My Pet Plant? !! :P

I have always had a close connection with dogs, and have always had one as a pet from my childhood. Even now in my parents place in India, they have a Labrador named snoopy, the youngest and the most adorable family member.

 But since i have relocated to the US two years back, i have never thought of having a pet here, for certain reasons. But I have started gaining interest in gardening, which is a common one for both, my husband and me.
Though we live in an apartment, we managed to grow a couple of ornamental plants, and just started trying our luck in growing some veggies and herbs, out of which the Curry leaf plant is doing the best,having survived the winter last year. Usually the summers and winters go by almost 10 degrees higher in Sacramento when compared to the weather in the bay area. This amazed many of our friends who have been unsuccessful in growing the same and hence we were also motivated to take extra care of the plant.
Now, the plant has grown double its height from what it was in January.
My husband would even go and check on the curry leaf plant everyday before he goes to work. And everyday I just go and stand in the patio admiring the plant closely for sometime. My mom and dad, would even ask me to show the plant on the Skype calls I have with them every week, for seeing how big its grown. I know this must sound weird, but this plant has also become a common topic to discuss with my loved ones. My silently growing, green pet :)

cynicism everywhere

Unfortunately, I see the world is full of cynicism! :(
Not just a stranger, but even a close family member or a close friend can be very cynical.
 I am not a very out spoken person who would  talk openly about a lot of things, but now that I am married I try to open up conversations with this new family and the relatives. Having had a chat with distant relative in my new family few weeks back, the call ended up making me sad in some way. Though the conversation was mostly the general, how are you? What are you doing? And stuff like that, having remembered this last talk about her husband who doesn't help her around in the house hold chors, I asked her in a jovial way if her husband has started helping her (not minding her husband who was also a participant in this conversation) now that she is carrying a big bump. She shunned my question in such a way making me feel shameful for asking the question. Eventually she abruptly cut the call while i was going to say something.

There were some strangers disguised as friends who had made me feel bad before, but this was the worst i have come across with a family member. I feel very insecure to talk freely to some of these people who have become my relatives

curious minds leads to redesigning and engineering!

Unlike the cats, being curious, i think, is the last thing that can kill us, humans.

 My li'l cousin became fidgety with the new toy he got, may be just five minutes back. He, not listening to his grandma's advice of not breaking that, my cousin continued doing his job and finally tried splitting his new toy into as many pieces as possible (of course he din't break anything). My brother and I kept watching the fun, apart from hearing to the grandma complain to us, not to buy him new toys. My brother remarked, this is the way one can redesign things and develop the interest for engineering new things. Eventually, this little boy tried fixing this toy back to its form. Indeed he did it. This amazed all of us, and so did my brother's remark.

 

Weekend hiking/camping!

I had finally got to visit my cousin brother over the weekend, who stays in the Alameda county of California. On Saturday,on my way i came across this,

Yolo!
Though it made me laugh at that moment, I think one should live life doing whatever pleases them not fearing the consequences of the risks they take.
Apparently, I did an off trail hike, getting frequent helping hand from my husband and my cousin. Momentarily i feared skidding down as the climb was very steep but ultimately I was utmost satisfied climbing to almost the top of the mountain.
This was the best hike I have done, also because this was the first time i saw a snake so close

The common king snake!

After camping for the night, we hiked around the Anthony Chabot lake. Came across a variety of vegetation there; the water fowls, People fishing, the golden eagle. The view was amazing!  It was my longest hike so far, - 10 miles and I realize how much my stamina has improved over one year, motivating me to improve more over my upcoming hiking/camping trips.

a short visit to the land of enchantment!!

On my visit to my brothers place for the July 4th long weekend, with a desperate need to escape from my mundane stuffs, this was the first time I was able to explore some good places at the land of enchantment -New Mexico. Though the weather was as bad as it is right now in California, the place has always made me feel relaxing. It's architectural design which matched is desert environment; the New Mexican authentic cuisine; and of course my brother who made me feel like I'm home. I enjoyed everything thoroughly.

These were some amusingly unusual things I came across in the four days

1.

This was an advertisement of the arts and handicrafts at one of the native Americans village. Real indians ;)

2.

This made all of us Lol at once.

3.

House on wheels. :P