedding Anniversary - Together:)

      After my husband's birthday, it is time for celebration again - our Wedding Anniversary, a second one! I can't believe that it's been already two years as we are together!

     We had different times throughout our marriage, but no matter what, we always tried not to forget how much efforts we put into this small word "together". We wanted to be together when we were far from each other. Now we just can't afford being far when we are so close :) Forever is not yours, but together is in your hands!

    Today as we both grow two years older, our love and relations are still young and exciting. We cherish the memories of the beginning of our love and it makes us strong. We still discover each others personalities, exchange each others cultures, and of course, becoming closer to each other day by day. May be I can't read my D's mind yet, but I already know what makes him happy and what makes him sad. I bet he knows this about me too.

     I am blessed and happy that I have such husband as D is. He is my life's Sun (as this is his name's meaning). And this means a lot to me! I  Love you, D, and want to be together with you always!

   Today I can afford to post my and my husband's pic :) Just once in a while :)) Hehe

 
                                                ***   Have a nice day and be happy!!!***