The photograph bunting.

I like decorating my house. More of a DIY thing really. You know, origami stuff, handmade lamps, quilted art and stuff like that… you get it right?

The newest thing I did around the house was to get some family photographs printed and clip them on a string like a bunting. I tied this photograph bunting across the living room window. Just below the fabric bunting I had made and hung some time ago. (Show off alert!) Well, this photograph bunting soon became my most favourite spot around the house. Not just mine, I think it became SSM’s favourite spot too.

These photographs were a reminder of various moments when we were at our happiest. The smiles showed. Each of them had a memory stuck to it. A memory that SSM, Ri and I visited every time we looked at them. Memories that made us smile. Memories that made us forget our present distress.

I got onto the habit of staring at them once every day. But with time, I realised that these photographs looked slightly different every time... So slight was the difference that it could well have been a fragment of my imagination. But I did feel that the smiles and the twinkles in the eye were, maybe, just maybe, minutely less on certain days that others.

And then I realised what it was… the photographs, the memories, the us in our happy past, were actually looking back at us, at our present, our todays. Yes. They, I mean us, trapped in those glossy sheets of paper were actually watching us too. Their happy smiles seemed alive on the days we were happy. On other days, when our days were not too good, our smiles in the photographs somewhere did not reach our eyes. They seemed a little faded, I thought.

It did cross my mind to mention this to SSM, but then I thought against it. I don’t know if he noticed it too, but I did see him glance at the photographs from the corner of his eyes, time to time. When we were in the midst of a conversation or when he was playing candy crush on his phone while I sat with a book.

Well, as days passed, I became totally convinced that the photographs were, well, alive. They looked like regular happy photographs to anyone else who saw them, but when you looked at them every day, you would not miss the miniscule changes in the expressions of our impressions on those photographs.

Life had definitely become stressful and we were really looking forward to a holiday we had planned as soon as Ri finishes the session at school. The stress was building up and the photographs were slowly fading.

Finally, the day for the holiday was here. We were happy and excited after a real long time. And weirdly (may be not) the photographs seems less faded today. We locked up and left the home for a week of serene bliss. And we had a wonderful time. We were happy as can be after a long, long time. It was truly a much needed break. We got back home happier and with more joyful memories.

I did not notice the photograph bunting that evening. But the next morning when we sat for our breakfast, I saw that the photographs had all curled. Really. They were curled and bent. They looked very dull too. I pointed it out to SSM who said that they had probably curled up because of the heat in the city. We agreed that we need to get fresh prints and redo the bunting sometime next weekend.

Two days have passed since then. We have been happy, laughing and basking in the thoughts of the wonderful holiday we just had. We have been having a really good time at home enjoying movies and ice creams.

Today morning was quiet. SSM left for office and Ri is busy reading Chamber of Secrets. I sat at the table and glanced at the photograph bunting. The photographs have gone all straight and stiff again. Not just that, they are not dull anymore. They are as good as new. I called SSM to check if he managed to get new prints and missed telling me. He hadn’t. I go stand in front of the bunting. The smiles are all happy and bright. There is a twinkle in our eyes in there.

Did I imagine it or did the me in that photo just wink?

Mothers day!

It was Mothers day on Sunday... It was also the day when the maid decided to go on a week long holiday... So yeah a very happy mothers day to HER. 

Ri was sweet. He made this real cute bookmark for me. 

As much as I loved the gesture I must say that I was a tiny bit disappointed because he said he added the white hair because well... Mama you are growing old and getting white hair anyway... Also because he cut off the white hair from my lovely troll figurine. But we'll... I love the gesture. 

It was a good mothers day with the weather suddenly behaving itself and making it pleasent for all of us. I spent some good time sitting and watching the rain and watching Ri and Rai watch the rain.

Have I told you about Rai. Well she is a nutcase. 

Age: 4 months. 

Breed: Lab Ret.

Favourite playmate: The bucket.

Favourite chew toy: Underwear.

Favourite food: everything edible and non edible. Especially wood and sponge and cushion fillings and slippers...

That is all about Rai. She makes my life complete.

