Indian Flowers to Cheer You Up

The summer here is slowly getting to its end. The day has become shorter, and by this I mean that it starts getting visually darker outside already at 6 pm. The nights have finally gained much awaited freshness, however, the afternoons are still hot and humid.
For various reasons I have been feeling sad and low in the past few days. It is not that I have any huge problems in life right now (touch wood) or my life is tough or whatever. Sad news of what is happening around the world, especially in Syria, made me reflect on what is really important in life and what is not, and every day I try to spend being grateful for a peaceful sky above, and the fact that my kid has a privilege of worry and fear free childhood days. Additionally, last week D said that he watched an awareness video about dangers of sepsis, especially in young children, and gave me a link to this blog A Mother Without  A Child and added: "Please, try not to cry". I cannot tell how sad the story of this young woman is. Her writing, the words she uses to describe the loss of her little son and how she is dealing with it (or trying to) couldn't have left my eyes dry.
Since the day I read these blog posts I had been thinking about it everyday, and reconsidered how I sometimes deal with my little A's tantrums and crankiness, and his refusals to listen  to my requests. I should be more patient and more understanding even when it is hard to be. I thought that as much as I love him I still sometimes underestimate how much he is dependent on us and how much we mean to him. Our routine can make us believe that the things are always the way they are and will always be, but it is not true. Everyday is unknown and unpredictable, so I would like simply to enjoy these moments with my family and give as much love as I possibly can...
It was a Green colour celebration at little A's class today, so I dressed him in a green shirt and neon green shoes. Unfortunately my boy was resisting to go to school when we approached it, started crying when he understood I had to go. Finally the teacher came to pick him from the reception and he went with her, still weeping, but in a better mood as she promised a toffee. I know he was fine afterwards, playing with other kids, engaged in activities and so on...However my hearts aches each time I have to leave him like this.
My own mood was lifted up by the abundance of various blooming trees when I reached office. Somehow I didn't notice this yesterday.

 I am not aware of how some of the flowers are called, so you could suggest :) Thank you, and I hope you are having happy and joyful days wherever you are.

Have a wonderful weekend, my friends!

Changes and challenges

Hello my dearest friends! Phew... First of all, everything is fine here in our small city beautiful Chandigarh :) It's just we got a little busy, a little lazy, but very happy too :)
Our baby boy is going to hit his first birthday next month! Wow! Time doesn't fly, it knocks you off your feet, without letting to take a breath and stop a moment... My boy grew and changed so so much since last year... He has got 2 lower teeth, he now can stand with support and he is very active and impatient to explore the world!
My boy's hand... in January when we were going to meet my mom at the Indira Gandhi Airport... His hand is a little bigger now of course.

 A beautiful pouch gifted by my very good blogger friend Preeti from Create -E-witty Unleashed. It came handy and very convenient to take along everywhere I go!

You know how many times I was collecting photos for you, was going to write about my life these days... but I guess I still feel too tired, and head is too full of thoughts about my child now, that I stop half way and leave the idea of opening the blogger... But I never ever stopped and stop thinking about all of you! I hope everyone is doing great and healthy in their cozy homes :)
We are welcoming the monsoon season here, this year, it has arrived on time hopefully. It is extremely humid here, though temperature dropped down from +40 to about +33 in day time :) It makes me happy you can understand how much.This summer I am finally travelling home!!! After 2 years! I am so excited as this time we have planned something new for out trip, I will tell you about it later.
I resumed my office half day and now running between home and work, work and home...I lost loads of weight since last year, which is not unusual when you breastfeed but somehow makes me worry as everyone points out at it. I really need to take a good rest and change the surroundings, get energy from my family and my country, gain some weight, eating the food of my home...
Overall I try to be busy and try not to dive too much into housewifing, however thinking of an opportunity to be with my child home full time and take care of him better than I do now. Thanks to my in-laws for their support and care of their grandson, but children have to be with their parents, not speaking of how much happy my son is when we both are around... he misses us a lot while we are away!
Hence in order to fulfill my plan or a dream, I am trying a new venture - retail business. The idea was given by my D, so I started just few weeks ago and posting mainly on Facebook. Here is the link to my page Authentic Indian Suits if you are interested. I am trading Indian traditional wear - suits, of which there is a great variety and a huge range of designs and shapes!!! I am planning to create a website too whenever I have time...
So don't give up on my blog, I am still around my friends!

