Too much...

... has been happening around me!

Yes, I am a new mom. As if dealing with the new-mom-blues was not enough! My parents left back for Kerala when my baby completed 5 months. And I started working from home. Juggling with baby care, work, and household tasks was leaving me with no time and space for anything else. I had long To-do lists everyday and most of the items kept getting carried over to the next day. Same with my work too. I somehow kept pushing it. Late night work, attending calls and meetings, trying to keep myself motivated, everything seemed least achievable. My only soothing times used to be the late evenings when hubby returned from work and used to take over the baby care. I used that slot for cleaning, taking a shower, and cooking. And late nights, after she slept, I used to do my office work.

Things were running so when another thing happened. One Friday morning I receive a call from my husband saying he met with a minor accident on the way to office and has a shoulder fracture. I really didn't know what to do - having an infant, I cannot just leave home like that. Luckily hubby's colleagues were with him and I waited till he was back. Finally he came back wearing a hand sling and shoulder cross belt. He was in pain. Doc asked him to take rest for 6 weeks. My misery started there. This incident initially meant that hubby would not be able to actively participate in baby care. But there were more to it. The pain was excruciating for him. He used to wake up at nights, could not sleep, wanted to have the belts readjusted, and for everything, poor thing, he needed my help. And my baby, she too!

There were days when I slept for just 2 hours. My whole body and mind ached. I just wanted things to be on track as before as quickly as possible. But even after a week, hubby's pain did not subside and he could feel the bone fragments moving inside. A second opinion, and we discovered that there were multiple fractures and surgery was the only way. What!!!

We prepared to get the surgery done within 2 days. My dad came down. Hubby was hospitalized for a week. I used to reach the hospital in the morning with my baby, stay there the entire day with her, and leave for home at night. Phew! 1 week somehow passed. When dad left, in-laws came down for a week. And they also left.

Now we are back to being mom, dad, and baby at home. Baby - rolls and rolls over, does not sleep during the day, is very active, wants mommy with her always, and is ready to cry the moment mommy is out of sight. Dad - recovering slowly, but still needs help with dressing the wound, and anything that involves using both the hands, taking medications, and some cause side effects, which again cause some problems. Mommy - taking care of both, doing my work, somehow balancing things at home, and now the late night sittings periods have extended.

All said, I have no complaints. I love each moment of being with both of them :-)

Back

Well... It's been a very long break I took from my blogs. But yes, I have a strong reason now. I am a Mom now :-) My angel is now 3.5 months old and a darling. She was not in her very good moods for the first 2 months, which gave me a complete nervous breakdown. Sleepless nights, incessant cries, tiredness... I thought these were to last forever. But no, now she is a real angel, though troublesome at time ;-)

Now she has started to gaze at things, recognizes us, smiles a lot, plays by her self, and the most recent update - started turning over! She is the sweetest thing that happened to me. Yes, I do have a lot of work now. And now that I have joined back to work, I find no free time at all. One good thing is that I am working from home, so I save at the least the travel time. 

I enjoy all the new things in my life - innocent smiles, sleepy eyes, cute bottom, tiny hands and feet, washing the tiny clothes, breathing in her smell, cuddling with her, and sometimes even the way she cries! And this leaves me with no time to craft, cook, or do gardening :-) 

And as I write, I see her lifting her hands and feet in the air, signalling me - Mom, I am going to wake up soon. Get ready! So you may see very little of me here or if she allows, regularly!

Continuation

A continued updated on our Mittu's story. Though it has been a few weeks since the incident occurred, till date, people call up and enquire about him. How kind! Yes, I would like to write about all the kindness that people showed on my parents during the 3 days when we thought we'd lost him.

My parents spoke to over a 100 strangers within the two days when articles about Mittu came in the newspaper. Initially we thought that the news appeared only in the district edition but it seems that it appeared in other city editions as well. So the coverage was more! People from different parts of South India itself called up and enquired about Mittu. 