So I quit my job, started an online quilt shop, got a furbaby... My life now feels complete. Almost. I still wait for my farm house and chicken coop. But that is a faaaar away dream. :D

‌But seriously... This moment... This very moment seems perfect. (Except the maid on leave.) We shall see what tomorrow brings.

‌I will get back to my sewing machine now.

Erm...!

So I am singing the Bimbo song and Ri is listening to me. For those you who do not know the Bimbo song , here is a bit of it: 

Bimbo, is a little boy
Who's got a million friends
And every time he passes by
They all invite him in
He'll clap his hands
And sing and dance
And talk his baby talk
With a hole in his pants
And his knees stick out
He's just big enough to walk

Bimbo, Bimbo
Where you going to go e oh
Bimbo, Bimbo
What you going to do e oh
Bimbo, Bimbo
Does your mommy know
That your going down the road
To see a little girly oh!

It is a lovely song. You can click on the hyperlink and listen to it too.

So I am singing the song and suddenly Ri stops me.

Ri: So, ma... This boy, Bimbo, he really like girls doesn't he?

Me: Yep he does

Ri: And he does not tell his mother that he is going to meet this girls.

Me: Uh huh...

Ri: So, ma... That is not really a great thing because he should tell his mother where he is going.

Me: That is right...

Ri: So, it is wrong behaviour.

Me: (Not sure where this is going) Yes. He should have told his mother.

Ri: Hmm... And still he has a million friends!

And yet again I am stunned!

Just another regular day.

Ri is sitting on the bed reading about planets in his planet book. SSM is sitting on the floor beside the bed reading some book.

I walk in to the room with my phone in my hand. My phone is playing the chicken kuk du ku song.

I start dancing to it. (Because we all do silly dance at home, right?)

Ri and SSM both look up from whatever they are reading. They both stare at me for a moment.

And then Ri says, "Mama, stop! I really do not like your moves!" and they both get back to reading.

How to become rich!

Ri: Ma, I have a plan!

Me: About what, Ri?

Ri: Ma, I have a super plan to make me rich!

Me: Really? I could do with that too! Tell me?

Ri: So mama, next time my tooth falls, I will plant it.

Me: Okay. How is that going to make you rich?

Ri: Maaaa (Eye roll!) It will grow into a teeth tree.

Me: And then?

Ri: I will pluck out a tooth from the tree every day and keep it under my pillow. Every day I get money from the tooth fairy. Forever.

Me: 😲!!!

It's Enough!

Two posts in a row with pictures of shoes... shows what I am going through!

IT. IS. ENOUGH.

I have procrastinated enough. I have thought enough. I have worried enough. It is time to to just leave aside all inhibitions and go ahead.

I have stressed enough. And then spent hours reading up on stress management self help write-ups. And stressed more and ended up with migraines more often than I would have liked.

And now, I have decided that it is enough. I am not going to go around seeking clarity anymore. I am just going to get clarity myself. Because now I know where it is. Clarity. Somewhere within myself. Sitting quietly in some tiny corner of my mind.

I have spent hours worrying. worrying about things that I have no control on. Worrying about things, that might not happen ever. I have been quite a freak. And now I am not gonna do that. nah. Because, the current love of my life, Eddie Redmayne, as Newt Scamander, said that worrying only makes you suffer twice.

I have been negative. I have absorbed the negativity of others, I have spread negativity. I have cried, I have yelled, I have brooded... But not anymore. I am done with that. I cannot control the negativity around me. But I can get away from it. I can control my own negativity. I know I can.

And I shall come back here and update once I have done that. All of that.

Till then... Bye! Bye!

Who loves Nutella?

The crazy munchkin.

This morning at the breakfast table, Ri was licking a spoonful of Nutella after having his pancakes.

Me: Hey, Ri, do you know who else loves Nutella the way you do.

Ri: Yup, Nehru.

SSM and I both stared at each other.

Me, again: Erm. Who?

Ri: (with all his focus on the spoon) Nehru, Ma

Now this was getting really weird. So both SSM and I stopped eating stared at him for a moment. This needed further investigation.

Me: Hey, who exactly is Nehru?

Ri:(with a big sigh) Ma, Nehru, that guy in Sholay

And this was a new level of crazy even for me.

Me: What? Sholay? What was Nehru doing in Sholay"

Ri: He was Amitabh Bachchan.

