And you turned 4!

Just like that…
I blinked my eyes and you turned 4.
I ruffled your silky long hair and you turned 4.
I kissed the boo-boo on your knees and you turned 4.
I gently touched your scraped knees and you turned 4.
I wiped the tears rolling down your cheeks and you turned 4.
I pressed my nose to your button nose and you turned 4.
I tickled your tummy and you turned 4.
I smiled at your silly antics and you turned 4.
I laughed to your sillier jokes and you turned 4.
I saw you become daddy’s boy and you turned 4.
I picked up pieces of my broken heart and you turned 4.
I blinked back the tears and you turned 4.
I heard you calling me from far and you turned 4.
I saw you running towards me with open arms and you turned 4.
I picked you up in the air and you turned 4.
I swirled around holding you close to my heart and you turned 4.
I danced with you to our special music and you turned 4.
I saw you smile down at me with delight and you turned 4.
I felt you planting a deep kiss on my lips and you turned 4.
I felt the joy of being a mother to such kindred spirit and you turned 4.
Puff… no it’s not a dream… I am not dreaming… You really turned 4!
… Just like that, you turned 4!!!

Dearest Little Dumpling, 

FOUR! My little baby, you are now 4 years old! Wasn’t it just yesterday when you were the gurgling and giggling baby giving me the most beautiful gummy smile? When did that baby turn into this bundle of energy that I am finding difficult to match with?!

As we write a new chapter of our life... In India!

My mind is filled with millions of thoughts and my heart is beating at the pace that is giving me scare! My hands are trembling and I feel bit nauseous. It looks like I am showing every signs of nervous breakdown as I try to calm my loud heart. I am afraid that loud noise of my beating heart will wake my Lil Dumpling lying next to me without any worry in the world. How I wish I could sleep that way without having to worry about anything! Well, it’s been a while since I slept through the night without worrying about the never ending list of things to do...

As I try to calm the voices that shout and scream loudly in my mind, I look around the dimly lit room that was once filled with little bits and pieces of our life. This is a room where we three lay our head in the night on a soft pillow, cuddling and hugging one another, our arms thrown carelessly around each other and our legs tangled under the blanket. I try to visualise the bed, the dresser, cloths in the closets, photo frames scattered around the room, night lights, piles of books and many other pieces of furnishing that once made this room a peaceful sanctuary are now carefully wrapped in a bubble wrap and packed in a brown cardboard boxes. I slowly get up from the makeshift bed on the floor, not to wake my little boy, and tip toe to next room which is as bare as the room I just left. I run down the stairs, very well knowing the sight that will welcome me. I walk from one room to another that were once filled with pieces and mementos of our lives, colours, cushions, books, toys, lovingly hand picked knick-knacks, pots and pans, photos and frames, cry and laughter, tears and joy, light, warmth and every other things that makes a house into a home. It’s all gone! It’s now just an empty shell… But…

Sante, A Small Town Farmer's Market ~ Photo Tour | Part 3 ~ The People

Sante ~ Photo tour of small town farmers' market

I do realise that I have not been regular in this space and the posts have become quite erratic. Believe me when I say that I had a plan of posting one of my most favourite recipe today. But if everything went according to our plans then life wouldn’t half as exciting as it is now!

Sante, A Small Town Farmer's Market ~ Photo Tour | Part 2 ~ Farm Fresh Produce

Sante, a small town farmer's market ~ rows after rows of farm fresh produce

As promised, here is the second part of Sante, a small farmer’s market from my hometown. Here is the link to the Part 1 of this Sante series in case you missed!

Sante, A Small Town Farmer's Market ~ Photo Tour | Part 1 - Herbs, Spices, Sun Dried Fritters and Greens

Puttur Somavara Sante, farmers' market

Today I am going to take you on a virtual tour around my hometown, Puttur. I grew up in this small town in Southern Indian state of Karnataka with a strong sense of community. It was not until three or fours years ago the town saw it's very first small supermarket. Until then the whole community was served by the small shops selling everything from daily groceries, fresh fruits and vegetables and other essential goods. Our town has everything one needs at our door steps from high end electronic goods to retail stores, it still managed to preserve the age old beauty of traditional shops and markets.

