Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba Passes away

It is with great sorrow and heavy heart that I share with you the most shocking news of the departure of Bhagawan Sri Satya Sai Baba at 7.40 pm today to his heavenly abode. Read more here: 

http://secretsofancientwisdom.blogspot.com/

Julie and Julia

Have you seen the film "Julie and Julia"?  Read on why I love it here:

http://spiceomylife.blogspot.com/2011/04/beautiful-film-on-bloging.html

A must watch film for cooking and bloging enthusiasts-beautifully made.

Indian-The World Champs!

CONGRATULATIONS!

Congratulations to Indian Cricket Team on winning the World Cup. We knew that they would win it. What a performance! What a knock from Capitan Dhoni! A Captain's knock. We are proud of you. Keep winning. Entire India and Indians living abroad were glued to the TV sets. 

After the winning shot, children, women, men came out onto streets distributing sweets and bursting crackers, celebrating the victory. I watched the match with my family. Wow! what a match. The SriLankans played so well till the last. 

Free Photos Occult Angels Fairies Gothic Celtic Myspace Orkut Photos Glitter Graphics 

http://www.occult-paranormal-psychic-yoga.blogspot.com

All Indians are dancing and making merry

Free Photos Occult Angels Fairies Gothic Celtic Myspace Orkut Photos Glitter Graphics 

http://www.occult-paranormal-psychic-yoga.blogspot.com

Its time to celebrate the victory

Free Photos Occult Angels Fairies Gothic Celtic Myspace Orkut Photos Glitter Graphics 

http://www.occult-paranormal-psychic-yoga.blogspot.com

Well, now that the Cricket fever is over, I hope we can claim our men folk back. For the past month or so, our men were oblivious to every thing except for cricket. :) :) 

India Wins!

Indian Vs Pakistan: Semifinals in World Cup Cricket.. 

CONGRATS to India !

Whole India was on tenter hooks for the past few days since they knew that India and Pakistan were to play in the Semifinals. No other match perhaps has this kind of tension or interest. Today many people stayed at home. Those who could not came back in time to watch the crucial match. Even my mom was ready for the match to begin in the afternoon.  

In the last over when one was sure that India would be winning, people came out on to the streets, distributing sweets, bursting crackers, congratulating each other and making merry.

Well I hope India wins the Cup. They did well today.

ALL THE BEST INDIA !

Summer Times

After Shiva Ratri officially Summer has started in India. Though the day temperatures slowly start rising from January, it is said that  with Shiva Ratri(a festival of Worshipping Shiva) the winter goes away whispering Shiva Shiva....Already the temperatures are rising. It is unusually hot here for the Month of March.

Actually hot temperatures are recorded during April to Mid June-May being the peak. This year every thing seems to be in extremes,,too much of rainfall, too much of winter and now summer. We ourselves are responsible for this. We have to be truthful to ourselves and realise that we are abusing mother Nature to the maximum. So we are being punished for our sins. But how many of us learn from our mistakes?

Anyway last month when I visited a mango orchard, the trees were covered with flowers.

                  Mango Blooms

The mango blooms announce the arrival of summers. I love their tangy smell. When I am walking through a street and smell this tangy smell suddenly for the first time, I feel so thrilled. It is like smelling the summer..there is that excitement in the air..Summers Of India..are but celebrating Summers Indian way.....mangoes, jasmines, marriages and auspicious occasions, melons and sherbets... holiday times....I remember my child hood...:)

Now small mangoes have started appearing...recently I came across these small mangoes appearing in bunches ..I just could not help myself from clicking...

                    Raw Mangoes

Well we are eagerly awaiting our Telugu New year Ugadi-where we will be tasting the sour raw mangoes for the first time....

Just keep a track of my blog... I will post more on the Summers Of India....

I am Back

Hello friends, I was away and am back after nearly two weeks or so. I left in such a hurry, that I could neither do some posts nor could infirm you about my absence. I missed you all.

As usual my trip was very tight scheduled, hectic and tiring. But I enjoyed every minute of it. I could visit some very old and not much known temples, some remote locations and enjoyed very much. I could collect some very rare designs of Rangolis, learned a bit more about the places, people, traditions and culture. It was an experience, an education and I feel more enriched now with those experiences.