And that is when it struck me. Because weird strikes the weird.

Me: Do you mean Veeru, Ri?

Ri: Ah yes, right, Veeru"

And then SSM and I had a difficult time controlling our ROFL.

SSM: But Amitabh bachhan was Jai, His friend was Veeru.

Ri: Oh. Okay.

Me: And how do you know that Veeru likes Nutella?"

Ri: Uh, Amitabh Bachhan like Nutella.

Well, really, there was no way I was going to ask for any more explanation to that.

So well, we shall just conclude that Amitabh Bachhan loves Nutella. And, maybe, Nehru loved it too. We shall never know. :|

Sigh! The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree, right? Crazy runs in the family!

Best Holiday Ever!

Five countries in ten days! Sounds crazy, right! Well that is what we did! AND IT TURNED OUT TO BE THE BEST HOLIDAY EVER!

It all started on an evening after a frustrating day at work. This was last month. Both SSM and I groaned and cribbed and kept saying that we need a break. So we started planning a holiday. To Gangtok, and then Himalayas, and then I don't know how but we started talking of Norway. And we decided that we had to go to Norway. A week later we were at the Visa office.

We had made up an itinerary after reading exactly three travelling blogs, to be submitted at the Visa office. We had no idea how we were planning this. Rather, we were not planning it at all. And then by the time the Visa came in we realised that we had two week before we traveled, we had no tickets, and we had no plan.

And so while we were not really for it, we started rummaging packaged tours and decided on one finally.

And it wasn't bad. Hectic? Yes. Satisfying? Hell, yes!

We visited Helsinki, Tallinn, Stockholm, Oslo, Bergen and Copenhagen. And we had a BLAST!

We got the best weather. We got snow and rain and sun and quilt shops! And we got to see what heaven looks like. And I won't write anymore. The pictures will say it all. <3 p="">

Sculpture at Oslo

Flowers everywhere

What dreams are made of! Norway

The houses and Fjords, Norway

Heaven in Norway

The houses in Bergen

I wish I lived in this. Bergen

Houses in Bergen

The Cherry Tree

Happiness

Paradise in Oslo

More flowers

The Cathedral in Helsinki

This seagull who loved the camera. Tallinn

An haunted castle at Tallinn. (Because almost everything here is haunted)

Paradise!

Owls can only mean one thing

SSM and I standing at the window.

SSM: Did you see those?

Me: What? Those birds?

SSM: Yeah, those white birds... You know what they were?

Me: Owls, I think.

SSM: Hmm. White owls. You know what the means, right?

Me: Yep. Some kid has turned 11 today...

SSM silent.

Published Again!

There was a time when I used to dream about being published. And then Writersmelon happened. They came up with a contest of short stories; I sent in my entry; and I got published. And it seemed wonderful.

And then they cam back with another contest. This time I sent in a last minute entry, without any hope. (Okay some hope, because I had really liked the story I submitted.) (Yeah okay, eye-roll as much as you like. I do enjoy my writing. Hmph!) So, well, this one got selected too and that is how... here I present... JUKEBOX  paparaparaaaaa!

Isn't it a lovely cover?!

Jukebox has a collection of some wonderful stories. Stories that will make you laugh, and cry, and scared, and feel silly, and whole lot of other emotions. It has stories written by some of the best writers I know of. And I know that because all of them write with passion and not with the aim of their writing being included a school textbook.

All the wonderful authors

So now I want you wonderful people to CLICK HERE. and go buy a copy of Jukebox. Buy it for yourself, buy it for gifting, or buy it because you like to buy books as home decor. JUST GO BUY IT!

And enjoy my story. And others too. But mainly mine. And let me know how you like it. :)

How cool is that!

Why I wasn't blogging.

The image was googled

I know. I haven’t been blogging much. And that is because… okay, so it is a weird sort of a thing that happened. Let me tell you about it in detail.

I was walking around the block one evening when I came across a small diversion that I hadn’t noticed earlier. Curious, I took to the lane and it reached a wall. So a blind lane it was. I turned around to get back to my usual path but it wasn’t there. No. Seriously. It just wasn’t there. I just hit a wall again.

