Unwinding

I am officially exhausted!
I want to sleep really long and till late.
Aaah!!
My body cracks and wants to crumple in one giant heap on the bed.
But now a piece of chocolate, a bit of surfing and some reading

Lunch

Tom yum from a cube with some additional seasoning added by moi and that sadly did nothing to uplift the taste of this soup which was very okay and not something I would have liked had it been served in a restaurant.

Cube soup

Not entirely sure about this but we can try .

It's hot and I'm eating some Thai flavoured spicy soup. 

No fun

Tuesday and I have no high hopes from today.
Let's see.
Sweating done
Complaining while sweating done
Waking up in the morning and hating it done
Feeding the cats over and over done
Sitting under the fan and sweating still done

Looks like we've got everything under control.
Now for some tea, some workout and lunch.

As the day fits

So I was cruising at my highest speed of 30 kmph and remembered having to buy rosemary and so I cruised back to where the nursery was except my battery started showing signs of emptying and I hurried back from my almost 10 kms jaunt sans rosemary .
Now I shall charge the batteries and buy what I need tomorrow.
In other news I edited another batch of photographs today and I feel greatly accomplished.
Tomorrow the updates happen, day after pics get clicked..so on and so forth. Also I'm only perhaps a few photographs away from completion.
After that it's just a lot of typing and setting and what not.

Monday looks it

Today
I hung out some clothes to dry on a new laundry line I have recently bought. Somehow the dryer isn't all that these days and scant humidity always clings to most clothes and since there are a lot of bedsheets that got washed today I thought why not?
My real reason for buying this steel contraption was to air out the duvets, jackets, woolen clothing and covers before winter arrived and soon I will be doing that.
When there is all this free energy from the sun and now that there is so much space why would I keep pushing buttons to dry clothes, of course having said that I don't see myself doing this everyday either.
I mean the idea is nice but it's a lot of add on and I think I'm going to stick to drying out clothes that aren't supposed to be tumble dried and large sheets etc.
here I see most people put their washing lines on the balcony instead of the backyard, perhaps because their backyards aren't as large and also maybe cuz their washers are on upper floors.
My washer and drier are on the ground floor and so is my sprawling backyard.

The backyard needs a lot more work and it's getting done in steps for which I'm glad.
I've installed a small line of bamboo fence for some privacy and to see if it looks good.

I think soon I'll start bringing in large pots etc. I was informed that some boundary work still needs to be done around the backyard which means there will be workers once again doing the usual for a few days.
When will that start I know not!

Apart from that I need a shower, some lunch and maybe I'll go out cruising and buy some rosemary.

Today now Monday

It is Monday but also a day I'm taking off from everything. I know that should have been the weekend but somehow none of it happened then. Even yesterday I was busy with the backyard with people coming over etc, but today. Ah today!
I slept in till about 10 not least because Meera was being his odd self again and I found myself awake till about 3 after which I finally slept and didn't wake up.
Now I have done a cursory view of chores, a bit of this and that. There's going to be no workout, no gardening.
I am going to drink my large cup of tea and eat leftovers from yesterday.
I really need that bit of unwinding or else I know I will burn out.
Today I want to invoke my inner sloth and recharge myself for the rest of the days ahead.

Seems like I can't catch a break or maybe I don't want to give myself a break. It's like I'm always trying to do something or fix something or be a part of some new problem which really isn't a problem unless I start tinkering with it.
I mean maybe just take a seat and watch a while before joining in.

Ugh!
What am I saying?
I'm sleepy still.
Time for some tea then.

Without

I'm Wearing a polka dotted dress 

And now

Who me?
Sitting in my backyard. Getting drunk

All that began and ended

My South African neighbour from the previous house and her son are coming for a visit and I have been busy with my backyard since morning as usual. 

A lot of cleaning was being done because now the dried dead leaves are being collected for the compost and did I mention it was hot?! 

There isn't any lunch or dinner as such but tea in which I'm serving some watermelon juice, a small skillet cookie and some focaccia. 

Not least because I really don't know their eating habits and if there's one thing I've gleaned from surreptitiously checking their grocery receipt is that they don't much eat a whole variety of foods.  There's a lot of pasta and sausages and who eats that at 3 in the afternoon? 

Anyway my house is prepped, the food is done, my lunch is done and I have a small gripe with people, that is, why do they use an old spice body shower gel? 

I cannot stand how strong that scent is and how it wafts down the hall into the lounge making my house smell like the baths of a swimming pool. 

I immensely dislike it and today I had a few terse words regarding the same. 

It didn't escalate much but there was no conclusion either. 

Edit: just as I was writing this post my guest arrived and I have only just got free. 

She liked the idea of juice but wanted coffee instead .

Now looking ahead to rest of today.

Satuhday

I have hard a hard day since I last wrote.
There was a whole lot of manual labour stuff vis-à-vis backyard.
Finished some more fence work On the other side of the backyard under blaring sun till it was almost 2 in the afternoon and then the rest of the day.

The rest of the day has not been as fortuitous either since the glass table in my balcony broke with a clattering resound as I cleaned the said space and some glass shards fell right on my foot and I have a couple bandaged toes.
Nothing too ruinous but the water running down the balcony slope had turned a bright red for a short while .
It was funny because just a few moment before the incident I was reading Dracula in that solid heat and feeling some grit under my foot I decided to wash the balcony and the damn table which I didn't too carefully slide to one side tipped over and here we are!!
Thankfully the glass was tempered, sadly my foot was caught in the middle of the action.
Right then.
Dinner is egg curry, not cooked by me.
I've been given a bright red cocktail called 'Singapore sling' and I sit with matted sweaty hair in an air conditioned lounge, hoping for today to get better.