Have  a lovely day ahead! Take care!

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 ...

North Goa - Little Vagator Beach - Part 4

Hey, friends! Hope you all are doing fine and are happy at your places. I am yet to finish my Goa tale, and to my surprise, we had really done many things in just 1 week, as I can see now from all the photos.
What concerns my pregnancy - we are doing just fine. Three days ago I had 2 level scan, which revealed that baby is fine :) I have started feeling kicks now more clearly; they are light and not yet that frequent, but good enough to make me smile and love my baby more and more with each passing day! Thanks for all kind comments on last post - I know that all a woman is going through is worth the result!
My D is a great support to me these days, I am so grateful to him for all his care and help.I guess he also hasn't realized he is going be a "daddy" soon, but he feels good about it and starts discussing things like names already.
Well, and for today I have few snapshots of our very first day in North Goa, Little Vagator Beach. I had already showed our stay, but wanted to keep some more of them. Such a classical exotic scene!

Another through palms view. Te palm trees were very tall and all had coconuts on them!

As soon as we left our bags in the hut, we rented scooters and went to visit a famous Anjuna Wednesday market. The parking was full of scooters and bikes. 

There were many locals and foreigners. Very noisy and colorful rows of goodies. We bought 2 t-shirts for D and some small gifts for our parents.

 The trading rows were endless. We got tired very soon there, considering we didn't have any food since morning and traveled whole day. So after some time I said I'd like to withdraw from there, as in such mood we were not able to enjoy shopping.

 The best part was that after all we were back to our cozy peaceful location and swam at the sunset.

 Aww, now I again have that nostalgia coming back... Missing that place a lot. 

 Meanwhile our hotel cum restaurant lit up the lights, and later one we went there for dinner, thinking of our next day's activities. And for that we planned rather tough schedule, however we enjoyed it a lot.

 Today we both are visiting Delhi, I am at my D's relatives' house, and he is at work as it's an official trip. So I've got few minutes to greet all of you and tell something new. Day before yesterday I finished reading "A Thousand Splendid Suns" by Khaled Hosseini - a book which will stir your feelings for sure and will make you look at your life at different angle. Blessings to all!

Inspired By Nature

Today be ready for some unusually long tales from me, my dears, as I was really missing you all and want to share my little things :) The week was pretty much diverse, in a sense of weather. I hand't even have enough time to complain how much hot days had become, when sudden rain and drop in temperature brought immense joy. Yes, I mentioned in my profile that I like rainy weather, no, actually, I love it! As I was waiting for my conveyance (which I'm going to show you soon) to pick me yesterday morning, I had few minutes of communication with nature. I can't describe how good I felt inhaling wet, fresh air, listening to the rustle of the trees, and observing this incredible sky... It is amazing how nature creates patterns from its elements - I have never seen such clubbing of clouds ever! 

When I arrived to the sector I work in, everything was quiet, looked clean and fresh. The plaza  was totally different from what it is usually. And usually it's a crowded place, noisy because of the people's talks and birds' chirping.

Besides adoring changing weather, I occupied myself with few projects this week. This one was inspired by Magaly's wonderful  candles, you can find her tutorial here. I managed to make only one so far and wasn't that clever to tie the wick around pencil to keep it up while wax is getting cold, but I do love this cute white candle, which is by the way, scented with lemongrass! My D liked the candle very much, as he likes lemongrass fragrance too.  I haven't tried to burn it yet, but will do today in honour of our 2 years and 9 months marriage anniversary. Oh yea, I always say, that we have to celebrate not only love, but patience. We went through so many challenging  moments already, and I believe they made us stronger and closer to each other.