Well, obviously, I panicked. I started shouting for help. HELP! But my voice just echoed in the blocked lane. I frantically started looking around for something. Something. I do not know what. Anything, like stones or waste coke cans that I could throw over the wall and get help, or some explosives that could bring the wall down, or a packet of chips because I was hungry. Well anything could have helped, but there was nothing.

I sat down exasperated. I wished I had carried my mobile phone so that I could call someone, or play ‘two dot’ (My current favourite game) but iguess i just had to wait. After what seemed like hours, I finally heard a slight swishing sound. I couldn’t figure out what it was. I could only hope it wasn’t cockroaches. Katasaridaphobia. Any other creature would have been fine. Luckily, it was another creature.

I realised that the swishing wasn’t coming in from ‘my’ lane. Nope. It was somewhere far away, up in the sky. Initially, I noticed a tiny speck. But as it flew closer, I was sure, it was IT. It. Was. A. Hippogriff. Seriously! No kidding.

It landed in ‘my’ lane and before I could understand I was tossed up in the air and I landed with a thud on its back. I clung on for dear life as it flew away with me.

The flight on the hippogriff was AMAZING. It’s one experience that will stay with me forever. Anyway, we flew over oceans and mountains and lands unheard of. (Mainly because I suck at geography. I am sure, you smart guys, would have heard of them.) And we finally reached what seemed to be a castle.

And I was excited because I thought I would be expected to slay dragons and save the handsome prince, but no, that happened only in fairy tales, apparently.

So I was dropped off, literally, at the gates of the castle and then escorted by men in helmets, not bike helmets, stupid, but the Viking kind of helmets. They took me to the guy, who I guessed was the king because they all bowed down to him. I bowed down too because that seemed appropriate.

He then said in a loud booming voice, “Me, the great Gaster Nomos, the lord of the Culinary, have heard from the messengers far and wide, that you, lady, can bake the best caramel, bread pudding ever created. I. NEED. TO. TASTE. IT.”

And that was it! I was guided to the kitchen that was as large as the Kolkata maidan and I had to start baking the pudding. It was ceremonious as music played and people danced around while I was baking it. I then plated it in a gold plate to serve it to Mr. Nomos. I stood there, tensed, hungry butterflies fluttering in my stomach, as I saw him scoop a bite and place it in his mouth. The music stopped, everyone around was quiet. Even the pins refused to drop, lest they might be heard. My heart stopped beating as he closed his eyes, tasted the pudding and then swallowed it down. He then opened his eyes and laughed. A loud wealthy laugh it was. And with him everyone present started laughing too. He called me over and held me warmly in his arms. The music started… the people danced… there was happiness everywhere.

The next day was spent teaching the chefs the recipe. And the next few day I had a holiday of a lifetime in the most beautiful land ever. I was then flown back on the hippogriff. It was kind to me during our return flight. And well, here I am. Blogging again.

And yeah, I wish all of that was true and laziness was not the only reason for me not blogging. But laziness is what it was. And the damn laziness was so bad that I did not even write a birthday post yesterday. I would kick myself in the butt if I was fit enough to do so.

So well, belated birthday wishes to me. This year will see more fun posts here on my blog. Promise.

Also one thing in the story up there was true. I do make the best caramel, bread pudding in the world. :D

See you soon.

The unforgivable curse

Source: 

typographyserved.com

He walked out of the famous tea shop in Dakshinapan holding the packet of his wife's favourite tea. He thought he saw someone familiar as he walked out. He stopped and turned around. Yes, it was K. He enjoyed K's acquaintance. He liked K. K hadn't noticed him yet, but he knew K would be happy to see him. He smiled and stepped forward to call out to K. But then, then he stopped. He paused, he frowned, and then he turned and walked away.

And somewhere far away, in a city that was taken over by dementors, a dark wizard smiled. His Imperius curse had worked. He could control the lives of his followers. He could break them, he could mould their minds, he could keep them away from the ones whom they liked.

Aabol Taabol

Ri: I think their names should be Tinky Winky
Me: Hmmm... How about Twiddledee Twiddledum?
SSM: Maybe Goldi and Locks?
Ri and Me: Baaaaabaaaaaa!
Ri: I think Nemo and Dory
Me: Hey guys, how about Aabol and Taabol
SSM: I like that. Aabol Taabol is good
Ri: Yup, I like it too. Aabol Taabol.