Very sus

Is there something google is trying to tell me? 

I mean why would this be a part of my news?? 

Gah

Ugh to today

Last night after binge watching 'clickbait' on Netflix till 1 in the am and sleeping after finishing nightly rituals had me in bed around 2 after which I woke up at 7 because the housekeeper was here and now my body feels a bit done for.
I avoided my sleep cues at 10 last night after a day of exhaustion and heat and now I want to shut my eyes and drift.
The problem is that it's hot as fuck again today.
It's insanely horrific! Sunny, humid, no air. I don't recall ever spending an entire summer in this country because I was usually back home and going through an entirely different weather which despite the heat was dry and not nearly as oppressive, add to that the comforts of living in another house where I wasn't a part of core chores and intermittent puffs of relaxants.

Hmm, I'm sleepy.
But at least my house is sparkling, my windows are gleaming and my entire space smells of white tea which is the essential oil I'm burning.

Saturday

I am living for cheap thrills this morning.

Okay, so sometime ago one of our Bollywood celebs 'Ayushmann Khurrana' had made an extremely uneducated statement regarding health and nutrition. He'd said that protein shake takes up to three years to digest inside our body in an interview on a somewhat large YouTube channel.
The video went viral and since then he's been the butt of jokes.
Somehow that video has made its way overseas and I can't get enough of how 'more plates more dates' is now ripping it apart to shreds!!
It warms my heart to see it. Ah!!

This and that

Snippets

I have been editing pictures today for the food blog and when my eyeballs near started bubbling over to the extent that I couldn't decipher one image from the next I thought of going for a spin on the scooter, except! Except it's overcast and feels like nighttime and I have little interest in getting caught mid rains.
I think I've had enough of that. Never a fun time to be on a bicycle or scooter, soaked to your underwear with no awning in sight, in the middle of the road.
I had the misfortune of once getting stuck similarly during a typhoon and it sucked my will to ride in overcast conditions.
Moreover it's going to be no fun riding out right now because of how unbearably oppressive it has become .
The air isn't budging a grain and I fear I shall go insane if this weather stays like so any longer.

I have now come downstairs from the study and it's slightly cooler here and here I shall now remain.
Almost tempted to open a cold beer and drain it down the hatch. Also I haven't been getting a whole lot of sleep .
I am drowsy right now.
I end up sleeping a lot later than midnight because I don't realise the time in between words and when I do sleep it's not a long dreamless sleep.
I want an unhindered 8 hour sleep. That's too much to ask.
Tomorrow is Saturday and that ghastly housekeeper insists on coming at 7 in the morning.
It's gonna rain a downpour and I'm glad all the animals are home right now.

Arghhhh

Fuck this weather 

Lunch indeed at last

Lunch today is delicious as all hell 'chicken bhuna' my own recipe that is with a side of rice and a tall glass of banana chocolate smoothie. 

Step up

Yes indeed but are your stairs furry? 

Catty do this

Helping slaves with their workouts so they can be more energetic to feed me better.

Hot hot hot

Ima till working on my balcony and for a moment   almost contemplated sitting here for tea but it's hot! The weather is almost 35° and there's not a drop of breeze. 

I think it'll be funner at night. 

Friday fuss

It rained, nay, it stormed and poured last night to the point I thought this entire city would flood.

Back to unapologetic humidity and sweating and complaining.
It's Friday already.

I have finished my chores and looking outside at the condition of the backyard and front garden almost hidden under fallen leaves I decided to ignore it until after I'm done with today.
If I start sweeping the leaves now then I'll be doing it for the next 2 hours and I need to begin my morning, have some water, shoot some tea, workout etc.
can't be engaging in this right now or else you know how it happens .
I will however engage in it at some point either today or tomorrow because it needs to be done, moreover what am I if not a leaf collector for my compost bin?
The important thing is to remember what we gotta do and progress and progress needn't be perfect, it just needs to be.
Right then where were we?
Ah yes. My lemon water.
Then tea
Then life.

Also desserts

This is very typical of Asian iced desserts served here with some red beans and some yam jelly and condensed milk. I know it sounds what the fuck but it's quite delicious, however this ice here was crushed ice and not shaved and I don't quite like chomping on pieces of ice instead of feathery fronds of delicate snow. 

So this was a pass for me but my friend ate everything!! 

Explanation not needed

This is huge poster outside of a clothing store inside a mall.

What on earth even!! 

Aha

I went out, I ate and shopped some. 

Here is the haul. Not much but I'm glad to have found some things I've been looking for, moreover I got a perfume sample after shopping for some bath products and I like its name. 'Juliette has a gun'. Hah!! 

The perfume in question smells quite sweet. Not really my jam but I can always use it to perfume my linen. 

Dealt with Thursday

Who me?
Up and at it because I have to be out and about at 10:30 to reach a restaurant for lunch.
My deal hunting friend has found a Thai restaurant that offer something insane in terms of delicious hotpot for lunch at a price I'm told I will not believe.
Actually I will believe it because I have complete faith in my deal hunting friend who spends most of her time looking for various deals online and in magazines. Yes in magazines.
I have seen her on various occasions with torn out bits of papers from books which she conjures like a magician which ends up granting us complementary champagne or coffee or a free dessert in many a places.
I was always a bit taken aback because this was quite new to me when I met her, but now I'm used to it, in fact I am always fully aware when informs me of such and such new restaurant that there's a deal she's come across and that we ought to try it.
She also gets annoyed when I don't have much regards for public transport and always always implores me and in fact when I'm with her coerces me to use public transportation. :)
It's funny and strange and odd to see someone so frugal about such things despite living an extravagant lifestyle and there are many such occasions when I find her splurging on absolutely idiotic things that needn't be so expensive.