Summer Days...With Lil Dumpling!

Because it’s summer and the memories are just waiting to happen.
~ Unknown

So it's 10th day of my year long sabbatical and to tell you frankly, I have never been busier than this before! Few told me that they will expect me to post more recipes as I will have more time on hand to cook, photograph and blog the recipes! I just smiled and looked at my lil one who was sleeping in my arms, the only quiet in our home :) Once he is up, there is no way I get to do things I please ;)

Now after all these days, there is not a moment I can call my own. But I am not complaining! I feel blessed to wake up every morning and not worry about meeting project deadlines at work and other hundred things that revolves around work. I wake up with a smile on my face and look forward to spending many happy hours with Lil Dumpling. We colour, draw, learn our numbers and letters, talk non-stop about bugs, dinosaurs, go for long walks, play hide and seek, laugh more, sing songs, read stories, make our own stories, dance silly, cook together, talk a lot, make bubbles, splash water and create many happy memories! I am eternally thankful to get this chance to relive my childhood through Lil Dumpling.

Goodbye Terrible Twos and Welcome Troublesome Threes! Happy 3rd Birthday to My Darling Lil Dumpling....

My dearest, darling, little menace Lil Dumpling,

You are going to be THREE this Sunday! Let’s get over with the cliché first, “How time flies!” Holy macaroni, when did you turn 3?! Seriously!!! ~sigh~

As you leave behind the year of Terrible Twos and enter the year of Troublesome Threes, your parents can’t help but feel proud for the little feisty fighter they are blessed with! As we see you, our little brave boy, hopping around the room dancing to the music playing in his mind, we feel the love for this little brat gushing from our hearts and threatening to flood our eyes! A wise person once told me that when your heart filled to the brim with love for someone, it is quite natural for it to overflow in the form of pearly tears! That wise person is now in different time zone, thousands of miles away eagerly waiting to cuddle you, her very first grandchild. You, our Lil dumpling, have shown us the true meaning of our hearts beating outside our bodies!

One Sunny Weekend...

Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.

~ Henry James

Spring on Our Doorstep

“What a strange thing!
to be alive
beneath cherry blossoms.”
― Kobayashi Issa

Spring is in full bloom and I had to share few snapshots of the season to celebrate the new beginning… Beautiful weather, vibrant colours and bees and people buzzing alike makes this season rather special…. So here are few photographs of the season from our doorsteps that brought so much joy to my heart!

Winter Wonderland!

The first fall of snow is not only an event, it is a magical event. You go to bed in one kind of a world and wake up in another quite different, and if this is not enchantment then where is it to be found?

~ J. B. Priestley

Delicious Autumn!

Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.

~ George Eliot

Scotland ~ Through My Eyes!

My heart's in the Highlands, my heart is not here,

My heart's in the Highlands, a-chasing the deer;

A-chasing the wild deer, and following the roe,

My heart's in the Highlands, wherever I go.

~ Robert Burns

Ugadi Greetings... From Us to You

As the New Year Dawns
May it Bring Happiness and Prosperity
To You and Your Loved Ones

Happy Ugadi

ಉಗಾದಿಯ ಹಾರ್ದಿಕ ಶುಭಾಶಯಗಳು

Warm Regards
Sia & Krish

Last Minute Click

Yes, another last minute entry for Click-Metal hosted by Jai & Bee of Jugalbandi. This is an antique brass Havan/Yajna Spoon and my priced possession.

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According to Wiki,

"A Havan is a sacred purifying ritual (yajna) in Hinduism that involves a fire ceremony. It is a ritual of sacrifice made to the fire god Agni. After lighting a Havan Kund (sacrificial fire), objects such as fruits, honey, or wooden goods are put into the sacred fire. If there are any spirits that are evil around you or even inside you they get burned off in the sacred fire. It is believed that this sacrifice will bring health, happiness, luck and prosperity."

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Havan/Yajna Spoon

This elegant spoon has exquisitely carved Lord Krishna’s idol on top and two peacocks attached on bottom. As lentils are main part of any Indian food diet I have filled the spoon with mixed lentils. Now without much delay this photo goes to J & B.