And Aabol Taabol it is. :)

Don't give up on fishes! They are super!

Vanyllope! The day he came home. Isn't he gorgeous!? 

Last year after we lost Nick, we got a new fish. We got Vanyllope (Named after Ri’s favourite character from Wreck-it-Ralph) on 5^th of December last year. Ri wanted a fish that looked exactly like Nick and Vany did look like him, except for the lovely blue shine that he (yes, Vanyllope is a boy fish) had all over him.

Vany has been a pretty happy fish, blowing bubbles, swimming away. And very soon he won my heart they way Nick had.

Last weekend I noticed him lying at the bottom of his jar. I tapped on the jar; no movement. I moved the jar, no movement again. I noticed that he hadn’t eaten his food either. I thought he died and I was really, really upset. But then I saw him feebly move his fins and swim a bit.

Vany looked different. He had lost all of that beautiful blue shine. He seemed all bloated and his eyes were bulging out.

Have you seen a fish so sad!?

SSM said he wouldn’t live anymore.

Unfortunately we do not have fish doctors around here.

I googled up the symptoms and most of them said that it could either be an infection or the fish was constipated. Well, I couldn’t just sit there and watch Vany die, so I did the sanest thing I could think of. I know, I know, sane and me do not go well together, anyway.

So the first thing was to change the infected water. Then I picked up Vany in a ladle (Poor thing so so unwell that he wasn’t even trying to struggle out of the spoon. I then took some gripe water in a dropper and fed a couple of drops to him. (Non-alcoholic gripe water)

I place him back in the jar with the fresh water and then I added a tiny bit of the powder from a Becosules capsule into the water. Because, well, B-complex = energy. And that is what Vany needed.

That was it. I had tried. Now it was just about waiting and watching. I kept checking on him every few minutes. Nothing. He seemed the same. Ri seemed worried too. He kept saying, that Vany is old and is going to die. He also wrote an entry in his diary about Vany.

Ri's diary entry - 'Vany is not well. She is a grandma now. Vany is old. We had given her gripe water and we had changed the water.' There is a picture of Vany lying on a bed there.

Next morning, first thing, I rushed to check on Vany. He was still down but seemed a little less bloated. Also the water was all hazy. I woke SSM and shouted, “OH MY GOD! Look what’s happening! Vany has been majorly farting hazy stuff!

SSM woke up with a start and screamed back, “WTF! Are you out of your mind”

Well, obviously Vany farting hazy gas was not a big deal for the man.

Anyway, I changed the hazy water again and gave Vany some fresh water. He refused to eat again today. But a few hours later I noticed that he was slowly swimming about a bit and sitting on the V of the plant in the jar to rest before going back to the bottom.

By the day end the bloating had come down.

Started moving about a bit

Next Day Vany was not bloated anymore but the colour was not back yet. No food again

The day after, Vany did eat a bit.

A day later, the shine did come back a bit.

Vany was fine.

He has been fine since the last two day. Eating his food fine. Not yet as active as he used to be. He does not flare his fins either when I show him a finger. Not show him a finger the way you show you finger to idiots. You do not do that to fishes. I mean, when I point a finger to him.

So he does not flare his fins when I do that anymore, yet, but that could just be because he realises now that I am his mommy.  

This post is not about tomatoes and bugs!

A tomato truck - amazing things from a holiday

We had a wonderful holiday last year, to Coorg. I just totally missed writing about it here till today. Because I have a bad memory and because I have been having a tough time writing. Also I have got lazier.

But I came across the photographs of the trip today and I remembered that I had meant to write about it. So here we are.

Coorg was great in a lot of ways - Our first family holiday to the southern part of the country, SSM’s first long drive to the hilly terrain… Oh and the crazy, spicy pork. Crazy because it was spicy to the extent that it could kill. Not crazy otherwise. More of a murderer. Crazy murderer.

But, two things in the trip really made the trip worth it’s worth. (Something totally crazy about that sentence too) So, I will talk of those two things specifically here.