Of course logic need not always apply to life and so I get dressed and reach every time she comes across a deal .
Today is glorious Thai hotpot!!

Listens and reads

Who me?
Listening to the blade itself and cooking chholay.
Why? Because for some reason YouTube decided to throw it at me and I needed something else to listen to other than 'death before dragons'.
I need to download some more audiobooks perhaps.
But for now this sounds so much fun!
Delicious almost.

Also I have downloaded a new book from project gutenberg. I mean it's not new of course since all books in there are pretty moth eaten but then I love those kinds.
Right then, so I have started reading Bram Stoker's Dracula and how addictive it is.
I went through the first 100 pages while not paying attention to what people had to say.
Smashing I tell you.

Feels

I am drowsy. Just about feel ready to drop.
How did I type 2000 words today?
My head feels heavy, my eyes feel like they're about to close and I feel totally wonky.
Should I drink some tea?

Ugh!
I need a very long deep good night sleep.

Finally I eat

Lunch was late and hastily put together what with being busy with things, late workout, cat stuff etc 

This here is some eggs with veg, some arugula salad with onions and a buttered toast on the side. 

A tall glass of banana and strawberry smoothie to wind it all down. 

Done

And then I died and went to heaven after going through hell. 

My legs are gonna pay for this

Wednesday is it

That it's agonisingly hot and humid is no news but my laments are fresh in that today I feel my entire lower body screaming each time I go up and down the stairs.
My inner and outer thighs, calved and glutes are a mass of complaint and I am trying my hardest to ignore them.
Today is a cardio day and it's going to be a nice lower impact but still quite energetic and exhausting workout.
I need to switch on the air conditioner.

Also I woke up late, didn't make any breakfast, no lunch, nothing. Slept right through it all and that's because Meera being the dick that he is, isn't ready to adjust to this new life of not going outside at night, he meows and cries night long and I stay away trying to assuage him, or rather he won't let me sleep, incessantly crying to get petted.
I need to think a way around this or I might have to return him to the older compound which was more his home .
Meera is a complete and utter stray who turns feral the moment he has to be picked up, or put inside a cage or taken to the vet.
Yesterday I hauled him to take him back home from the minute long rains and he squirmed so hard in my arms that I've claw marks, which he didn't intend but still they were inevitable.
I don't know how to deal with his issues because he needs absolute freedom, which I cannot give him in this house. At least not unless Hope can learn to not run away.

Let's see then.
Tea, some toast and sweat.

अब आ भी जाइए

बादल गरजते रहे
बिजली बेइंतिहा कौंध कर
थक कर तड़प कर
कालिख पुती घटाओं में दम तोड़ कर
किसी भटके पेड़ की राह में छटक के गिर गयी
बरसात के इंतिज़ार में यूँ इंतक़ाल हो जाएगा
हम थक के मिट जाएँगे
बारिश का बहाना हो जाएगा

small wins

 So I was just transferring a bunch of pictures from my camera into my machine for the recipe book and I was trembling while doing so, wondering how much is left for me to do and how am I lagging behind. I actually surprised myself when I realized that I am only a few pictures away from completion.

Now all that is left to do is type out the recipes and figure the rest. Most pictures are done, and unless I don't come to any more pictures that need redoing I am only about 5 recipes away from completion. 

The past me has been most fastidious and the present me had been berating myself for not being quick enough. I think I need to correct the present me and have some more faith in the past me. 

Here is hoping I don't gag at looking at some past pics that need re-clicking. Cuz that would really increase my work again. 

It’s hot

Today:
Real feel is 41°C
How fun.

Manure everything

I have finally done what I always wanted to do. That is COMPOST!!!

My composting bins have arrived and there are two!
One I mean to compost all the fallen leaves in, of which there is no dearth and instead of throwing them in the garbage bin I am decided to turn them into manure for my garden and the second for my organic kitchen waste. They too will be manure for my garden.

Talk to me no more ordinary mortals. I have taken the smug route.

Gods on a cull

Tuesday and I woke up to and apocalyptic darkness. The clouds resounded with black tints of threatening rains and I braved myself for a deluge of monstrous capacity.

The cats were quickly ushered inside the house with a sense of urgency even they understood all the windows were bolted lest the lashes of rain enter and I almost contemplated turning on the lights.
A loud crack later there was an almost lazy drizzle of exactly three seconds. No more.
And that was that.
The clouds lightened up and said no more.
Within seconds what was stifling became unbearably suffocating.
Rains didn't happen and the clouds didn't disperse either. They stay where they are in a fools suspended animation, lingering, making the weather a thick mask of dense warmth. I feel the hot steam rising from the ground, puttering around my breathing space.
Trickling sweat an accurate indication of what the whether promised and didn't deliver.

I am infuriated with how this weather has behaved and how my hair are either plastered on my head in a thicket of sweaty mop or flying all over like a frizzy Medusa. There's no in between, manageable, good hair days. I don't even remember when the last time I had one of those.