Among all the doilies I had made before, this one is very special. Not only because of the colors, which I myself like a lot, but also because it was made for my parents. You see, I'm getting ready for my trip back home. I picked the doily pattern immediately I saw it on Debi's blog. She took it from Rita's blog, and  thanks to her for highlighting this pattern. My doily didn't come out that lacy, because I used DK acrylic yarn. I tried to block it later on as to stretch the stitches more to  show the spaces.

And now something special (again). My first painting on real canvas - it was such a spontaneous decision of mine! I used acrylic paints, oh dear, I really like them now, as I tried them only on plain paper before. The canvas texture is also pleasant to paint upon. First, I planned to make the picture fairy tale like, but later it turned out more realistic. I love sun set, as it sometimes gives wonderful color to the sky... The whole painting is a pure inspiration, with no drawing rules :)

The current week is a big long 7 day celebration of Maslenitsa holiday, which precedes the Great Lent in Orthodox calendar. Every day of the week has its own name and purpose, and usually, everyone bakes Russian pancakes "bliny" during the whole week as to share with their relatives and friends. Today is a day when mother-in-law visits her son-in-law's home and he offers her pancakes :) Here is my version of pancakes - they tasted the same as my father's ! Yumm : )

The last day of Maslenitsa is called a Forgiven Sunday, and this is the day when you ask for forgiveness from your close ones and they ask from you. You have to forgive, even if offense is big, or simply say "God will forgive you". 

I wish you all to have good mood, peace of mind and love in your heart.

Feminine March

I was so busy yesterday that didn't post anything, though it was a birthday of my always young Mum. It's been so many years that I'm not able to be there with her, same as to be with my Dad on his birthday. But  those we love are always in our heart and on our mind. 

Happy birthday Mum, you are my love and my strength and support! I'm so grateful that you brought me up a strong and independent girl. I'm grateful  that you always respect my choices, including the one to live in India, far from you, I know. So I wish you and Dad health and love... The latter we, your children, always are ready to give you. 

My parents loved India a lot during their first visit, and they dream of the day they come here again and see more of this country. I'm grateful they support our marriage too and love my D so much, and call him their son :)

Feminine March - it was always a month of the first sprinkles of the Spring after a long winter. The month my Mum was born just before International Women's Day, which is today, on the 8th of March. I remember first Spring flower sold in the markets, everyone was gifting them to their women, be them their colleagues, mothers, daughters, grandmothers. A great day to show your love to those who gave you life and celebrate womanhood.

So I wish you all, my dear female readers, a happy Women's day, filled with love of your close ones, your men, and your children.
Here is my Mum in Agra two years ago :) Cute Mum in white top, I love you! And here are the flowers from my parent's dacha, my favorite marigolds, for you, dear friends.

Happy International Women's Day! Shine on!

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.

Truth About Crocheter's Evenings... :)

Hello, dears! Hope you weekend is going on well. I had only one day off this week, but still I'd share some new projects, right, but also some truth about my crochet evenings, like the one I had yesterday for example.
Saturday evening is the best, because you know that tomorrow is Sunday, what means no work, sleeping till noon (in worse cases even more), and you can actually relax. :) So why not to party? I did a little as you can see, with a glass of beer and some pretty yarn colors. I usually don't eat or drink while crocheting, but today it's Saturday, okay. (and in no case I promote drinking while crafting or otherwise!please).
I made 5 squares, no mistakes have been found so far :).

Continuing with Valentine's day's crafts,  I made this stuffed stripy heart which will serve as a lemongrass fragrant sachet for my D's cupboard. I admit that this heart was inspired by Lucy's Heart Hanger, Linda's Sweet Lacy Hearts, Lilli's Crocheted Heart and few others which kept appearing in the Internet in different shapes and colors. I decided to make a Cheshire heart, stripey like a cat :)

I also colored few pebbles with nail polish I'm not going to use anymore. Let's see where I can find a place for them. This is the pattern for the Stuffed Cheshire Heart as a free download.

Have a happy day and a bright successful week ahead! Don't forget, love is all around!
And a Happy Chinese New year!

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!