The way forward

The year 2014 officially ends today. It paves the way to move forward, hands over time to a brand new year,2015. And as I spend the last few hours with 2014,I cannot help introspecting. A wee bit philosophical, sentimental and emotional. It has been a good year, overall. Yes, I did have my share of misfortunes but life has been kind as I could come out of them. It has been a year of togetherness, of being able to pursue all that I liked, a year when we had been blessed with good health. And,so, a year to be grateful about. New year resolutions! Well, I have a list of those, the topmost being, a little more of gratitude and a little less of being judgmental. I shall try to live up to my own expectations. 

One of the most wonderful things to have happened to me in 2014 is this tiny little space that I so lovingly call 'Seasons in the Sun', :-).....some of my good friends have been instrumental in motivating and guiding me towards this little blog of mine. So, here comes a very BIG thank you from both of us to you. I hope and wish to document and share all that I love,with all my friends and readers in the days ahead. And with this thought, I wish all my wonderful readers, a very happy and a truly blessed new year. May all your dreams and aspirations come true. May we build for ourselves and for generations to come, a safe and a happy world. Signing off with this little prayer in my heart.....stay well, stay safe, stay blessed.

and the festivities still continue.....

What better way to welcome the new year! 

Say it with flowers!

And some colours for a colourful new year!

May our lives be happy and colourful!

May there be blessings galore!

God's own country

It is not for nothing that Kerala is called God's own country. Three visits to this part of Kerala yet we seem to be asking for more. It's abundant scenic beauty is unparallel. I can't have enough of it. The tiny springs, dancing a sprightly dance as they come down the rocky walls of the mountains, the lush greenery all around, the manicured tea plantations, the wild flowers and orchids growing in aplenty all along the mountaneous roads can pass off as a pretty painting; nature's canvas and oil colours in harmony and the painter has done an impressive job! The mighty Western Ghats stand tall and proud against the azure sky. The sky is cloaked in grey in the early mornings; the dewdrops settled on the leaves as tiny pearls as the curtain of mist hangs over everything!
We are never tired of mountains and forests and can spend hours gazing at them. The sunset is always a spectacular sight. The sky is ablaze with golden hues. The coffee shrubs are laden with ripe beans and pretty white star shaped flowers at this time of the year. A perfect sight this is. And in the middle of all these, I did something I so love to do; my coffee date with nature! The fragrance of spices, the ginger and cardemom tea, vermilion watermelon crush laced with cardemom served in tall glasses upon arrival, all so much 'Kerala-like'. The fish curry served in earthen pots at dinner time would remind my family anf me of happy meal times. The wooden cottage, aesthetically done up, though with a rustic feel with its bamboo blinds and red tilrd flooring, would stay on with us until our next visit and would then give way to new experiences and memories. Each morning waking up to the chatter of birds was heavenly. The misty cover over the mountains would lift its veil only by midday and it was then that we would get to see the tall peaks looming in the distance. The green carpet like tea plantations with the mountains in the background looked as perfect as a picture, too pretty to be captured with our lenses! Sundown had its own charm with the crickets striking their chords in unison. With moments of togetherness, of fun and cherished memories, we embark on our return journey; with hopes of being back soon. See you soon Wyanad:-).....let the memories stay on.

A glimpse of our cottage peeping out through the lush vegetation.....

loved the setting.........

Pretty,aren't they?

a slice of nature while we dined........

tea gardens in abundance..........

the foggy mornings........mysterious.......

variety of pretty flowers and some ripe coffee beans......

straight out of some fairy tale..........

another beautiful sight.........

surrounded by nature........

My coffee date with nature........

These days........

The days have been rather busy. They have been whizzing by at top speed. And, suddenly, why has this been happening? All I can think of is work and more and more of it. I am engulfed by a host of engagements that have been keeping me occupied. My French assignments, more and more of practice work and even at the home front,things haven't really been running smooth. There has been no help for almost more than a week now. And cooking has been taking up all of my evenings. I am not complaining but the feeling of breathlessness cannot be ignored. I have been so used to the evenings, the tea sessions, the me and only me times, the luxury of being able to do what I love doing; all these seem to have taken a backseat at the moment. And then comes the Friday evening! What a relief! Finally there is some time for myself. Saturday means no class, no waking up early, the luxury of spending some more time in bed, the luxury of having a late breakfast and endless cups of chai! Well, I have another 'grand' luxury....of having a cuppa brewed by the husband! And he

chai ho jaaye? Anytime!

is good at this! The mid morning tea session, of tea prepared by the husband, of having company while we sip our tea in a leisurely way....ahaaa! How wonderfully blissful life can be!

