Flowers of the Rainbow

This morning I grudgingly landed back on Planet Earth after a long weekend that was simply perfect and beautiful; filled with meeting friends, drinking wine, pigging out on amazing food and going on some great day trips - to Garson's Pick-Your-Own to pick cauliflowers, cabbages, runner beans and corn and then to Woburn Safari Park for a picnic.

These last 4 perfect days left left me filled with such a sense of happiness and well being that nothing seemed capable of shaking my inner peace; even when the Sat-Nav refused to start last evening, during our drive back from Woburn, leaving us lost in the middle of nowhere; even when my iPhone battery died midway during the trip, leaving us minus directions from Google map; even when Vj kept taking wrong turns instead of following the instructions I had painstakingly jotted down before my phone battery died; even when I could just not figure out how to use Vj's Blackberry Maps and kept tapping it's screen and realising too late, it wasn't a touch-screen; and even when the boys kept demanding repeated loo stops, I stayed calm and  Zen and didn't yell! (Okay so I almost came close to smashing that infuriating Blackberry but I didn't yell at any human being within a 3 mile radius; and my husband will tell you, that is by itself an achievement that deserves quite a few medals and records!)

Today, after this perfect weekend, while the sense of Zen still continues, I also feel really exhausted. All the running around has left me wanting to crawl into bed with a book and get into hibernation mode. So, for a change, I don't feel like writing much today. 

So what I am going to do is share some pictures; pictures that will leave you, hopefully feeling as happy and Zen as I feel right now! I shot these in the park a few days back, when I was out for a walk and came across these gorgeous wild-flowers growing wild. Ofcourse impatience being one of my key defining characteristics, I didn't wait till the light was right but shot these in the middle of the day when the sun was beating down my head. 

Still the bad light and passable photography doesn't take away from their stunning beauty! So here they are; a riot of colours; poppies, cornflowers, cosmos and a host of summer wild-flowers blooming wild, without reason, without purpose, without an agenda, without care; just there, a beautiful rainbow on the ground; making our lives richer and more beautiful by just their sheer existence…. 

“You belong among the wildflowers

You belong in a boat out at sea

You belong with your love on your arm

You belong somewhere you feel free” 

~ Tom Petty

To see a World in a Grain of Sand...

And a Heaven in a Wildflower,

Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand

And Eternity in an hour" 
~ William Blake

 The flower offered of itself

And eloquently spoke

Of Gods

In language of rainbows

Perfumes

And secret silence…

~ Phillip Pulfrey, from Love, Abstraction and other Speculations

For more pictures in this series, please visit the Rainbows and Cloudbursts page on FaceBook

A trip and a Birthday in Cornwall

This year, I asked the Vs if they wanted a trip on their birthday or a party for their friends; given that last year, we had just moved to London a few days before their b'dy and so we didn't know anyone we could call for a party. I was really thrilled and relieved to find them choose the trip without any hesitation. I'm sure that will change soon, but till then, best to make the most of it! 

So for our trip cum birthday celebration, I chose a week driving through the stunning countryside in Cornwall. And to stay, I booked the Olde House, a very interesting place which had self catering cottages as well as an indoor swimming pool, a sauna, a jacuzzi, an indoor and out door play area for children and some sheep, goats, alpacas, rabbits, geese that the kids could feed.  This turned out to be the wisest decision I made on this trip, because even though the price was quite steep (Diamond jubilee weekend), it offered enough and more to keep the kids occupied during the days of bad weather (out of a 6 day stay, we had 4 days of bad weather!)

But for this post, I didn't want to do a summary of the trip. Instead, I thought, why not do a behind-the-scenes kind of a post where while you see the pictures of the breath-taking Cornish landscape, you also get to know a little bit of the drama that happens on our trips...

Stonehenge

Our first stop was Stonehenge, which is right on the way, when you drive to Cornwall.

I insisted we make a stopover here and buy tickets and get inside to see it up close. 

While I went on raving about the mystery that surrounds this prehistoric monument, I was brought crashing down to Planet Earth with Vj's "These are stones! Don't tell me we paid so much just to see 10 stones standing in the middle of a field"! 

And then the Mother added her two bit with a "These aren't even carved! In our India, they'd have at least made some pretty carvings on the stone before they put them there"!!!!