Now the interesting part - what did all these people enquire and speak about:

- Some wanted to know how we could keep a pet bird for so long without it being caged. How come it did not go away earlier.
- Many were amazed about the fact that my parents loved their pet bird so much that they went ahead and gave the news in the local cable TV and district newspaper office. They were not convinced that people could love animals to such an extent.
- There were a lot of other callers who shared empathy. They talked about their pets and how some had gone missing and never to be found. 
- Many called up just out of curiosity to know more about our Mittu and his habits.
- Interestingly there were a bunch of people who offered prayers for Mittu's safe return. This was really heart touching. 
- Lot of people from the nearby places called up asking our address so that they could come and visit Mittu. My parents have been invited to many homes as well :-D
- There were follow-up calls by many to enquire if Mittu is doing fine.
- And there were some kids also who called up wanting to hear Mittu speak. 

And so goes the list. As we are currently far away from home and we had to keep calling our parents for updates. Though we did not get a direct experience of the incident, we could make out how deeply touched our parents were by the acts of kindness and genuine interest of all the people who cared to enquire.

Even I was amazed to know that in today's world when we have no time for ourselves, there are still a lot of people who are kind, find joy in the simple pleasures of life, and care about others.

Pet Update

Most of you know that I (rather my parents) have a pet parrot, Mittu. He has been with us for over 10 years now and is just a member of the family. People close to us know how he is more like a younger one in the family rather than just a pet. He has his routines, favorites, mood swings, and all characteristics just like a human being. And I appreciate the way my parents look after him. He is never caged against his wish. The cage is always left open. He goes in only when he wants to take a nap peacefully. There are ropes tied from his cage to different directions - one leading to a tree, which is very much his own. So as and when he pleases, he chooses the directions and seats himself comfortably wherever required.

But two weeks back, an incident happened. As every morning, after his sip of tea, he was sitting on the rope and checking his feathers when he heard quick sound. As usual, as a reflex, he flapped his wings and flew. My mom kept watching the direction in which he flew. He flew very low and towards the road. My dad rushed to the road (which would have taken him a minute) and by then he was not there. A kid in the neighborhood informed dad that a passerby caught him, got into an autorickshaw and went away. My parents were devastated. My dad tried searching the nearby places in vain. Mom was also tensed. And we also got to know of the incident when we called up.

To most, it just seems trifle - a pet going missing. But for us, it seemed too much more than that. My parents were the worst hit. Every moment they kept hoping that they would get him back. An advertisement was given in the local television channel also. A day passed by and there was no news of him. Then my dad decided something - to give an advertisement in the district edition of the newspaper. He approached the district news office and detailed the incidents. The reporter took an interest in the news and promised my dad that he would do a small write-up.

Next morning, from 5 am, people from different parts of the district started calling up at home inquiring about our parrot. And finally around 8 am, Dad got the much awaited call. A family, staying almost 20 kilometers from our house had got him. They were travelling by our route, found him, and took him. It was the-moment-of-relief. By noon, Mittu was home. :-)

It was a happy ending to the story. But the calls continued. People kept calling all-day long. Some shared their experiences of having lost pets, some were quite amused that pets can be loved so much, and some were just curious as to the news got any response. The reporter from the newspaper called up and dad informed him that they got him back indeed.

And next day, there comes a follow-up article in the newspaper that Mittu has come back. Actually he did his bit of the job by making the article more graphic and adding some perky lines :-) This day the calls were even more. People kept calling and calling. We were actually surprised as to how many people were interested in a lost pet and the emotions involved. Many were actually happy to know that Mittu was back. And some are still doing follow-up calls to know if Mittu is doing fine :-)

It was one of a kind of experience for us. Our parents experienced it direct and thanked all the people who called to inquire. I was equally amazed at how there are still people who care for others' sorrows and loses. Humanity still prevails!

Following are the news articles.

Watching the Skies

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

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!

An year!

On Monday (Jan 31st), we celebrated our first year of a wedded life. It was amazing to turn back and look at all those events of the past and how soon an year flewwww by. It was a great year. Hubby was the best thing that happened in my life :-)

We had our celebrations on Sunday (the day before). With family and friends we went out for dinner and spent some good time with them. And right at the stroke of 12, wished each other :-)

Monday, both of us took a day off from work and spent time to being all by ourselves. Started the day by being lazy and waking up a bit late. We went out, had a small brunch and headed off to the Commercial Street. And guess what - he bought me a biiiggg bag full of YARN. I was way too happy and excited. We roamed around for a while more, came home, took rest for a short while, and headed off to a movie.

In the evening, went to the temple and spent some time happily in the calm premises. The day went forward by being with our cousins, a late, but wonderful dinner, and then ended the day blissfully and wonderfully :-)

Leaving behind 2010...

