(hey ! you noticed the date ? 2012 2013 ! Two years together. ;) )
The Tree is up..the Crib is set...my lill LED snowmen and Santas are out...our
home is up for our "last" Christmas. Well..by last.i mean, its our last, in this flat where we are right now. Moving to better premises by next month..so, definitely want this to be special.
Some images of our home...
Hark Now Hear....the Angels sing....
The crib .Alright..alright...Baby Jesus just landed a few days prior...on demand by my little one.
Our tree...at night. (sorry for the bad quality)
Typing up this post from the study desk...its big time shouts, laughter and cheers, rising from our living room. Real celebrations for dH and his College Allumini Cricket Team. It was the finals today..and they won the match !!! and this win..is indeed special.
Well...theirs "IS" a strong team; have been reaching the finals for the last 7 yrs and was winning too...except for last 3 years. The same oponents all yest years, and compared to the men in late 30's and 40's thats us... the other team on the other hand are more younger blood, more bachelors. We kept losing to them, in the finals. And now..the trophy is back !..Time to rejoice !!!!
The first round of celebration is what is ongoing now...at our home, while typing this down (God knows, when this will be posted thou) . Now, its just the men... the team alone. Next goes..with team members and family, on a larger scale. Yet to take place.Looking forward to it.
Some hand-assemled/home -made Chrsitmas decor.
Wrapped the greens around an inverted yogurt cup and placed the candle on top.
These candles just wouldn't stay perfectly straight..yet..fine enough.
A makeover for the corner flower pot
Door wreath - Cut a ring out of card board and stitched the greens and decorations atop.
Some edible Christmas art ? Pop onto my cook-ie space Quick Picks for the details.
Had few hand notes to prepare, and getting it done... couldn't help but sway a bit in lines to this oldie goldie tune.
It was "this" that was being played at low voice from my PC at work, going on as in a loop, set to repeat , number of times "n"
I am on..Top of the World lookin' ... down on creation...
And the only explanation I can find...
Is the love that I've found ever since you've been around....
Your love's put me at the TOP OF THE WORLD !!!!
The Carpenters
I hadnt listened to it for quite some time; and indeed felt very refreshing.
Kate and Lynn - they do look similar, in these outfits and ofcourse in size, shape and figure...is it not ?
Alright...this guy gets featured on my space every now and then..Mr. Bennet and his Band...atleast on my page. Love the combinations he comes up with...and this one, particularly is "liked". Loved Shwetaz voice, and love the way she sang this mix..but just seriosuly wished, if they could have had a bit more of the "Top of the World"" bit in.
He politely asked, smiling at us kids, seated in one of the family rooms of the restaurant, for dinner. The four member family that we were.... Father, Mother, Son, Daughter.
Without bothering to look at the menu...my Father knew what to order.
"Yes, please...one CB, one EB, one MB, one VB. Thank you!"
It was during one of those trips , back during childhood vacation times...to Velankanni Church, in Tamil Nadu.
There was always this same hotel that we used to check in. Start the road trip early morning by around 5 am, and we reach there by 6 pm in the evening. So, freshed up, take a walk to the church, the premises and back to the hotel restaurant for dinner.
.......
He was all set with his pen and writing pad to jot down the food order, and listening to my Father's "no joke" kindof tone...he was like....."Excuse me SIR !!!! ??? ....as if stuck with a riddle, to which he had no clue, what the answer was.
Well...we knew..exactly what it meant....and just couldn't help but giggle...watching his jaws also expand, listening to the Abbreviation Expansion...... Oru (one) CHICKEN BIRIYANI, oru EGG BIRIYABI, oru MUTTON BIRIYANI, oru VEG BIRIYANI !!!
Had I been a Stay-at-home-mom (well. I was...for the last 3 years)...today would have been the kind of day that I would definitely NOT be Staying-at-home. Alright, the mornings and evenings are cold, about 3-9 deg C , just like that...but, the afternoons are lovely. A stroll out by our neighbourhood beach, or play-yard pushing one of my younger boys in the pram...do miss those days, at times...ever since I got back to workforce .
(Thats our Boy No.2 on his rounds while he was around 2 yrs old (a 3 yr old click). And that was our very very handy jogging stroller..it stayed all though his days and Boy No.3 as well.)
Anyways..like the old saying goes in our language..malayalam..
"vaidhyan kalpichathum...roghi ichichathum paalu"
(what the patient longed..is what the doctor prescribed..in those lines.)
