wandering mind

One of my favorite book series is The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith . I love the simplicity of the books and I would love to befriend protagonist Precious Ramotswe. Whenever I would read that Mma Ramotswe and her assistant Mma Kutsi are going to make a pot of Red Bush Tea, I would want to join them for a cup of tea and ponder the purpose of life with them. But I didn't know what red bush tea was. A few weeks ago my sister gave me a box of African Rooibos tea - it was really good. I went to the local health food store to pick up some more rooibos tea and found out that one of the ingredients is red bush tea (The box says that rooibos mean red bush in Afrikaans )- I was excited!!!! Mma Ramotswe - I have found it :) And the henna designs on the box are just amazing. If I were as talented as Megha , I could probably do something with these boxes :) I believe next to water, tea is my second most favorite beverage (with red wine coming in as a close third :) H...

I was tagged by Suma long time ago to share the face of my refrigerator :) I guess like most families with kids, it is an everchanging surface, with latest assignments, achievements and field trip notices. Here is mine I am a great admirer of the artist Mary EngelBreit and have been buying her calendars for past several year - all cutesy and overly sweet - just the way I like it. I also have some of her magnets to brighten up my dark refrigerator. Here they are: These I picked up from Epcot center in Orlando last spring. Since I am late doing this tag - I forget who has already done it. So again I tag you, my visitor, if you haven't already done this :)

I was tagged to list six random things about me by A Kaleidoscope Rotated. And then I am supposed to tag six more people. Well, here are six random things about me: 1) I am a techie by profession (EE/CS) - but in my dreams I am an artist. I would love to create beauty for living. 2) I can walk for hours and then some more (the longest I have walked is 18 miles). 3) My favorite food is arhar dal, rice, okra and mint chutney (I am drooling thinking about it). 4) At work, I have trouble explaining something, unless I have a pencil in my hand. I like to scribble as I talk. I like to doodle all over the place. 5) I learned karate for a while and am a green belt. 6) I love reading and one of my regrets at the end of the life would be that I haven't read all that I wanted to read. Can't think of six people to tag - I invite bloggers who leave comments to write six things about themselves if they haven't already done this tag - thanks :)

I came to this country 24 years ago. I missed India terribly. Everything was strange here. I missed my home that I had recently left, I missed my friends, I missed not looking like the majority of the population. One of the things that I missed terribly was the trees. The trees in India look totally different. We used to travel and go on short trips. I remember sitting in the back of my dad's Mahendra & Mahendra Jeep, inhaling dust and admiring trees for hours. I remember taking a 36 hour train ride to Calcutta and counting trees when there was nothing else to do (back when there was no nintendo DS :) I came to US and the trees were so different here. I remember thinking I don't like these trees, they are bare half the time. I missed my Indian trees. Fast forward 24 years - Every morning, I start my morning commute with a scenic route - it is only a 2-3 mile stretch that I drive on before getting on the highway. It is an old winding road surrounded by farm land. It even ha...

I bought a purple plant from the spring festival in Towson two years ago. I kept it in a pot on either side of my front porch, rooted a cutting to put in a smaller pot that I brought in for winter. The original plants on the porch died. This summer I just left it in the little pot and brought it in for winter. Now it graces my kitchen. It becomes much deeper purple outdoors in the full sun, but still looks pretty good indoors. Last week it rewarded me with the most delicate flowers - I was overjoyed. Whenever a plant in my care blooms, I feel like a proud parent beaming at her kid bringing home a medal. I feel like the plant is saying thank you. I believe the secret ingredient for a healthy plant is to shower it with admiring glances :) Do you think the plant can feel that it is loved? Does anyone know what this plant is called?

One fine day when I was checking out A Mad Tea Party , I happened upon a picture of my most favorite dessert and it didn't take me long to guess what it was. Well, what do you know - I won the contest and here is my turn to post something that others have to guess. Here are the rules of riddle me this You have to: find something stranger than strange and, post it on their blog within the next two weeks. The quiz remains open for at least 1 day and at the most 2 days. The person who guesses it correctly gets the torch and is the next host for Riddle Me This. If the person who guesses correctly is the previous host, then that person will get to pick someone to pass the buck to from all those who made a guess. And so on. Please use the fabulous logo, also designed by Manisha , and link back to the host who passed the baton on to you. Please do your best to keep this alive. Just think of how much fun it will be! Well, I just picked something at random and I am hoping that it is sort...

..... curling up in a cozy bed on a gray day like today :)