Knotty Tidbits: 6

Title: Apples

During our visit to the Library Book Sale, we bought a 300-piece jigsaw puzzle. It has a single puzzle piece missing. But it does not matter at all. It is nothing when compared to the immense happiness that one gets while piecing the puzzle together!

V had never done a jigsaw puzzle and when he saw me struggling with the part that has the apples, he helped me. In fact he was the one to correctly place all those pieces in a jiffy. I was so much engrossed in solving it that I sat through wee hours of the dawn completing it. I could not just leave it unsolved, could I? :)

By the way, the theme of the puzzle seems apt for Halloween. Don't you agree with me?

The 15km walk

We both started for the library last Saturday and ended up at a Books-Sale. We selected all our books and reached payment counter at the closing time, just to realize that we had to pay by Cash ONLY and that we did not even have a single penny (or cent as in the US) with us. Reluctantly we left the whole bunch of books at the counter and decided to be back the next day(Sunday)

The library is around 3 miles away from home and we generally walk the distance. However that Saturday we stopped by at a grocery store on our way back home and the pedometer reading showed 7.91km. Around 8kms in a day! Oh my! Our poor legs were aching and even though I wanted to buy all those books the next day, I dreaded the walk. Also, we had to go to a super market to buy stuff. 

I thought we could take a bus to the library book sale. However, on Sunday morning, it did not feel right to take the bus. That's because we did not want to miss out on the beautiful walk and also we had to withdraw cash from the ATM.

We talked and walked and were at the book-sale in no time. It was a clearance sale. So, we could fill up a large grocery bag with books and be charged just $3 for the whole thing! Who would want to miss out on that! Happily, we picked up our favourite books and before we knew we had purchased around 45 paperbacks and seven hard cover.. All for just $6! That was a steal!

Later, we sat out on the lawn near the library and glanced through the books we had bought. Though our backs might have ached on our way back due the load of books and also the stuff that we bought at the supermarket, our faces beamed with happiness.. with the eagerness to get back and settle down with a book! What bliss! :)

BTW, the pedometer reading was 6.8kms on Sunday and that adds to around 15kms during one weekend... Never done that before!!! It's a record! :)

My first one...

This is my first attempt at using a quilt pattern. 

Initially I thought it would be very easy... Just stitching straight lines... But no! I was wrong! It requires a lot of calculation and also we need to be very precise with our measurements. I did this by measuring the length using a 12 inch scale on my vegetable chopping board. I am new to the use of rotary cutter. The cuts do not come that straight! Need more practice, I guess!

So, how do you find the new cover for the padding of our chair? :)

Under the spell of Python!

During my childhood days, I considered Python to the best amongst all the snakes. First of all, it is an Indian snake.. too much of patriotism, is it? And second of all, it is a non-poisonous snake unlike cobra.. that makes it a little less scarier..! ;-) And third of all, even if the python swallows a human being, there is a possibility of slitting the snake open and saving the person...! Of course, there is every possibility that the snake would wind itself around a tree right after it swallows me, but still...! Weird thinking!

Now you must be still wondering who is under the spell of Python... It is well known that a snake can come under the spell of the snake charmer but not vice versa.. Here I have a person, who lives in a trance and eats, breathes and sleeps Python! Not the reptile but the language! My hubby has gone so much into this Python programming language that last night he was blabbering about it in his sleep. "main...", "semicolon...","no curly braces...".. blah.. blah.. blah.. Even when I woke him up to ask him what he wanted to have along with Khichdi, he blabbered "blah blah.. curd..blah.. blah" using his Python syntax!

God knows when he will get out of the trance. Wish I could break the spell, but I am no witch!!! :)

Wondering what this picture has to do with Python. Well, nothing at all! This is a photo taken during the recent Fremont Fair. The spiraling things reminded me of snakes and hence it's a part of this post! :)

Crafts time!

These days I have plenty of time in hand. So started making little little things at home... Mostly things that I wanted to do during my childhood... Like this door knob hanging... :)

A story... Part-2

Hey I am back with the Part-2 of the story...! You can read the part one here :)

Part-2 starts here:

She looked around the house. The candles were leaving shadows of all objects onto the wall. There were huge photos of Carnatic music singers, of M.S. Subbalakshmi and of another violin player whose name she could not recall. The pattern of the window grill was familiar. That was when she realized that one of her grandma's friends stayed in the same apartment complex, probably in the same floor as she was in.