2010 was one of the greatest year of my life; got married in the beginning of the year, got job with a great company, had some wonderful outings and events in my life, and the list goes on... The year has given me the best of my life till now and I am really hopeful of the one coming.

Today is the last day of the year and I am down in Kerala with my family. Looking forward to end this year wonderfully and start the new one with a great start.

Wish you all a VERY WONDERFUL New Year ahead! :-)

Christmas 2010

Finally another Christmas is here... And want to know what we did for Christmas this year? Well, we bought a small christmas tree and decorated it :-) I am so excited about this because it is my first Christmas tree. Wanna see how I decorated it, see here.

We put a silver shiny star in front of our house. Planning for something more in the evening. :-)

During the day we went out to the Cake Exhibition happening in the St. Joseph School Grounds. Though the event was a much awaited one, I was not too happy with the exhibition. It was toooooo crowded, hoooot, and an unorganized exhibition. But I loved two exhibits.

UB City was just opposite to the exhibition ground and we went there and spent some time there. Then we did a bit of yarn shopping from the Commercial Street, had lunch together, and finally reached home by evening.

Merry Christmas to all of you out there!!! :-)

Weekend Trip

Last weekend was indeed a good one! Our destination was the Nandi Hills – around 65 kms from our place. Well, to be frank, initially I was not too impressed about the idea. But yeah, travelling away, out of the city, was a way lot better than roaming around in the malls and crowds. Saturday morning when I woke up, it was cloudy, misty, and cool. It did brighten up my spirits a bit. Finally we started on the journey, a group of four. It was fun. As we drove out of the hustling city into the outskirts, the places and journey seemed beautiful. We could see open farmlands, mountains, animals roaming around, and the cloudy skies all around. The air seemed to get a lot more chilled and we started feeling cooler.

Finally we were at the foot of the Nandi Hills and the view was quite impressive. We could see the mist covered mountain top, clouds, and greenery all around. As we drove higher and higher, the view became all the more beautiful. There were monkeys all along the way and a lot of people, like us, driving to the top. As we reached the summit, it was chilled and windy. It was already 3 pm and we had our lunch. Right after lunch we headed for ice-creams and to the shock of our lives, a big monkey snatched one of our ice-creams and raced away :-)

We moved towards the rocky areas and to take a better view from the hill top. The view was wonderful. We could see large stretches of land and area, straight roads, clouds, and mist all around. We spent a lot of time taking pictures and enjoying nature all around us. At around 6 pm we were about to leave when we saw small orange patches in the sky. We waited; the sky turned golden, then lavender, pink, and a lot more wonderful shades I can’t name. It was perhaps the most spectacular sunset I have witnessed in my life. The colours turned in depth and the glow of the setting sun was all around. After around 10 minutes, it was dark all around us. We headed for our car and started our journey back. I was literally shivering and holding my shawl tightly.

So – I loved the trip! :-)

And the best part, we prepared some hot dinner at home; all four pairs of hands contributed and we had a late, though wonderful dinner. And slept tightly the whole night.

Another Monday morning

... after a small, but blissful weekend. Still yawning and trying to cope with the fact that Monday is here again. I just hope one thing on this Monday morning, as all of you, hope weekend comes by very quickly :-)

Have a wonderful week ahead :-)

Do you love your weekends?

Weekends are my favourite days of the week now. Earlier I never liked weekends. Weekends meant - cleaning, washing, cooking, and lots of idle time loafing around. But now its no more like that. Now weekend means - Cleaning, washing, cooking, lots of crochet, watching movies, evening hangouts, and ice creams! I just love my weekends.

This weekend was a rather long one. Monday was a work-from-day and as I had no pending work, it was more of a crochet-sleep day. We watched 4 or 5 movies over the weekend. You can read the latest updates here. Our days started at around 9 to 10 am and ended at around 2 to 3 am. We did go out twice or thrice, for shopping, simply, lunch, and to cafes. On Sunday one of my schoolmate visited us and my thoughts lingered on my school days for a long time in the evening. We also took a small walk around our nearby park on Sunday night. It was lovely! Cool breeze and almost none was to be seen anywhere. I loved the walk a lot and especially because I could use my scarf.

And after this long, lovely weekend, who would like to come to office? I had to. So looking forward to my next lovely weekend again!