Thankfully it's not sunny yet and it's overclouded still. Extremely, worryingly humid and just as I typed this it got sunny!!
Life isn't giving us lemons but chunks of acetic acid to decompose in.

Inner secrets

Like San Dan Glokta said It's the small things you have to learn to love in life, and I do love a whole lot of small things. 

My mornings need a bit of this toothpaste action because it's a joyous moment to feel so dentally refreshed. 

Who’s the fairest of them all

This is stupidly funny 

Taobao has such hidden gems. 

Noodle making

Arms and abs and god oh god 

Light em up

Hmm

Not quite sure about this. 

Tidbits

So the high speed on my new e scooter is 30 kmph! Not bad.
Went to the nearby nursery which is about 2 kms from my house and bought a few plants for my balcony .
I would t have been able to do this on a bicycle and I sure as fuck don't have any parking spot in that area either cuz it's on the side of the road.
So not bad!
But haha!

People sat behind and complained the whole time about the speed on the scooter which wasn't fast enough to shake off mosquitoes.
'We should get a permit for a bike' they said .

I don't think so.
I mean who got this scooter and sprung a surprise in the first place?
Deal with it now.

white flag.

 Who me?

Can't wait for winters to get here fast enough cuz this weather is a big stinkin' pile of NOPE.

There are less than zero redeeming qualities to this weather and just now it rained for five minutes exactly after which the sun came out zealously in full effect making me feel like a compost bin right now.

I mean if it gets any worse then I will resign from this existence.

this weather begins

to slowly

decompose me 

So pretty now gone

A beautiful vivid blue butterfly that I was going to click a picture of breathed its last when twinkle pounced on the creature and mauled it while it fluttered its wings trying to survive and escape.

I am feeding furry murderers.

Morning and mmph

Woke up at 9 and feel refreshed like I haven't felt in days.
A bit of cleaning, some cat things and I sit with a cup of tea.
The weather is atrociously warm, oppressive and humid.
I contemplated sitting outside but unless there's a fan whirring at the speed of sound there's no meaning to life.
Outside is hot, sunny, stifling and unbearable.

Sunday!
Ah!
I don't feel like sweating like yesterday killing myself installing fences but round two still remains and it bothers me to even think about it.

Miss kiss

Past midnight and I think of us
Of wet hours that were mere minutes
That your skin still feels writhing on mine
You still callous me
under your coarse body

Speeding

There's a speed limit in Shanghai when it comes to e scooters. The speed limit on two wheelers that's allowed without needing a special license or permit is 25kmph.
Anymore than that and it's a special permit.
So yeah this baby doesn't go higher than that.

Zapping by

Who me?
I have been working in the garden since morning. The kind of work which is not exactly suited to me, vis -à-vis putting a fence on the upper wall of the periphery of the house to keep from stray outside cats from entering inside the garden through the footpath.

This idea, although simple was fraught with so many unfathomable difficulties, which someone like me, of a more gentler disposition is unable to cope up with.
There was a lot of manual labour involved, and although I'm not one to shy from that, this labour was a bit intensive.
There was a boundary of trees with jutting branches that had to be broken off in order to stick that fence and there was a lot of loose earth piled in mounds that one had to navigate and conquer.
Add to the equation a myriad of insects, mosquitoes and oppressive heat.
I will put up pictures of that damned fence when I go out to click it, but suffice to say it took out a lot of me.

After this debacle, shower was the only solution and lunch after in a restaurant.

I had woken up early since the housekeeper had come at 7 and although I slept more than 6 hours my body demanded more sleep, but then I put it through this wringer of labour today.
After lunch I immediately headed upstairs to my room.
Washed my hands, stripped, and found myself under a blanket with the air conditioning on blast and slept for 2 hours.
Yes indeed my lord, I slept this afternoon.

Now I'm awake.
Fed the cats.
Medicated Gogi.
Cleaned litter.
Now for some coffee.

Saturday morning new things

Saturday morning and I have been gifted with a new electric scooter. Grey in colour and I don't know what to do except roll my eyes. 

It's to make my conveyance around this area that ain't too well connected, easier, seeing how my cycling can get a bit difficult during winters and how one ain't able to manage too many things on a cycle if they go to buy groceries etc. 

I mean what on earth?! 

Actually it's my mistake. I remember walking to the nearest decathlon the other day which is about 1 km from the house to buy a couple resistance bands and I opted to walk because I was in a mood, moreover I had to buy some things from a superstore  that couldn't be managed on a cycle (a big wiper) and I didn't think to drive cuz i just wanted to walk.

On my way back I was spotted by people who thought I was lugging all this stuff in this weather and thought it best to gift me a scooter so that nearby distances that don't need a car could be covered by this electric contraption. 

What?! But but I didn't want it.  

I'm so happy cruising on my bicycle. Now once again there's a scooter in my life!!! 

I mean why? 

Bits of my world

Within and without 

all this and more

 Well, go ahead judge me for I have binge-watched and binge-watching 'downtown Abbey' because why not?

It's exactly the kind of stuff I like t watch, isn't it? An old-timey, period piece, excellently shot, meticulously detailed, sharply dressed and accurately acted. 

Dinner is not pizza today because I'm in no good to ta make it Dare I say I'm bored of making it, it's such a bother. All I want to do is kick back and relax.

giving it a thought

 I told myself that today I won't be doing any backyard work and yet when I realised I didn't have much to do this morning I cleaned the entire pathway off its leaves. 

I'm trying to strategise how I can get away with working around the house in a way that leaves me with enough time for my work, like today.

