And then I flew

And then I flew

To a land so beautiful

That I was struck numb

My mind healed

My spirits sang

I drank in the sweet air

I swam with the swans

Felt the wind lift my hair

My toes tingled

My fingers tapped

Unknowingly I hummed

Then I closed my eyes

And smiled like the sun

For happiness I shall fight

Why do I feel so old?

The times are passing by fast

Makes me want to go to the past

Because today is scary and cold

Black and white

Where have the colors gone?

Makes me want to cry and moan

But for happiness I shall fight

Frown and smile

That is what I shall do

For I still have you

And so life is worth the while

[ Just an attempt at serious stuff and a change of style ]

My Experiments with Thread

My latest passion is embroidery.Mom introduced me to it and went back to UAE where she works.Then came Mary Corbet to the rescue with her fabulous website.Again courtesy my mother.The site called Mary Corbet's Needle 'n' Thread is amazing and extremely helpful.

And then I experimented.And here it is.

I used full thickness embroidery thread in these because its the first time I'm doing embroidery.I've tried French knots,Stem stitch, Lazy Daisy, Seed stitch, Straight stitch, Back stitch & Chain stitch in these designs.

:) More coming up!

P.S. Tips and criticism are welcome. :)

A lil bit for me

No matter how highly qualified you are,sometimes you wish to achieve some things which are not as sophisticated or as interesting.Some of these may be just handy tips to go through life.Some are for recreational purposes.Some are to achieve a sense of accomplishment.Whatever the reasons may be,I am sure most of us do have some tiny yearning of some sort.

I, like most other people have a list of things I wanted to do or learn but never really got around to it.Some have been attempted and stranded in between.Some never even begun.Some are to make myself more efficient and independent.Some to make me a better person.Some just for the sake of knowing it.And some for fun.

Many are inspired by family which is no surprise as the reason is obvious.

Here are some of the things I would like to do,in no particular order.The purpose of the attempt of writing down such a list is mainly for my own use.So that there'll be clearer picture in my mind and I do not lose my way in between.And also so that I'll atleast fear the following situation -"5 years later,somebody who has read this post asks me how many of these I have successfully managed to achieve and I feebly mumble 'none'."So here goes.

1.Cooking -The fastest route to your man's heart.Or anybody's for that matter.Also for survival.Though it has become a new passion for me since I started cooking on my own.The wonderful displays,flavors and aromas are an inspiration in itself.I hope to become a better cook and try more and more cuisines and dishes soon.

2.Stitching and Embroidery - To have fashion sense is a good quality and to create fashion is even more so.I would like to concentrate on embroidery for now and slowly expand to other areas of fashion eventually.

3.Gardening - Simply because the colors of flowers make me smile and the green of the living plants soothes my soul.Want to start with potted plants in the balcony for now because that itself seems tough sometimes.:)

4.Handywork - Just the basics.Mainly because I hate having to depend on others to get things repaired.And things may get done faster.

5.Photography & Editing - Always loved capturing life and moments in the tiny screen.Making them look more appealing is an appealing thought too and thus the editing.

6.Wear a sari - I know how to wear a sari but not with the amount of neatness and perfection I wish to attain.I feel every Indian ought to know it so that's one for my list.

7.Painting - Again because it great to see one's work hanging on a wall or being worn and appreciated.

8.More contact with family and friends - Maintaining relationships is not an easy task and requires constant effort.I would like to work more towards that.

9.Organization and Execution - So that life goes smoothly and I save time.Does not mean monotony though.

10.Web designing - Only because I'm in awe of it and because I never did learn the finer details.

That's it then.Shall check the list now and then to see if there is any progress on my part.

Hiisssssssssss....goes the SNAKE

Yes I know what you must be thinking...'why is she talking about snakes of all things??' Well simply because I was thinking of a few 'snake' related moments recently and thought of writing on it.

Snakes are one of the most feared and unfortunately one of the commonly encountered species.My land Kerala has its own generous supply of it.They are even worshipped and thus the numerous sarpakavu in the state.Also don't forget the image of the snake charmer from India which is depicted in every foreign movie on India.

There are many who have had their own experiences with the hissing monster.My own grandmother is so scared to even take its name that she calls it mettavan (the other one).My first experiences with the slithering reptile was in medical college during my undergrad days.The number of snakes sighted in our hostel were not too few.I remember the day of our Forensic practical exam.The examiner asked us various questions on snakes and how to identify the various poisonous types etc.After returning back to hostel in the evening we heard someone scream snake and instead of fleeing from the scene we went ahead to identify the type of snake.Sounds crazy?Definitely!

Then during my internship I had several experiences with snake,well their victims to be exact.The people brought following a snake bite were umpteen and all had a different story to tell.Not all of them were serious bites.And even more interesting were the times when the responsible snakes were brought to the casualty to be identified.Once they brought a snake in a plastic bag and yours truly happened to be on duty.When they asked me to look at the snake in the bag,I agreed reluctantly.Gathering courage, I asked them to open the flimsy plastic bag in their hands.When they opened it there was a rustle of the plastic and some movement within and I leapt and went back a few feet.The man burst out laughing seeing the duty doctor terrified and explained that it was his hand beneath the bag that caused the movement.Oh boy!How embarassing.Hehe.

This one I heard from a fellow intern.Along came a snake in a tin this time and the people who brought it were not sure it was dead.Everyone crowded around the tin and were bending over to see the controversial attacker.As soon as the lid came off,BOOM! Off went the lights too.Yes Kerala is also known for its power cuts.Scuttling feet and little screams of terror were heard.However when the generator came on,everyone was relieved to find the snake curled around in the tin with its evil head smashed and motionless.

One late night during my duty,3 young chaps came and one of them had a cloth tied around his leg.Snake bite again.On explaining to them that since the snake was unidentified we had to keep the patient under observation for a day as a precaution in case things went wrong,the 2 bystanders burst out laughing and the victim grinned sheepishly.Never before had I noticed such a behaviour after a possible dangerous snake bite. On enquiring the reason for their peculiar reaction they told me that it was the victims wedding the next morning.Poor fella.I couldn't help grinning too.Well in case you're wondering,they left early next morning against medical advice.Since he did not reappear, I assume the bride did not lose her groom to a snake.

Enough of snakes for a day?I sure had enough.So till the next time,ciao and hissssssssssssssss.................