This time I could visit some very remote locations. I enjoyed every moment of my travels. I have loads and loads to share with you all. The only constraint is time. I feel so tired after that long trip. But I am very eager to share with you all my treasures.

Keep a watch on my blogs.....I am sure you will love it

Hi

Hello to all my friends and visitors. I was busy with the festival and also all my friends and family came together to celebrate this festival of Sankranti at my place . We kept it very low key in view of the sufferings of all those farmers of my state, who lost their crop due to heavy rains. This being a Harvest festival, we just could not celebrate with our brothers and sisters of farming community suffering heavy losses. We all prayed for their happiness and better crops at least next time. 


But we enjoyed our get together-talking, sharing, planning...Well celebrations means all this not just some rituals.


I am also suffering from severe back and shoulder pain. So it was difficult for me to type. Now its a bit OK. So I will try to post. I have so much to share with you all.

My New Year Resolutions

This year I wanted to make some resolutions. After all New year means, new hopes, aims, goals, new aspirations, lots of enthusiasm, a breath of fresh air, lots of dreams, bringing around changes, starting afresh ....With out all these life remains boring and depressive.

I feel no matter where we are, how much hardships or difficulties we are facing in life, our spirit should not die. The spirit of picking up one self after a fall, fighting against all odds to prove one self, working our way, silently but steadily to reach our goals...all these make us and our character. One should never bow down to circumstances with out putting up a fight. One's spirit should never die.

So every year I make some resolutions, try to stick to them. But I do fail in keeping up with many resolutions....:) :) after all I am human...So this year I have decided to write them down properly with a sketch of how I am going to achieve them...Some of my resolutions are:

1. I will take care of my self-physical mental and emotional health and keep fit. early to bed and early to rise, eat proper nutritious food on time, exercise (physical as well as mental) regularly, sleep well, reduce tensions and stresses ....
2. Better Time Management so that I don't waste time, organise myself, my time and every thing I do so that I have enough to pursue my hobbies and interests without skimping my duties and responsibilities....
3. Improve my communications-keep in touch with my family friends and relatives as much as I can. This is one area where I neglect a lot, though I am basically very sociable person. So many misunderstand me....
4. Keep in touch with you all by posting more on my blogs. I have been neglecting the other two blogs. Even in this blog I am not able to post all that I wanted to share with you...
5. Learn something new- a language or arts N crafts, brush my old skills and knowledge and improve upon the skills and knowledge I already possess...
6. Finish at least some of my pending projects(hobbies and crafts) and will not start any thing new till I complete them...
7. Do something for the Society, my family, friends-- even little things that can bring happiness and smile on their faces....
8. Enjoy my self no matter what.....

Well I need to write them down and work on the nitty-gritty so that I am successful in achieving these goals...

What do you say friends????? Any ideas of how to achieve these????? Do share your thoughts and suggestions too...

Relaxing....

I feel free today. After completing my project which involved lots of tension, hard work and what not. I had to struggle for the past six months or so. But boy I am free now. I feel tired, worn out and very lazy. I need to catch up with my sleep. I have this long week end to relax and catch up with all I have missed. I am looking forward to it.

Its cold here. Days are bright and sunny. Night temperatures are not as low as that of the Northern India. We Southerners enjoy the sunny days even in winter. That is one blessing. I am a Sun lover too. :) :) :)...

But still it is colder than the usual. Any ways, I love to relax, snuggling in a warm blanket with a good book, a cup of hot coffee. Watching an old movie-black N white, classics is what I call a heaven. Hmmmm...it was only a dream...I could not relax today. Had to go out for picking out essentials. So I went and shopped. I love to buy veggies and provisions. The moment I see all those colourful veggies and grains, I am bowled over. My mind starts planning exotic dishes, experimenting with new techniques and creations. My family members are afraid to come along with me for shopping. The amount and variety of groceries, sauces and veggies i pick out, makes them crazy. My brother grumbles that I try to buy whole veggie market.  :) :)

Still they enjoy the meals I prepare. So today i picked lots of vegetables. Actually due to heavy rains and all we are facing a shortage of vegetables. The prices have sky rocketed. Specially Onions, Garlic and Tomatoes.I have stopped buying garlic. Onions we are using very sparingly. But  all the veggies are very costly. Still we cannot do away with them. So I did buy less  but more variety.

Ohh by the way I am creating some special Rangolis for the New year, have been inking my sketches of patterns and designs i collect from various sources and also create on my own...so watch out...

