Its always very encouraging to get an email about Gods miraculous ways and even better when its from your parents.Appa sent me this email today. Hope it encourages you too!“Dear Children,This morning we went to Indian Immigration department and met the Deputy Director. After verifying the papers he wrote a note to Immigration officer to extend the Visa till 07/09/2008. We got the token and waited for our turn. The officer (a lady) seeing the Deputy Director’s note was upset and said “why you want to extend your visa…there are people waiting for more than 3 years and your approved papers have not yet come from New Delhi”. We just kept quiet. She was arguing with other Immigration officers and…

Am I too old for this??!! Considering the fact that my last few birthdays have been quiet affairs spent alone/at work/on call/writing exams/travelling etc the statistical probability that the latest one would also be another similar one was high. So was it?Nope – statistically speaking a confounder stepped in and that changed the predicted path of the day, whipped it off trajectory and took it soaring to new heights of excitement! Yes – marriage and my pretty wife made today unforgettable!!So what was in store – Seinfeld, Treasure Hunt, a shirt, a surprise birthday cake, a pacifier, fried rice, sausage, french fries….. the list wont stop!It’ll be too difficult to go through the entire day with a blog entry/

How romantic and refreshing! The very thought of waking up in the morning or coming back home after a tired days work – and throwing open the bedroom curtains and gaze out of the windows; sipping on a cup of hot coffee with soft music floating down from the speakers. To dream and plan your day, your future and your life. It should‘ve been that way – but one look at the album here which shows the view out of our bedroom window and you’ll understand why the above thoughts are just a figment of my imagination!!Its gut wrenching – the window looks onto a garbage pile across the road and there are usually a set of eager animals feasting…

I love helping out with the cooking…. usually. My specialties include beverages, grating and … the chutney – a minced paste of coconut, onions, chilly, ginger and some greens. It was my task to do the honors tonight and I started off great – no looking at the recipe; just straight off the head cooking. After carefully grating the coconut (someday I’ll let ya all know how I break the coconut) I put the mixture in a bowl and switched on the mixie to blend them together. The mixie roared into life as I turned on the power and it seemed strangely smooth… yup…. very smooth – because there wasnt anything in the jar!! Yes – I’d forgotten to put…

Home needed two things for the night –1. Idli maavu (for dinner and breakfast)2. Tomatoes (for lunch tomorrow)We decided to scoot to a shop 10 minutes away and get our supplies. It was drizzling a ‘little’ and we felt it was OK. 30 seconds after we roared off on the bike the drizzle was a steady rain and it was getting worse. We literally rode into a shop just across the road where Becky jumped in to check for the idli maavu and I drove on to a small vegetable shop further down the road. The veg shop unfortunately did not have good tomatoes and I rode back to see Becky standing at the other shop entrance – empty handed;…

I love making tea. Today Becky was held up at work and I came home a few minutes before her. So I decided to make some tea for both of us. Simple task! Pour in the water and the milk and the tea leaves and some sugar and it was lying there on low heat on the stove. Then I got the phonecall – it took me 2 minutes to complete it. And yes… those 2 precious minutes was all it took to forget about the tea simmering on the stove. Soon the house was filled with the aroma of burnt tea and I hurriedly switched off the stove and attempted to clean the mess. The countertop and stove were…

Oh! The joy of mixing and matching and ending up with something awesome…. and the joy of sharing it with someone you love! I was hit by a brainwave after lunch and whipped together dessert from whatever we had at home. Heres the menu:1. Slice bananas brought from the local streetside market into cute looking cups.2. Take the few pieces of cherry still lying in the fridge and throw them in.3. Scour the kitchen cupboard, locate resins a few cashew and some walnuts and literally chip them in4. Top up with honey stolen from Motherin-Laws house in Kodaikanal.5. Place them strategically on the table, take a picture as proof of the effort.6. Offer it to someone you love with a…