Blogging from Singapore

The airport here is so beautiful and huge! Such beautiful orchids everywhere. Also saw several koi in a koi pond. It feels funny...or maybe it is because of almost 20 hours of flying and 8hours of waiting. We are boarding in 2 hours and I am looking forward to landing in India. I can't believe I am almost there......

Flying today After Midnight

Yeah!! The day has finally arrived. Everything is going as planned. Its 6.30 pm (flight is at 1.30am) and the kids are in the tub taking a bath and there are only a few jobs to be done. 1. Put the plants in the front porch so my neighbor's daughter can earn some pocket money by watering them. 2. Change water in the aquarium. 3. Pack. -Just kidding! Actually, I am almost done.

Astral plane or Airplane?

2 Days to go and about 200 things to do. I finished the doll yesterday and mailed it to the organizer today. I am so glad that is done and now I can concentrate on packing and think about my long trip. I am sooo excited!! I don't want to fly...Let me be there without the travel. I have a feeling that travel on an astral plane must be so much faster and effortless than an airplane. Wish I could do it. What do you think?

3 Days to go...

Just 3 more days... Can't wait!

Well, my trip to India is in another 3 days. We finished shopping today and my dear husband is doing all the packing tomorrow. He packs so much better that I do and is so patient with it too.

What else? I finally finished my doll today and I am shipping her to the organizer tomorrow. I will post the pictures when she gets back to me. I did take pictures but since it is a challenge, I should wait until the challenge is over.

India Trip

Going to India....Going to India....Oooh I am sooo excited! I am going to India in 12 days. That is not too far away. That only gives me 12 days to shop and pack. It gives me even shorter time to finish my challenge and send it to the organizer. I have not attached the leg yet and the head needs to be sewed on too. I have a good idea for the dress but I need to do a lot of embroidery and beading. This is the first time I am sending a doll for a challenge.

How should I face this?

I am working with a new material for the doll body for a challenge. The pattern is my own and I must have made about 8 heads before I decided to use this one. I guess, this is it! I AM NOT MAKING ANY MORE, OK? And no, that is not a beard- its just few dots like tattoos which the gypsies wear in India. The body and body parts are all ok (I think) but the head killed me. With some jewelry and lots of black wavy hair it won't look too bad. What do you think?

When is a Tea more than just a T ?

Anytime I see a packet of biscuits (cookies) I remember my childhood and tea which my mom shared with me. Being the younger child had its own advantage- I got to drink tea the same time as my brother (the poor first born!!) . Tea was fun because we could dunk-in the biscuits and eat them by the dozen. I think I did more dunking and less drinking. While we were growing up nobody dunked cookies in milk as they do here.

Tea is just as much fun as an adult and it has taken on a few different flavors of its own. I do use some extra-special chocolate flavored tea which one can find only in Hyderabad (where I grew up) . I also make Indian tea mostly when my friends visit. So we get to chat-n- chai(chai is another name for tea). All that warmth of tea makes for a cozy, warm, and friendly atmosphere. The sweetness of tea and cookies and good company of friends is the best recipe for lovely memories and fun visits, don't you think?

Mother Nature's Art

We had a lovely 3 day weekend in Sequoia National Park where some of the largest trees on the planet live. We spent a couple of hours looking at the giant sequoia trees on General Grant Tree Trail. The first picture is the General Grant tree which is the 3rd largest tree in the world at 29' in diameter at "breast height". The General Grant is also the nation's Christmas tree and it does not even need the little lights and ornaments for it to look beautiful. The second picture is called the Happy Family. We found them to the right of the parking lot. As you can see they are a family of 4 just like us. Two of them are joined at the base because they grow so big that they run out of space between them and eventually fuse together. These are up to 13' in diameter.

The first glimpse of the trees is just awe striking. Its unbelievable how beautiful these trees are. I tried looking at the very top of the trees but I remember that I could see the top of only a couple of them.

I got tears in my eyes when I looked at them- that's how happy they made me. Wonder what the trees think of us! Just imagine their point of view. We may not even be visible to them from their height.

Such magnificence! Such grandeur! Mother Nature is such a strange crafter. On one hand she creates such beauty and on the other hand such devastation! So many people in so much trouble because of floods and storms in New Orleans among other states in the US and in Bombay, India.

My Sexy Voice is Back

I have a bad cold and cough and my voice has been really husky for the past 2 days. I can barely speak and so I try not to talk. That translates to good times for people at home. My kids get away doing everything they are not allowed to when I have my regular voice. I think that a mom's voice (and not just her scale) carries a lot of weight, don't you?

In an odd way, my cough is actually working out well! It sure feels like I am working out every time I cough. So no Curves!! Fun, isn't it? I also noticed yesterday that my dear husband is sporting a very serene calm smile on his lips. I wonder why??