I am going to relax, laze around and  catch up with my hobbies...so do keep an eye..You  may have some surprises very soon.

As I am typing  my thoughts for you, I have suddenly realised that today is the last day of the year. Its a bit sad to bid adieu to old year. But New year brings new hope, new life too. I also need to make some resolutions for this New Year...I am making a list...:) let us see what happens... What about you?

 I am feeling sleepy.. So will post some tomorrow...

I am busy

Hi friends, I am very busy again. Travelling as usual and at a hectic phase. I am so tired but there is no way out. Actually I am not happy about my other two blogs where I am not able to post anything despite so much I want to. But that takes lot of time. Any way I can't do much now. With the continuous rains and all this I am tired. Weather forecast says, there would be yet another cyclone. Oh God! This year its raining like anything. But the water table, all our rivers, ponds lakes and other water bodies  do require water. However, these rains and wet weather does put a damper on our daily chores like washing, cleaning and shopping. Well let us see what happens.

Its very difficult for a working person like me to maintain a blog. Apart from that, I have this urge for creativity in various media. Hmmm but that's what satisfies my soul.

So bear with me. When I am back I would like share with you all my Diwali celebrations, some lovely torans and much more. So keep an eye on my blog.

Preparing for Navratras

Hi friends. I think you are all busy preparing for the festive season. Yesterday and today, I had a very hectic day sprucing up my home and garden. But alas! though every year I follow Navratras very religiously, keeping fast offering pooja morning and evening, this year this is not possible as I have to go out again tomorrow. As you know it is very difficult to keep fast and offer prayers while one is travelling. As a child I am a very ardent devotee of Mata and have never missed out on this occasion, except for this time. But that cannot be helped. Though I cannot follow the elaborate rituals, I do meditate as this period is very auspicious.

Any way, I  still have so much to do before I leave. Wanted to shop for a nice silk Kanchivaram for me, my mom and sis. But no time at all. Also have to buy furnishings before Diwali and have to stitch them. I don't know whether I can do all this. Well I am an optimist if I start now, I can at least complete it for Sankranti..:) :) Isnt it?

I have lots of projects. When I visited Pratima's blog- here is the address:

http://pratima-jackofalltrades.blogspot.com/

I remembered that I have to do a lot. Especially my saris..so many unfinished projects. But with all this travelling I dont have time or energy to do any thing. Oh by the way do drop in at her blog. You can see some very lovely works. I like her blog.

Oh I was busy with some kitchen projects today. I am posting some recipes on my other blog. So just have a look. 

Well one more thing. I have this very bad habbit of doodling. I carry a sketch pad, pencils and pens and when I am travelling i.e., in the bus or train or car I keep on doodling. And when I go back to my room after a days hard and tiring work, I take out my pad and keep on doodling till I relax and forget everything. 

Be it the towns, or villages, the greenery, the scenic beauty, all motivate me. But I am afraid I don't have the time to give them all a proper shape. I want to paint them in water colours or in oils some day. 

Any way, I keep collecting, rangoli patterns, motifs-mostly folk/tribal, also from the temple architecture and create my own designs for painting and embroidery. Well I have quite a large collection. I will share them with you. But that may take time as I have to properly pen them first, and then post them. But do keep a watch. I will certainly post them.

SpiceOmyLife

Friends I need your suggestions and help on my other blog SpiceOmyLife. I want to know whether the text is visible at all because of the colourful background? Though I have used the opaque background for the text part, I think the text is not clearly visible at all. When I look at it through my own system it is looking ok. But recently when I tried from some other system, the text was barely visible. I would like to know from you please so that I can set it right. 

I would be very grateful to you if you drop in and kindly send your suggestions for improvement of that blog as well as this one also. Thank you friends.

Tracing My Roots

Sorry friends, I could not keep in touch with you all.


I have been very busy travelling extensively to those places from where my ancestors have come from. It was really fun on one hand  going around little towns and villages, rich with culture, traditions, temples and centuries old history behind them. The greenery, acres and acres of green fields, orchards, gushing rivers, rivulets, canals and water bodies,temples at every nook and corner all picturesque with an overcast sky, drizzling now and then. Some of the most famous personalities of literary, music other art forms are from here. So are the most revered Vedic Pundits, astrologers, philanthropists, freedom fighters-the list is end less.  The best educational centers were from these regions once and still are the best.