We were taking a walk around the resort. It was huge. It was luscious. It was beautiful. It was doing to us what nature’s grandeur always does – mesmerising, rather more than that. We were enjoying the various shades of green and that is when we chanced upon this –

Snake eating snake - Awesomest thing ever!

This awesome snake was eating another snake. I mean, WOW! I think it is the most awesome thing I had ever seen. It was just brilliant to sit there and watch the snake gobble up another. I know that happens, but to see it happening is a sight that will be fondly etched to my mind forever. Ri loved watching it too. Only SSM seemed a little queasy seeing it. He is not particularly fond of snakes. So seeing a snake being eating should have made him happy. But then, he is a little weird.

I wanted to go searching for more snake eating snakes but SSM was already freaked out by the earlier snake and he dragged us to the room - which got us to this distracting sight –

The bed snake :|

Why? Why? Why? Seriously why would anyone do that towel art on our bed? What were they suggesting? So why did they have that, that towel sculpture of the tool on the bed. SSM and I stared at each other for a moment. Ri jumped on the bed and started showering the flowers all over.

Me: (in a hushed voice) I think we are giving out incorrect vibes to the resort people.

SSM: (in a hushed voice) I think you are incorrect and it is not what you think it is.

Me: (in a hushed voice) I think you are blind. It is so obvious.

SSM: (in a hushed voice) Let's just take the hint then.

Really… That was just too much snake for a day. Phew! :D

And one of my best holidays!

An extra picture of a bug because I love you guys for reading this crap.

And I need a holiday soon...!

I am not promoting Paperboat, but I love them.

Me: Hey we forgot to taste the Paperboat guava drink. Let’s try it now.

SSM: Okay

We sip it

SSM: hmmm a bit like paaka pyara (ripe guava) na, with mirchi!?

Me: It is not. It is like kacha pakka peru (Not so raw not so ripe guava) with mirchi.

SSM: It is OKAY!

Me: It is OKAY with the first sip. Gets better as you keep sipping it. Try.

SSM: Yeah, you are right. It is good.

Me: Reminds me of the pink peru we used to it when we were kids. I don’t think they grow them anymore. Sigh.

SSM: (sipping) hmmm.

Me: Hey, check this out… you can actually suck it in while keeping your head straight. You don’t have to roll your head back to take a gulp. This is so cool!

SSM: How does that matter?

Me: Of course it matters. This is like the whole things is a huge straw. It is like magic.

SSM: Sigh, it is science.

Me: Oh, Shut up. This is the awesomest thing ever. (awesomest should be a word) I mean you could be reading a book and drinking this. But you don’t have to shift your glance away to take a sip. You can just read and suck at the same time. You don’t even have to pour it in a glass and use a straw anymore.

SSM: When do you ever use a glass and a straw to drink something while reading!?

Me: I don’t, but I could. And now I don’t have to. I have to tell the Paperboat guys about my wonderful realisation about their bottles. They should totally send me free drinks for bringing out this super USP for their product.

SSM: They do that anyway, weirdo!

Me: That’s true too. Yeah. But I love the Paperboat guys. 

***

In the meanwhile, check this awesome little short film that they have come out with. :)

A normal conversation and a lesson about rules.

SSM: So, how was the flight?

Me: Oh, good. Finished reading an awesome book. I'll tell you about it.

SSM: Alright. And did you eat something good on the flight.

Me: Well, thanks to you, I had to have upma and masala tea.

SSM: Thanks to me? What do you mean, thanks to me?

Me: I asked you to web check me in on seat no 6A!

SSM: So? It wasn't available! What has that got to do anything with you eating upma.

Me: If I was on 6A I would have eaten the grilled chicken with rosemary and caramelised onion sandwich, and a manchow soup.

SSM: So that got over by the time the tray reached you?

Me: No, they still had it!

SSM: So??? Okay, I know where this is going. This is not gonna make any sense. I know it. But tell me anyway.

Me: As a rule I only have the grilled chicken with rosemary and caramelised onion sandwich, and the manchow soup when I am on 6A. Any other seat and I will eat upma and drink masala chai.

SSM: ????

Me: It is a rule. My rule. I live by that rule.

SSM: So even if you feel like not eating upma, you still will?

