the year that was.

Dear Reader,
first of all, I want to thank you for being with me during the last year. your taking the time and interest to read my words is greatly appreciated, and the feedback, is , of course, highly valued.

now, let me get down to business.
this post is about the last year, it's events and accomplishments, a summary of my good days and bad and awesome times-but most of all, it is about the things i did for the first time ever, that is the whole point, to count the blessings :). while i do not have a daily journal to remind me, i will try and be right about the sequence, though, it shouldn't matter much.


1) this year Started off with my joining my training with an architect's office. A constructive experience of working life. I am no longer afraid of giving interviews or joining a new work force, having a friendly work place as your first always helps.
(wow it's been a year! since i gave my first interview and started this blog. :) here is a little selfish link to that particular post-http://magicaldiva.blogspot.com/2010/12/v-behaviorurldefaultvmlo.html )

2) it's been more than year since i participated in any kind of census or counting or volunteering :( i am not happy about that.

3) I am happy to report some progress in my knowledge of photography, though , of course, there is so much more to learn still, and always will be. I await the adventures to come, and I can not wait to see what the clicks through out 2012 will be like.i hope to be better.
 ( another link to a wonderful artist's interview- see the video, http://hq.deviantart.com/journal/Cathedral-Of-Nature-276674304)
DA is a wonderful community of artists.

4) i went to Mumbai for the first time, and visited new people.
and than i went to see BRYAN ADAMS - LIVE!!it was my first real concert too! it was 3 first times, altogether,which, of course, included all the delights of visiting a huge city for the first time, with your mom. shopping eating and gasping and giggling, you get it.

5) i Flew, for the first time!! and than i flew three more times! :D (went to Mumbai again during the same year)

6) went to the himalayas twice in the same year.

7)travelled with a Karate group and my lil brother, twice. as an official photographer for two national tournaments :P saw some extremely horrid places and so forth. though, had a lot of fun too! it is fun to bond with a huge group of happy, frolicsome young people (yea, i am not THAT old but they were all teens) (this included seeing "Ratzillas" for the first time- and learning a LOT about over extended public travelling and spending time and nights on footpaths and bus stations)

8)Went to my very first classical music concert.heard Flute played live and took autographs.

9)gave a second TV interview-but this one was shown on the TV repeatedly so this one must count at my first tv appearance :D

10)saw a sloth bear from less than a meter.it could sniff my nose if it wanted to.

11) saw a Monal pheasant,Khakhar deer,himalayah Tahrs, Khalij Pheasants and lots of new plants- on my second trip.... now, you must realise , each trip will include their own list of "first times".

12)climbed to the half hight of Everest . reached Tungnath peak. the highest temple in the world. stayed for the first time in a below 0C temperature and loved it.(not when my face froze over though)

13)I know more birds now. dad's been at teaching us on each trip.

14)made a wonderful wonderful new friend.

15)designed a very eco friendly high rise.

16) worked on my first official commercial project, the local temple door, with wood carving and tainted glass.

(forget the time sequence)

17)was asked thrice-for my phone number by guys who i didn't actually know-no co-workers or classmates or friends. that's a first timer alright.

18) sold a photography-print, for the first time! :D

19)made a cocktail dress my self.it is probably going to be my birthday dress for this year.

i also learn a lot of new things,about my self,about my loved people,and this world.  Indeed, i thought it would be easy to list out all the new things one has done in a year, it is not. there are just too many wonderful instances,people.things,books and experiences. it is impossible to be able to note them all down. so.... these are the most exciting events of the last year (and  i must still be forgetting something-s).


alright- this had been written for quite a while now and i had meant to finish and post it before January was out,at the latest, but I kept feeling that there was more potential in this post than just counting of accomplishments, how odiously self centred that is? 

I of course, always ask my self "would I help people if I didn't derive such pleasure from the feeling of having helped?"
may be we are never fully selfless.
or sometimes we are.
yes we are. remember those instances when you let go, not because you wanted to but because that would be good for the other person, and were always wishing you hadn't had to.
yeah something like that.

any how- life is lovely. I have not been lacking inspiration, I've been lacking the will to finish this. I have One regret , I was gardening one morning and a wonderful, and true quote was created in my head, but before I could write it down, it had vanished, I was cooking when I remembered that I had forgotten it.

it is still alluding me "grimace"

the Vacation time had found me thinking, about those moments in life which can not be improved upon, those infinitely long, idyllic days which are full of those terribly sweet small pleasures which make you break out with a small,slow smile. when you simply sigh and are happy.

