small little things to be happy

However busy i am , i can find ways to be happy........ each day a new happiness .....big or small , happiness has no measure and i always believe that when i have decided to think positive and work towards it , nobody can stop me .....the initiative towards the actual working may get postponed , delayed or disturbed ....if it's on my mind , i shall do it ...sooner or later..

Many a times i have discussed it with my friends that if you are engaged in something requiring manual skill....working with your hands in a rhythmic manner , it relieves you of your stress . Think of playing a musical instrument , painting , pottery ,  knitting or any kind of needlecraft , molding something to create a new form....it fills you up with a sense of achievement , a sense of control and above all a sense of happiness.......a very infectious happiness , because when you are happy , you receive more smiles .simply because you spread more smiles...........

I like doing many things , depending on my whims .............and depending on what the day to day routine allows me to do....i went for shopping yesterday and after returning , was obviously exhausted ...had to feed Mithi and to cook for ourselves too...and had to watch the finale of Big Boss too....after preparing Mithi's food n feeding her n doing a few more chores i just looked at an empty carton of darjeeling tea ( which i had kept for making a medicine box to be placed on the dining table......i keep forgetting my medicines and it has to be kept in the most frequented place as a visible reminder ) ...............checked out the threads n needle and a few denim scraps i keep stashing into a bag every time we buy a new jeans and it's length is altered............
i just sat with it for the next hour watching the Big Boss finale.......cutting pieces from the scraps , threading the needle and piercing the hard fabric with my cracked fingers....it hurts in winters you know....:)

I realised the time when Arvind said he is feeling hungry n if i had cooked the dinner ........ i hurried to finish the medicine box and got up to prepare a quick dinner later ..........

The final product was not a very fancy and neat piece but it made me incredibly happy....i had done something like this after years , especially this quick.....i have been in a habit to finish a painting or a craft piece in one sitting ( sometimes it used to be several hours for a sitting ) just acting on a whim ....it worked for me always and it worked this time too.........see how it looks .....i placed a flower pot with my garden's red chrysanthemums in it for the pictures..........

and here it is with my medicines.............

posing with a pot of cactus...the cactus is planted in a coconut shell to fit in this beautiful bamboo basket , i love all handmade things.......

and here it goes to be placed where it was meant to be.....

Since it was done in just one hour , you will see a lack of finesse and i am showing you the seems too........

just in case you want to make it yourself..........

The crochet doily which can be seen in the background , is made by my maid , who was a pretty teenage girl and i taught her the school subjects as well as the crafts i knew ..... she made many woolens for herself and her family at my place and this doily she made for me ...... i discovered this in a forgotten carton where it was stashed to protect some glassware during our last transfer , which was opened to search something we needed ......... i am using this piece on my dining table these days and it is featuring in some of my food photographs too.........

Three reasons to be happy in this post ......plants can make me happy any day !!!

melt and mingle

I have been silent on this space for a long time , it's nothing new as i have been doing it quite regularly...
.....................i post something and then go into silence here......

Just think about a hyperactive mind , it just goes on thinking and blabbering so many things at the same time but it looses touch with it's own heart for a while....consciously . Consciously , because it is the heart which is prone to aches and hurts and wrenches , you know what i mean , the mind can train itself to be straight , to be strong and to be steady ...what do you do with your heart ???

The heart still skips a beat , still longs for something which can't be granted , still cries in solitude , and still hopes for the unachievable .....all this while the mind knows what it has to do and how !!!!

Homealone is where my heart is ....and my heart is not steady....i am trying to focus my mind here but the heart resurrects and directs me the right way .........yes after all the effort , it was my heart which brought me here n not the stupid mind....

There are many people who have been concerned about Mithi's well being and have been asking me about that ( especially those people who are in touch with me through this blog only ) , i owed a blog post for their sake ....thanks a ton to all of you to make me feel connected and cared for .

Mithi has not been well and in the last three months since i posted here , she has lost weight and her general condition has deteriorated some more , her scoliosis has worsened , her limbs more distorted  .... but after hearing all this , you will be happy to hear that her spirit has not been dimmed a little bit ...she started getting her teeth flossed as her momma thought she needs it now ...i thought initially that she may not like it but when i told her that mithi will feel good with fresh n shiny teeth she knew she has to do it , and she gets it done patiently everyday ......... have you seen any 8 year old being so obedient ??

Somebody said that i opened a window to the outside world by deciding to blog about my things , yes , this window has been a beautiful one.....i can see all the greenery outside , the blue sky and the gentle breeze .....i am getting so many positive influences in my life through this window .

My heart wants to thank all those people who have come up with great advices , concerns and most importantly love ( the driving force of mankind ) ....God has been kind to me to send some great people in my life....He is sending some more great people towards me through his window..........Thank you God for this ...

All the people who connect with me here on ' homealone ' are not just encouraging me ( believe me it is not a question of encouragement for me ) .... it is like a feeling of being the same ....all of us are the same at the end of the day......frozen in our own bubbles .....it's only when we extend our hand to touch others, we know that it's the same.........the same feelings and the same emotions...the lesser fortunate people are not aliens....the heart is the same , and you know , however frozen it is , the heart can melt and mingle ......... that powers me ...and you too....