Oh lord in the Heaven's above! Carvings on the Stonehenge??!!!

Maybe it's time I seriously considered travelling alone!

The beaches of Cornwall

So, if you thought a trip to a beach in England would be all about lying on the sand, soaking in the sun, splashing in the sea, barely having any clothes on, think again!!! It was thankfully a dry day (cloudy but not wet) when we landed on the first beautiful beach in Cornwall. . . . . . . . . only to discover the wind was so chilly, you couldn't take off your jackets and the water was freezing cold; you'd have to be a coldblooded sea creature to venture into the sea. All plans of spending days lazing on the beach were promptly discarded for warmer destinations!

Here is another stunningly beautiful beach, with little rock pools. 

Notice there are hardly people around? 

The day we landed here, there was a gale blowing! My boys stepped out of the car and stepped right back in screaming "Wind blow me away". A few surfers told us it was much better down at the beach which was protected by cliffs from all sides. But again, almost sub zero (okay, not technically sub-zero, but felt like it) temperatures made it almost impossible to linger for more than half an hr! 

At this point, I must stop and applaud the British for being, unarguably the most optimistic people on the planet. What else would you call a bunch of people waiting on a beach, huddled up inside tents, with their jackets and sweatshirts on, waiting for the cold to pass and the sun to come out! Or, for that matter, why else would they insist on calling a series of never ending, grey, rainy days as summer? 

St. Michael's Mount, Penzance

Our trip to St. Michael's Mount was almost as memorable as the stunning views we saw there. St. Michael's is a castle on a hill that can be reached from mainland either by boat or by walking down a causeway that gets flooded at high tide. By the time we reached, it was lunch time and we went into this beautiful heritage restaurant with great food. Everything seemed perfect till V2 decided he didn't like what he was eating. A "you must finish what's on your plate" brought on a crying fit and before we knew it he had vomited all over the table. So while the Dad (as always) ran off with V2 claiming he would clean him up, I was left to clean up the mess in the restaurant. Which I did.

And then since I am immune to vomit now, I decided to finish my meal and walk up the hill (in my vomit stained clothes no less) with V1 while V2 and hubby went back to the mainland to change. After a half hr of climbing up steep steps cut out of a rock, while holding one child in one hand and clicking pictures with my DSLR with the other, we reached the top. The view from there, let me tell you, was worth every second of that climb! But before I could go relax and soak it all in, V1 suddenly decided giants live in castles and we needed to leave before we got eaten up. So we did a real quick, cursory tour of the inside of the castle, shot a few more quick photographs and left even before my breathing went back to normal!

By the time, we came down, the causeway was flooded and so we took the boat back which thrilled V1 immensely. In the meanwhile I had to pretend to be thrilled and not show just how scared I was with all the wobbling and bobbing the tiny boat kept doing! And then we reached the jetty to find V2 and Vj waiting there; the former all mad about having missed the boat ride. So had to take a deep breath, say my prayers and do it all over again! 

Eden Project

We almost didn't make it to the Eden Project. But it rained almost every day and Eden Project was one of the few places that one could visit even during bad weather. And so we went! 

And were pleasantly surprised to find just how amazing it was...

With waterfalls and flowers that smelt like rotting corpses...

And a garden dedicated to Bacchus..

But the best part was a story session that my sons loved - the story of The Ghost with One Black Eye.

The story teller at the EDEN Project

Tintagel

Finally my much awaited trip to Tintagel, the legendary castle of King Athur!

If you didn't realise just how crazy I was, especially when I was left alone with my camera, this should remove all doubts!

Tintagel was supposed to be my high point of the trip. Except it seemed to go all awry from the word "go". 

We reached Tintagel at 5.30p.m, by which time admissions were closed and there was no way I could climb down and then up the cliff to reach the ruins on the island. A kind local pointed out a narrow dusty track that led to an old church on a cliff and asked us to drive there so I could see the ruins of the castle from the cliff. Begged/ blackmailed Vj into doing that. 

And then, while everyone sat and waited in the car, I walked alone for more than a mile in the gale on a narrow cliff path to see the castle!! The wind was so strong, I couldn't walk or see clearly or even hold my camera to shoot a picture! This is how everything actually looked... dark, forbidding and frightening! And I realised, inspite of all that, I was so thrilled to be , I was actually laughing out loud while walking on that cliff path!