Havan/Yajna Spoon for Click-Metal
Click Here to view Enlarged Image

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My Last Click Entries are,

• Click-Liquid Comfort- Disco H2O

Sakura

"Shikishima no
Yamato-gokoro wo
Hito-towaba,
Asahi ni niou
Yamazakura bana."

(If one should ask you concerning the heart of a true Japanese, point to the wild cherry flower glowing in the sun.)

– Norinaga Motoori (1730-1801)

"Could I die under a cherry blossom tree in full bloom on a full-
moon night of spring?"

Back to Childhood Days...

Come on people move
For childhood is calling
time to get up and groove
there is no time for stalling

Enjoy the warm sunny day
and chase all of your blues away
this is a day that is so enthralling
listen, as your childhood is calling

old men sit and are soon recalling
and slowly as their hair is graying
they hear the siren song of youth playing
saying that their childhood is calling

the time is slipping away so quickly,
so run fast and catch the dying sun
for childhood is calling
and your life has just begun
- By Jim Milks

Time Stands Still...

How strange that Nature does not knock, and yet does not intrude!
~Emily Dickinson

Location: Wayand, Kerala, India
Click Here to view enlarged image

How glorious a greeting the sun gives the mountains!
~John Muir

Location: Wayand, Kerala, India
Click Here to view enlarged image

Want Some Tea?

"The first cup moistens my lips and throat.
The second shatters my loneliness.
The third causes the wrongs of life to fade gently from my recollection.
The fourth purifies my soul.
The fifth lifts me to the realms of the unwinking gods."
-Chinese mystic Tang Dynasty


Location: Wayanad, Kerala, India
Click Here to view enlarged image.

A little cup of friendship
With a bag of tea
When you drink this
Think of love from me.
-Unknown Author

Location: Wayanad, Kerala, India
Click Here to view enlarged image.

Disco H2O!!!

Yes......... At last I did manage to Click something before deadline :) This is my first entry for Jai & Bee's Click-a photo event and unlike last few months where I was too busy admiring other entries and had completely forgot to post my Click. So here I am sending 70's theme, ooops...Click-Liquid Comfort...

Disco H2O!!!

Click Here to see enlarged image

P.S: This picture is a result of minor accident at home. These beautiful water drops are shot in natural light and no software is used to get this colour effect :) I will reveal the secret as how I clicked my CLICK very soon ;)

Cooking from Other Blogs and Flower 'n Fruit Photography

I thought it's a high time I posted recipes I tried from other blogs before everyone start thinking I always cook and post my recipes;) These days I have been busy trying and testing recipes from other blogs and trust me I enjoyed it a lot. So here are three dishes I cooked from my blog buddies Asha of Foodie’s Hope and Manjula of Dalitoy. I am also posting “some” pictures I clicked during my India trip.

First is the Onion Pakodas which I made using Asha’s recipe. They were crisp, tasty and everything Asha said. We both enjoyed it a lot. Thank you Ashakka for this recipe. Here is another recipe of Onion Pakoda’s which I have posted earlier in my blog.

Asha's Onion Pakodas

Second dish is also from Asha’s blog. It’s her grandma’s recipe of Beetroot Palya and Grandma's recipe can never go wrong:) Beetroot is our favourite veggie(apart from another dozens of other veggies;). This recipe is a sure keeper for us as we enjoyed it simple rice and yogurt.

Asha's Beetroot Palya

Third recipe of Potato Saung is from Manjula’s blog. Boy!!! If you like tangy and spicy potato curry with very less ingredients and even very little preparation time then I highly recommend this for you. It was so delicious that we cooked it again in a same week. Thank you Manjula for this wonderful recipe.

Manjula's Potato Saung

Today I am posting flowers and fruits and vegetable pictures from my Amma and Atte’s much loved and nurtured garden. You will understand how much they love gardening once you see these snaps.

PS:
My good friend Trupti’s blog ”The Spice Who Loved Me” is nominated for best Indian food blog by IndiBloggies with other five beautiful blogs. My good wishes to Trupti and other bloggers who have been nominated. So friends what are you waiting for? Go and start voting for your favourite blog here at Indibloggies Poll.