This is home to me. Every minute spent here is wonderful. Togetherness binds our home. Time spent doing all things we love to do, no matter how trivial they are, is something we look forward to. These days are all about cooking. I had to cook for the family out of compulsion. But I felt completely satisfied with all the culinary experiments, the planning of the meals, executing them my way and the praises at the outcome. In the process, I realised how cooking meals can be a full time occupation. Our mothers used to do this so wonderfully and with élan! Each time they dished out such delightful treats. I was super happy with my easy-peasy capsicum rice, the childhood egg curry, paratha with ajwain, pasta with broccoli,etc,etc. The dal chawal turned out super duper tasty! Simple meals but prepared with so much love and care :-).....no wonder they taste so good!

And a bit of 'Home-love' added to the super busy days, made them worth all the rush. My love for home accessories is quite a known fact amongst my family and friends. So when I came across these pretty little wood and metal knick knacks, I knew that I must have them. A little 'home' in white accompanied by another little 'love' in red came home to me this evening. And these two triggered my blog post today! It's a wonderful feeling. Home-Love. two most beautiful words and meaning the world to me.... I wanted to express myself when I looked at these two pretty things; take some time out of the busy schedule and write anything that came to my mind. After all this is the space where I express myself.....

I love colours.....they give me the motivation to carry on with a smile in spite of the super busy days......

Loved the cartoons....a favourite pastime of the young man at home.....

the joys of simple meals......

some pasta with broccoli.........

a combination of egg curry with paratha.....something  we used to gorge on as kids.......

and now time for some capsicum rice....recipe courtesy a friend.......:-)

And while I put together this post, the feeling of gratitude and thankfulness engulfs me. I have enough reasons to be grateful and thankful in my life. I have this beautiful world of mine, people who mean the world to me, they are my reasons to smile and enjoy life, my reasons to stride over all obstacles and make life worth living.....while the west celebrates this thanksgiving season, I feel thankful for every single day....

Home-Love........beautiful words, aren't they?

At home.....when nostalgia strikes ......

Life brings tears,
smiles and memories.
The tears dry,
the smiles fade,
but the memories
last forever.
Rightfully observed by someone.......
There are times when memories of days gone by appear as a deluge and carry you back to those times. They come from just about nowhere and linger on. These days it is happening to me quite often. I bask in those moments of pleasure that will probably never come back again.; not that I repent it. But, yes, certain things of the past do bring in a smile and I cherish those moments as I keep them safely in my mind's treasure chest. While I jot this down, I remember how my mother and grandmother would sun their prized possessions, mainly the pretty brocade and embroidered saris during the September days! They would spread them out with so much fondness, out in the sun and let them soak in the sun and the breeze. And while they would do this,they would embark on their journey of memories. I always enjoyed these moments when I would get to know about those pieces, that they, so lovingly, would sun. Thinking of days gone by,today, is somewhat like sunning my memories before I store them away once again. I guess, we all do that, don't we?
Our home happened to be one of those prized possessions of mine those days. Living in the midst of compulsions, the time spent together with my loved ones,building up a home out of the brick and mortar condominium, up in the northern part of our country, wasn't something we had really wished for. Compulsion was the key word in our lives those days. And the only pleasure we derived was to build up this home, piece by piece; a home that was our comfort, our solace, our buffer from all those depressing moments we were experiencing. So, we set out making this rented place our home. Like all rented accommodation, we did have our share of difficulties. The walls were too white, the woodwork too less, the flooring too dark, the windows too long (they would require meters and meters of cloth for curtains), to name a few. But we took up the challenge and did succeed to some extent. Here are a few shots, a few pieces of that home, we had carved out for ourselves. These are memories now and what better way to store good memories! I love seeing these photographs and every time I see them I remember our good times spent there; the stories of labour, of achievements, of laughter and even failures. Life is not all about warmer days....there are those cold depressing days,too. And during those times the warmth of our nest shielded us, sent across those positive feelings that the sun is soon going to shine again.
I would love to hear your stories too. And with a cup of chai, here I am, all ready to indulge in some more nostalgia.

the sun-kissed living room....

another corner of the same sun-kissed living area........

a space frequented by family and friends....a space much used through out the day.......

and by evening......          

Homecoming......

 'A home is made of hopes and dreams

Where the story begins,

Where love resides and memories are created....'

Well, these are not exactly my words but are some of the quotes I like about the word 'home'. But I echo these sentiments whole heartedly.To me, my home is the most beautiful place to be in; a place where I can be myself, a place I love to share with the most loved people in my life. That is home to me. I strive to make it a place of my dreams,my small world,so to speak.

the empty canvas.....this was how our house looked.....

the open kitchen and dining area as it looked before......

A clean slate this was about a year and half ago when we relocated back to Bangalore from the NCR. And from then on,bit by bit, we started putting things together to give it that shape and character that we always had in mind. It has always been my endeavour to make use of the pieces I have, be it furniture or anything else, rather than buy something  for the new home. Being in and out of quite a few homes in the past, I have realised one thing that what suits one house may not suit another one. Hence the idea of buying new pieces to fit in a place does not impress me much. Then of course the sentimental quotient always plays a big role in our lives.