May be she should get out of the house while the old lady was in the bedroom. Then what about her books? They would surely get soaked in the water! She did not want that to happen. Also the pictures in the room captivated her. She was a huge fan of M.S. Subbalakshmi. She was dying to know who was the one to hang her photo in this house. Was there another fan of MS (as M.S. Subbalakshmi was called by her fans) here?

"My son loves Carnatic music." 

The sudden sound of voice behind her shocked her. It was the old lady now wearing a cotton nightie. She better get going! Don't know how old her son is and what else were his hobbies!!! But she had the problem of not knowing how to said Goodbye and leave! She always faced the problem when she was visiting distant relatives or acquaintances. However close friends were easily manageable. She could just get up and say Goodbye and get out of their houses. But with strangers... she never knew how to take leave of them!

"It's so chill!" the old lady exclaimed, "Right time for some coffee. Let me make some for us."

"No Auntie! It's already getting late, I should head back home soon." What if, the old lady adds something to the coffee that would make her doze off or lose her consciousness? No way! She would not allow that to happen. "Could you please give me a polyethene bag for my books?" she asked. Her wet clothes were beginning to make her cold. She had to leave! 

The old lady came out with two mugs of coffee and a huge bag overflowing with polybags. Who could resist a hot coffee on cold rainy evening? But somewhere at the back of her mind, she faintly remembered something about a sleeping pill. Meanwhile her  lips sipped and she felt the hot liquid flow through her throat spreading warmth into her entire body. She looked again at the photo of MS and wondered how the old lady's son would look like. Would he be tall and handsome? Would he be lean or stout? Would he have a moustache or a beard?

"How old is your son?" she ventured to ask the old lady while she searched for the right bag for her books. Was she feeling dizzy? No! It was all her imagination. When would this power be back! Did she realize that she has been in a strangers house for more than an hour!

"Oh! He is doing his BE course. He is generally home by this time. May be he got stuck in the rain. Let him return, I will ask him to drop you home."

She calculated. He must be more than 5 years younger than her. He was not old enough for her to take any love-interest in him!!! But yes! She had found a perfect bag for her. She stuffed it with her books and wished the old lady goodbye and got out of the house.

Once out of the apartment complex, she was recollecting all her feelings and thoughts that went through while she was with the old lady. How quickly we misjudge people! And how easily someone could fool her! She was safely back home and that's what was needed! All's well that ends well! :)

Knotty Tidbits: 5

Title: Aaloo Jeera

The other day when we ate out at an Indian Restaurant, V loved the Aaloo Jeera that he had ordered. That night itself he googled for the recipe and decided to make it the very next day. But he could not, as there were no aaloos (potatoes) at home. He did not forget to get potatoes during his trip to the grocery store. He selected the perfect little potatoes all the while keeping Aaloo Jeera in mind!

Finally yesterday, he donned the apron and got his hands into Aaloo and Jeera to make Aaloo Jeera! It is one of those rare occasions that I get to taste his food. Dint want to miss it! It came out very spicy, yet we both loved it! Hope I get to see more instances of V as Mr. Chef!

My new machine!!!

Whole of June has been a vacation from my blog! :)

A lot to be said about my past month... If I say that there was no time for blogging then I would be lying... If I say that I did not find any moment worthy enough to be blogged then I would be lying too! :) 

All I can say is: I was getting adjusted to the new life... Physically being so far away from my family... but that got compensated by being with this one single soul who has become my life now. How things change... priorities change... to ensure that the special someone is given the best of everything! My life seems to revolve around this one person as though he is the sun and I am the earth doing rounds around him! :)

Since last Friday, my focus has been shifted to one other thing. My new sewing machine!!! This is the first time I am seeing a machine with a digital display to select the stitch. It has 50 stitches. And you know what's the best thing about it?? The way it stitches the buttonholes. Everything in a single-step... All I have to do is to select the stitch and press the foot controller. I simply love it!

V gifted me this machine and I told myself that the first thing that I would stitch out of this machine would be for V. I have stitched him an apron and he seems to like it...!

I do not have many colors of threads for sewing. I am yet to buy them and I also need a good pair of scissors. Got to buy them soon! :)

So, I have got one more topic to blog about and  bore you (as though I haven't bored you enough!! :D) You may see more of my sewing and crafting projects on my blog soon! :)