I had to take a half day off from work today, to be back home before our two younger ones reached back from school and I had about an hour to kill before they were back. So, either I reach back home early and just be there alone by myself... doing some browsing or watching TV..or ...or...or...
I take the other road and go straight to the beachfront for a stroll ! and yes ! thats exactly what I did.
Was not in the best of dressings for a walk, esp in workwear shoes ....yet....It felt good...a silent walk by the beach..eyes just wandering....
The usually, crowded playarea was soo silent, being a weekday afternoon except for few adults who were taking their afternoon walks ....
and, there was this Mom-Son duo
just sat there at the bench watching them play for a while..making sure, they dont notice that i was clicking as well (some paparazi work, i admit..but harmless ;) )
and what i felt cute...was this. More than the kido enjoying the sand..it was the Mom...making a mound out of the mud...then breaking it down as if the architecture doesnt fit and then trying out some other shape.
At times..its fine to let out the child in you..to enjoy the beauty around us, to the fullest.
The kids dinner was done..but the dishes still stayed in the kitchen sink and the night cleaning was pending.
But..did wonder..am I the only person who could stay glued to the TV screen, watching the climax of the movie "The Truman Show" exactly like the audience featured in it.
Dont remember the number of times I have watched it...yeaars back...but 2 days before, had it shown on MBC , and was like..."aah, its ages since i saw it last.."
The Truman Show is a 1998 American satiricalsocial science fiction film directed by Peter Weir and written by Andrew Niccol. with Jim Carrey as Truman Burbank, The film chronicles the life of a man who is initially unaware that he is living in a constructed reality television show, broadcast around the clock to billions of people across the globe.
Truman becomes suspicious of his perceived reality and embarks on a quest to discover the truth about his life.
Ed Harris, as the Creator of Trueman's life....the Trueman Show
wonder...kinda similar ? Two Master minds behind a BIGGG team. Late. Mr. Steve Jobs.
But apparently..there does exist in reality, what is called the "Truman Show Delusion."
Sufferers think they are secretly being filmed and that everyone in their lives are actors; much like the events in film. Psychiatrists coined the term "Truman Show Delusion" back in 2008 and have documented 5 cases of this strange mental disorder, with several other cases making news around the world.
But anyways...after the curious wait...
.....he did turn around.......
the moment that does bring in a smile to your face...
What hurt the most... Was loving you so much, But that not being enough. What hurt the most... Was watching you walk away, And knowing my chance was ruined. What hurt the most... Was having you so close, But not close enough. What hurts the most... Is watching you kiss and talk about another girl. What hurts the most... Is knowing I can never have you, but What hurts more than anything else... Is knowing that I had you.
a borrowed poem, written by Amy Nelligan
************************
Reached office today to see one of our collegue weeping badly at her desk. She wore no make up, wore an Abhaya and looked pale, unlike othes days, when she would be in yellow, or other bright colours.
I kindof guessed what the reason could be...but definitely was not courageous enough to ask her thou. Her husband, was terribly sick, of cancer ..and was at death bed...and the very first day, i remember, she got a call from the hospital letting her know about it..she was broken.
But, what touched me more..was they were divorced long time back...was not in touch...according to her, she was always mis-treated, abused ..yet..yet...
He was her kids Father, and the hidden love, still lingered.
Baby, you're a firework Come on, let your colors burst Make 'em go "Oh, Oh, Oh" You're gonna leave 'em all in awe, awe, awe
(a bit from the FIREWORKS lyrics by KATY PERRY)
St. Raphael's Church, Thykoodam, Kochi, Kerala.
Born to a very pious mother, church services, daily family
prayers, St. Antony’s novena on Tuesdays… were all a never miss for us as kids.
Staying close to our Parish, we were pushed to go (walk) to church not just on
Sundays, but on Saturdays ..and any other holidays as well. And one of the most
memorable “like’s” of those yesterdays was the Church Festivals.
view of our Thykoodam Parish Church Festival Eve celebrations
In googlemaps..its zoom in as : Asia, India, Kerala, Kochi,
Vyttila, Thykoodam – St. Raphel’s Church - one of the biggest parishes of the Archidiocese of Verapoly. This year, Sunday, the 6th of October 2013, was the Feast of the heavenly patron . Wanted to make this post then, but got late.
Had I been home today..it would have been a great time for all the Christians around the area... getting ready for the grand festive mass...celebrations...
the band set playing the latest bolly/molly/tollywood numbers and yes...devotional hymns too.
I reaaallllly missing those days.....wallah !!!!