I walked to granny's, humming and skipping. she was sitting outside, in the sunshine, knitting a sweater. so I sat too and sewed my dress. we were talking of what had been cooked that day and of after life and literature. (my whole family is like that- including me) and while tiny ripples of wonder and excitement were going down my spine as I sew (that would happen if some one was talking about a Ghost writer and a book by that particular ghost on afterlife) two kittens appeared out of no where, and curled up a little away from our feet, the same ones mentioned before in this same blog.
all in all we had a wonderful time.

I met some sheep and than I met my brother and his friend, feeding those tiny puppies of the area stray. such little beings, they chew on your fingers with their harmless little teeth.

those days when you are a child again. those happy days, devoid of confusion or pain or even ambitions. I sometimes wonder if I shall be a very childish old woman someday.

I rather hope so.

girls around my age- that live near by me, think me to be a little not right in the head, as I am always playing with dogs and children or keep my own counsel- as none of them get the idea of talking with trees or even reading old tomes , and seem to disapprove of my rather different dressing and bold colours , though, it is a sore point, I'd love to have a friend living just near by.

and I simply can not get around to gossiping for the life of me.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
my, it's been long since I started this one.
let me just list out the pleasant things in this world.

old black and white songs. I LOVE those. the lyrics, the music, the sounds...both Hindi and English.
 http://youtu.be/9VXFSM2BdGY

I have named the little brown pup of the semi stray "tumtums" and the world seems brighter when I get out site and call it a loud , "tu....mm....tu...mm..s.s...." and he comes tumbling out from where ever he is and starts falling over it's feet on mine, as he seems to think that licking my toes does him some good.

doing experiments with the kids. my brother and his friends did successfully launch a home made rocket.

dancing, of course.

and jumping and skipping and running, of course.

holidays.

little children.

first edition books.(William carries on,1942)

backing bread and making amazing things to eat.

reading. (the Anne series, I love that girl)

trying out new fruits for the first time fills me with excitement.

wise words- like the ones above.

and this,

and that.

and drop dead gorgeous guys like these.

ummm-- upps?
I wonder which of them is going to make the first move. :D

making silly songs.

early mornings.

trees.

friends.

postman.

brown packages.

ribbons and bows.being with my brother.(the list has no order -you know)

Himalayas.

being a kid- always.

dreaming that some day I shall see the whole of the world, that I will be an explorer and do lots and lots of adventures.

two ponytails and writing.




skirts,colours,stones and flowers,shoes and lions,different mushrooms and chesses.


under the Tuscan sun,dogs, cats, polka dots, red silk , hand glows,red lip colour, letters to Juliet, and dreaming about that one man, somewhere.

and fairy infested places, and magic, and wizards.

and some more things. that make me smile. (the ocean, and the colour turquoise -amazing)
do you know why? :)

( I do not own the copy right to any of these images)

and here is an author friend's profile , on good reads, check out her cover images, http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5226644.Sarah_Baethge

I will end this by wishing, that this year will be more amazing,more breathtaking, more filled with love and joy and understanding, silliness and enlightenment, times of bonding and sharing.

I look forward to exploring you 2012. let us begin some new sagas this time, let's make some amazing memories, which will stay with us when we are away from our loved ones, let me love with an open heart, and let me be forgiving and kind. pray for me and I shall pray for you.

be beautiful, Humans,
stay beautiful O' world.

food.(quotidie deliciis delectabile)

mom always says that with the arrival of winter, we all get metamorphosed as goats.
her very words.

not that i mind being a goat,goats are cute,but she doesn't say that because of their cuteness, she says that because of our food. we start eating greens almost in the same proportion as the goats.

so,before i start my yummy story, let me add a few quotes, one of the most wisest quotes ever written in this world.

let's start with a sobering fact-

“There are people in the world so hungry, that God cannot appear to them except in the form of bread.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

and another -

  “After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relatives.”
― Oscar Wilde

 “There is no love sincerer than the love of food.”
― George Bernard Shaw

 

“Do you know what breakfast cereal is made of? It's made of all those little curly wooden shavings you find in pencil sharpeners!”
― Roald Dahl 

  “One cannot think well, love well, sleep well, if one has not dined well.”
― Virginia Woolf

 “Seize the moment. Remember all those women on the 'Titanic' who waved off the dessert cart.”
― Erma Bombeck

 “If more of us valued food and cheer above hoarded gold, it would be a much merrier world.”
― J.R.R. Tolkien

 “How can you govern a country which has 246 varieties of cheese?”
― Charles de Gaulle

but quotes aside, what happens to me on regular basis during winter?

i hear a hawker outside, Fenugreek,spinach,coriander,green garlic,huge white radishes and radish leaves....you get the idea. a whole lot of leafs,and greens- and to not to forget the peas and chickpeas and pigeon peas and the different Vaal beans or Valor beans (i have them growing in our garden:) ) -

and i run outside and buy it, not everyday, but only once a week, 

before this ends, you will figure out why.

