day 29 ~ something you're listening to

i don't have an iPod

neither do i know 

how to listen to songs 

on my phone!

i switch on the TV

and listen to the lovely songs

 played on the music channels.

this Sony Mix

is my current favorite.

i just love the way the songs flow 

form one to the other :)

and, the end of this challenge. yay!

i loved everyday.

i looked forward to everyday.

thank you for your encouragement

and the sweet words

you took the time to type for me.

yippee :)

PS

am ending the challenge two days earlier as i have to leave for home :)

day 28 ~ money

i don't usually

have more than 

a couple of hundred rupees

in my wallet.

but, somedays, 

i feel rather grand for carrying 

a couple of thousand bucks :)

PS

i have to leave for Kerala tomorrow morning. there is family that needs me. so, i am finishing this challenge a wee bit early!

day 27 ~ something you ate

my afternoon tea

with half a bowl

of mirri chana

or peppered bengal gram (i think).

day 26 ~ night

from my balcony

a sleepless night through the window mesh

day 25 ~ green

day 24 ~ inside your bathroom cabinet

because all we have is two shelves. 

this is opposite the little window

hence is better lit.

and, neater of the two.

day 23 ~ your shoes

ahem!

these are my 'big-mistake' shoes.

not pretty enough to put my feet up,

nor good enough to sit and read in.

and, hardly conducive to doing the laundry in.

like i said, big mistake. huge.

day 22 ~ where you work

learn to accept in silence the minor aggravations,

cultivate the gift of taciturnity,

and consume your own smoke with an extra draft of hard work,

so that those about you may not be annoyed

with the dust and soot of your complaints. - William Osler

my limbs are aching, 

my eyes are sunken

at my wit's end with myself and the world.

so, i will take Osler's advice

and, do something to take my mind off this err, phase.

the whole house is my workplace, 

so anywhere i take a picture is ok, i suppose :)

a bit of my kitchen counter, as i was cutting vegetables for lunch. 

day 21 ~ a fave photo of you

taken by Harish at our son's christening.

twenty days after the caesarean section,

my stitches still sore,

sleepless nights, 

the daughter bed-wetting again,

(a sign of her insecurity at another baby)

i was feeling ugly and bloated.

add to that, 

the maalish lady refused to let me apply shampoo.

so, here i am oiled, fat and tired

watching my husband's family arrive at the church.

but, i look kinda nice, which is why this is a 'fave photo' of mine :)

day 20 ~ handwriting

Sr Flavian has rapped me 

on the knuckles once,

and countless 'f's in the margin later

i have a pretty decent handwriting.

after all, we had copy writing 

till fifth standard in school.

in my children's school,

writing copy to steady the hand

is not given much importance.

it is left to the parents!

maybe it is the changing times.

despite all the practice i did

all i write,

as in put-pen-to-paper write,

is leave letters for the kids.

day 19 ~ something you hate to do

hate is too strong a word for what i feel 

when i have to do things.

after procrastinating for hours

i will finally get something done 

in less than half an hour,

and then be mighty glad i did it.

there really is nothing i can think of that i hate doing.

yeah, i just go with the flow.

but, i can't but bring myself to make our bed after 9.00 am.

most days, the bed is made, pillows fluffed, quilts folded

before the kids leave for school.

if it doesn't happen then, it doesn't happen till night...

*shrugs*

day 18 ~ drink

it was 'pamper-daughter-day,'

a very special day.

the son had school

for his annual day practice.

so, it was upto us girls

to ignore the blackster completely.

she basked in being the 'only one,'

dressed in pink

with a hairband of cheerful cupcakes,

demanding and lapping

all the attention.

we had deep conversations,

some gleeful male bashing

(i do, still, love you, my son)

lots of cuddles

and the piece de resistance...

a Barbie movie :D

for her, who takes her tv commercials very seriously,

yet, cannot bear to dunk her oreos

in plain white milk

i kissed her cheek

and asked, how she smelt so nice.

she says, its because she put soap bubbles

like whiskers on her face

when she took a bath.

her orange juice and my apple juice

later in the morning.

cheers!

PS

yesterday, late evening this blog, my blog, crossed 5000 page views. Oh Emm Gee!

day 17 ~ time

i start my day

armed with 24 hours.

somedays, i feel rich as i have all the time. 

other days, i am running from pillar to post 

to keep up with time.

there are also days

when i search, but, can never find time.

i take solace in the setting sun

and the night that follows.

for the next dawn brings 

to me another 24 hours

and, i like to take my chances

that it will be good day :)

day 16 ~ something new

i paced inside the house for so long.

i really thought i'd fit into that old pair of jeans by now.

"something new!"

haven't bought anything in a while.

am like that, i don't need a lot of things.

there is always so much to do, i hardly notice, too.

when friends plan holidays

also considering cheap shopping places,

i find i don't need new handbags or twenty pairs of shoes...

only ten will do :)

also, i realize now that i am not too fond of travel

but, love the company more.

*sigh* 2012 seems like 

the year of my self-discovery!

*shakes her head*

let's get back on track

with a new arrangement near the front door.

the items here are ancient, old and 'relatively' new :)

day 15 ~ phone

i have a smart phone.

kind of obsolete now,

but it was the latest thing 

when the husband bought for me and for him.

though, all this time with the phone

has made me realize 

that i am not smart enough for it.

but, my kids, 

all of seven and four,

know things on it that i never realized

would ever be possible on a handset.

luckily, the internet days are still faraway.

at least, that is what i think

and take consolation in!