Me: Yes! That is what rules are for. You follow them.

SSM: Nonsense!

Me: No wonder you are so undisciplined.

SSM: I am sorry we even had this conversation. Lets stop talking for a while.

Me: Okay. But next time remember... 6A.

DIPSEWMANIAC

https://dipsewmaniac.wordpress.com/

Okay. I have been meaning to do this for long now. What with all the sewing and quilting and crafting that goes around in my life, I needed a separate place to store it all. Nope, Facebook was not the place.

  

And here it is. DIPSEWMANIAC – My world of sewing, quilting and crafting.

I will be updating the blog regularly. All about the weekend crafting that I do with Ri. About the sewing and quilting projects, WIPs and completed ones. I will try to include more DIYs and tutorials too. It will be more of a picture based blog, obviously.

Don’t worry, I will continue to update this blog too, with all the other stories about Ri, SSM and the house/kitchen ghost. J

So be nice, click on the link, go to DIPSEWMANIAC and browse through it.

You can also be wonderful and 'like' the posts, 'Pin' the pictures, drop in comments and share it away. Because every time you do any of those actions, you will be visited by unicorns, who will sprinkle some moon dust into your life to make it more magical.

See you again soon. Here and there.

If you see me without nails, get hold of SSM

I will just post screenshots of a conversation here. That should be enough for you to know the kind of torture I go through.

And he refused to reply after this. He did not even react after he got home that evening.

He looked sad. I would like to think that he was upset about getting me a torture liquid. Or, maybe, he was sad that I figured out that it was a torture liquid.

Either way. I am alive because I did not use it. Ha! (Except that my toe nails are chipped orange)

Some days are happy and some days are not...

 

That is how I want to remember him always-blowing happy bubbles.

Nick died. 

I reached home on Friday and saw him lying peacefully at the bottom of his jar. He had been with us for almost nine months and, while many would say that he was just a fish, I couldn’t help but cry. I will miss him. He was a good fish, a good friend. I did not want to flush him off but wanted a proper burial for him.

The next morning was spent explaining death to Ri. And when he finally did and realised that Nick will not come back, even if we show him to a doctor like he suggested, he burst into tears saying he loved Nick and he wants him back. I was happy that the kid has his heart in place.

I wrapped Nick in a newspaper and asked SSM to go am bury him. (It is nice of SSM to oblige in spite of not really wanting to) Both Ri and I bid goodbye to him and prayed for him to be happy in fishy heaven. We watched from the veranda as SSM buried him. I shouted out to SSM to put some flowers there. He looked up and did a major eye roll (He was on an eye roll spree that day. I will come to more eye roll bit later) but he is a nice man so he did offer some flowers.

I told Ri that tonight when we all sleep, Nick will become a star and be happy up in the sky. We were fine then.

We decided to spend rest of the day crafting. So I made a kandil (lantern), SSM made a phanush (sky lantern) and Ri helped us with it. He also made a sort of a cardboard man. Cute.

And I did some sewing.

So I made this.

Tell me it looks lovely.

SSM: What is it?

Me: It is a book quilt? Isn’t it nice?

SSM: Erm, yes. Nice. But what exactly is it again?

Me: Sigh! Winters are coming, the books feel cold. They need a quilt too.

SSM: *Eye roll* (See, second time in the day) You got to be kidding me, right?

A warm and happy book

Me: No, I am serious. See, doesn’t the book look warm and cosy?

SSM: *Deep breath* Will you ever stop being crazy?

Me: What? This is an awesome creation, okay? And beside keeping the book warm, it has many other advantages.

SSM: Like?

Me: Like when I want to hide from people the book that I am reading.

SSM: Okaaaay. And why would you want to do that?

Me: Because people might want to steal it

SSM: *raised eyebrows* Yes?

Me: Or because I might be reading porn or worse, Durjoy Dutta. I wouldn’t want people to know that, right?

SSM: You know you are never going to use that thing, right?

Me: YOU ARE WRONG. I am going to read every book in that quilt for the rest of my life.

SSM: *Eye roll. Again.*

Because everyone needs a quilt

Please someone tell him that EVERYONE needs a quilt!

***

I miss Nick. :(