Saturday, The eve of the Church Feast have the Holy Services in the evening, followed by the procession, and the best part of it all was the Fireworks, to the very end.
Green to the right….red to the left….didn’t know what they were exactly called….so, we named them rockets,parachutes…and umbrellas !!! We would be there...few giggly girlies... right in front of the crowd to watch the colourful sparkles that lit up the sky….the loud booms , bangs…..
The fireworks !!!
Minutes of hyper excitement.
My mother would never stay
back to watch the fireworks and rush back home after the procession, coz most of the times, our uncles would have
come over and so, she had to be there to be serving all the lovely dishes she
had prepared – appam, mutton stew, duck roast, cutlets….my ! I terribly miss
those days. And for me……i was definitely not leaving…or…well..i will put it
like this…either I stay back at church till the entire fireworks show was over and
reach back home very late …or make a dash to my house before the fireworks
began, run up the stairs to my terrace to be there, to watch the sky getting
lit. Either way, it was fine with me..as
long as I saw the colours bursting with a bang out of the darkness...
and it
made the girlie in me very very happy.
I had this lovely family friend of ours…she was atleast 10 years older to me…Jenny chechi (name slightly changed)..and my ! she was one lively fun-loving character. I loved being with her, she had an ever-ready smile and could crack instant wits out of nothing. She had a great sense of humour. And I personally, prefer to be in the company of such people…coz, they radiate their positiveness onto you as well.I could only remember myself to be always laughing whist she was around.
I get to meet her only during the church service. Even though we are in the same neighbourhood, we both moves to opposite sides of the church…so, it was customary that we stay there at the junction where we part ways and be chatting and giggling..at the same time. Be it “Way of the Cross” procession on Good Friday…the Christmas midnight mass…to watching the fireworks and shouting….yeaaahhhh….she was my church company.
I still cherish her deeply.
You are deeply missed…Jenny chechi. !!!
And now…coming to the present, is this new band gone
viral across social media-
Thaikkudam
Bridge.
A group of very young fresh talents taking the place by storm with the beautiful music, mostly the oldies with a new fresh touch.And the best part, it all started for them , packed ina room near the“Thykoodam Bridge” (which is right in front of my home)...where they used to meet and jam !
for the Keralites, this is one of the best from them (acoording to me, that is)
for the Indian audience...this is great !!! .."Haq-Allah.. !"
and on international audience..a fresh rendition of "The Beat it..."
Small world...indeed !!!
And..am I not pleasantly surprised, that i could dig apicture fromm googly of the foot of the Thykoodam Bridge and on the right hand side of this image, you see a 2 floor building in blue and red, and a mango tree just next it ??.
That's my dearest tree..my HOME !!! SWEET HOME !!! BACK HOME !!!
Proud of my homeplace “Thykoodam”..you
are rocking!!!!
(disclaimer - the posts in here under the label head "musings" are not specifically directed to any reader review or comments. It's just that when I feel like writing down something, i just turn up here..on this blogpage of mine, and jot it down. Just dont want to miss out on those which I would like to cherish ... Terribly bad memeory loss, got to admit, so i need to keep things somewhere, for a refresh click...in the long run)
Well.its the same scenario repeating. Bad tough day..... hectic at work..physically tired..mentally low ..... turned bright just out of nowhere.
Chain (bigg one), bracelet, earing, keychain, purse and a certified Papyrus painting !!!! ....all from someone whom I mean absoltely nothing more than an other new staff for whom she clears the HR formalities.
Between two people who could never communicate in spoken language, I could make out neither a single word that she spoke in very rapid conventional Egyptian Arabic, nor did she speak a word of English either.
She is the senior most in the Personal (HR) Department here, and me being a very new staff, had to meet with her quite a number of times to get my formalities done. I had an other collegue come with me as the translator..but...think our faces always knew the language..not the spoken words..but just a smile, and a "Hello, How are you" in english from myself and she greets in her own rapidly spoken words. Give and take.
I met her at the passage to my desk, she was walking in..i was walking out. We just shared a Hai and a smile, and I was about to walk off too tied up with some urgent works, when she becons me to my desk and silently hands over this kit. I couldn't follow what she spoke...but believe, it was in lines of.."I brought these for you, from Egypt ". (the word Egypt. That, i understood).
Felt touched...really touched... you really made my day, Ma'am !!!
Thanks a bunch Lord..you know how to sent angels down in plain clothes, when we definitely need a boost.
The previous posts in the very similar sequence - this , a comment from a co-blogger friend of mine, and this again..a simple phrase, by my little one who was just 3 yr old then.