Update

I am still very much alive. It is the other things going around which prevented me from updating my bloggy little world.

I had two good weekends at a stretch, not too hectic (or rather smooth) working days in between, lots of happy hooking hours with my Big Pink Blanket and Big Granny Square, some private time with my green lovelies, some good cooking, and lots and lots of good times. Well, I am not a sporty person, so football is a no-no for me. I may or may not watch. If I do watch, I cannot watch it for more than 10 minutes at a stretch. But hubby is a big fan. And that's how I get all those long hours to crochet now. He keeps watching the matches till late night. Before the match starts, he spreads out the mattress on the floor of our living room. This way I can lay on the bed and see the television and fall asleep. Oh yes, it also gives me the opportunity to fall asleep crocheting. It is such a pleasure :-)

It's 12 am-ish over here. So I am off to my bed to start work on my lovely Big Pink Blanket. And when hands get tired, I read Collected Stories by Anita Desai.

See you all and have a lovely sleepy night.

Two Squirrels

No, this is no pet story. I do love squirrels but never had one as a pet. My dad says that he had one when he was in his teens. I love its tail and ears. Would love to hold a little squirrel in my hands and keep snuggling with it.

Yesterday I was working from home and hubby had left for office. While I was at the system, I could hear little rattles from the direction of the kitchen. I guessed it would be from the kitchen of the family downstairs. Few more minutes passed and I realized that the sounds were actually from my kitchen itself. Frankly speaking I got a bit scared. The night before that we had watched a horror movie and that came to my mind. I slowly neared the kitchen and to my horror up leapt something out from the shelf. It was a baby squirrel :-) It was panicked and kept jumping and leaping around. I moved back a bit decided not to frighten it. After a minute or two everything was normal. I assumed that it had gone out through the window. Then I spent nearly two hours in the kitchen cooking lunch. And all this while, this little intruder was silently sitting somewhere in the racks behind the vessels. I didn't know this. After all my cooking was over I came out of the kitchen and was back at the system. This time again I started hearing sounds and even before I could turn around I saw the little frightened one run past me out through the door. I could do nothing else than smile.

Today on my way back from office it was raining heavily. I was walking towards the gate when I saw a little squirrel lying dead and drenched in the rain. This time also I could do nothing than feel sorry for it.

Good Times

We really had some good time over the last week. We had family visiting us. My parents were already here. And my in-laws also came over. Though hectic we all enjoyed thoroughly. Every evening after office hours was spent in going somewhere or the other. And holidays especially were the best. In the evenings all would arrive at home tired and lie down or sit together in the living room and chat continuously for hours.

For us, it was a special time to know the families better. My mom-in-law was all alive with the stories from my hubby's childhood. He was a real sweetheart and naughty kid. Mittu was the poor one who didn't enjoy much. We didn't take him out with us. So whenever we reached back he was all angry :-)

When it rained this weekend, my hubby and me, we had some rain drenching activity also on the two wheeler. It was an unexpected treat! Loved it!

Now that my in-laws have left, we are back to the old quiet lives. And next week when my parents leave, we'll be back to the quieter lives we share.

Hope you all are having a great time!

Wide Awake!

It's 2 30 am and I am still awake. Why? Because I woke up very late last morning and slept for a good two hours at noon as well. After all how much more lazily and happily can I spend a Sunday. My family didn't complain or raise eyebrows at this. Afterall I don't do it often. I really enjoyed the afternoon nap. But now I am suffering. I lied awake in bed for almost two hours and then finally decided to sit up and do something meaningful. So I first asked my husband's permission, who was also having a disturbed sleep due to having given me company at noon ;-) He agreed! I have started sewing a pair of gloves for myself. So I thought that I can better utilize time for that. Then somehow I decided - a bit of blogging and work. Hubby was kind enough to bring the laptop from the living room to the bedroom. He is somehow managing to sleep.


I really did some of the pending office work. And now I am happily blogging! Don't you feel I am luckyto have the best husband and lots of things lined up to do when I am not able to sleep? Yes, I am. Had I not had these, I would have been still tossing in bed cursing the heat, mosquitoes, and myself. Now I am scared of only one thing - Will I be late to wake up tomorrow morning? Hope not.