This could be in part due to not working out, that extra hour rendered it useful to do other chores.

We can't have that every day, however. starting Monday my workouts will become regular and I need to squeeze out time for other things. I might have to start waking up early now. Maybe a little before 7 instead of my usual 7:30. Won't that be a pain and what not?

Also this

Another cup another mood. 

Now on the balcony for round two of a small cup of coffee because it's Friday and I am in the mood. 

This is the balcony I had cleansed with bleach the other day and it looks quiet barren right now but in time it'll flourish. 

Friday morning

New things 

Hearts

ये कह कह के हम दिल को बहला रहे हैं
वो अब चल चुके हैं वो अब आ रहे हैं

जिगर मुरादाबादी

Done

Today has finished me 

Tomorrow I want to take it easy. No backyard,

No front yard. Just phew! 

Full house

L-R - Hope, twinkle, Meera, Sheru, Gogi. 

sloughing off today

 Just gave a bunch of friends on group call a virtual house tour and ended up climbing the entirety of the house half a dozen times because everyone had so many questions!!

All in all, everyone is happy as am I because my backyard chairs have just come in and I look forward to soon sipping tea in my backyard. 

I was seeking advice from one of our plant lovers regarding the landscaping and I was informed that I must first wait for rains to stop and for the ground to dry up before I begin messing about in it or else it will become difficult to even wade about in thick wet mud, something I have experienced for myself. the inches of wet glue-like mud that attaches itself to the soles of one's shoe is admirable and it is near impossible to scrape off. Either wash it out or wait for it to dry before letting it flake away.

But today, ah. I have removed more mould from wooden things, washed the backyard, picked the frontage's leaves, and cleaned out several large storage boxes.

A rather accomplished day without actually doing any work of my own is a slight disappointment and so let's get on with some work of my own before embarking on dinner.

Tomorrow I plan on going full throttle with a lot of typing and editing.

Finally food

Lunch is just some oven baked potatoes and a side of scrambled eggs with a portion of salad that I made only because I had some leftover lettuce. This is some cucumbers and an apple with a thin balsamic dressing and some shaved Parmesan. Delicious! 

Some die exhausted

My life is a collection of rings and badges according to my watch, which implores me, reminds me and messages me to close all my three rings everyday.
God forbid I miss out on one, it tells me how I can do it again the next day. It keeps encouraging me, tells me to keep going and then runs out of batteries.

Today is a Thursday in all its senses.
I have some more mould to eliminate, clean the front and backyard again because the leaves are creating a havoc. I want to wash the backyard since it's collected some mud and maybe this weekend I will bring some more potted plants.

Lunch isn't going to be elaborate and I hope to get on with rest of my life as I usually would.

Heart kiss

That time of night
When I'd pick a fight
and let you best me

No time for flashbacks

Today took a bit of a tumble after lunch because I found myself Enroute a superstore to urgently buy a large wiper for my backyard, except I didn't find what I was looking for and ended up with a bunch of grocery trinkets like soup bouillon, wooden hangers, extensions chords, hair conditioner, Thai condiments and a fabric softener.
Hmm. I certainly had none of those items on my list.

Coming back I realised I was late for dinner and then dinner prep, some meal prep for tomorrow, trash disposal, cat feeding, gogi's medication, dishes, a bit of reading and now I'm finally in my bed wondering what on earth have I been up to?

Tomorrow looks busy since I will be dealing with mould solution part deux, and treating those bits that got left out last time which I saw this evening.

Tomorrow also I will finish some recipe work, editing work and perhaps a mission to the moon while we are at it cuz fuck!! How on earth am I ever going to get done with anything at this rate?!
I need time.

Salad love

Salad for my heart!! 

This mango laden spin on Caesar salad has probably been the highlight of this season for me. 

I have made it with so many permutations, varied dressings, different proteins and each time it has come out exceptional. 

Be it with miso smeared salmon or light balsamic vinaigrette or yogurt and herbs, there is no wrong way to make it just as long as there are mangoes to go with. 

This here is in a mayonnaise and yogurt dressing with a few boiled eggs and that's about it. 

It's hearty, it's beautiful, each mouthful a magnificent marvel. 

Humph

I've had a change of heart and I am not going to remove the white lanterns outside no matter how much it offends someone cuz fuck you!
I mean the more I think about it the more it upsets me.
What I hang outside my house is nobody's businesses.
Bring on the complaints.

Gods!! Some people.

Some idiot has complained about my solar 'white lanterns' that I've hung outside in the front and back mentioning that it's for mourning and brings ill omen!!
I mean what?!
I'm not obligated to remove it but since I was given this message specially I think it carries some weight.
The harbinger also mentioned that the person in question is 'silly old person' who hangs scarlet red lanterns outside, an auspicious Chinese omen, unlike the white ones which he asked if it has any significance in Indian context to which I acidly replied 'peace and prosperity'. I mean not just in Indian context but white is considered pretty tame and truce inducing colour; to actually make a complaint about this bothered me.

I know the silly old witch in question though.
She was extremely annoyed by my continuous calls to 'hope' when she was lost and I think she didn't like my constant presence in front of her house as I looked for my baby girl.

The complaint came specifically from that house and I just know she already detests me without as much as knowing me.
To bring lanterns into this mess is a whole new one.
I respect sentiments and though I disagree with this I will remove them because I do not care to cause problems with neighbours, especially silly old ones, and I will hang these in my balcony now. Cuz why not?