Fortune does favour those who seek it, and so the sun came out and I had my first glimpse of the legendary castle!

Sadly all the picture taking and soaking in the history/ mystery of Tintagel was cut short by the arrival of the poor Mother, who worried (unlike the hubby) that I would get blown off, had left the car and followed me there! The whole journey back had to hear a discussion of how insane and stupid I was to have walked along a cliff to see some ruins!!! Still methinks some causes call for one to be insane once in a while! My only regret; I wish I could have seen Merlin's Cave as well!

Finally leaving you with a picture of the beautiful flowers that we saw everywhere, on hillsides, on pavements,  in forests and meadows... If you ever drive through Cornwall, especially in summer, they make for an absolutely unforgettable sight and memory! 

For more pictures of the trip, visit this link.

Olympics 2012 - through the eyes of a child

A few days back a friend wrote to me, asking if I was writing a post about the Olympics. Seemed a logical thing to do given that I live in London and the city was hosting the Olympics this year. Except I didn't really have much to say so I issued an immediate and emphatic 'No'. 

And then, I forgot about all it until very recently when I came across V1 carrying V2 on his back while attempting to jump over a bean bag. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?' I yelled partly in shock, partly out of curiosity.

They looked at me as if the answer would have been obvious to even one with a single digit IQ.
I still didn't get it. 

So V2 who is more considerate about such matters, explained, "Mamma I horse riding man. I do Lim-pics". 

"So why are you sitting on your brother?" I asked. 

V1 sighed. With that "elementary my dear" look of resigned condescension Sherlock Holmes reserves for the more 'simple minded' Watson, he explained, "Me horse. Bhai horse rider. We do same like Lim-pics"

Gotcha! Finally!!! So they were playing out their own version of the Equestrian events we were watching a few days back!!! Very logical of course! No equestrian event was complete without a rider and a horse, even one involving two 3 yr olds!! 

So between watching them do their own equestrian events and perpetually "gymnasting" down the stairs, attempting cartwheels while on a downward descent or leaping up and down chairs, doing their interpretation of the balance beam, I wondered what does a child really understand about the greatest sporting event in the world? 

Both the Vs had been to the Olympics stadium on a school trip and had seen the athletics track but let's face it, what 3yr old understands the significance of what he did on that trip or just how lucky he really was to have experienced what he did! 

Now while my sons are still too little to comprehend what the Olympics are, I had the pleasure of coming across some ABSOLUTELY AMAZING drawings made by the two little boys of my friend Natasha - Thing 1 and Thing 2.

The creativity of these two little talented cartoonists unleashed on paper; the sheer breadth and complexity of the visuals that their brains conjured up when they heard about the various events from their mom, was an absolute treat to see!! And once I saw their drawings, I couldn't think of a better or more appropriate way of doing this post and so I asked Natasha, for these pictures so I could share them with you. Each piece of art is accompanied by a story of how it came into being, narrated by their mom.

Check out that sweet "You have bot a ticket? Oh Yes ro No" bit.
Simply love it!

Isn't the sheer number of sports he has sketched out, just fascinating?

I am absolutely in awe of the imagination that has gone into this one!

And finally, how could our budding cartoonists not have a tribute to the woman who captured all our imaginations - Magnificient Mary Kom!

I cannot think of a more sincere, more touching tribute to Mary Kom!
Also do not miss out the "Help! The pigs are licking me!"

Thank you Natasha for letting me have these wonderful works of art and letting me post these! 

And T1 and T2, I am so bowled over by your creativity and your imagination, as is everyone who has seen these! With an imagination as powerful, as beautiful as yours, you will go really far in this world! And I hope, there will soon come a day I will proudly narrate how I was able to post your fantastic work :-)

Finally will leave you with this hilarious incident -

I was watching the men's diving competition when V1 walked in. Our little man is obsessed with underpants and watching the grown up men in theirs, he stopped in his tracks, forgot to whine for Tom and Jerry and sat down to watch by my side. 

After a while, to make conversation, I asked him, "So, do you think this is fun?"

