lately...

Two days, 2 major power grid failures. What is happening? We seem to be going backwards instead of progressing. Still relying on the monsoon, looking up helplessly at the sky.

Tea, made the proper way!

Bougainvillea on the terrace, while we sat outside for our morning tea during the power grid failure yesterday.

time off

Some time off. Enjoying a little offline time.....relishing being on vacation....not having to do the daily routine.....catching up with family and friends....over lots of cups of tea, coffee and chilled beer.

A tall glass of lassi.....my favorite way to beat the heat.

Savoring the little rain that we've had. Wandering in the garden early in the morning, taking photos while it drizzled.

Noticing the little things...tiny droplets clinging to leaves.

Gathering flowers for the house. Lantana and duranta here.

in a cafe

Taking photos in unexpected places often gets nice results. Even in run of the mill places, like a cafe, in a mall. I love the roof at Festival City here in Dubai, which always gives me the feeling that one is outdoors, something that's just not possible in the miserably hot and humid summer months.

Sitting by the gently falling water, enjoying being among all the plants, even though it was indoors. 

Looking up at the roof. It's like a frosted glass kind of effect, gentle sun-dappled like warming us from the ever-present chill of the ac.

are there trees outside your windows?

Living in an apartment, that too in a high rise, I often find myself dreaming of seeing trees right out side my window, of hearing the rain (ha, what rain!) falling on the leaves and making noise. But what to do, I live in a high rise, that too on the 16th floor, too high to have trees right outside my window, so instead I find inspiration and store them to be used later on. Things like pergolas, window boxes, and maybe even an octagon gazebo! I'd love to have a garden with a bit of mystery in it, as in something that's hidden from view, enticing you to take a step further, around the corner, maybe a nice bench in a secluded corner for some quiet reading. One day!

a photo view

A little photo update of what we've been upto lately! I find that taking photos of the little things of my daily life gives me so much pleasure, especially when the day itself might not have been the best, but by having a nice photo or two of it, what I remember of it changes for the better. It's all a matter of perspective, isn't it!

 

tea for me.....I try to make it a quiet time....to get some peace....but I don't always succeed.

Saw this on a walk nearby....the strap from the support brace had become part of the tree itself!

afternoons at the pool on the 40th floor of our building. It's such a difference to be in the water in the hot and humid weather, and actually feel a little chilly even, since it's so breezy up there.

summer is tv time out here

The programming really picks up out here for shows on tv during the summer. With holidays and all going on, there always are lots of new shows and reruns of old favorites. How much of an impact does tv and it's shows really have on us? In the sense that, do you start reading a book or wearing certain types of clothes just because the character of a show does? That was the whole Friends phenomenon wasn't it, with everyone getting the "Rachel cut"! I did a shorter version of it too back then! But what's the reasoning behind all the crime and hospital shows? Do they end up selling more healthcare carts or something like that? I love watching the less graphic kind of crime and cops shows, like Castle and Midsomer Murders. Can't stand to watch any of the more graphic ones, either crime or hospital dramas.

the romace of playing the guitar

Do you know how to play any musical instrument? I don't, but I wish I did. I did the usual thing in school, playing a few instruments, but not really appreciating or enjoying them. It was just something that I had to do and that was it. Later on I tried my hand at piano but failed. I wonder if I had tried to learn guitar, if I would have failed. Some time back I even found someone offering lessons for guitar, and planned to learn but never got around to it. They had a basic beginner guitar, nothing like a dean razorback v or anything like that, but then that's for someone who already knows how to play, not a novice who is going to mess it up on the first try. I mean, the razorback V is not an electric guitar to be messed with. Designed by Dean Guitars and Dimebag Darrell, this is an aggressive sort of guitar, in looks, at least. It comes in standard, two tone and USA made models and come in quite a variety of colors, from Metallic red, black with green, yellow, silver, or red bevels, basic black and metallic white with black bevels. The Dean Razorback V 255 has 24-frets which is easier to play on the higher notes. So bring out the rockstar in you and start strumming!

a new week

Sunday, and the start of a new week! Since we moved to Dubai almost 5 years back (yes, really, 5 years in August), I've loved our Fri+Sat weekends. I love having the first day of the weekend as the completely free day, where there is no possibility of doing any errands etc, since everything is closed. So every Friday, we can really chill without having to keep even a little bit of the day for "work". Saturdays are usually more hectic since we go out, to eat, to explore, to shop and to have fun. And while Sundays are regular working days, they don't seem to pinch at all, since by then we've had a great weekend and are ready for the week ahead.

Unmade bed=weekend! Pale afternoon light in the bedroom. Leaving the bed unmade on the weekend has been and unspoken rule between the hubby and me, but now that E is getting more aware of things, we're going to have to rethink it!

A little craft/painting/thingy/thing that I did last-last weekend (yes, I'm a bit behind on the photos). I just taped some electrical tape on the bottles in a zig zag pattern and painted the gaps in-between. Simple and quick!

The bottles at night along with my ready-made tray of candles. I find it handy to have a few candles on a tray, easier to dust, easier to move around.

Flatbread recipe that I read about on A Beautiful Mess. You've got to try it out, it's quick and delicious.

ps: my oh my, a weekend catch up of photos and none of E!

a busy week

The past week has been really busy for me. I've been up late most nights working and using E's afternoon nap to work as well. So I've missed out on reading and catching up with all the blogs I love to visit. It's our annual audit time for the hubby's company and I've been going quite mad trying to find and organize all the receipts, bills, invoices and so on.

It's almost done now...at least my part is almost done.....will finish off the last bits today and send all the files, virtual and physical to the auditor. Whew! The lesson to be learned is that I need to stop procrastinating. I've had to do a whole year's work in the past week, just because I didn't do it at the end of each month, like I used to in past years.

I place the blame on E for stealing my time. what to do, but I'm like that.

And there she is out an a walk, holding on to her father's hand. I don't know what this hedge is, but it smells really beautiful.

I bought some small tart tins, I just couldn't resist, and they were even on sale, so I got some rounds and hearts! And once I had them I had to make something with them, so made a little chocolate pudding pie to fill in them. ps: I didn't have the whole thing.....shared it with the hubby! Love is sharing and all that stuff.

Pineapple, yummy, juicy, luscious pineapple in the window one evening. It's really nice to have it peeled and sliced at the store, so all one does is have to eat it!