But this is just the beginning you silly old witch!!
I'm going to train my cats to poop in your backyard.
Just you wait!

Work list

Agenda today includes cleaning the front garden.
There are leaves now carpeting the ground and I intend to let my flowers show through.
This looks like freaking mulch.

Ahoy Wednesday

Morning and I woke up late.
Late as in 9 and I hardly stirred all night.
I was left undisturbed because I was told that sometime around the wee hours of morning I was clutching my stomach and groaning.
I don't remember that but it could be possible, and so the air conditioning was left on, the fan was at a low speed and I was blanketed as I slept smoothly, with a couple cats on my side.

To say that I woke up refreshed would be most accurate but for a nagging cramping,
tendrils of pain shooting off my back and inner thighs.
I have finished some chores, some cleaning and now I sit contemplating whether I should drown myself in a large mug of tea or keep it the usual weekday route of a smaller mug!!

There's a piece of toast slathered with my favourite butter (current favourite. My usual one is salted Amul butter) in the offing and promises of a less taxing day.

Let's hope so.

Misses

ये इश्क़ नहीं आसाँ इतना ही समझ लीजे
इक आग का दरिया है और डूब के जाना है

जिगर मुरादाबादी

Tuesday accomplishments

Today
I took out the trash sans bra in my crop tee which is sort of translucent. I went out when it got a bit dark though because it would be too scandalous for bright lights.
Didn't come across anyone! Good.

Today
I exhausted myself to the point that my body and brain can process nothing save a trip to the bed and mindless YouTube content.

Today
My darling seemed out of it and I wanted to hear him gripe more :)

Today
My cramps are bettering me

Today
I bit my nails and felt horrible

Today
I ate more chocolates than usual.

Today
I finished the third season of 'the fall'

Ugh well

Ah well!
As life would have it. Today I have a case of the yucks and for a few days I shall be out of commission.
But that means more garden time.
Today I shall dedicate myself (when it's not raining) to pick up all the fallen leaves from the front area.

Tuesday calamities

Morning dementia on account of waking up and full throttle.
It's like one should sleep with a jet pack in order to simply wake up and begin!
It's like one moment you're asleep the next you're running a 100m dash, only it's a marathon and you can't slow down, or else some chores will be left behind.
The housekeeper came today but that doesn't mean my work got any lesser.
Today I had to throw all things couch in the washer because of how musty it seems to be smelling.
I am sick of this damp. The rains aren't letting up and there are only so many naphthalene balls in the world!
I am throwing handfuls of those things like mentos candies everywhere.
I can't bear this stench of damp despite all the steps that are being taken. Every wooden surface is getting coated with oils, even my rattan chairs.
The entire house gets aired, there are oils I light, essences that I burn, candles that are killing themselves in my service and room fresheners that are relentlessly sprayed, and yet, and yet the musty stench finds its way, permeates my cushions covers, my throws, my every space in the living area and throttles my sense of reality.
This problem thankfully is only on the ground floor area.
My upstairs rooms are safe for now.
I am angry. I feel helpless and I am looking for alternative methods.
I spoke to my mother and she combats this by burning 'Kapoor' with some coconut oil and I have ordered those things.
I mean I am ready to try every alternative, homeopathic, Ayurvedic remedy there is.
Yes!
That is my update for now.

—
Regarding gogi's eye infection. It has actually gotten much better in just the one day. I have to keep washing his eye with a particular medicine and eye drops 5-6 times a day.
He is wearing an Edwardian collar to keep from scratching his eyes and I know he's not happy.
But Gogi being the majestic feline that he is, is aware that this is for his own good and he protests not much.

Argh

My house smells of damp like one of those old guest houses on hills.
I can't !!!!

Eye flu

It is conjunctivitis which is the diagnosis for now. It's a bit extra inflamed and the doctor says if it doesn't cure after medication the it could perhaps be some viral infection. For which the tests will be done separately after a week if in case it doesn't get better.
I'm quite sure of this infection as conjunctivitis and that it will soon be fine.
My poor baby is sad and quite upset about this ordeal.
But he is not going out for a week now.

:(

At the vet with Gogi who has a very swollen eye. Perhaps conjunctivitis. It's common in cats and almost all my cats get it every now and then during this weather but Gogi really if ever falls sick and I can't let such a swollen eye be ignored.
My little baby is distressed and sad.

today escalation

 Today is such a fucking bother because people are in the house !!

Apparently, there's a delta variant case in the Pudong area and if anyone has to go as much as towards the outskirts of the city they have to produce an RTPCR negative and that means one has to first go to the hospital to get it done and get the report a day later, and so I ended up cooking a full-fledged lunch today!

This after a workout, balcony clean up and wanting to do nothing more than heat up some leftovers!

It escalated rather quickly, much to my chagrin and now I think I'm gonna drown my annoyance in some delicious coffee.

Regarding balcony clean up, I have never felt so repulsed by moss as I did today while I scrounged up tumbler fulls with a gardening tool.

The corners of the balcony not only developed thick layers of moss but over the course of so many months of neglect those bits turned to some robust black thickets of moss and when I scrubbed the floors with detergents all those bits broke off in little clods of yuck and I found myself turning green as I lifted that slimy green grime.

I then threw lots of bleach and finished their existence while cleaning the tiled floors to a shine they'd never experienced before.

Now the balcony looks like I'd want to set up a tent and spend my nights there. 

All that remains is a nice table and some greenery and my balcony will be done.

I look forward to getting drunk there soon.