V1 usually speaks in monosyllables when he watches TV. 

So all I got was a 'Hmmm'

Undeterred, I continued, "Don't you think they are doing an awesome job?"

This time V1 looked at me very intently. 

"Me can do better" he said. "Me wear my Batman underpants. Then me stronger. Me jump higher and faster. Really really fast"!!

I smiled. Unknown to him, by sheer accident my 3yr old had captured the very essence of the games - 

Faster, Higher, Stronger...

Just another manic Monday..

Today was one of those Mondays when nothing goes right…..

First stop, the moment of truth, i.e. the weighing scales. Discovered I have put on a kilo over the weekend. Yep, One @#$%ing kilogram!!! After all the walking, the minimal carbs, the constant denying oneself and the behaving on the whole like a saint; not only have I not lost a milligram, I have actually gained a thousand grams instead!!! Have to stop here to pull my hair out while simultaneously stomp on the scales in anger screaming “How, how, how???”!!! Seems like even the oxygen I breathe gets converted into adipose these days!!

After some deep breathing to calm myself down I indulge in some soul searching and grudgingly recall that teeny tiny bit of mayo  I had with the grilled asparagus at the party on Saturday at my friend’s place. Okay, so it wasn’t really teeny tiny; it was the first mayo I had seen in a year, so I literally pounced on it like it was my last mayo on earth. And yes, there were those few glasses of wine that went with the mayo. And then there was the heavenly vindaloo and the meat pie…  And yesterday when I was giving some chocolate to my boys, I did pop in 2 cubes when I thought no one was looking. And then there was the biryani I made for lunch………..

Oh dang it!! Why can’t a girl eat what she wants over the weekend without having it come back to haunt her  Monday morning???

Even before I could deal with the shock, there was V1 outside my loo door, going on and on in this high pitched voice that combined his standard crying, whining, screaming, all rolled into one. These days anything and everything makes him break into this crying + screaming + whining.
For instance,

“You need to eat your vegetables” = crying + screaming + whining

“I shall not buy you a jeep unless you eat your food without crying” = crying + screaming + whining

“No you cannot snatch your brother’s toys” = crying + screaming + whining

Anything else I say that he dislikes = crying + screaming + whining

And as if the crying + screaming + whining aren’t enough, the second he hears a No from me, he marches off to look for his Daddy so he can complain about how badly I am treating him! Each night I go to bed telling myself I shall be grateful for what I have and I shall always be positive and think happy thoughts; but ten minutes of dealing with his tantrums; and poof! All my positive thoughts become as elusive as the sunny, summer days in grey and cold London!

I sometimes suspect the boys have some sort of arrangement between themselves to test my limits!!! And also to maintain some sort of balance, some equilibrium in our Universe. The minute one starts behaving like an angel, the other switches allegiances and goes off to the darker side.  By the time I have worked out how to deal with their moods, they switch personalities; the angelic one dons the mantle of a problem child and vice versa and off we go on another not-so-merry go round again!

                                                                       

So today, wondering if there would ever come a day when instead of these high and lows we would have a few moments of boredom that comes with plain sailing, I went for my walk. Except today I didn’t even feel like walking. Somehow between the music on my phone and all the inspirational quotes I remembered,  I managed to push myself into doing my customary 3 rounds of the park plus an extra one as my speed was that of a sloth today!

And since, even the walk didn’t seem to release the required endorphins to cheer me up, I decided to hunt out some old pictures I had taken and create a series of posts on flowers (Did I just hear a groan there?).

This one is going to be slightly different (yeah right!!! how different can one flower look from another, my hubby will ask here); it will be on that one hobby that I find really therapeutic - arranging flowers and having fresh blooms around. I had done a post some time back with this very intention and then it slipped my mind. Still better to be late than never and so we kick off the series with some roses. Normally roses aren't my favourite flowers but this really colourful bunch looked stunning. Plus it was a gift from the hubby.
So, without further ado, here are the pictures.

Needless to say, just looking at these gorgeous colours was enough to drive out any visage of  greyness in my mood. And suddenly sitting there, looking at these pictures; my Manic Monday didn't seem so manic after all…

"She was a girl who knew how to be happy even when she was sad. And that's important you know" ~ Marilyn Monroe