It's always been so much fun to play the role of an in-house architect cum interior designer in your own house. You have the liberty of doing what conjures up in your mind without much restraint. So I had a wonderful time trying out all possible things within my means; fitting in the existing pieces of furniture at different places, checking out the look and if not satisfied,trying out another spot. The blank walls,very soon started looking full with our son's art work. It looked so much home! A few pieces of paintings up on the wall does the trick, I've noticed. Together with a few knick knacks, bright cushions, colourful mats and durries and curtains and viola! The look I've wanted is there! A home full of love, comfort and cozy corners, a place that has a story to share is where we all want to live in. A very aspect in my decor sensibilities is that I love the cozy look as against the look of opulence. I always try to make the most of what I already have hence the look has never gone beyond those initial setting up stage! Our home still has that look and feel of a couple's first home :-D.....

Wicker and cane is all that we have at the moment.

Love these stringed birds!

The shadows and the patterns created by evening time......

The walls have been coloured a lighter shade of pale yellow. I guess this shade never goes wrong. But I would certainly like to experiment with some more brighter shades. After all, I love colours. Well, our home is certainly not clutter free or have clean lines. But I like it this way. Every little thing has something to say.For example, look at this chalk paint bottle... It is my message bottle. Whenever I want to share some message or a motivating quote,I write on this. The colourful kantha cushions and throw remind me of my childhood, of days I would spend in our ancestral village, of stories told by  my grandmother, of lying down under the starry sky and of all my adventures with my friends there.I have realised that our home is full of insignificant things that remind us of our childhood, of days gone by.....nostalgia....and that keeps us grounded. The home story would keep going on and on but I need to stop:-)....make myself a cup tea and put my feet up together and enjoy the peace and bliss of the Sunday evening....It's such a beautiful feeling to be home......to enjoy the 'home coming'. And then there is my green corner in the two tiny balconies. The constraint of space has not stopped me from having a tiny garden for myself. Take a look and see if you like it :-D.....
Do share your home stories with me. I would love to hear them from you.I'm sure each one of you would have wonderful anecdotes to share with me. Let the magic weaving start !

message in a bottle

And here are some pine cones I carried along with me all the way from Binsar. They remind me of times spent in the lap of the Himalayas!

And a quiet corner late in the evening...........what peace !

mementos from Jaipur....

We have paintings by our son  on the walls.....

vignettes on the centre table and these keep changing......

bliss......

a bit of comfort...the kantha throw adds to the cozy nook....

love this pretty spice holder....right now I have turned this into a jewellery holder.....

I love kantha and remember my childhood.......

My plant family.....

blocks,flowers and knick knacks add to the colourful look.......

a bit of greenery.....

succulents.......These are glimpses of my tiny balcony garden.....I have a couple of them and have housed a few plants  there.......

Say Cheese:-)

Experimenting with Marie biscuits have been in my mind for a very long time. And last evening,we did it! I am not a dessert or a 'sweet' person. But my son is! During his high school days, he often tried experimenting with desserts and had developed a panache for them. With repeated trials he came up with pretty looking delicious treats. And we lauded his 'sweet efforts'. There's nothing better than something being prepared by the son or daughter and we parents seem to enjoy these efforts. So this time round, our boy, took some interest in trying out an easy-peasy cheese cake with Marie biscuits. The enthusiasm,of course, came from a friend who had treated me to her delicious cheesecake when she had me over for lunch at her place. Not just this, she even packed some for the boy! So this came as the inspiration and motivation. After what seemed ages, he decided to try out the recipe with some variations as we did not have blueberries. And viola! This did turn out super delicious though he was not really happy with the look. This was a trial of sorts and I am hoping that he will try this out once again for a more perfect, less colourful end product! At least that is what he intends to acquire; a less colourful appearance.

I shall share the procedure we followed for this particular cheesecake. What I liked about this cake was the fact that most of the ingredients are easily available in the supermarkets and many of us have these in our 'Indian larder' or storeroom. So here we go.....

Ingredients

a packet of Marie biscuits or Digestive biscuits

(We used 1 packet of it.)

a cup of fresh curd

a tin of condensed milk

some strawberry crush

100 gm of butter

tinned blueberries in case you find them....we couldn't so had to skip this one....

Method

Crush the Marie biscuits well and add butter to this. Mix well and knead it like a dough. Flatten the dough on a pie dish and microwave for 1 minute. In the meantime, mix the curd and the condensed milk well using a ladle or spoon. Add this mixture to the pie dish and microwave for a couple of minutes on high. Once this is done, add the addition layer or top layer, that is the crush (and the blueberries  if available). Then refrigerate this to set. 

Easy, isn't it? I thought so,too. No fuss, no hassle and gets done quite easily. I shall leave you to try this out and do let me know how it turned out....:-).... I shall go off now to enjoy our cheesecake and feel happy about our efforts. For the moment I shall forget about the calories!

a bit,too colourfulbut tastes good!

Have a piece of it:-)

All that we needed....and it was 'utterly butterly delicious' !