Monday laments

Who me?
Marinading in sweat as is the norm.
Woke up late and finished chores only to start my water trip and then tea and then some workout because we need to finish our upper body routine today!
Lunch and then a bit of balcony set up.
I have a couple indigo coloured chairs for my balcony and I look forward to spending more time there once the weather is better.
It's going to rain. Of course! Isn't that what's been happening for the past month now?
Ugh!

Hopeful

Today it's a fridge. Tomorrow it's gonna be the world. 

Reads and laughs

This is exactly the energy I wish to retain forever!

Wee dates

Ah Independence Day! Not so much as independent day cuz fuck!!

Right then.
It's been raining and raining and the weather although humid has a much cooler vibe and I am for it!
It's second day in a row when I've not sweated my weight in salt and I'm glad for that.

Monday tomorrow and I have already decided my chores which are cleaning and setting up the balcony.
I will be cleaning the balcony and all the leaves that have collected and tied and bunched up and setting up a couple chairs.
Haven't bought a table for it yet but that's in the works .
It's gonna get chaotic.
Also I'll be doing a bit more of backyard work.
Woohoo!!

Favourites

My all time favourite song! 

I grew up listening to this song. 

My earliest memories are perhaps when I was four and my father used to blast this LP on his music system all over the house, even in the garden. 

Clock ticks

This watch is meant to set for two time zones. 

One mine, one yours.

Red drinks

Saturday night Campari in my new glass!! 

Looking down

My Taiwanese friends always called him Mr. Gogi 

Weather appraisal and morn

That I slept like a log last night would be an understatement because I was comatose.
Sometimes things just work out in your favour, and last night people threw a tantrum about something irrelevant which I didn't even have the energy to pretend to care about and that irked people to the point of shifting rooms.
People went to sleep in another room in a huff which was where the cats were last night and so none bothered me, not a bit, and I slept uninterrupted and then some.

One moment I was reading मीनाबाज़ार by सादात हसन मंटो and the next I was dead to the world.
I woke straight six hours later. Checked the time and slept for another couple.

I am revived, rejuvenated, resuscitated, reconstituted and world is a shitty place as usual but I can now fitfully ignore it.

The housekeeper is here. The weather is somehow cooler and it's been raining since yesterday afternoon.
This weather reminds me of that time last august when I was in Bhopal and the rains were a fuzzy continuous drizzle of cool splashes. The weather was green and cool breeze. It was delightful. My brother had come and I used to spend a lot of time on the terrace before melting into virtual arms.
The weather is that same mellow coolness, when the fan on low seems enough, when it's humid but not oppressive as it had been just the day before and I yearn to melt all over again.
Sadly, I'm sober, spoused and sullen.

Unfurling

Who me? 

Done with today! 

And you? 

Cheese pull

No write

My energy is far too chaotic for bullet journaling!
My new journal which was a gift to me is a bullet journal.
It has these tiny micro boxes and I can't seem to fit inside them.
My paragraphs are not spaced this way and so I am going to treat it these pages the exacts same way I treat other pages.
Honestly I prefer lined pages for journaling.
Not even blank ones.

Also bullet journaling is for wimps.

Binging

Who me?
Binge watching season 3 of the series 'the fall' and its riveting!!
I had watched the first 2 season last year and couldn't find the third and for some reason the vpn I'm connected through has the 3rd season and I am not going to stop now!!
It's a definite must watch!
Totally superb!

Also eating some chips because I want to.

New finds

I'm Not one for soda's except maybe grape flavoured mirinda and here we have three strange flavours that I'd not come across before. 

These are lychee, passion fruit and watermelon flavours. 

I will update when I drink these and let you know how delicious or awful they were. 

Heart bubble

Apparently it's Chinese Valentine's Day today!!
And there's a special menu too.
Unsurprisingly it's a set menu for 2.

And now

Who me?
Sitting at a 'French eatery' which serves excellent coffee and it's close to my house.
How close?
I am getting my wifi signals here. :)
After thoroughly exhausting myself and lunching on leftovers that were odds and ends at best I decided to forego coffee in my house and decided to drink at this place.
This is the same place which I used to buy a huge thing of Americano every morning last month while I was working on my house.
I didn't think it would be so but this place has people.
Why?!! This is not the time for people to be frequenting eateries.

Why do coffee shops provide those fat crystalline sugars that take an eon to dissolve?
It's quite ridiculous I think.

Mind made up

So then it's decided!
Today I am going to put some muscle into cleaning out my backyard instead of workout.
There has been some extensive reconstruction work done and though a lot was cleaned out there are a lot of unwanted debris still lingering in the backyard.
Lots of twigs, old pots, tools, broken tables, a useless parasol that came apart during the typhoon and myriad other things.
I think I will clean it out!
Give it a good wash and forward with that.
I have my gardening gloves and my broad hat and a litre of mosquito repellent spray!
Today is going to be fun!

Is it Friday finally?! Thank you

Just once I'd like to report that I slept like a log but for the cats who absolutely hate my sleeping schedule, because it falls at night and they want to play at 3 in the morning, and play fight and tumble all around and over me on my bed while I sleep.
I think the door was left slightly ajar for Meera to keep from his shenanigans because he likes to come in and go out multiple times each night, and last night all the cats took advantage of that.
It was an exhausting night from waking up every second moment and being aware of the time.
Sometimes it was meowing, sometimes purring and sometimes loud shrieks from fighting.
This is most ridiculous.
I need my shuteye.
Waking up and aching in every limb, my thighs sore from yesterday and my body unable to fully recuperate I found myself an unlikely candidate to as much as flash a smile to anyone and in this state I went about the house and cleaned the fuck out of my bedroom.
Yeah!
I'm this close to having a meltdown and shutting down.
My body is a study in soreness and I wonder if I should proceed with my upper body strength superset workout today.
I mean what even?!!
Now I'm sipping tea, eating yesterday's leftover parantha and contemplating a luxurious bath.