valor  beans/surati papadi

i always mean to be nice, to my self and others,but particularly to my self, considering vegetables.i always think,now, i shall be really careful and wouldn't buy too much,...

so i bought these,

one morning- when this tale began- or today :D 

and these,

and than i became all brave and daring, i started plucking and cleaning them,and separating them, and washing them,and drying them.....

so i had started at 10am , and i was still trying desperately to finish it all at 1:30 pm....

but after much toil and lebor, i got the unruly greens under control.

like this,

the only problem being that they now dominated the whole kitchen space,shamelessly.

i had to wrestle them or half of them,in the refrigerator after they dried enough.

the remaining thing will have to be take care of at dinner :D

i can not claim that during all this process, i wasn't dismayed at my self for giving in to a momentary euphoria, a green one,this economical indulgence is very very time consuming, but than - you have to work hard to reap the rewards.

and here is another effort of mine that took me three hours a few days back.

winter is a season for food,fun and family, but it is mostly about food,food and more fun food with your loved ones!

 it is cold, you need to heat it up with added flavour and spice in elaborate dishes, or piping hot simple dishes,they both work, as winter is a wonderful season that makes you more inclined to eat.

mom just came back from her training session, they are being trained by the government in a 4 star hotel, not that i care for stars and such,if the hotel in question is in my town it self, but i do care for the lunch they are being given-  i am talking about her today's meal, a walnut salad,(a Waldorf Salad? may be) with fresh apricots,green apples,peaches and such- i am very much against food that has travel thousands of miles, but have never tasted a fresh apricot! i want a fresh apricot!*pouts*

there is nothing in life, if you haven't eaten and travelled, and if you haven't travelled and eaten,and if you haven't travelled a little more,to eat.
gosh,the way i am going about it,people will start thinking i am on the verge of having a eating disorder! :D
 no. i eat very moderately , couldn't eat more even if i tried, and from the last few years i seem to have developed a sugar and oil sensor, if you were to give me a cookie, i'd be very unlikely to take another after the first, i get this feeling of instant revulsion,particularly to cookies. poor cookies.
they say that happens when you eat a lot of veggies, your natural moderation drive kicks in,and you stop liking the feel of any bad excesses, and you don't really have to be conscious about it either, unless, of course, you are not used to hearing or following what your stomach says, if we always hear what it says, eating good becomes very simple.
out stomach is a very intelligent organ.

we are not going to discuss the goodness of healthy eating though! far from it, we must indulge, and indulge we would.

the explorations with food,this time,started with my backing my first bread, two loafs, one simply salted one and one was garlic bread with oregano and chilly flacks, both brown,whole wheat bread.

we did have some "rising" problem,as the shape was given after it had risen, that's just silly :)

 still, they were alright.

my another way of hiding my over indulgence in buying spinach and other greens is to make pasta in green sauce.

adding a little cheese on top is always nice.

talking of cheese- pizza is the ultimate cheesy delight, as we all know. the above shown pizza is the best i have eaten yet, in my life :) .the place has always been my favourite though, from childhood, and their new (since some last few years) thin crust pizza,(which they insist on calling "paper thins") is amazing,which i tried for the first time last month.they've been winning "the best pizza" award from the last two years.
we ate with relish and delight there,along with a lot of goofing around. here is a preview.

http://youtu.be/PTFRFXxbNCE

with the arrival of winter, the earthen ware pots take over our kitchen.they are marvellous utensils, absolutely bio degradable,easily produced and local, green in every way possible,they make the food more delicious and cook faster with less heat,and retain the heat much longer,and if you wrap it nicely with a kitchen towel,the food inside will stay warm from more than two hours.

I do like those a lot!

after my insane indulgence in greens- i had to sit all day long plucking, and the refrigerator bulged, but some catastrophe was prevented by my resorting to desperate measures. we made Palak Paneer, thus, making a lot of spinach purée. it turned out really well.

just as the kitchen had started to stop panicking, mom went to the regional farmer's market again on Saturday, a mere 2 days after that, and indulged in her own vegetable fantasy.

a heart shaped peanut and my "peeling,shelling,plucking" bruised fingers.

home baked "Handavo" a kind of  bread made Lentil flour and spices-yummy.in our little sand baking cooker.

and the preparation of the special winter casserole started the day after hew extravagant behaviour. that is "Undiu".

home grown

my dish

there is, of course, a lot more to food, i haven;t even touched the surface, i hope you enjoyed reading.

sunshine on my nails

The Final studio Submission is over and done with, i am well rested after 4 consistent nights of having "barely enough sleep to keep me functioning during the waking hours", i had a wonder nap this afternoon, in which i dreamt of music playing, an old silver haired couple kissing and laughing, the universe and orbits of the planets, electromagnetic fields, flowers and barking cats and meowing dogs, rustic - green and mysterious , English country lanes, and lots more that i don't remember now. always a bad idea to keep it inside. "to write about later" , at least i always forget a bit, be it a dream, some thoughts, or a wonderful idea or lines that i consider wonderful, they always escape me.