PS

the husband has moved onto the latest models twice. maybe thrice.

day 14 ~ heart

but, what else on a Valentine's day, you'd think.

except, i am not fond of hearts at all.

flowers, leaves, circles, squares... yeah!

maybe stars, they are the daughter's favorite.

i was gifted a pretty heart locket by darling husband,

that added to the seven-year-itch then!

anyways, since i am not feeling mushy and lovey-dovey today,

here it is,

the heart-less version...

day 13 ~ blue

realized today that i have three blue kurtas,

two dark blue jeans,

a turquoise silk stole

and a tie and dye dupatta in blue.

but, almost all shades of blue accessories...

bangles, bracelets, necklaces.

i must remedy the situation

because i like blue.

but, end up buying yellow and green,

red and beige and orange and white in stead!

day 12 ~ inside your closet

will show only the part that is not a happy mess :)

day 11 ~ makes me happy

and that there will be more to follow makes me happier.

the house is an empty hole in the mornings with the kids gone.

i appreciate the company and the chirpy chatter.

day 10 ~ self portrait

day 9 ~ front door

when you step onto our floor, you hear loud, ferocious barking. 

it only gets scarier what with strong scratching sounds. 

by the time you have mustered enough courage to reach out 

and ring the doorbell with shaking hands,

you think it better to close your eyes, 

because the animal behind the doors is ready to pounce on you anytime, now.

indoors

PS
those words are more or less what almost everyone calling on us says!

day 8 ~ sun

sunrise, vibrant and dramatic, from the kitchen window

splashing warmth onto the walls and corners

bringing to light the efforts of my seven-year-old

enveloping me in warmth and colour...

oh! how i love you, dear big yellow ball of joy.

day 7 ~ button

this, very blingy, kurta button was bought from Kochi in Kerala more than eight years ago. we were shopping for my wedding trousseau. but, this button remained unused as most of my salwar sets had heavy dupattas and there really was no scope for incorporating them without looking tacky.

it has moved with me through the three rented apartments in two cities and still stays unused. till today, when i really, really did not know what to post as a button!

day 6 ~ dinner

just back from a kiddie birthday party.

the kids and birthday boy are not good friends.

but, we mothers are.

this is my second helping at the dinner,

about the time when i remembered about the challenge,

and the picture i had planned to take of the spread.

taken on my phone with my left hand

day 5 ~ 10 a.m.

most days at ten in the morning, i am grasping at every ounce of will power to walk on the treadmill. these days it is about vacuuming and dusting before that. but, sometimes the doorbell rings and the boy taking the clothes to iron is at the door. three more minutes to procrastinate! 

Saturdays 10.00 a.m. is when we eat breakfast. the day i get to sleep in for another half hour at least. if i keep lagging in bed, little voices sound very grown-up telling me look, it is morning and to make them their milk. go momma go, they'll push me up. heartless children, i tell you :)

but, this challenge is about taking pictures with the day's perspective. at around ten this morning, we were walking back from church. reached home, made tea, then, remembered about the photograph. so, i clicked what i was doing at the time it struck me to take  a picture - just about starting breakfast.

the biscuits will keep me fortified till i get my breakfast in my hands

day 4 ~ stranger

stranger (n) 1. a person whom one does not know

                  2. a person who does not know, or is not known, in a particular place

by this definition, i live among strangers and am a stranger in this small, not well-known neighborhood in a faraway suburb of one of the busiest cities of India. it has been a little over three years here. the sights and some of the people here are now familiar enough to share smiles. others have grown into acquaintances, bits of conversation snatched in the elevator, bus stop, the kirana store... a breather in the hullabaloo of the mundane of our hectic lives. a small set of people are now friends, dependable, always a shoulder to lean on, a sympathetic ear and open mind to rant to.

smiles on unknown persons in the vegetable market

day 3 ~ hands

i used to be besotted with hands. my children's little hands, my grandmother's wrinkly soft hands embroidering, my house help's hands washing the dishes and to the gentle sounds her glass bangles made. i believe that the the busier the hand the more beautiful it is.

with me in charge of most chores around the house these days, i am beginning to notice a change in my hands' texture. really, no amount of moisturizing helps. in stead, i end up not bothering to moisturize. and, with the little time i get, i really don't know whether to massage my hands or to sip on my cup of tea! no prizes for guessing what i chose to do... and, believe in inner beauty.

two hands working 

can do more

 than a thousand clasped in prayer. 

- Author unknown

day 2 ~ words

in the first year of college, my cousin got married in Bangalore. i was given the honour of reading out a passage from the Bible during the mass. and, the words were imprinted in memory.

"love is patient and kind;

it is not jealous or conceited or proud;

love is not ill-mannered or selfish or irritable;

love does  not keep a record of wrongs;

love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth.

love never gives up;

and its faith, hope and patience never fail."

- I Corinthians 13:4-7

sometime later, during a particularly difficult phase, when i was as petulant and stubborn as the circumstances, my mother told me to replace the word love with my name and read it to myself. i don't know if it was time or a miracle, or was it that i changed or did things... 

        i still read it with my name in moments of pettiness.

and, i learn everyday how uplifting words build confidence, how hurtful words bring tears, rash ones lead to stooped shoulders, a funny string of words bring laughter and heartfelt words touch the soul. words. they matter.

day 1 of a challenge, and, apologies

[i am so meh, i deleted the first post of the photo-a-day challenge. the kids are in bed, i had just popped in to check mail, thought of adding to the picture description and ended up erasing the entire post and clicking save! don't have it in me to recreate it, so will just post the photograph. thankfully, it is not midnight yet]

day 1 ~ your view today 

the bright afternoon sun through my kitchen window