It was very enriching experience for me, interacting with people from various backgrounds. I learnt a lot.. I bought lot of books on spirituality, astrology, those who write our almanacs known as Panchangam, ayurveda etc. 

It was really a great experience, visiting ancient temples, knowing about our rich traditions and the scientific reasons behind them. It was a feast for my eyes as well  as my soul, seeing all those green fields, rivers and rivulets, well Nature at its best.

On the other hand it was also nostalgic, meeting those who remembered my ancestors, learning about my roots. I felt very sad as to why we had to leave such a beautiful and peaceful places to live in so called modern towns and cities full of pollution-both of environmental as well as other ones.

Oh by the way the cuisines also are different in each region, each having something unique to offer but at the same time there are many similarities. I know most of them, but just refreshed my mind with the techniques by observing the most experienced ladies who churn out a yummy fare in minutes and serve you lovingly. They have not yet forgotten our Indian hospitality- welcoming even a stranger with so much love.

I not only collected these recipes but also so many traditional Rangoli designs. I have been wanting this for a long time and at last, my dream comes true.

I will be sharing all of this. But the major constraint is time as I have to travel again. Let us see. I will try to keep in touch with you all as I have lots and lots to share.


So keep watching my blogs....


Preview of what is to come....

Calm waters...

Setting Sun...

Lush greenery all around...


What more does one want? 

Hi Friends

It has been a while that I posted. Actually I was very busy with my work and also shopping for fabrics and other materials like laces, beads, patches etc....

So keep a watch on my blog...going to post my latest collections this week end.........

Independence Day

A belated Independence Day wishes to all my country men and women. Yesterday i.e on 15th we celebrated Independence day. It was a day to remember all our freedom fighters known and unknown who laid their lives for our freedom. 

We all have come long way from the day when India won its freedom-15th of August 1947. But still there is a lot to achieve. The youth, children, men or women irrespective of caste, creed status all have to strive for the development of our country.

It was a memorable day for all the people from South especially from Andhra as our singer Mynampati Sree Ram Chandra created history by winning  the Indian Idol contest. CONGRATULATIONS!

Keep watching......

Indian Monsoons

Monsoon Time

It is Monsoon time here. At last ! we are having rains, when all of across the country had to face severe heat this time. The temperatures were more than the previous years. Of course this was mostly due to our careless attitude towards our environment-felling of trees, encroaching lands and illegal constructions and many more such things. Every one thinks what he has done is very little. But that very little adds up to a lot. People like us who follow the mandatory rules while constructing houses, maintaining greenery, and water soaking pits are rare as Dodos. 

I have a very small patch of land where me and my mom do our best to cram in as much vegetation as possible. We work hard, all our spare time, money and energy go into it. Oh! the fruits of labour are always sweet-when we sit back and enjoy the little visitors like the birds, insects, monkeys when they visit our garden. We feel so proud that at least we are able to provide them with little shelter and some food.

But boy! it is very difficult in summer months to maintain them with the problems we are facing due to paucity of water. We store the water used for washing clothes and filter it and use in our garden. The funny part is even when we want to spare some money and buy water it is difficult. So Money cannot buy everything. 

Any way our woes are gone now with the onset of rains.

If Indian Summers are Heat and dust, our Monsoons are humid, cool and down pours. If it rains heavily even for an hour, most of our roads and some of the residential areas are water logged. There are traffic jams and public transport is not so easily available. Our roads go from bad to worse and become very uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous to travel. Now walking in the rain is fun. As a child I had many excuses to get wet in the rains. But walking on the roads and getting splashed by the mud is some other thing. LOL! Mothers have a tough time dealing with mud stains on childrens uniforms. In villages and towns one has no other go but to walk on the muddy roads and slippery slush. So choosing proper footwear and umbrellas or rain coats is necessary. 

But still Indian Monsoons are time to celebrate. India being a Country of Villages, our rural folk wait for it eagerly. Farmers till their lands, manure it and keep ready for the rains. Our cattle get green fodder only after proper rainfall. The Monsoon starts from June 1st and continue till September. The Arabian Sea, Indian Ocean and Bay of Bengal, the mighty Himalayas, the Western Ghats-all these help in bringing us the Monsoons. Around 80% of our rainfall is dependant on these Monsoons. Monsoons strike Andaman and Nicobar Islands first and then The State of Kerala. Kerala receives highest rainfall in South India. South Indian States also receive rains till December-January due to retreating monsoons.