Hope you all had a good night's sleep! :-)

My small bloggy world

Blogs are perhaps one of the most wonderful things in life. Atleast it is so to me now. My day starts when I browse through my favourite blogs and see those bright pictures and read through the lovely heart warming posts. Not all of these are craft blogs. From these blogs I get slices of the lives of people in different parts of the world, make new friends, and learn a lot of interesting and new things. I must say that I would have led my life idle and monotonously had I not chanced upon these blogs.

These blogs even make me to like blogging more and more each day. I also have started loving to take pictures and notice the tiniest happinesses in life.

It really makes a difference when you try to see the world through another's eyes. These blogs make us see the different perspectives of life. Recently I came across a wonderful lady's craft blog. She is very much creative and brings perfection and beauty in whatever she does. Her pictures are cheerful and her life is bright. But after reading through some of her posts I realized that she was born with defects and in early childhood itself one of her legs were amputed. But the way she blogs and carries herself is remarkable!

I have been able to make some friends over the web as well through these blogs. We exchange mails and it feels great! Sometimes I feel disappointed when I don't blog for days together. Though there are no regular readers out there for my blog, I really enjoy this small activity. Now that I have started enjoying even the smallest happinesses of life, I have lots to write about each day, but find no time. May be I should quit job and stay at home to blog more ;-)

Hope you all have a great day and a wonderful weekend ahead.

Happy Me!

Its been raining most of the evenings here out in Bangalore. Some days it got really cloudy and dark and became really cool. The moisture laden winds were what I loved the most. It was wonderful to ride my two wheeler when it was about to rain! Bliss! Along with the rains I have been enjoying a lot recently. Wondering what all made me happy?

I love being in the company of my husband, parents, and Mittu. It really feels great when I reach home everyday. It would be a bit depressing when my parents go back to Kerala. But still I am happy that my husband is along. Wondering how quickly we got together! :-)

I have sowed a couple of seeds. All of them have started sprouting. Every morning the first thing I do now is water the sprouts. It gives me immense pleasure to see the green foilage. But one shallot's leaves have started yellowish. I guess that one container has water in excess. Should check it out.

I have started crocheting my to-be blanket again. Its been a long time since I worked on it. And I have rolled out all my yarn heaps which were kept pushed towards a corner. More happiness, as I have a storage place for my crafty items now.

I have come across a lot of new craft and gardening blogs recently. The photos and posts inspire and make me happy everyday.

And last but not the least, the wind has started blowing again. It may rain in a few minutes! :-) Hope you all have a lovely evening.

Too fast...

Wondering how quickly time flies off! Its already a month since we got married. We were speaking of it yesterday and checking out the photos again. It was indeed a great day. Though I was completely lost at times on the day, it seemed wonderful.

Lot of my friends and relatives turned up on the day before and the marriage day. I was really overwhelmed when I saw most of them. Some who said that they may not make it, turned up unexpectedly and it was really pleasing. My sincerest thanks and love to all those who turned up for our wedding as well as remembered me on the day! It was great!!!

And yes I m still uploading the pics of my marriage to my Picasa account. I know its too late but I am too lazy now! :-)

Weekend Chores!

It is so wonderful when you have a person you love with you always. Yes, I am speaking about my new life and the person in it. Its really beautiful. We have moved into our new home (of course a rented one :-)) and have started our lives together. The bits and pieces from shifting are still not arranged. But the place is comfortable enough for us now.

Everyday seems interesting enough. Starting from cooking, the travel together, and the evenings together, I am enjoying every bit. My family and relationships have expanded now. The number of people to enquire about and who keeps enquiring about have increased. That is indeed a good feeling. But sometimes I feel that I don't get enough time for all.

Settling in with the new life is still pending. First we need to make our house better. For this we have to unpack the things, arrange everything, and get used to the house. Then we have to create routines or atleast try to do that. Now everything is done in a hurry. Cooking, washing, cleaning, resting; it seems like there is no time for everything. But yes we have to sort it out. Weekends are what we look forward to. But when the weekend comes we lazily sleep of or sit comfortably in each others' company.

I am doing a bit of home modification. Using whatever naive skills I have at crafting to modify the bad things at home. I keep looking around for whatever I can find to make our house beautiful and lively. Right from mats and curtains to my colourful yarn and try to put it in place. So lets see what I can do this weekend to make our house better! :-) Happy weekend all!