Anniversary and Adieu

Dreams & Beyond completes a year in blogosphere today, a year that has been an absolutely amazing journey. From what started as an experiment in blogging, this blog went on to publish 25 posts and received 15 comments in the course of the year.

The high point came in August last year when I won a contest through this blog. That win got me a very dear friend in the talented Debbie (see her blog Reflections of Debbie to know more), and a beautiful drawing all the way from across the world (New York in USA, to be precise). The yellow pansy drawing that Debbie was so kind to make for me now hangs in the dining area of my new home (see here).


Coming back to the birthday blog, seems like this baby will likely stay at one!

Yes, now that the year has gone round, Dreams & Beyond chooses to call it a day. Most of what I like to share with my readers will now be covered by my other blogs, House2Home and Creative Rumblings. Do visit and let me know what you like or dislike about them. Looking forward to more new friendships, more readers and more incredible experiences in the blogging world!

Serenading Summer

Scorching sun outside at 44 degrees Celsius

A tall glass of ice-cold mango smoothie... maybe I'll have a banana or watermelon shake tomorrow! :)

Hot dry winds howling all afternoon; empty roads, not a soul in sight

Laden laburnums swaying in the breeze, spraying yellow flowers on every passer-by

Long, never-ending days and school vacations

Pages after pages of holiday homework to finish (now that is such a dampener!)

Sore throat and sniffles from all the sweat and cold water

A slurrrrpy ice-candy to end the day :)

Surely summers are the season of fire and ice!

Reviving From Slumber

I'm glad to announce that this blog is reviving from its 5-month long slumber, and shaking back to life.

These last few months have been a rollercoaster ride with too many things squeezed into too little a time frame. But somewhere I enjoyed the frenzy and the madness.... and clicked loads of pictures with my new camera to share with you.

Here's one from springtime when the butterflies were all over the garden laying eggs.

Can you imagine this one actually is blue and black when it opens its wings! What a pity I couldn't catch it with open wings; it was way too quick and flew away before I could capture it through my lens.

Summer has brought with it these Gulmohar blooms.

I just love the way one can see the blue sky from between its leaves.

Happy 2009!...

Chilly days, and chillier nights

Hot coffee under warm quilts

Blooming garden, and multi-coloured butterflies

The smell of baking wafting across the house

Can the new year be far behind?

Here's wishing all my readers a happy, peaceful, and safe 2009!

I will be away from my blogs for the next few months as I will be moving houses.

Hope to be back with you all, dear readers and visitors, in the middle of 2009 when I share fresh snippets from my life and experiences in the new house.

Sharing Vacation Moments: Rishikesh

On a pleasantly cool winter morning in early November, we boarded the train to our vacation destination Rishikesh. Situated in the lower Himalayas in the northern part of the country, this town is well-known both for its spiritual connection as well as for its charming natural beauty.

As our train chugged across the pretty Indian countryside, we enjoyed these vistas.

Reaching Haridwar around midday, we drove past its famed ghats into the looming mountains ahead, on to our destination Rishikesh.

In the evening we went down to the mighty river Ganges. The kids were mesmerized to see so much water…. such a wide expanse of river! They floated flowers, incense and ‘diyas’.

As the evening turned to dusk the riverside echoed with the sounds of holy ‘mantras’ and huge traditional lamps were lit for the ‘arati’.

Next morning we visited the two suspension bridges – Laxman Jhula and Ram Jhula - that take you across the vast river.

From the bridges one gets to see mesmerizing views of the Ganges and the surrounding hills. And loads of fish in the water… the kids loved it! :)

On the third day we chose to spend some more time by the riverside, at an unhurried pace. We got into the water, which was surprisingly warm and comfortable even for the kids.

Those are my feet in the river...

We drew pictures on the sand. And we collected shiny round stones from the riverside, both as mementoes and for using in the gardens of our new home.

We also spotted some feathered friends…and marveled as the sun turned the river into a shimmery sheet of molten gold.

In the evening we headed back home but not before we spotted a family of monkeys at the Haridwar station, deftly balancing their way across the iron girders of the station roof!

Hope you enjoyed this tour of Rishikesh with me.

P.S.: I have a confession to make. This post does not carry my best pictures of the trip simply because I am wary of plagiarists. Of late I have come across numerous incidents of stealing from blogs, and have hence decided to play safe. Sorry for robbing my readers of the best shots!

November News: Connected Again

In case you are wondering why I am posting news about last month… well, the thanks go out to my internet service provider who unceremoniously disconnected our internet just because they were going through some technology upgrade. So I am back on the Web and in blogosphere only after a month-long hiatus. Without cribbing any further about my horrendous ISP (I’ve spent most of last month doing that!), here’s the update.

November is a month of occasions for us – lots of birthdays and anniversaries fill up the month, including both my parents’ birthdays, and theirs and our anniversaries. I celebrated six years of togetherness with my dearest hubby, who gifted us a snazzy new digital camera for the occasion. :) A scrumptious lunch at a new American restaurant followed by some excellent coffee made the day for us. I loved how the café guys served coffee topped by artwork (literally!); one cup had a leaf topping while the other sported a heart!


Then we went for a 3-day vacation to Rishikesh, where besides catching up with extended family, we spent some wonderful family time together in lovely environs. For our 5 year old son and 3 year old daughter, it was the first exposure to journeying by train, and seeing mountains and a river. And they saw India’s longest river, the Ganges!


Well, I’ll end this update with a promise of posting a more detailed description of our vacation along with some more cool pictures! :)

Diwali Greetings

Deepavali wishes to all my readers. May the festival of lights spread much joy, happiness and peace.

Here's an arrangement of floating candles and marigold flowers that I created a couple of years back.