At last

We've finally settled in.

Well, almost. We've still got bits and pieces to do here and there, but it's home now. For once, we're both brimming with decorating ideas. Mine involve little black men, with drums and ropes. His involve....well, nails and paint, but hey, who's complaining, I used 'him' and 'decorating' in the same sentence!!

It's great to have the internet up and running again. Oooooh, and cable!! Right now, it's all about the IPL, Sachin ala re ala and all that. I've got my feet on the bean bag and laptop on my lap (who'd have thunk it). The lovely little pleasures of home!

My kinda sorta niece is going to start her very own special activity soon. Her elder sis (yes, my other kinda sorta niece) has ballet to call her own and she's a lovely little prima ballerina.

For the little one....will it be gymnastics? Karate? Swimming? Horse-riding? Basketball? We've all got our favorites for her - what we each believe she'll be good at and obviously, what we each have a personal inkling towards. I'm sure she'll find her happy soon enough and make it her anytime best friend, the way we all did.

Mine was in writing. I didn't care who liked it or who didn't, whether i used the big words or the slang - it made me happy. I can't wait to see what she chooses as hers. What a joy to watch a child find herself...so slowly, but surely.

Both girls, my Dora and her little Boots, are the apples of so many eyes. Spanning continents literally. We all love them both, in equal measure.

When the gang gets together, a few years from now, we'll be talking about the two of them. The funny things they said, the words they couldn't pronounce, the happiness that singing ABBA songs gave them and how much it made us laugh, the way we all shared secret glances when we watched our Dora dance, how pretty they looked in their flower girl dresses...we'll be talking about it all.

And it'll all be whilst we're sipping hot coffee and glancing at the clock to make sure they're back home by curfew.

*grin*

These darned sands of time.

On Your Anniversary

My little gift for two special people – my heaven on earth.

To marry a friend

 

It’s one thing to get married.

And quite another, to fall in love.

But to fall in love with, and marry a friend,

Is a gift from heaven above.

I adore leafing through that album with you,

Of a wedding, many years ago.

Pageboys, groomsmen, the father of the bride

And two bridesmaids, pretty in pale yellow.

The bride and groom, I love the most,

How tenderly they smile and hold hands.

They dance together, lost to each other,

As ‘Tonight I celebrate my love’ sings the band.

It’s one thing to get married.

And quite another, to fall in love.

But to fall in love with, and marry a friend,

Is a gift from heaven above.

I’ve watched you both and learned so much,

So many life lessons through the years.

To never lose faith, to pray from my heart

And to always look beyond the tears.

So today, my angels, I thank you.

For all the little things I love and treasure.

For our breakfast dinners and goodnight kisses

And advice that I cherish beyond measure.

For your firm, but gentle shoulder to cry on,

your ever ready hanky for my runny nose,

for helping me choose the right outfit to wear,

for tucking the warm blanket under my toes.

God bless you both, today and always,

With your love, so honest and true,

And may He bless the rest of us,

With a love story of best friends,

as magical as the one

He wrote especially for you.

Happy Anniversary my loves.

There was never a luckier girl than me. Thank you for all you are and all you do.

You make your corner bright with your love – your lives are a constant reminder to me that there is always hope, laughter, love and friendship in our little world. Thank you for teaching me to dream.

We love you very much! Have a fabulous 31st anniversary.

The place I lay my hat is home

I have a lot of hats. Hats 'n caps 'n berets 'n all the rest. I've been collecting them over the years and have rarely worn them. But I DO so like them all : )

They only recently came handy for my little friends birthday.

We played a game called 'Musical Hats'. Throw a bunch of hats in the middle of a circle of kids, play some music and then when the music stops, each child has to grab a hat and wear it in 5 seconds flat.

Then, as with chairs, you keep reducing the number of hats. It was a tons of fun and the kids enjoyed it - not to mention how funny the boys looked in pink sun hats - what a sight! God bless her heart, there was even one little curly haired doll who decided it was her duty to help others with their hats and they in turn, thought she was trying to yank them off! Oh, the panic that ensued was hilarious!

But I drift.

We're shifting this weekend. Or we hope to be. It's a bit of a see-saw right now. We sit surrounded by our furniture at odds and ends, just waiting for the green signal to jump and begin the pushing and shoving of tables, books, clothes - the list is but long.

We've stayed here for a year now and I'm attached to the place. I look around and remember our excitement when we first saw it, the time spent on deciding where exactly to put that favorite picture, my delight when I cooked my first decent chicken curry, the movies we've watched lazing on the bean bags, the friends we've had over - everything. How amazing that 4 walls encompass so much. Talk about a Pandora's box.

I'm looking forward to the new house though - waiting to call it home. I feel a bit like a hobo this weekend.

But perhaps being homeward bound isn't such a bad thing. It is home that we're going to, after all, isn't it?

I shall miss you 122. It's been nice.

Dream on, dreamer.

When she finally convinced me that I simply HAD to blog and how I couldn’t NOT blog and how it would help me in so many ways, I was far from consenting. In fact, my constant retort was, ‘What on earth am I going to write about??’

However, succumb to the pressure I did. And I love her for it.

I still don’t know what I’m going to write about. Or how I’m going make it interesting or fun or enjoyable…but I do know that my head is always swimming with thoughts and perhaps some of them merit a second take.

I don’t look at the world through rose colored glasses. Trust me there’s plenty going on that annoys me no end – almost to the point of joining the ever popular shoe flingers.
I don’t mix with the crème de la crème of society.
I don’t have these fascinating hobbies which might leave me with insightful stories; like para-gliding and horse riding and wine tasting and what have you.

But I do know some amazing people. They walk amongst you, they sit in the street cafés sipping their teas, they eat at the local Chili’s outlet, they play ball at the basketball courts near by, they groove to their i-pods, blissfully ignorant of passers-by.
Just your normal, everyday people, who make me smile, comfort me, encourage me, scold me, laugh with me and support me. My very own shiny, happy people; whom I have the honor of calling friends.

I’ve learnt a lot of stuff. In all my years, I don’t think any of lifes real lessons have been conscious ones. But learn them, I did. In fact, if you think about it – we all have.

People call me a dreamer, I’ve been called naïve, even lost in the clouds sometimes. But if you really get to know me, I’m right here and I’m happy. I love life, I love my family, I love my friends. I love my world. It’s the same for us all I guess…but I prefer the view from my corner. I’m not too possessive of it though, so feel free to grab a chair and sit with me for a while. Perhaps we’ll find we have something in common.

Oh and btw, pink is her favorite color. She created the blog page for me. *grin* Go figure.