Monday 17 August 2015

Two Years Old, and A Little Something New

 It seems, this blog was born a little over two years ago. Not a lot has been written on its pages, with a meager 30 something posts to show for it. But then, as the saying goes, something, is better than nothing. From being someone who had over 300 posts spread over two blogs in one year, to a mere 33 in two years, it is a big change. But a good one in itself. I wondered what I should write to celebrate two years of the existence of this obscure blog, and a hundred ideas rushed to my mind from how I spent the day, to how Indian communalism really bother me, to the love for eating some food, or my parenting ideas and more. And the one thing I decided, was not to write anything negative, for the sole reason, that pouring out words, will make no change, I either be the change, do something about things or keep quiet. 

It is easy for me to be a keyboard warrior(a term, a friend used once, that has really stayed with me), but much harder to work for a positive change, so like many posts that I have typed and let lie in the drafts section, because I was not sure if it was worth it to just air my views from behind a screen, I decided to not say anything negative at all. Instead I hope to be an example of what I would like the world around me to be like. Not easy, but I want to try my best, and with God on my side, nothing is impossible.

I attended a couple of creative workshops recently. Much fun I tell you! Its been a while since I indulged in that side of me, some for lack of time, others for not being sure of making a commitment to complete a project, laziness, having other priorities like my studies, so and so forth. And attending these workshops brought something alive in me. I want to sharpen my old skills and learn new ones. I have always loved fabrics, pretty much anything to do with them and needlework is cathartic for me, and so I have thrown my hat over the fence. A visit to Spotlight, nudged me to actually work on something after over 2 years now. And so I got my provisions for a project that cooked up in my mind while I was shopping in store, and I hope to start this week, pouring in every spare minute into it, and get it done before the end of the year. Lots of work, and detailed stuff at that, is the plan.My grandmother was an expert craftsman in the trade of needlework, sewing, knitting, crocheting, crafting and more. While I was unfortunate to have had very little time spent with her(she passed away when I was 10), doing these things invariably remind me of her, and makes me feel close to her in a very emotional way.I wish I had learnt, all these amazing things from her. Her repertoire was extensive, and anyone with an interest in these things would have been lucky to have learnt from her, and a lot of those skills are being lost with time, and I feel frustrated at times, that I could not learn these things first hand from her, like hand embossing card paper.

 
On a brighter note though, here is what I filled up my coffers with today. Colours just make me happy, and now I have plenty to play around with. I hope it turns out looking the way it is in my imagination. Yellow, green, maroon on an ivory base. I can't wait to get started, and I pray I can persevere to finish it, and not lose interest before I am done. That is always my biggest struggle with long projects which take time. 





I guess two years into one creative venture, it is time to dip my hand into another and give it a go. The process will be fun and enjoyable and fulfilling to me in more ways than one. Hope to see it all come together the way I am imagining it in my mind.Wish me luck!

Monday 10 August 2015

Valves, That Make Me Smile.


Puzzling pic heh? Well, to me it spell happiness. My pressure cooker's valve broke a couple of months ago, and I have been missing my handy small cooker. Have been looking for a way to get a few spare valves from India one way or another. And last evening I found 3 of them in my kitchen drawer.(see the little red packets on the left side). My father had sent them, last December as part of a HUGE parcel. I had just put it away not bothering much. But here it was lying, and its just made my life so much easier. I got to cook in it after months!