i also dreamed my self shouting from a green knoll," oh, my beloved land Narnia"
guess who's been reading too much of the stuff? :)

yes, i am uploading my videos from the trip, links =
http://youtu.be/TRM0t92jeZE
http://youtu.be/4vhg3Ti_zqA
http://youtu.be/So6EHHa0x-4

http://youtu.be/GRv1XJ_7BPg
http://youtu.be/uJUzgfCaW64
http://youtu.be/m3NJ99P_-Po
http://youtu.be/aj13omM7jFQ
http://youtu.be/ivdjAWQqLvI

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10150477347116663.427654.672471662&type=1&l=6de4dacb9e- photo link.

i was ecstatic the day i put in my final work of studio, even nature conspire to make me wonder more and more at the beauty of things as i walked back home in the evening, i saw a litter of extremely cute and fur ball puppies, though they wouldn't let me touch them, than i saw a little black cat up in the branches of a small tree, looking lustily at a weaver bird, who, in turn, had been chirping lustily without a care in the world,the whole world seemed to be celebrating with me.

now the little black cat was a treat in it self, i can proudly now say that yes, i have met a magical cat, it had white wisps of eyebrows, a white streak down it's nose , a white wise chin, white paws , a white little belly, and a white belt around the neck too.the way it looked at me was so exciting. i went round and round the tree, trying to get a nice picture of it in my mobile, not at all an easy thing with restricted zoom and working in VGA as it would only zoom in that quality, 5 MP doesn't zoom.
but this is the one i got-

and here is an awesome picture i found online, not taken by me

and after that i saw another pale pink cat, and went and tried to photograph it ,while the ladies sitting in the varandah of a near by house looked on my activities with interest and a critical eye.
well, i talk cat, on my better days!
and thus i don't gossip about humans with humans.


i came home, brimming with joy,  i could go on kissing and hugging all the three available humans,and talked a lot of the mix of cat and baby,(i do do that from time to time)  i felt quite obsessed with kitties. so i searched and found new facts about them, the importance of their whiskers and the use of the idiom "be the cat's whiskers"
neat.
internet is very neat.


so in consideration of my current cat obsession, Vidur made a cat form to delight me out of his handkerchief.

today i had been planning to make a recycled hand bag, and write a letter or two, besides writing this blog, but after an enthusiastic display of joy -by shouting , it's VACATION, it IS vacation to brother, i gave in to my tired and painful , sleep deprived eyes.

thus ended up writing this long in to the night.

ah...

yesterday, while i awaited the professor's pleasure to receive my work in the library, i happened up on a Gaudi Book.
I did, eat up the whole book during the two hours there, literally. i might still not remember all the names-mighty hard to swallow- if you know what i mean- but that doesn't make me like any of it any less.

i also just than realized that i haven't yet talked much of architecture on here, though an architecture student i am.

it is because i wasn't able to determine what to mention here, but i have at last made up my mind, who is my most favourite architect. yes, it is Antoni Gaudi, indeed, i could marry his work!

he has let him self be influenced by the great classic architecture, but he is so surreal,straight out of a fairy tale, i had liked him from the start, that is , from my second semester, but reading this whole book was like a solar lantern hitting my head- you, post modern masters, you surrealism supporters, you minimalism makers, you all come on the second place, Gaudi is the biggest story teller. who wants to say they like the light but stark white walls and neat lines of minimalism when i can get glimpses of fairies and dragons in nooks and crannies of his iron work, and get sunflowers on my chimneys!

this photo won't upload right side up :/

and what beats a gate which reminds you of sweet smelling water lilies?

and a doorway in an enchanted castle?

and iron work strangely like beaks of birds which will either start talking or poke you in the eye!

he seemed to live his dream, and also some how managed to bring the dreams a live and made them tangible, so much so, that even while looking at the photos, you gasp, and your fingers long to touch.

And here i used to think that Le Corbusier and F.L.Wright could be my most favourite.
( no, i never liked Mr Write as a person, he never had a chance)

but there are so many others that i might have considered putting on the first place.
how could i have?

the book

told you i wear sunshine on my nails, you never noticed!

eatable?

mila casa- door. living in a fantasy novel

told you i could marry his work- i could even marry him! if such creativity was to be witnessed from near
no Ghosts are allowed in my bedroom though!

but, what Vidur made me, isn't at all bad :)

isn't he just so very lovable?

any how, got to run, this blog stretched  out to today, and we are to go to Ahmedabad now :)
may be we'll see some nice shoes?

thank you for reading.