Nearly 70% of our population being rural depend on agriculture and its subsidiary industries. Most of our rivers especially the ones in South India like The Godavari, Krishna Cauvery etc are all rain fed. North Indian rivers, like the Ganga, Yamuna etc originate from the Himalayas are snow fed during summer and rain fed during Monsoons. Our agriculture cultivating, rice, cotton, tobacco, oil seed, sugar cane and pulses etc are dependent on rains. 

Late on set of Monsoons, or untimely rains, or storms and typhoons do damage our agriculture to such an extent that our farmers are not sure till they can harvest and reap their crop. Many a time they lose it either at the time of harvesting or even after a harvest if the rains strike suddenly. So Monsoons can either make or mar our economy.

Crisp fried Vadiyaalu

Roasted or fried  Poppadoms 

What I love about the Monsoons and rains is that, it is cloudy sky, cool temperatures. We love to eat hot spicy Samosas, crisp vadiyaalu, Bajjis(vegetable fritters) and Pakodis (Onion Fritters) and other spicy food with hot tea or coffee. 

It also brings joy to my plants-more flowers and fruits. You know the green colour in the leaves after first few rains is something no amount of watering can achieve. It is the time we re pot, plant new ones and improve our garden. 

Hot N spicy Tea.-I don't much like the tea bag variety though. I love the usual Indian Chai brewed traditionally. How it is done I am going to do a post in mu other blog on Food.

The months of Ashadha, Sravana, Bhadrapada, bring us many festivals to celebrate. Which I will post as we celebrate. 

More to come on Monsoons....Keep a watch on my blog

This post to dedicated to Sigrid and family who like to learn more about India and Indian life style and have motivated me to write this post.... Thank you Sigrid.

Travelling by Train

I am travelling once again, but hopefully on a very short trip. It was quite hectic for me for the past one week preparing for this trip and organising every thing in my home so that it runs smoothly during my absence.

I enjoy travelling by trains. Its some how romantic. As a child I always was fascinated by trains and still am. India has one of the largest network of routes connected by trains. There are coaches with AC and those without AC. It is so difficult to travel in the hot summer months without the AC. But many people do so who cannot afford it, or who could not get the tickets booked in time or those who have to travel on any emergencies.

There are the general or unreserved coaches, where the people just buy the tickets an hour or two before the train leaves and travel. Such unreserved coaches are packed tightly, many squeezing in on the seats, many standing, or squatting on the floor of the train or sitting near the doorway, mothers with little children or the senior citizens and travelling for long distances. One has to fight and struggle to find place for standing on at least one feet. Yes it sounds so horrifying. Its difficult even to imagine such a travel, let alone endure one that too in hot summer. But sadly, most who cannot afford travel that way.

In summer months,  most students across India have two months holidays. So families go out for sightseeing or visiting near and dear ones. This is an auspicious time for marriages and other ceremonies. So families travel foe these ceremonies. This is also the right time for visiting many temples and shrines in northern India especially situated in Himalayas which reels under cold waves and snow falls in winter months and severe rains and landslides in rainy season. So many embark on these pilgrimages. One can see huge groups of senior citizens on pilgrimages conducted by Tours N Travels.

So it is interesting to meet people from various backgrounds and traveling for various reasons. Each coach is a mini India carrying people from different cultures and regions, talking different languages. I love to interact with them and every time I do so, I am further educated. I learn a lot about their life styles, their way of living, their culture and so on. Sometimes we become friends and keep in touch. Its exciting and fascinating. It is also fun to watch the villages and towns, people going about their daily lives, the changing landscapes and the scenic beauty. So I don't miss an opportunity to travel in trains.

I want to share with you some of those moments when ever I can....

Feel so tired...

I feel so tired these days, with the season so hot. Moreover the activity of making pickles and all other such items involves lot of time and hard work. Once this hot summer days are gone and monsoon sets in, we cannot do all these preserving of fruits and vegetables.

So, by the end of the day I feel tired and don't feel like doing any thing at all. I have so many projects in various stages. Daily when I get up in the morning I think, today I will do this and I will do that. But by the end of the day I do so many things but not the ones I thought of doing.