Exhausted

It's been a hectic today.
I kind of want to not do anything much and not go so crazy running up and down the house the entire day.
Maybe someday.
Maybe Sunday

Lunch whoah

Lunch is a lot of pasta salad with hummus. The pasta ain't as much as the vegetables and the hummus. 

There's some eggs and lots of lettuce and green peppers and I got a phone call whilst typing this and I feel like I can't finish it. 

Did I mention I have a huge berry smoothie as well. 

Phew! 

Noodle limbs

A lower body strength workout later I have not enough strength to now go upstairs and shower.
I think I'm going to relax a while before getting on with life.
Maybe even a small cup of coffee can be had.
Perhaps I'll boil a couple eggs.
It's strange I know but today when my soul was preparing to bid farewell to my body during one set,I found myself fantasising about lunch.
That's my happy place. That's what keeps me going during workouts. The thought of foods.
And today I think I'm going to east some pasta drenched in hummus, mixed in with some veg. And a couple eggs. And a protein shake on the side with lots of berries. Yum!!

Morning rituals

The usual but why has this bread got pointy ears? 

Morn

My morning sweaty
My hair messy
My house shining

the humidity is 100%

Was walking to the pharmacy

when it started raining

but I kept sweating 

new friends

A thermos sits atop my table

keeping my icy water icy

its only function to exist

is maintaining temperature

of liquids poured in

such dedicated life

to a singular cause 

not impressed

with squinted eyes

cats pass judgement

when I talk to myself 

Misc delish

Lunch is a Mexican themed salad and a bowl of yesterday's lobhiya. 

The salad in question is some lettuce, tomatoes and cumin and oregano flavoured sausages that I have topped with some shredded cheese. 

And lobhiya is my usual recipe that I eat with rice or bread. 

No jumps but still dead

Trying to keep my ponytail in check while I imitate a tomato. 

45 minute Cardio burnout with kickboxing intervals. 

Everything low impact to keep my heel from exerting and hurting.

:/

An entire week of deplorable weather!! 

Yay! 

Morning ahoy

It looks like it's gonna be a fruitful Wednesday!
The chores are done.
I'm a study in sweat and feel it trickling down my back.
Tea is on the horizon and a recipe for the book which I have to click pictures for is sitting in the fridge.
I've only got to prop style it and click click!
Of course this photo was clicked earlier but as I went through it there was something ghastly about how bad it looked and so the hummus image is gonna get a new look.

Phew!
How does this day start with such a whir of immediacy?
I mean one would expect a morning to start slow but moments after I wake up I'm bending down picking things, running about setting things when on the inside my snooze button is still on.
My body isn't galvanised nor fully equipped to deal with such brisk efficiency five minutes after leaving the bed, it's still oiling up, turning on the ignition so to say.
Full throttle acceleration takes a while. It's like trying to land a paper plane on the moon. I mean I get it but it's painful to just begin my day with a marathon.
It's not a complaint as much as a shortcoming on my end.
One that I cannot fix.
Towards today then!
Time for tea.

Done with Tuesday

All I need is a long delicious, uninterrupted sleep

Potting about

Initial phase of the front garden. 

The basics are done and not we continue on this. 

I'm thinking of filling it up. 

Also it needs some solar powered light .

Even som fairy lights. 

Baked

And done! 

Done sweat

Today was an upper body strength and as I type this I feel the soreness in my legs from yesterday's lower body  and lack of sleep. 

This heat this humidity

Living inside a swamp
Would feel
Much drier

The cat fucks with me

That !~^#*#% Meera, the enemy of my nighttime sleep, the most talkative, loud and incessantly mewing of all cats did not let me sleep last night.
Heaven knows what he wanted because I sure as fuck couldn't figure it out.
He cried outside the bedroom shortly after 1 and ten minutes after I let him in he cried to be let out.

Exactly an hour later at 2:40 he cried again outside the door and ten minutes after purring on my chest and getting petted despite the late hour, for he wanted to get petted ceaselessly he meowed to leave the room and this saga continued until about 5:30 when I could take no more and I offered to feed all the cats .
That shut him up and gladdened the rest and I was able to catch 2 hours of uninterrupted sleep, but it wasn't enough and my every body cell tells me so.
My head is heavy, my eyelids weary, my body aches from lack of sleep and my mouth is tasteless and dry as it happens when one doesn't get much in the way of sleep.
I am pretty annoyed at this behaviour which is his usual pattern and I have often complained savour it when I suffered from it in the previous house as well.
I had overcome this issue by keeping a window open for him to exit and enter the house as he pleased and though a similar strategy can be employed here, and was employed for a while before Hope ran out it is no longer feasible for a while.
I have decided to keep the bedroom door slightly ajar for him from now and though that might not be a solution I hope it will mitigate this problem.

Monday morning

Back to the usual. 

This is a delicious rye bread I made last night. 

I quite like it. 

Backdates

A bit of backyard update!

It's coming along nicely and it will be a week before everything is finished. 

I am glad and I look forward to sipping tea in my backyard pretty soon.