Cultivate and Inculcate

You know what rocks? yeah granite and slate but also learning new things. And learning to use technology for actually improving your life.

So somebody initiated these cool things called podcasts. And bam! 10 years later, I finally started to listen to those. And audiobooks. Those rock too. Needless to say I am cooking way too often these days. :)
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Speaking of rocks, the other week we (I) finally settled on the stone for kitchen counters. They are grey with black specks on them.
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I have five plants on my office desk now.

Studying again

The neighbourhood park has some very lively tangerine trees. Over the years these have become my favorite. And the kids' too. These trees are always laden with fruit. And I mean ALWAYS. Literally hundreds of them.

But today morning, there was something new. The trees had blossoms. And they smell lovely. While walking past them I thought I caught a whiff of something I faintly recognized but couldn't place. On my way back, I stopped to smell them. (must have looked like a dork - a grown woman smelling trees) And I realized, they smell faintly like jasmine(mogra). Lovely.

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Some homes feel like vacations. At least on pinterest. I wonder if the people living in them are aware of this.

My idea of a vacation comprises the tropics, bougainvillea, big troughs of frangipani floating on water, can furniture and afternoon. Not at all unattainable in a house. Only if we could move to the tropics.

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I am wearing a sort of flowy sweater/jacket thing today. i feel like batman. :)

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Little T gave me a compliment today. He said, "Mommy, I love your petu. Its so soft and squishy". I said thank you. And I was. 

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I realize I should start studying seriously now. They say realization is the first step. Well I am glad to have a start of any kind.

Random

I like listening to music while I cook. Not that I cook so very often, but when I do, it sounds very good :P

My usual favorites are classics of course. But recently, I stumbled upon some old favorites of ours. And so Savage Garden is the flavor of the month. Nostalgia.. The funny thing is, although I havent really heard these songs for more than a decade, but I found (to my delight) that I was able to sing along those songs. ooh I want you, I dont know if I need you.... :)

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Ksh and I have started a self-help group. There are only two people in the group. We stop each other from losing our sh*t at the kids. I must say it is working pretty well. And we have the added delight of having a new common hobby.

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We are also neck deep in getting things finished for the house. I love crawling through the web to find something for the new place. Ksh likes to see the pinterest stuff I show him and somehow thinks I am going to be able to replicate it. :O

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I want to try my hand at woodwork. Like work with really professional tools. I want to become a furniture maker.

Birthday rants

Saw a parrot in flight today. It kind of looked like a swift while flying, a very pretty green swift. magnificent 

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"We are, each of us, a product of the stories we tell ourselves" - Derren Brown, Happy

I came across this book by chance. Bought it on a whim and started it in the middle of another one(The Pilgrimage by Coelho. I need more conviction to finish it though). And I have been so surprised. Its a wonderful read. More wisdom than I could handle at one go. So what happens it that I read a passage, marvel it for a while and then realize that I have to re-read it. And marvel it some more. It is a pleasure.

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I also turn 34 today. Thats a big number. And with age, I am surprised to find myself turning more and more "right-wing" and agreeing with people like Jordan Peterson. I am also scared that the world(at least the first / western world and by the virtue of being blind followers - the educated class of my own humble third world country) is inching towards becoming utterly useless. 

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Another bit of wisdom that I garnered is that I have to be more patient. And by Gods grace, my kids have an incredible ability to teach me patience.