I am lagging behind in TAST 2010 too...Will give it a try till this week end as I have to leave yet on another trip during the week end...

I have bought a new sewing machine. But am yet to get my hands on it properly. I can stitch 50 or something stitches on it. Need lots of practise on it.

And I have a quite some interesting projects lined up. I think I will finish at least two or three and post them for you... perhaps even do tutorials...

So keep an eye on my blog dears... You may be surprised...Till then...

This, That and Typhoon LAILA

I sometimes feel I am jinxed..? :) :)... First I don't have much time to blog. Then when I create some time, I have some emergencies or the other to attend to at my home front or my system crashes. Hmmmm..This time when I have taken a break to take a breather, I thought I could post on various techniques of Indian embroideries. I have done only two or three posts on them and I have much more to share with you all but could not as I have been away touring extensively and had no time at all till now.

Something happened to my internet connection and I had to run from pillar to post to get the problem rectified. This took me almost a week and I could not keep any thing for over a week. Boy I was so frustrated. I was fearing the fixing up would take much longer. Thank God.

Any way I used the time for making Mango pickles, as the season was fast ending and we had the warning for a storm. The deadly LAILA was supposed to be  much more devastating Typhoon in the past 30 years or so. But Thank God! it weakened considerably and then crossed the shore of our State of Andhra. Even then the devastation it might cause was to be feared.

We spent a sleepless night yesterday and entire day today worrying about our friends and relatives living in its path. It is raining incessantly with strong winds since past 24 hours in the coastal areas. Many places are waterlogged. Uprooting of trees, power and communication breakdowns and stopping of transport systems are being reported in the news. 

We do not know the extent of damage it is causing. But due to the much early warnings, the timely action by our Government and other agencies, the loss might be minimum. At least till now there is not much human loss. There will be loss of property and other things which cannot be avoided. Losses of  the fruit, vegetable and fish farms and other crops are feared. But then who can with stand the fury of the Nature.

We all are pooling all our available resources, to help them as the people out there might certainly need it. The first concern would be food water and shelter. Then the other necessities such as loss of their homes and daily lively hood will have to be taken care of. But it is still raining. So we are waiting to hear from them.....We are all praying for the safety of all our brothers and sisters there....

As I am typing this I heard my brother shouting out to me that LAILA is again entering the Sea..OH NOOOOO! If it happens then it will again gain strength and will hit back. But when and where is a million dollar question.Please pray for the safety of all those people there. They need it now.....

Its been a long time.....

Hello friends, I am yet on another one of my hectic tours. That is why I could not keep in touch. But today some how I managed to, so here I am. There is lot to share with you. I will try to post as much as I my hectic shcedule allows me to. I missed you all and I did not have time to at least tell you all that I may not be able to post for some time.

It was quite difficult for me to prepare  for the travel. Till the last moment I was just packing something or the other and did not have even two hours sleep a day  a week before leaving for here. But I slept most of the way on my long journey by the train. I love trains. There is something very romantic about it.

Anyway,  here I am. This is a beautiful place, surrounded by gardens, beautiful lawns. Its so peaceful here. I am able to let my hair down as we are not able to go out much after the working hours. Its far away from the city and not possible to go out much. Equipped with a swimming pool, a gym, tennis and badmionton courts, a beautiful library and other facilities, this is a paradise. After our work, we are all going for long walks or work out in the gym, play one of the sports, or just sit quitely and talk. Boy it had been a long time since I felt so peaceful.

But I would love to go out seeing the sights and shop. Here its a shoppers paradise for many things, be it be the accessories like bags and purses, belts, scarves, bangles, jewelery, hair accessories, clothes and of course textiles. Moreover, there are different markets in different places for different price ranges to shop for these things. Each market is famous for some thing or the other....That makes it more complecated. Added to that  there is not much time after our work hours before the shops are closed. We are trying to shop as much as possible in the little time. Being so far away from the city with lack of proper conveyence its difficult. Moreover shopping should be slow and liesurely not rushing through. At least I cannot enjoy it that way. Let us see what happens.

It seems I am well behind on my TAST. I am not able to do much, as my stash is very limitted. I could not pack much. But I think I will pick it up and post you with some of my experiments.

So keep watching my blog for the latest in the acessories, textiles, and of coarse lovely sites here........